El Nou paper de la televisió pública a Europa occidental: reptes i perspectives

Les televisions públiques de tota l'Europa occidental s'enfronten al formidable repte de redefinir el seu paper per l'aparició d'economies de radiodifusió mixta multicanal. El model que els autors proposen es basa en: a) complementar la televisió comercial; b) la qualitat de les prioritats de programació, i c) el caràcter social de la radiodifusió pública, que comporta una important funció cultural, política i social. En preguntar-se si aquest model és viable, els autors conclouen que depèn de com la televisió pública se'n surti a l'hora de competir amb la televisió comercial per a configurar les expectatives de programació dels televidents. Donen raons de per què es pot aconseguir i, d'aquesta manera, servir de model a altres democràcies, alhora que s'adonen que la televisió comercial tota sola cada vegada satisfà menys les necessitats de comunicació d'una societat.Due to the emergence of mixed broadcasting economies in multichannel conditions, public television throughout Western Europe faces a formidable challenge of role redefinition. The authors’ proposed approach to this is based on: (a) a competitive complementarity with commercial television; (b) a qualitative sense of programming priorities; and (c) the social character of public broadcasting which entails major cultural, political, and social functions. Asking whether such a recipe is viable, the authors conclude that it depends on how public television fares in its competition with commercial television to shape viewers’ expectations of programming. They give reasons why this can be waged successfully, thus serving as a model for other democracies, as they increasingly realize that commercial television alone cannot satisfy a society’s communication needs

“What is a referendum?” How we might open up pre-vote TV debates to genuine public scrutiny

The 2015 TV election debates proved their civic value – as they had in 2010, write Stephen Coleman (left), Nick Anstead, Jay G Blumler, Giles Moss and Matt Homer. But in these edited extracts from a University of Leeds report, Democracy on Demand?, Dr Anstead questions whether Twitter is – as some media organisations seemed to imply – representative of public opinion. The authors also urge the media to experiment with the format of any TV debates during the EU referendum campaign to make them more responsive to the public’s questions and reactions

The changing role of the local news media in enabling citizens to engage in local democracies

Using Leeds City Council in the United Kingdom as a case study, we analyse comparatively the changing role of local journalism in the public communications and engagement strategies of local government. Drawing on over 20 semi-structured interviews with elected politicians, Council strategists, mainstream journalists, and citizen journalists, the article explores perceptions of the mainstream news media's role versus new modes of communication in engaging and communicating with citizens. We evaluate the Council's perceptions of its online and offline practices of engagement with different publics, and focus in particular on their interactions with journalists, the news media, and citizen journalists. The article considers how moves towards digital modes of engagement are changing perceptions of the professional role orientations of journalists in mediating between the Council and the general public

Unterhaltungsqualität und Public Value

Gebühren finanzierte TV Sender haben die Aufgabe Public Value zu schaffen. In der Regel umfasst der Leistungsauftrag dabei sowohl Information und Bildung als auch Unterhaltung. Während sich für informierende und bildende Inhalte relativ leicht feststellen lässt, worin der Nutzen für die Öffentlichkeit besteht, ist dies für die Unterhaltung weniger eindeutig. An dieser Stelle setzt der Beitrag an. Es wird argumentiert, dass der Public Value von Unterhaltung von der Qualität der Unterhaltung abhängt. Hierfür muss zunächst geklärt werden, an welchen Kriterien sich die Qualität von Unterhaltung festmachen lässt. Die Qualität stellt sich vielschichtig dar, es müssen unterschiedliche Perspektiven z.B. von Rezipienten, Produzenten und Regulierern berücksichtigt werden. Auf Basis einer Messung von Qualität wird in einen zweiten Schritt diskutiert, welche Unterhaltungsangebote einen Public Value aufweisen und welchen dieser fehlt, so dass sie nicht zu den Aufgaben eines Service Public Senders zu zählen sind. Dabei zeigt sich, dass eine absolute Bewertung nicht gerechtfertigt ist, sondern jeweils die Kontextbedingungen eines Medienmarkts berücksichtigt werden müssen. Anhand von konkreten Unterhaltungsangeboten von europäischen Service Public Anbietern wird die Messung von Qualität illustriert und mit den Kontextbedingungen in Bezug gesetzt

Nothing Is True? The Credibility of News and Conflicting Narratives during “Information War” in Ukraine

In international politics, the strategic narratives of different governments compete for public attention and support. The Russian government’s narrative has prompted western concern due to fears that it exerts a destabilizing effect on societies in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. However, the behavior and thought processes of news consumers targeted by contradictory strategic narratives are rarely subjected to analysis. This paper examines how Ukrainian news consumers decide where to get their news and what to believe in a media environment where “propaganda” and “disinformation” are regarded as major threats to national security. Evidence comes from thirty audio-diaries and in-depth interviews conducted in 2016 among adult residents of Odesa Region. Through qualitative analysis of the diary and interview transcripts, the paper reveals how participants judged the credibility of news and narratives based on their priorities (what they considered important), not just “facts” (what they believed had happened). The attribution of importance to different foreign policy issues was associated, in turn, with varying personal experiences, memories, and individual cross-border relationships

The Uses of mass communication: Current perspectives on gratifications research/ Editor: Jay G. Blumler; Elihu katz

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