THE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTINGA RESEARCH CONCEPT IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC VALUE

Thomas A. Bauer, University of Vienna, Austria

MEDIA IN CRISIS – CRISES IN MEDIAIII. COMMUNICATION FORUM BRATISLAVA

2. – 3. 12. 2010

Research Questions – generalTHE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• What is the character and what is the reason of the crisis of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)

• Why is the concept of Public Value (PV) a concept of critical analysis

• What is the specific core of the discussion on „Public Value“? • What is the relevant focal point that has to be worked out in the scientific analysis

of Public Value in respect to the Austrian situation?

• What structures have to be developed in order to create a PV friendly media environment?

Research Questions – specifiedTHE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• What constitutes the public additional benefit of the program of ORF and und how can it be quantified?

• Who shall measure/quantify and who shall control the public value ? Which institution has to be

established fort hat? What sanctions must be developed? • Is Public Value generally definable or must there be developed a special definition for each country –

according to their specific cultural and media environments?

• What are the legal, structural and economic frame conditions for the public broadcasting in Austria? • What are the EU- institutional frame conditions for the public broadcasting in Austria? • What are the frame conditions fort he public broadcasting systems in other EU countries

(comparative studies)? • Which Public-Value-Models can by found in other countries? What are the experiences with them?

Research Questions – Quality FactorsTHE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• Journalistic Independence: how can this be guaranteed within Public Broadcasting Systems?

• Target Groups:

How can the Public Broadcasting System reach young people to shape out the future audience?

• Technology:How far are technologies decisive in the development of future strategies fort he Public Broadcasting System?

• Content:What program innovations will be need for future of a Public Broadcasting System regarding the content of media communication? (Discussion: news or/and entertainment)?

Research Questions – Media ManagementTHE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• Media:What role does the concept of Public Value play in respect to the self-representation of media?

• Quality Management:Which methods for quality management and evaluation needs the concept of Public Value?

• Quota Management:

What is the meaning of quota in respect to Public Value? How economically successful should a Public Broadcasting System work, in order to give space to PV- programs?

• Audience: What is the strategy of media management to understand needs of the audience and to

decide for do’s and don’t’s in shaping out the program• Finance:• What are the models of financing a media program that foster PV at its best: Fee, Tax, Pay per

view?

Research Questions – Acteurs and ParticipantsTHE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• Journalistic / Non-journalistic formats:What are the achievements of journalistic, what those of non-journalistic content from the perspective of the audience? Which PV impact is in news, entertainment, service, educational or cultural programs? What are the PV competences of citizen journalism, blogs and other new models of public communication?

• Audience:What is the level of media literacy of the audience (restrictive versus elaborated levels according to the conditions of stratification and of migration status) and what is the media awareness in respect to political topics and society-relevant discourse (direction of agenda setting)?

• Representation:According to what measures are which societal groups represented in the program? Fairness for Minorities? Culture of Diversity?

• Participation:How is ensured the participation of all groups and stratifications in program development, program organization and program creation?

Grid of Coordinates for a Research ApproachTHE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• Debate Provoking Factors:

• Democracy Development / Democracy in Transition- increasing mediality of democracy: society in the habitus of media: attention, display, staging, effect- civil society as a new mechanism of public trust

• Social Change:- black-out of frames of reference: nation, language, history, heroes- discovery of weakness of institutions- new categories in constructing identity: mobility, migration, diversity

• Media Change:- technological development- media literacy / media use / media culture- media convergence

Grid of Coordinates for a Research ApproachTHE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• Debate Environment:

• Public Broadcasting Systems as public institutions - different categories of description over public valuable - functions / relevance of public-private-model-distinction?

• Public Value a value of democracy competence:- capacity, reference and responsibility

• Public Value as a theoretical concept:- describing the added value generated in context of macro-economy (empirical perspective)- referring to the principles of negotiation of social trust (critical-theoretical perspective)- reminding public institutions of public expectations for democratic habit (normative perspective)

• Public Value Test: - done as a branding of/for BBC ?

Grid of Coordinates for a Research ApproachTHE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• Development in Europe – For example Austria:• Broadcasting System: Dual System (support system fro comm and private)• Public Value Obligation: ORF (demand fees)• Public Value Competition between PSB, commercial and free channels

• Outcome Interests: Public Value redefined• Moral level : PV as intrinsic model of value• Critical-theoretical level: new concept of public sphere based on

participation, not on power• Critical-emancipative perspective: PV concept based on principles of

communication ecology: sustainability of communication values• Practical level: fair distribution of resources in production (quality

management) and consumption (media competence development)

Grid of Coordinates for a Research ApproachTHE CRISES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• Research Perspectives

• Political and Cultural Context: decrease of political influence• European Context: harmonization• Media Context: media and media culture change• Structural Change of Society: migration, mobility• Globalization Perspective: cultural convergence

Debate Environment: Media PolicyTHE CHALLENGE OF PUBLIC VALUE

New discourse quality on PV in Europe:from ideological or strategic level to research level):

• Public Broadcasting Systems: – loosing institutional trust (general de-institutionalization of political society) – PBS - not longer the “natural holder” of PV-certification and credibility, since PBS as well help themselves with commercial strategies of program development and market power

• Public Value TestA strategic tool of verifying the legitimacy of public media institutions: start with BBC: The Public Value Test made the concept of PV becoming the factor of affirming the PBS

Debate Environment: Media TheoryTHE CHALLENGE OF PUBLIC VALUE

PV – a value of democratic responsibility of media within a media-organized society - usable as a crucial factor for evaluation of

public relevance of programs

• as an invention of a complex of parameters for the EU harmonization program in media politics

• as a result of market competition within the triangle: fee, commercials, quality

• as a public model of media communication to be discussed and reformed in respect to the social change / media change

Debate Environment: Knowledge ConceptTHE CHALLENGE OF PUBLIC VALUE

Public Value as an empirical concept on theory level –

- a market-economical term based on the concept of natural justice:

it is a term - taken from political- and micro-economy – referring to goods of which the monetary value is too open and too diverse to be quantified exactly, though their existence makes the life of citizens worth living: clean air, freedom of speech, and other abstract goods of which the value is acknowledged in civilian societies - functions expected by citizens from state. To relate PBS to the sphere of PV seems to be evident in respect of communication and media society (Marcus L. Blömeke)

Debate Environment: Knowledge ConceptTHE CHALLENGE OF PUBLIC VALUE

Public Value as a critical concept in theory level –

- a model of social/societal trust: modern societies are based on the principle of anticipation and fulfilment of trust: trust constitutes the value of abstract goods. In that theoretical environment PV is a model of social trust and a model for public quality of organizations and their product, embedded either - in public law institutions - in private law organizations - or in commercial companies

Debate Environment: Knowledge ConceptTHE CHALLENGE OF PUBLIC VALUE

Public Value as a normative concept on theory level -

- a model for the democratic habit of media communication:since PV is a model for abstract goods generated andnegotiated as a barter trade, in the context of mediacommunication PV is not just a good managed by media management or through journalism (quality of production), but more the political dimension of the participation model within the structural system of social practice of medialized social interaction: production-consumption-negotiation – contextual complex

Debate Environment: Knowledge ConceptTHE CHALLENGE OF PUBLIC VALUE

Public Value as a concept of emancipative Interest of knowledge

- a model of and for ecological media communication values: sustainability effects of media communication:

- establishing critical interest in meaningful discourse - maintaining a participation habitus ( Bourdieu – Chomsky:

generative ability) - developing Knowledge : indeepening and differentiation

- transparency of production and quality factors- media literacy and communication competence- connecting communication interests

Example Austria:

• Dual Broadcasting System – Organizational Versions

• Public Law constituted Broadcasting : ORF• Commercial TV stations: ATV, Puls4, go-tv, Austrian windows RTL, Pro7• Free (non-commercial) Media Projects: Okto Community TV, Radio: Orange 94 and others

(local)

• PV parameters for arguing a PV holding position (ORF): 5 values defined as constitutive for PV (ORF Public Value Competence in information,

entertainment, education):

• Individual value: trust, service, entertainment, knowledge, responsibility• Social value: diversity, orientation, integration, close to citizen, cultural assignment• Austria-Value: identity, creation of value, federalism• International Value: European Integration, global perspective• Business Venture Value: innovation, transparency, competence• Connected to that just see the scope of interpretation -especially: identity, integration, diversity

and heterogeneity of society

Example Austria:

• ORF: By Public Law Constituted Broadcasting System

50 % public fee, 50 % commercial income, assignment by public law: duty of provision of all parts of population, program duty: objectivity, diversity, balance in relation to political parties and societal arrangements in groups, comprehensiveness, preferences for news, education, science, culture, art, religion

As a public law institution ORF claims to fulfil the conditions of Public Value through its institutional character – and thus legitimates the privileged collection of charges

Example Austria:

• ORF Position:

Broadcasting is a public assignment (BVG Rundfunk 1974), providing the whole country with quality program, covering Austria as a discourse and as an event, Building Austrian Identity, resp. European Identity in Austria, High Quality Standards in program management and program production, often against quota reasonability, serves especially social, ethnic, cultural marginal groups and minorities, the coverage is at about 38% share in the market.

Special factor in Austria: many irradiating same language programmes coming from Germany

Example Austria:

• Okto Community TV: Participative TV Programme

Program produced by community teams on voluntary basis

no commercials, support by City of Vienna, but free of any dependency

brings communities, populations and topics on screen that are underexposed in mainstream tv programmes,

special social effects: integration, transcultural understanding, societal cohesion among groups being in conflict at origin region, contribution to development of culture, multi-language programme, learning media competence / media literacy

Example Austria:

• Okto - Position:

Arguments for a PV standard and because of that for a 2% part of charge and extraordinary public support: engaged in integrative communication

Okto is according to a research of Cathren Edwards (30 community programme stations worldwide) a program most affiliated to the diversity of social groups, most engaged and involved in cultural affairs and very close to a highly sophisticated program. It reaches 2.4 technical coverage

Example Austria:

• The commercial programme providers (Puls 4, ATV etc)

also claim for recognition in partially producing Public Value containing programme (news on RTL Austria, also in parts of documentaries, political talk-shows and even entertaining program) in same time criticising that the ORF has a comparably much more comfortable starting position having the fee and in somehow the same amount income by commercial business. This, so the argument of commercial programs, by trend causes a market distortion.

Referencies

• Bauer, Thomas A : Wertegemeinschaft und Mediengesellschaft. In: Bauer, Thomas /Ortner, Gerhard E. (eds.): Werte für Europa. Medienkultur und ethische Bildung in und für Europa. Düsseldorf

• Hepp, Andreas/Höhn, Marco/Wimmer, Jeffrey (2010): Medienkultur im Wandel. Konstanz• Karmasin, Matthias, ed. (2002): Medien und Ethik. Stuttgart• Luhmann, Niklas (1968): Vertrauen. Ein Mechanismus der Reduktion sozialer Komplexität.

Stuttgart• Luhmann, Niklas (2004): Die Realität der Massenmedien. Wiesbaden (3.ed)• Schmidt, Siegfried J. (2003): Geschichten & Diskurse. Abschied vom Konstruktivismus.

Reinbeck• Thomas, Tanja, ed. (2008): Medienkultur und soziales Handeln. Wiesbaden