"Die Meinungsmacht der öffentlich-rechtlichen Medien schien lange Zeit weitgehend unangetastet. Als Folge der digitalen Transformation hat sich das geändert. Das Überwinden von Informationsasymmetrien gelingt immer weniger, stattdessen wachsen die Ränder des Meinungsspektrums. Die zentrale Frage
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lautet: Wie kann gesellschaftliche Vielfalt künftig angemessener abgebildet werden, ohne Verbindendes weiter abzubauen? Die Beiträger_innen des Bandes loten die bestehenden Medienstrukturen kritisch aus und zeigen mögliche Alternativen auf. So könnte ein konkurrierendes Modell der Direktbeauftragung von Medienmacher_innen, finanziert aus den bestehenden Beitragseinnahmen, ARD, ZDF und Co. zum Sparen zwingen und das System in Bewegung bringen, ohne Mehrkosten zu verursachen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This article assesses the models of Indonesia and Germany’s public radio and particularly compares the two countries’ policies regarding their broadcasters. It begins by tracing the history of the two countries’ former state-run radio and the influence of political parallelism on the radio go
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vernance. This study applies qualitative methods and finds German and Indonesian public radio has been strongly influenced by changes in their countries’ political systems. Public radio in both countries experienced similar trips in post-autocracies but reaching different destinations. Germany’s radio has experienced rapid changes and enjoyed editorial freedom. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s public radio blends government and public interventions." (Abstract)
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"The present paper builds on the findings of the previous MedMedia report (Dabbous 2015) by tracking the legal changes that occurred between early 2015 and early 2018. Whenever there are recent legal changes related to broadcasting in general, such changes are mentioned and evaluated. The objective
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is to provide a critical overview of the state of public service broadcasting and the new regulatory reforms introduced since early 2015, in order to assess the impact of the Arab Spring (directly or indirectly) on the nature and performance of the public broadcasting sector in the Southern Mediterranean region, and the extent to which the wheels that were set in motion in 2011 have resulted in an improved and more democratic public broadcasting sector in these countries – one in which the notion of “the public” is supposed to be at the core of the reform endeavor. The structure of the paper follows largely that of the 2015 MedMedia report on public service broadcasting, covering legal reform in each of the Arab countries in the South Mediterranean separately. However, only 5 of the original 8 countries included in the 2015 report are the focus of the present update: Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco." (Page 3)
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"In this comparative regional overview of the governing and funding models of public service media in the countries of South East Europe, we see a variety of solutions. The information we have gathered and presented here demonstrates once again that these media organisations use large amounts of pub
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lic money – either through the licence fee collected from households, or through state budgets, but the supervision mechanisms for their programming and finances are predominantly politically driven. Almost all governing bodies are entirely or partly appointed by parliament, and despite formal requirements for qualifications, their members are commonly appointed on the basis of political affiliation and compatibility with the political parties in power. It is not only the apparent political interests that make public service media in the region into their playground that have made these media rather devastated giants, but also the particular, private interests of the representatives of civil society, their organisations or the fields they represent. Their representation in the governing structures of the public service media in the region has often been misused and trust in the genuine representation of the public in the governing structure of public service media has been compromised. There are deep differences in the funding and governing models among the countries in the region. Particularly Hungary, with its giant PSM governing structure and solutions such as nomination of members of the Board of Governors by the political majority and opposition, or the indefinite term of office for a Director General appointed by that Board of Governors, seem to constitute an environment far from supportive of independent, open and inclusive public service media operations. The size of the governing bodies also differs significantly, but that provides no particular guarantee of quality and efficiency in their work." (Conclusions)
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"Independent media institutions are crucial for genuine democracies. The most important institutions are national and regional public service media and regulatory bodies that are responsible for the allocation of frequencies and licenses to private media, media market regulation, and protection of m
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edia independence. For this reason, it is essential to ensure the political and economic independence of public service media and of new regulatory bodies for the audio-visual sector. A key factor is the composition and function of the governing bodies and the procedures for the selection of chairpersons and general directors. In a worst-case scenario, the government is mandated to appoint members of the boards of regulatory bodies and the public service media. This jeopardises media independence and limits media’s ability to hold the government accountable towards the public. It is slightly better when members of the Parliament choose the members of these ruling bodies, because opposition parties at least will have a minority influence in the decisions. However, this type of procedure makes independent regulatory bodies and public service media accountable to political parties rather than to the public. A third procedure for choosing members to the governing bodies is used in the Western Balkans. As part of their decade-long preparation for membership of the European Union and their compliance with EU standards, the six potential candidates in Western Balkan have implemented improved media legislation and regulatory measures with regards to the ele ction of board members for public service media and regulatory bodies. The measures to protect the political independence of these institutions constitute a promising step forward but do not fully prevent undesirable politicisation. Characteristically, the potential Western Balkan EU-members (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia) explicitly define what public or civil society organisations are eligible as nominators of candidates for the governing body. In most cases, a parliamentary committee invites these nominating organisations to nominate candidates. In one country, the nominating organisations may propose four times as many candidates as the number of available seats in the governing body, whereas only the required number of candidates are nominated in other places." (Page 1)
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"Polens regierende Partei hat Ende 2015 im Eilverfahren den Rundfunkrat entmachtet. Anschließend begann die PiS, wichtige Posten im öffentlichen Rundfunk neu zu besetzen. Kritiker in Polen und anderen EU-Staaten sprechen vom „Ende eines unabhängigen öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunks in Polen“
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. Politisch unabhängig war der öffentlich-rechtliche Rundfunk in Polen allerdings auch bisher nicht. Seit zehn Jahren hat jede polnische Regierung den rechtlichen Rahmen bis aufs Äußerste strapaziert, um im Rundfunk eigene Leute unterzubringen. Die neue Regierung hat den Rahmen der Verfassung nun gesprengt." (Abstract)
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"This study constitutes the attempt to draw some initial conclusions from the work conducted by DW Akademie and other media development organizations in the past. It aims at a better understanding of which public service functions former state broadcasters can provide at all and which approaches of
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media development actors have proved to be successful.
Reforming of state mouthpieces into public service media can indeed be achieved. This is one of the most important findings of this study. DW Akademie researchers here present examples of media outlets that fulfill their public service remit of creating a public sphere and supporting integration to a substantial degree. Even among the success stories, not all the media outlets studied here have adopted a public service ethos to its full extent. Their work, however, improved considerably. In assisting reform, media development actors were thus able to enhance the public’s freedom of expression as well as its access to information – two basic human rights we see as important prerequisites for peace and democracy. On the other hand, this study shows how difficult and complex transformation is. State media are often highly politicized. Successful transformation, therefore, requires support of a lot of different actors: the political elite, civil society, the management of the broadcaster, its staff, and last but certainly not least, the public as a whole. It is vital that media development actors identify windows of opportunity and profit from them in order to propel change forward.
At the same time, this study demonstrates that media development organizations have to think beyond their traditional fields of expertise: capacity development and newsroom consultancy. A much broader approach is needed if substantial and sustainable development is to be achieved. DW Akademie is currently implementing a new, more complex strategy for successful media development cooperation that takes this into account. Political and legal frameworks have become a strategic area of activity. Other equally important areas comprise qualifications, professionalism, and economic sustainability of the media sector, participation in society, and digital change. With regard to public broadcasting, political and legal frameworks are especially important in order to ensure editorial independence of former state broadcasters. Furthermore, media development actors have to engage more in organizational development. Therefore, at the end of this study, we dedicate a whole chapter to this question.
This study of selected media outlets from twelve countries does not attempt to provide a final answer to the question of successful public service transformation. It aims at giving an overview of what has been achieved in practical work in this field in the course of the past years. More research is needed to understand which steps of reform are needed for a genuine transformation that is sustainable in the long term. The media are undergoing crucial developments. Digital change, convergence, and social media have increased pluralism of opinion substantially in many parts of the world. At the same time, the media face new challenges with respect to their economic sustainability. The notion of public service media that offer a model for providing journalistic quality without financial dependence deserves further thought." (Preface)
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"Chapter 1 describes the current, critical situation public media finds itself in, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Twenty years after the regime changes, the current trend in media politics can be best described as a “counter-reformation” rather than a progressive transition. Many publ
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ic media organisations are further away from stable and sound operation than ever, some of them teetering continuously on the brink of collapse. In a mix of cause and effect, this dire situation manifests itself in lack of funding, dearth of status among the public, a creative brain drain and waning program quality, quantity and variety. At the same time, the whole media sector comes under increasing economic pressure that is fuelled by the impact of both digitalisation and a concurrent world financial crisis. In chapter 2 the remit of public media is discussed, with a special emphasis on scrutinising the thesis of universal objectives versus the necessity to provide an acceptable level of programming diversity. Chapter 3 contains the three constitutional pillars of media regulation as identifi ed by the authors: governance, funding and access. The suggestion being that the malfunctioning of just one of these three elements would cause the disintegration of the whole system." (Page 8)
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"The majority of political elites still consider media as a central instrument for manipulating public opinion [...] Fortunately, long-standing debates illustrate that the critical attitude of journalists and civil society organisations has increased through new media developments. The demands for p
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ublic, state-independent broadcasting have been advanced and defended. As the comparison of legislative projects and concepts show, suggestions from civil society organisations have been incorporated over time. Discussions should be continued. They should be designed to involve as many civil society and political groups as well as state actors, especially the Ukrainian President, and convince them of the importance of state-distant public broadcasting. The aim of the talks should be the elaboration of a common denominator." (Conclusion)
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"This book explores the legal and regulatory systems governing public service broadcasters in eight different countries around the world, looking at the services they provide, the way in which their mandates are defined, their internal governance systems, mechanisms of oversight or accountability an
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d funding. In selecting the various countries, an attempt has been made to ensure wide geographic representation, while including only countries that have a strong commitment to public service broadcasting. Special emphasis has been placed on the strategies that have evolved over the years to ensure that public service broadcasters are not undermined by two critical phenomena: external control (political or other), particularly over editorial output, and inadequate public funding. The book outlines tested approaches to resolving these key problems, but it also highlights innovative systems that are being piloted in different countries to address some of the new challenges that face public service broadcasters." (Back cover)
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"This study provides an overview of the broadcasting environment in the ten countries covered, with a focus on regulatory systems. It outlines the constitutional framework in each country, as well as the status of international law. This is followed by a brief outline of the broadcasting sector in e
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ach country, to provide some background context to help with understanding the regulatory regime. The bulk of the study focuses on the legal framework governing public broadcasting, and the broadcast regulator and its powers and role. The study also touches on new media, particularly the internet, in each country, assessing the extent to which new media are able to serve as an alternative to more traditional broadcasters." (Introduction, page 6)
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"El estudio de los medios públicos desde la doble perspectiva jurídica y de análisis de desempeño constituye una iniciativa inédita y necesaria. Lo consideramos así porque no hay todavía distinciones conceptuales claras entre lo que son medios públicos, medios de servicio público y medios g
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ubernamentales, ni entre interés público y servicio público, por poner algunos ejemplos. Ha faltado en este sentido una mirada rigurosa de los preceptos normativos que dan rostro y sentido a lo que deben ser los medios públicos, y a la vez un análisis basado en datos objetivos sobre el comportamiento de nuestros medios gubernamentales federales." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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"Como contribuição para o debate sobre sistemas públicos de comunicação, este livro traz um estudo das experiências de mídias públicas de doze países (Alemanha, Austrália, Canadá, Colômbia, Espanha, Estados Unidos, França, Itália, Japão, Reino Unido e Venezuela), assim como uma análi
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se do caso brasileiro, e aponta os problemas e as perspectivas a serem enfrentados à luz de experiências internacionais analisadas." (Descrição da editora de livros)
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"The objectives of this handbook are as follows: to provide resources to civil society organisations in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which are seeking to achieve independent broadcasting regulation and an independent public broadcaster; to share South Africa’s experiences of s
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etting up and running independent statutory communications bodies, focusing specifically on teh Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC); to provide a user-friendly but in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the South African ‘model’ in relation to independent broadcasting; to explore the role of civil society activism in amplifying the strengths, while addressing the weaknesses of independent broadcasting in South Africa; to explore whether a balance has been struck between independence and accountability in relation to the SABC, and to look at what the challenges are on both these levels; to develop recommendations on how to strengthen the South African ‘model ‘ of public broadcasting and broadcasting regulation, while avoiding its pitfalls. Each section of the handbook will end with a series of discussion points." (Page iv)
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