The Purposes of Broadcasting – Revisited

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Petley
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Significant Part ◽  
Public Service Broadcasting ◽  
Conservative Government ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Uk

This chapter focuses on a report on the future of broadcasting in the UK commissioned in 1960 by the then Conservative government. It suggests that the most significant part of the report for current debates about the future of the BBC in particular, and of public service broadcasting in general, is its robust and combative dismissal of the populist approach to television — an approach which thoroughly infused many of the attacks on the report and which has become a hallmark of the many onslaughts on public service broadcasting in the intervening years. Today, we desperately need an analysis of both the strengths and weaknesses of public service broadcasting as it currently exists, as well as a blueprint for its future, which is as profound, challenging, well-informed, and intellectually self-confident as was the report when it was published in 1962.

scholarly journals Public Service Broadcasting: The challenge of representing ethnic minority audiences

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-51
Author(s):  
Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Target Audience ◽  
Radio Station ◽  
Director General ◽  
Public Service Broadcasting ◽  
Media Construction ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk

This paper examines the problems the BBC has in engaging and representing minority audiences. The Director General of the BBC, Tony Hall, has claimed that he wants the future BBC to “represent every family and community in the UK” (June 2014). Not an easy feat when the BBC’s own research indicates that it is failing to attract ethnic minority audiences (BBC Service Review 2012). Critics such as Hall (1990) have suggested the problem is the media construction of “race” as an issue and its definitions. The paper will focus on the BBC Asian Network, a radio station which was almost closed down in 2010, ostensibly because it was the most expensive BBC radio service to operate, and had very low listener figures. Producers and Editors explain the issues they face in attracting and retaining the target audience.

Children and Public Service Broadcasting

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Livingstone ◽  
Claire Local
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Television Viewing ◽  
Children's Television ◽  
Online Content ◽  
Public Service Broadcasting ◽  
On Demand ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Television Plays

Much has been said about the future of public service content, the growth of multiple platforms, new market and regulatory pressures, and changing audience preferences and practices, among other widely debated topics. However, little attention has been paid to the role that public service television plays in educating, entertaining, and broadening the horizons of children in the UK. This chapter focuses on how public service television can better serve a child audience that spends on average at least 35 hours per week consuming broadcast, on-demand, and online content. It discusses how children still view public service television on a television set; whether children's television viewing really in decline; the case for online provision of children's public service television; the case for online provision for children of other public service content; and the case for enhancing the ‘discoverability’ of children's public service content.

De publieke-omroepopdracht in de ogen van het publiek: survey-onderzoek naar de toekomstige taak van de Vlaamse publieke omroep

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Dhoest ◽  
Hilde Van den Bulck ◽  
Heidi Vandebosch ◽  
Myrte Dierckx
Keyword(s):  
Survey Research ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Broadcasting ◽  
Future Role ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Service Broadcasting ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
The Future ◽  
Current Task

The public broadcasting remit in the eyes of the audience: survey research into the future role of Flemish public service broadcasting The public broadcasting remit in the eyes of the audience: survey research into the future role of Flemish public service broadcasting In view of the discussion about the future position of public service broadcasting, this research investigates the expectations of Flemings regarding their public service broadcasting institution VRT. Based on the current task description of the VRT, a survey was effectuated among a representative sample of Flemings (N=1565). Questions were asked about the content (broad or complementary to commercial broadcasting), audience (broad or niche) and distinctive nature of public service broadcasting. The analysis shows that, overall, Flemings are in favour of a broad public service broadcasting institution with a strong focus on entertainment (besides information), oriented towards a broad audience. At the same time, they believe the institution should distinguish itself from its competitors, through quality, social responsibility, cultural identity and (particularly creative) innovation, among other things. Cluster analysis shows that the call to prioritize culture and education over entertainment, which dominates public debate, is representative of only a minority (20%) of highly educated Flemings.

Securing the Future for Arts Broadcasting

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitriona Noonan ◽  
Amy Genders
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Public Service Broadcasting ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Deliberate Strategy ◽  
Arts Programming

Research commissioned by Ofcom categorises arts television as a genre ‘at risk’ of disappearing as relatively small audiences are unable to offset increased production costs. A decline is also evident in Ofcom's own research which finds that in the five years to 2011, spending on arts programming by the five main terrestrial broadcasters fell by 39 per cent. This decline is the confluence of a number of factors. Decreases in commissioning and production budgets mean fewer resources for producers. Within specialist factual genres such as arts, this can have a limiting effect on the coverage of the subject, access to expertise, and the aesthetics of the final programme. Without a deliberate strategy to save it, the downward trajectory of arts content on British public service broadcasting is unlikely to be reversed.

Devolution and Communications Policy in Scotland

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Schlesinger
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Political Class ◽  
Communications Policy ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Public Service Broadcasting ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
The Media ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Media Concentration

This chapter illustrates how ‘most of the Holyrood political class has been reluctant to explore the boundaries between the devolved and the reserved’, even on less life-and-death issues such as broadcasting. Conversely, it also tells of at least one post-devolution success story for classic informal pre-devolution-style ‘Scottish lobbying’ in Westminster. Scotland is presently one of the UK's leading audiovisual production centres, with Glasgow as the linchpin. The capacity of the Scottish Parliament to debate questions of media concentration but also its incapacity to act legislatively has been observed. There are both political and economic calculations behind the refusal to devolve powers over the media via the Communications Act 2003. Ofcom now has a key role in policing the terms of trade for regional production that falls within a public service broadcaster's target across the UK. The BBC's position as the principal vehicle of public service broadcasting has come increasingly under question. The Gaelic Media Service set up under the Communications Act 2003 has a line of responsibility to Ofcom in London. Scottish Advisory Committee on Telecommunications (SACOT) determined four key regulatory issues needing future attention by Ofcom.

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