From ‘Content Providers’ to ‘Key Social Structures’: a Turn to Practice in Citizens’ Discourses on Spanish Public Service Television (TVE)

This work analyses the evolution of citizens’ discourses on public service broadcasting in Spain before and after the wave of social unrest occurring between 2011 and 2013. A shift from a demand for barely defined towards more specific content, relating to the very structure of public service broadcasting, was detected. On the basis of an analysis of 11 focus groups formed by viewers of Televisión Española (TVE) and performed in two stages (2008-2009 and 2014-2016), a paradigm definable as a ‘turn to practice’ is confirmed. It has been observed that the practices pertaining to that paradigm have advocated for convergence and collaboration in the fields of information, the arts, critical thinking and certain institutional policies, which are also present in the citizenry’s definition of public service broadcasting. This has led viewers to call for a greater say in public service broadcasting and to emphasise communitarian forms of relating to it.

Why children’s news matters: The case of CBBC Newsround in the UK

There has never been a greater need for reliable, truthful news to help citizens navigate and assess the veracity of what they are reading and viewing, especially on social media. Widespread concerns around ‘fake’ news demonstrate an enduring requirement for curated and trustworthy children’s news that addresses children as young citizens with certain rights. Drawing on recent UK events, we discuss the case for children’s news provision by public service broadcasting (PSB) from a communication rights perspective by analyzing the BBC’s 2019 plans to reduce the broadcast presence and originated hours of its flagship news service, Newsround, in favor of online distribution.

The platformisation of public service broadcasting in Germany: The network ‘funk’ and the case of Druck/Skam Germany

This article investigates how platformisation changes the practices of content production and distribution through the case of the web series, Druck (tr. Pressure (2018–), for the public service content network ‘funk’ (ARD and ZDF). An analysis of the German adaptation of the Norwegian television and web series Skam (tr. Shame) (NRK3, 2015–2017) shows how public service broadcasting (PSB) in Germany is changing due to the influence of social media. To reach a younger audience, PSB has to meet them on third-party platforms. Consequently, PSB must provide content that fits the mobile media environment of social media.