Dividends of change: Can deregulation, commercialisation and media concentration strengthen public service media?
Published for 2008, RIPE@2008Josef Trappel
University of Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract
The concept of public service broadcasting has lately been framed in the public and scientific debate as eroding, vanishing and almost collapsing. Despite the fact that public service media are still performing quite strongly in audience markets, public support for this well established institution has indeed weakened. License fee payments require permanent legitimacy and the massive influx of so called “free media” (private commercial television, corporate online media, free sheets) in many European countries is questioning the license fees anew. Despite these challenges to defend the legitimacy of public service media, the international meta trends in public communication development might result in a growing need to maintain the concept of public service media.
The paper argues that the most important mass media trends might eventually strengthen the position of public service media. Commercialisation, deregulation, internationalisation, media concentration, convergence and other meta trends are likely to widen the gap between what can be called the political logic and the media logic. All these trends contribute to the strengthening of the power of big corporate media and enable them to distance themselves from democratic power structures. It is most likely that those trend-setting mass media become less interested in comprehensive information on policy processes and democracy. By this development private commercial and internationalised mass media erode their relevance to national and transnational policy institutions and policy processes. Thereby, a window of opportunity opens for public service media that are less exposed to these trends than private commercial mass media. Consequently, the relevance of public service media for the democratic process and the policy discourse increases.
There seems to be a trade off between the on-going and irreversible trends towards larger and more commercial media conglomerates with increasing economic power and the need for distinct and profound public discourse on policy issues. Contemporary democracies require information, interest mediation and control. Mass media are requested to contribute to these fundamental principles of democracy. However, the larger and more commercial corporate media become, the less they are interested to enable and fulfil these essential democratic requirements. Public service media with their remit gain strength and relevance in return. Democratic policy making requires specific forms of media coverage that is not offered by commercial transnational corporate media. Public service media are well placed to fill this important vacancy.