A Blind Spot in Public Broadcasters’ Discovery of the Public: How the Public Values Public Service

Authors

  • Natascha Just Department of Media and Information, Michigan State University
  • Moritz Büchi Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ - Institute of Mass Communication and Media, University of Zurich
  • Michael Latzer Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ - Institute of Mass Communication and Media, University of Zurich

Keywords:

public service broadcasting, accountability, public service, institutional and individual values, representative survey, structural equation modeling

Abstract

Confronted with new technological options, changing usage patterns and rising criticism, public service broadcasters (PSBs) are paying fresh attention to the public as a target for accountability. This article first investigates how PSBs are repositioning themselves through increased responsiveness to and collaboration with the public and assesses the permissibility of such strategies, bearing in mind the traditional ethos and core principles of public service. The second part reacts to the finding that, while there is much talk about the public and the need to reconnect, little is known about the public’s perception regarding the importance of the idea of public service in times of media change. Results of a Swiss representative case study show that people still consider public service highly important in times of the Internet. Unexpectedly, linear regression and structural equation modeling reveal that this assessment is virtually independent of sociodemographics and individual values.

Author Biographies

Natascha Just, Department of Media and Information, Michigan State University

Natascha Just is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Information, Michigan State University, USA. Her research centers on the development, controllability and consequences of innovation-induced media change, with a special emphasis on competition policy, market power control, public service broadcasting, changing governance structures, algorithms on the Internet, Internet platforms, as well as the evolution of Internet use and attitudes.

Moritz Büchi, Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ - Institute of Mass Communication and Media, University of Zurich

Moritz Büchi is a Senior Research and Teaching Associate in the Media Change & Innovation Division, Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ), University of Zurich, Switzerland. His research focuses on Internet use and digital inequalities, social implications of ICTs, online privacy, and social research methods. For details see mediachange.ch.

Michael Latzer, Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ - Institute of Mass Communication and Media, University of Zurich

Michael Latzer is Professor of Communications at the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ), University of Zurich, Switzerland, where he chairs the Media Change & Innovation Division. His research focuses on the co-evolution of technical, economic, political, and social innovations in the convergent communications sector, in particular on information society issues and Internet research. For details see mediachange.ch.

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Published

2017-02-28

Issue

Vol. 11 (2017)

Section

Articles

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