In each issue of our newsletter, the research round-up draws your attention to a specific topic that can resonate among PSM scholars and practitioners. In this issue, we selected three recent publications that revolve around the theme of the RIPE@2024 conference: Public service media, innovation and sustainability. The forthcoming conference volume will add to the availability of research on this issue.
Sabela Direito-Rebollal and Karen Donders | Communications, 2023
Public service media as drivers of innovation: A case study analysis of policies and strategies in Spain, Ireland, and Belgium.
This article studies the innovation priorities of the three broadcasters RTVE (Spain), RTÉ (Ireland) and VRT (Belgium). Based on a literature review, the authors identify four areas where PSM could – at least theoretically – innovate: technology, content development, connecting with audiences, and organizational innovation. Analyzing strategy and policy documents, the study shows that the broadcasters mainly emphasize technological innovation, such as distribution strategies in a multi-platform environment, but tend to neglect more elaborate means of user-centrism and audience participation, such as co-creation of content or involvement in strategic decision-making.
Read the full paper here.
César Fieiras Ceide, Martín Vaz Álvarez and Miguel Túñez López | Communication & Society, 2024
Building the future of European Public Service Media: innovation priorities, key points and optimization areas in PSM.
Based on interviews with senior managers from 15 European public broadcasting corporations as well as a representative of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), this article uncovers the priorities, key areas for improvement, as well as strategic considerations and future expectations of PSM organizations in terms of innovation. The authors conclude that, in addition to improving PSM VOD platforms, stable community building and more sustainable outreach to young audiences, the broadcasters surveyed place particular emphasis on the implementation of high technology, such as AI, in production and distribution. In doing so, public broadcasters combine both incremental and disruptive forms of innovation, while dealing with cultural, technical and budgetary barriers.
Read the full paper here.
Paul Clemens Murschetz, Franzisca Weder, Eduard Frantz and Timo Meynhardt | Book chapter in SDG18 Communication for all, Vol. 2 (edited by Jan Servaes and Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u), Palgrave Macmillan, 2023
Public Service Media and Sustainability? A Critical Debate of the Value of Public Service Media in Supporting the SDG18 (Communication for All).
Drawing on the Public Value framework and in particular the Public Value Scorecard model, this theoretical contribution explores how PSM could help to foster the Sustainable Development Goals 18 (Communication for All). It argues that measurements of PSM performance need to include broader and more qualitative criteria, such as improving the well-being of individuals and societies across different dimensions. The authors discuss three propositions: 1) PSM must rethink their public value, 2) PSM must endorse new performance measurement approaches, and 3) PSM are dedicated arbiters of SDG18. Their chapter provides a valuable contribution to the debate on how to reconsider the public value of PSM and its measurement in a way that is both innovative and sustainable.
Read the full chapter here.