Advancing knowledge and global collaborations on Public Service Media
About IAPMR
Our mission
The International Association for Public Media Researchers (IAPMR) advances contemporary theory and actionable research to clarify, support and facilitate the development of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) and Public Service Media (PSM) as a vital requirement to safeguard democratic interests and practices in the 21st century. The Association links institutions, organizations and individuals in creative collaboration.
Our vision
A world with strong and sustainable PSM serving all citizens and available to all nations.
Our values
- Commitment to the public service ethos and democratic ideals
- Commitment to diversity and equity in all its forms and features
- Identification and promotion of empirical and theoretical research
- Encourage innovation in conceptualization and practices in PSM/ PSB
- Integrity in all activities to ensure responsibility and accountability
Our activities
- Access to knowledge. IAPMR is a digital-first networked association that produces online events and shares research and other information such as newsletter and policy briefs, to increase the visibility of theoretical and empirical research on PSM.
- Cross-disciplinary networking. IAPMR facilitates novel cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborations on and around research about the development and sustainability of PSM. The Association engages researchers from disciplines within and beyond the traditional fields of PSM scholarship to enable cross-fertilization, interdisciplinary development, and innovative results.
- Scholar-practitioner collaboration. IAPMR liaises with PSM organizations and any specifically related creative communities for common interests and a shared interest in co-operation.
- Support for future PSM scholarship. IAPMR strongly supports young scholars in all its activities.
- Continuation of RIPE. IAPMR assists the RIPE@ international initiative for public service in media, including organization of RIPE@ conferences.
The Leadership Team
- Joint Presidents.
Alessandro D’Arma and Maria Michalis (University of Westminster) - Vice President.
Minna Horowitz (University of Helsinki) - Treasurer.
Michael-Bernard Zita (University of Vienna) - Secretary & Young Scholars.
Marta Rodríguez-Castro (University of Santiago de Compostela) - Industry Liaison Officer.
Florence Hartmann (European Broadcasting Union – EBU) - RIPE Chairperson.
Gregory Ferrell Lowe (Northwestern University, Qatar)
Our partners
We collaborate with the Public Media Alliance – PMA (see our joint resource page), with the University of Westminster, with the Central European University – the Center for Media Data and Society, and the Polish Communication Association’s Karol Jakubowicz Book Award.
NEWS
- Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz AwardWe already know the winners of this year’s Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award! The book “Datafication of Public Opinion and the Public Sphere: How Extraction Replaced Expression of Opinion”…
- Act Now!A new European public service media initiative, ActNow!, is currently taking shape, advocating for an Internet for the Public Good and an European Digital Public Sphere. As an umbrella coalition…
- Sign the Public Service Media and Public Service Internet Manifesto!The Public Service Media and Public Service Internet Manifesto is a result of the online discussion and consultation of the #InnoPSM project. Over 1200 persons already signed – join them.
Upcoming
RIPE@2024…
…will take place in Lisbon, Portugal. Subscribe to our Newsletter to be informed in time.
Resources
- RIPE@2021 Book publishedThe new RIPE@2021 “Public Service Media’s Contribution to Society“, edited by Manuel Puppis and Christopher Ali was published by the longtime partner NORDICOM. Please read the abstract for full details:…
- PSM Research and ResourcesIn case you missed it, remember that you can find the latest research on Public Service Media (reports, papers, books, policy briefs…) on the website of the Public Media Alliance (PMA). This…
Interviews
- Gillian DoyleGillian Doyle is Professor of Media Economics at the School of Culture & Creative Arts of the University of Glasgow. With a background on Economics, Gillian Doyle worked as a media equities analyst and as…
- A conversation with Philip Napoli and Marius DragomirOne of the key events of the RIPE@2022 Conference in Vienna was the keynote of Marius Dragomir and Phil Napoli on the state of independent journalism. We had the chance to chat with them about…
- Gregory LoweDr. Gregory Ferrell Lowe is professor in residence at the Northwestern University in Qatar, where he is also the Director of the Communication Program. Besides his broad academic experience in Tampere University, he has also…
Emerging Scholar’s Corner
- Helen JayHelen Jay is a doctoral student in the Media and Communications department at the University of Westminster. Her research project is focused on whether the ‘public service’ intervention in UK broadcasting policy can inform contemporary…
- Fiona FehlmannFiona Fehlman is a Research Associate at the Institute of Applied Media Studies at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). She recently obtained a Ph.D. in media studies with her work on the legitimacy of public…
- Eleonora MazzoliEleonora Maria Mazzoli has a background in media management and economics, governance, media and digital policy. Holding a BA from Bocconi University in Management and Economics for Arts Cultural and Communication, a RMA from Utrecht…
- Dominik SpeckDominik Speck is Research Assistant at the Institut für Journalistik of the Technische Universität Dortmund, where he is developing his PhD on the topic of transparency of public service media organizations in four European countries.…
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Webinars IAPMR@Dialogues
EBU: Research foci and opportunities for academic collaboration
The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere and Public Service Media in the Age of Digital Capitalism and COVID-19
Prof Karen Donders
Building Bridges: PSM law, theory and practice
Prof Lizzie Jackson
Bricolage & Fluidity: Towards ‘Post Channel’ PSM?

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All RIPE publications are available in Open Access

Other Recommended Publications

The Public Service Media and Public Service Internet Manifesto
Publication Website (Open Access Publication)
Our history












IAPMR builds on the so-called RIPE initiative, a network, series of conferences, as well as widely known readers on trends in public service media. The initiative was started in 2001 by Gregory Ferrell Lowe, who was a Senior Advisor for Corporate Development at the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), then a Professor at the University of Tampere, and now a professor at the Northwestern University in Qatar. Colleagues supporting this initiative in the early years, and contributing significantly as partners to its launch and subsequent development, include Jo Bardoel, University of Amsterdam, Taisto Hujanen (University of Tampere), John Jackson (Concordia University), Per Jauert (University of Aarhus) and Alan G. Stavitsky (University of Oregon).
Today the RIPE network continues its activities with hundreds of contributors and is growing every year. IAPMR, first led by President Lizzie Jackson (London South Bank University) and Vice President Christine Horz (the Applied University of Cologne), became an association registered in Austria, in 2021, under the current leadership team. IAPMR continues to support the RIPE initiative in all its activities.