Paulo Faustino was the local organizer of the RIPE@2024 conference. He is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Porto, Portugal, and has been a visiting researcher at various European and North American universities. Paulo was co-founder and former President/Chairman of the International Media Management Academic Association (IMMAA), co-founder and board member of the European Media Management Association (EMMA), and has served on the scientific board of international academic events such as the World Media Economics Conference. He also is a member of the Opinion Council of the Portuguese public broadcaster RTP.
The theme of the RIPE@2024 conference was “Public Service Media for Innovation and Sustainability”. In your opinion, what were the main outcomes of the conference in terms of its theme?
The RIPE conference generated three main types of results, namely the generation and sharing of knowledge about international trends in the activity of PSM in an international context; the contact with concrete realities about PSM governance challenges based on the specific case of RTP which can be generalized to other operators; and the identification of more specific areas that constitute lines of research related to the levels of PSM performance. In this context, innovation, economic, financial and environmental sustainability in PSM are issues of great relevance and, at the same time, concern since, as in other industries, PSM is part of an increasingly competitive context that requires new approaches to content management and production. Moreover, there is a need to innovate and adopt more sustainable management practices, both from a financial point of view and from an environmental perspective in order to reduce the negative impact of its operations on the ecological footprint. The conference papers presented reflections and recommendations that may serve as relevant guidelines for the general activity of PSM operators, who face the additional challenge of having to reconcile rational management of resources and accountability for the obligations imposed on them with the need to remain relevant for audiences in an increasingly broad but fragmented market.
You are a member of the Opinion Council of RTP, one of the co-hosts of the conference. What are the main issues and challenges that the Council is currently dealing with?
The Opinion Council is an integral part of RTP’s governance and represents civil society through its 32 members, who are nominated by different organizations, such as diaspora associations or the Assembly of the Republic. In this sense, the great challenge is to know how to correctly interpret the interests of society against the background of the PSM’s activity, from a journalistic, informative and entertainment point of view. The Council is also faced with the challenge of understanding society’s demands from the point of view of the management and application of resources that are charged to citizens, and which guarantee the functioning and financing, as well as the legitimization of PSM. To this end, the Opinion Council organizes forms of discussion and exchange of knowledge such as conferences, seminars or studies, to generate information and to be able to make recommendations to RTP officials, as well as drafting opinions, which can contribute to greater convergence between citizens’ interests and the informative, educational, cultural and recreational content developed by the PSM. The Opinion Council is thus a partner, with autonomy of thought and its own actions, which can contribute to generating information and sharing knowledge that will help RTP improve its performance and converge with the interests of civil society.
Which topics affecting Public Service Media do you feel will require the most involvement of both researchers and practitioners in the short future?
PSM assumes renewed importance in promoting a more plural, enlightened and democratic society, and actively contributes to the generation of positive externalities for the economic, social, educational and cultural development of countries. In this sense, PSM researchers and professionals today must seek and rely on information that can guide them in responding to some of the main challenges that are associated with the following questions: First, what are the roles and functions of public media services in addressing such a broad and complex range of societal challenges? Second, what can PSM do to strengthen political and popular support in pursuing a truly contemporary mission to help ensure development and sustainability? Third, how can national PSM organizations effectively compete with international digital media giants who refuse editorial responsibilities, to be a counterweight and potential antidote? Fourth, how can and should PSM organizations, managers and workers support and facilitate the achievement of economic and financial sustainability goals that are important for everyone in all societies?
What would your advice be for a young scholar who is starting to work around Public Service Media?
Digital technologies have caused enormous disruption and great instability in social communication systems and businesses around the world. In this context, young researchers have immense opportunities to create and add value, through new and traditional lines of research that correspond to the new realities and demands of society. Therefore, the main advice I can give is to reconcile fundamental research with practical research, supported wherever possible by methods and techniques for collecting empirical information. In this context, qualitative approaches remain fundamental, but we need more empirical research and new ways of thinking about PSM, including not only the content it produces and transmits, but also its wider social, cultural and economic impacts, including its role in boosting the creative industry. It is also important to develop critical thinking and to frame research in the context of the ecosystem and market forces in which PSM companies operate, which means a more empirical view and understanding of reality. In this sense, it is very important to understand the main axes that support and guide PSM activity, such as innovation practices and technology adoption, corporate and social responsibility, transparency and accountability, partnerships and cooperation, values, mission and purpose, editorial impartiality and independence, funding model and sustainability, inclusion, diversity and access, quality and diversity of content, and adaptation to market dynamics.