Editing Public broadcasting (section)

==Definition==
The primary mission of public broadcasting is that of public service, speaking to and engaging as a citizen.<ref name=unesco>{{cite web|title=Public Broadcasting – Why, How?|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001240/124058eo.pdf|publisher=UNESCO & World Radio and Television Council|access-date=17 August 2011|archive-date=27 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227154513/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001240/124058eo.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The British model is often referenced in definitions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nosuch-research.co.uk/pppp.html|title=BRU definition of public service broadcasting|access-date=13 October 2014|archive-date=8 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808194952/http://www.nosuch-research.co.uk/pppp.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=raboy>{{cite book|last=Raboy|first=Marc|title=Public broadcasting for the 21st century|year=1995|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=1-86020-006-0|pages=6–10}}</ref><ref name=psbGlobal>{{cite book|last=Banerjee|first=Indrajit|title=Public service broadcasting in the age of globalization|year=2006|publisher=Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC)|isbn=981-4136-01-8}}</ref> The model embodies the following principles:

* Universal geographic accessibility
* Universal appeal
* Attention to minorities ("special provision for minorities")
* Contribution to national identity and sense of community
* Distance from vested interests
* Direct funding and universality of payment
* Encourage competition "in good programming rather than competition for numbers"
* Guidelines that liberate rather than restrict

While the application of certain principles may be straightforward, as in the case of accessibility, some of the principles may be poorly defined or difficult to implement. In the context of a shifting national identity, the role of public broadcasting may be unclear. Likewise, the subjective nature of good programming may raise the question of individual or public taste.<ref name=raboy/>

Within public broadcasting there are two different views regarding commercial activity. One is that public broadcasting is incompatible with commercial objectives. The other is that public broadcasting can and should compete in the marketplace with commercial broadcasters. This dichotomy is highlighted by the public service aspects of traditional commercial broadcasters.<ref name=raboy/>

Public broadcasters in each jurisdiction may or may not be synonymous with government controlled broadcasters.