Editing Public broadcasting

{{short description|Media outlet whose primary mission is public service}}
{{redirect|Public service broadcasting|4=other uses|5=Public service broadcasting (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|State media}}

'''Public broadcasting''' (or '''public service broadcasting''') is radio, television, and other electronic [[media outlets]] whose primary mission is [[public service]] with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including [[broadcast receiving licence|license]] fees, individual contributions and donations, public financing, and corporate underwriting.<ref name="unesco" /><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Public Service Broadcasting |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/public-service-broadcasting/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321175801/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/public-service-broadcasting/ |archive-date=2022-03-21 |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=UNESCO}}</ref> 

A public service broadcaster  should operate as a [[Nonpartisanship|non-partisan]], [[Nonprofit organization|non-profit]] entity, guided by a clear public interest mandate. PSBs must be safeguarded from external interference—especially of a political or commercial nature—in matters related to [[governance]], budgeting, and editorial decision-making. The PSB model relies on an independent and transparent system of governance, encompassing key areas such as editorial policy, managerial appointments, and financial oversight.<ref>https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/the-media-landscape-in-28-countries-results-from-a-uis-pilot-survey-2012-en.pdf</ref>

Common media include [[AM broadcasting|AM]], [[FM broadcasting|FM]], and [[shortwave broadcasting|shortwave radio]]; television; and the Internet. Public broadcasting may be nationally or locally operated, depending on the country and the station. In some countries a single organization runs public broadcasting. Other countries have multiple public-broadcasting organizations operating regionally or in different languages. Historically, public broadcasting was once the dominant or only form of broadcasting in many countries (with the notable exceptions of the United States, Mexico, and Brazil). [[Commercial broadcasting]] now also exists in most of these countries; the number of countries with only public broadcasting declined substantially during the latter part of the 20th century.{{Citation needed|date= August 2011}}

==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.

==Economics==
Public broadcasters may receive their funding from an obligatory [[television licence]] fee, individual contributions, government funding or commercial sources. Public broadcasters do not rely on advertising to the same degree as commercial broadcasters, or at all; this allows public broadcasters to transmit programmes that are not commercially viable to the [[mass market]], such as [[Public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] shows, [[radio documentary|radio]] and television documentaries, and [[educational programme]]s.

One of the principles of public broadcasting is to provide coverage of interests for which there are missing or small markets. Public broadcasting attempts to supply topics of social benefit that are otherwise not provided by commercial broadcasters. Typically, such underprovision is argued to exist when the benefits to viewers are relatively high in comparison to the benefits to advertisers from contacting viewers.<ref name=andcoate /> This frequently is the case in undeveloped countries that normally have low benefits to advertising.<ref name=andcoate>{{cite journal|author1=Simon P. Anderson|author2=Stephen Coate|title=Market Provision of Broadcasting: A Welfare Analysis|journal=[[The Review of Economic Studies]]|date=October 2005|volume=72|issue=4|pages=947–972 |doi=10.1111/0034-6527.00357 }}</ref>

An alternative funding model proposed by [[Michael Slaby]] is to give every citizen credits they can use to pay qualified media sources for civic information and reporting.<ref>{{cite book |title=For All the People |author=Michael Slaby |year=2021 |publisher=Disruption Books |isbn=978-1-63331-051-3 |page=145}}</ref>

==Cultural policy==
Additionally, public broadcasting may facilitate the implementation of a [[cultural policy]] (an [[industrial policy]] and [[investment policy]] for culture). Examples include:

*In Australia, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] is legally required to 'encourage and promote the musical, dramatic and other performing arts in Australia' and 'broadcasting programmes that contribute to a sense of national identity' with specific emphasis on regional and rural Australia'.<ref>Charter of the Corporation (ABC). [http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/ABCcharter.htm Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983: Section 6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123121622/http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/ABCcharter.htm |date=2007-11-23 }}.</ref> Furthermore, the [[Special Broadcasting Service]] (SBS) is intended to reflect the spirit and sense of multicultural richness and the unique international cultural values within Australian society.

==See also==
* [[List of public broadcasters by country]]
* [[Community broadcasting]]
* [[Editorial independence]]
* [[Independent media]]
* [[International broadcasting]]
* [[Press freedom]]
* [[State media]]

== Citations ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{Cite book|title=Public service broadcasting in the age of globalization|editor1-first=Indrajit|editor1-last=Banerjee|editor2-first=Kalinga|editor2-last=Seneviratne|publisher=Asian Media Information and Communication Centre|year=2006|isbn=981-4136-01-8}}
* {{Cite book |title=Public broadcasting for the 21st century|volume=17|series=Acamedia research monographs|first=Marc|last=Raboy|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1995|isbn=1-86020-006-0}}
*Linke, Benjamin (2016), ''Public Financing of Public Service Broadcasting and its Qualification as State Aid'', Peter Lang, {{ISBN|978-3-631-66568-8}}
* {{Cite book |title=Public service broadcasting in transition: a documentary reader|first1=Monroe Edwin|last1=Price|first2=Marc|last2=Raboy|publisher=Kluwer Law International|year=2003|isbn=90-411-2212-5|url=http://cgcs.asc.upenn.edu/fileLibrary/PDFs/PSB_in_Transition.pdf|access-date=2011-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117172904/http://cgcs.asc.upenn.edu/fileLibrary/PDFs/PSB_in_Transition.pdf|archive-date=2012-01-17|url-status=dead}}

==External links==

* [https://www.pmcc.org Public Media Content Collective]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051031032200/http://www.article19.org/pdfs/standards/modelpsblaw.pdf A Model Public Service Broadcasting Law] (2005) by [[Article 19]]
* [https://www.airmedia.org AIR, the Association for Independents in Radio]

=== By country ===

* [http://www.apts.org America's Public Television Stations]
* [http://americanarchive.org American Archive of Public Broadcasting]
* [http://www.radiopomost.pl The Public Polish Radio Program Directors Association]

{{Broadcasting}}
{{Public services}}
{{Telecommunications}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Public broadcasting}}
[[Category:Public broadcasting| ]]
[[Category:Radio formats]]