A Future for Public Service Television

Description

A guide to the nature, purpose, and place of public service television within a multi-platform, multichannel ecology. Television is on the verge of both decline and rebirth. Vast technological change has brought about financial uncertainty as well as new creative possibilities for producers, distributors, and viewers. This volume from Goldsmiths Press examines not only the unexpected resilience of TV as cultural pastime and aesthetic practice but also the prospects for public service television in a digital, multichannel ecology. The proliferation of platforms from Amazon and Netflix to YouTube and the vlogosphere means intense competition for audiences traditionally dominated by legacy broadcasters. Public service broadcasters—whether the BBC, the German ARD, or the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation—are particularly vulnerable to this volatility. Born in the more stable political and cultural conditions of the twentieth century, they face a range of pressures on their revenue, their remits, and indeed their very futures. This book reflects on the issues raised in Lord Puttnam's 2016 Public Service TV Inquiry Report, with contributions from leading broadcasters, academics, and regulators. With resonance for students, professionals, and consumers with a stake in British media, it serves both as historical record and as a look at the future of television in an on-demand age. Contents Part One: Introduction Foreword • Lord Puttnam Introduction: The Long Revolution • Des Freedman Part Two: Contexts and Reflections 1 Reflection on A Future for Public Service Television • Mark Thompson 2 Public Service Television and the Crisis of Content • Jon Thoday 3 TV Advertising for All Seasons • Tess Alps 4 Inventing Public Service Media • Amanda D. Lotz 5 Does Public Service Television Really Give Consumers Less Good Value for Money than the Rest of the Market? • Patrick Barwise 6 The Future of Television in the US • Jennifer Holt 7 Pressures on Public Service Media: Insights from a Comparative Analysis of 12 Democracies • Matthew Powers 8 Public Service in Europe: Five Key Points • Trine Syvertsen and Gunn Enli 9 Diversity: Reflection and Review • Sarita Malik 10 The BBC: A Brief Future History, 2017– 2022 • David Hendy 11 Public Service Algorithms • James Bennett Part Three: Principles and Purposes of Public Service Television 12 Television and Public Service: A Brief History • Extract from Chapter 1 of the Puttnam Report 13 Principles of Public Service for the 21st Century • Georgina Born 14 The Purposes of Broadcasting – Revisited • Julian Petley 15 Back to the Future: The Uses of Television in the Digital Age • Michael Bailey 16 Television, Quality of Life and the Value of Culture • David Hesmondhalgh 17 Shouting Toward Each Other: Economics, Ideology and Public Service Television Policy • Robert G. Picard 18 Everything for Someone: For an Inclusive Definition of Public Service Broadcasting • Brett Mills 19 Debating ‘Distinctiveness’: How Useful a Concept is it in Measuring the Value and Impact of the BBC? • Peter Goddard 20 The BBC: A Radical Rethink • Justin Schlosberg 21 Ensuring the Future of Public Service Television for the Benefit of Citizens • Voice of the Listener & Viewer 22 The Social and Cultural Purposes of Television Today • Equity Part Four: Public Service Television in an On-Demand World 23 Taking the Principles of Public Service Media into the Digital Ecology • Georgina Born 24 Television in a Rapidly Changing World: Content, Platforms and Channels • Extract from Chapter 3 of the Puttnam Report 25 New Sources of Public Service Content • Extract from Chapter 7 of the Puttnam Report 26 Designing a New Model of Public Service Television (PST) • Robin Foster 27 Public Service Broadcasting as a Digital Commons • Graham Murdock 28 ‘Public Service’ in a Globalised Digital Landscape • Ingrid Volkmer 29 Video-on-Demand as Public Service Television • Catherine Johnson 30 Do We Still Need Public Service Television? • Luke Hyams Part Five: Representing Britain on TV 31 Television and Diversity • Extract from Chapter 8 of the Puttnam Report 32 Public Service Television in the Nations and Regions • Extract from Chapter 9 of the Puttnam Report 33 Are You Being Heard? • Lenny Henry 34 Skills and Training Investment Vital to the Success of Public Service Broadcasting • Creative Skillset 35 The Media Cannot Reflect Society if Society is Not Reflected in the Media • Creative Access 36 Does Television Represent Us? • Ken Loach 37 Public Service Television in Wales • Caitriona Noonan and Sian Powell 38 Public Service Broadcasting: A View from Scotland • Robert Beveridge Part Six: Content Diversity 39 Content Diversity • Extract from Chapter 10 of the Puttnam Report 40 Children and Public Service Broadcasting • Sonia Livingstone and Claire Local 41 Public Service Television and Sports Rights • Paul Smith and Tom Evens 42 Securing the Future for Arts Broadcasting • Caitriona Noonan and Amy Genders 43 Public Service Television and Civic Engagement • Daniel Jackson 44 Tunnel Vision: The Tendency for BBC Economic and Business News to Follow Elite Opinion and Exclude Other Credible Perspectives • Gary James Merrill Part Seven: Recommendations and Afterword 45 How to Strengthen Public Service Television • Chris Tryhorn 46 Recommendations of the Puttnam Report • Extract from Chapter 12 of the Puttnam Report Afterword • Vana Goblot and Natasha Cox Contributors List of Illustrations Index