Public Service Media

Abstract

If we want to understand cultural intermediation within media organizations, we should look at the case of PSM as a leading innovative organization that has a history of engaging large groups of individuals to co-create cultural goods. PSM requires a particular kind of media organization in that it is unique to the country in which it resides. They are neither state media operations nor are they a commercial media organization: They are often a combination of commercial, subscription and government-funded operations that are arranged around facilitating national culture and providing an array of public services. PSM is guided by a particular set of values, often referred to as its PSM remit, which is built upon the traditional values of the BBC, often referenced as the founding model of public service broadcasting. Termed ‘Reithian values’ after the first Director General of the BBC, Sir John Reith, these PSM values include concepts such as the application of core principles of universality of availability and appeal, provision for minorities, education of the public, distance from vested interests, quality programming standards, programme maker independence and fostering of national culture and the public sphere (Cunningham in Hidden innovation: Policy, industry and the creative sector, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, 2013). Through these values, PSM organizations located in all regions of the globe are positioned to produce, procure and distribute a particular kind of media for its citizens. This chapter explores the formation of public service broadcasting, the semantic shift towards public service media’s use of technologies to engage in new production and distribution of public services, and locates public service media within co-creation. In doing so, this chapter looks at several co-creative projects facilitated through PSM organizations around the globe including the BBC’s Connected Studio, the CBC’s Your News project and NPR’s StoryCorp. In doing so, this chapter explores audience participation in media organizations from a global and comparative perspective, highlighting how audiences, producers and organizations are approaching co-creation in different geographic locations through cultural intermediation.