Public Service Mediain the Digital Age

Annenberg Research Network for International Communications

April 11, 2008

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Public Media in the USBuilt on Broadcasting Model

• CPB, PBS, NPR established 1967-1970• Still retain high level of public trust• But audience for public TV declining

– and aging

• Like commercial broadcasters, pubcasters slow to adapt to new media environment

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Old and New Media Environment

For-Profit Public/Nonprofit

Vertical

(aka old media)

Horizontal

(aka new media)

Broadcast TV, radio

Cable, satellite TV

Most newspapers and magazines

Telco TV

CPB

PBS - 355 stations

NPR - 860 stations

YouTube

Flickr

Huffington Post

Current TV

MySpace, Facebook

Low Power FM

Public Access TV

Many blogs

Wikipedia, Wikinews

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How Does New Media Differ from Old?

• Participation by “the people formerly known as the audience” – User generated content (UGC)– Collaborative production and filtering– Digital, peer-to-peer distribution– Many-to-many communication

• Abundance of content, both good and bad• More narrowly focused media channels that

serve distinct communities (?)

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Pubcasters Face Difficult Transition

• Broadcast culture wants centralized control– Seeks UGC while still retaining editorial filters– Uncomfortable with participatory production and

distribution models

• Need to form alliances with new partners• Need strategies to cope with constant change• Public funding makes risk-taking difficult

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Innovations by US Pubcasters

• Podcasts from NPR and member stations• NPR Mobile Web and Voice (beta)• PRX - Public Radio Exchange• Vocalo - Chicago Public Radio• Digital Distribution Consortium (radio)• PBS KIDS Online• PBS content distribution via BitTorrent

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UK Public Service Media Evolution

• BBC moving into new media across many fronts– iPlayer provides on-demand access to BBC TV content– Mobile browser service to news, sports, weather sites– Staff of >1000 in Future Media & Technology Group

• But participatory content models slow to take hold– “Our DNA remains one-to-many” (Richard Sambrook,

Director, BBC Global News, March 2008)

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UK Plan for Public Service Publishers On Hold

• UK Regulator (Ofcom) proposed PSPs in 2004 – Commission and/or create participatory content for

digital distribution– Provide local services using new media– Bring new competition to BBC

• PSP concept shelved in March 2008 due to “unheralded diversity of interactive media”

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Where’s the Public Interest in Public Media Evolution?

• What priorities for US public media in the new environment?– In-depth news and other content?– Serving the underserved?– Education or other “public service” applications?– Support for participatory democratic processes

and values?

• Rely on existing entities or build new ones?• What public resources are required?

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Placeholder for Sasha’s Section

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Principles of Public New Media

• Participatory– User generated content (UGC)– Collaborative production and filtering– Digital, peer-to-peer distribution– Many-to-many communication

• Free and open content, formats, infrastructure

• Content distributed across multiple platforms

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Prospective Case Study Examples for New Public Media

• PRX• Denver Open Media• Vocalo• Community-based, low power fm• Archive.org• Global Voices• Examples from UK, Korea, other countries