Alla titlar av »Gregory Ferrell Lowe«

The seventh RIPE Reader investigates cross-boundary influences affecting public service media. PSM institutions remain domestically grounded and orientated, but must cope with international influences and the impact of globalisation. This presents significant environmental challenges keyed to policies that support networked communications which have important implications for the future of broadcasting. Meanwhile, internal institutional boundaries pose challenges to internal collaboration and synergy, and to achieving greater openness and cultivating public participation in PSM. Traditional boundaries between professional and non-professional production are often problematic, as well, for external collaboration. And there are enormous challenges in efforts to bridge boundaries between PSM and other public institutions (public sector), social movements (civil and volunteer sector) and companies (private sector). Cross-boundary phenomena offer tremendous opportunities for ensuring public service provision in the emerging media ecology, but managers and policy-makers must grapple with a range of dualities that require critical examination: public / private, national / international, broadcast / print, linear / non-linear, audience / user, production / distribution, citizen / consumer, and market / society. The scholarly contributions in this volume address issues that are relevant for improved understandings about Public Service Media Across Borders and Boundaries – a contemporary topic of keen theoretical and strategic importance.

The eighth RIPE Reader critically examines the ‘networked society’ concept in relation to public service media. Although a popular construct in media policy, corporate strategy and academic discourse, the concept is vague and functions as a buzzword and catchphrase. This Reader clarifies and critiques the networked society notion with specific focus on enduring public interest values and performance in media. At issue is whether public service media will be a primary node for civil society services in the post-broadcasting era? Although networked communications offer significant benefits, they also present problems for universal access and service. An individual’s freedom to tap into, activate, build or link with a network is not guaranteed and threats to net neutrality are resurgent. Networks are vulnerable to hacking and geo-blocking, and facilitate clandestine surveillance. This Reader prioritises the public interest in a networked society. The authors examine the role of public media organisations in the robust but often contradictory framework of networked communications. Our departure point is both sceptical and aspirational, both analytical and normative, both forward-looking and historically-grounded. While by no means the last word on the issues treated, this collection provides a timely starting point at least.

Since the start of telephony and later in broadcasting, the pursuit of universal service has legitimated the ownership and operation of media as a public trust. Until the 1980s, this principle was the bedrock for the broadcasting mission and is still a mandated requirement for public media companies today. But in practice, the universalism ideal was largely abandoned in the 1980s as media deregulation promised more competition, innovation, and vigorous economic growth. Some of this came true, but at a worrisome cost. Growing distrust in media today is partly rooted in the illusion that more media in more platforms would inevitably ensure better media in all platforms. There is now more of everything on offer except social responsibility. This collection interrogates the historic universalism mission in public service broadcasting and explores its contemporary relevance for public service media. Taking a critical perspective on media policy and performance, the volume contributes to a much-needed contemporary reassessment that clarifies the importance of universalism for equity in access and provision, trustworthy content, and inclusive participation in the context of advancing digitalisation and globalisation. The collection situates universalism as an aspirational quest and inspirational pursuit. Researchers and policy makers will find the collection valuable for conceptualisation and strategic managers will find it helpful as a principled basis in the pursuit of improved reach and value.