The Series Published by the European Audiovisual Observatory What can you IRIS Special is a series of publications from the European Audiovisual Observatory that provides you comprehensive factual information coupled with in-depth analysis. The expect from themes chosen for IRIS Special are all topical issues in media law, which we explore for IRIS Special in you from a legal perspective. IRIS Special’s approach to its content is tri-dimensional, with overlap in some cases, depending on the theme. terms of content? It offers: 1. a detailed survey of relevant national legislation to facilitate comparison of the legal position in different countries, for example IRIS Special: Broadcasters’ Obligations to Invest in Cinematographic Production describes the rules applied by 34 European states; 2. identifi cation and analysis of highly relevant issues, covering legal developments and trends as well as suggested solutions: for example IRIS Special, Audiovisual Media Services without Frontiers – Implementing the Rules offers a forward-looking analysis that will continue to be relevant long after the adoption of the EC Directive; 3. an outline of the European or international legal context infl uencing the national legislation, for example IRIS Special: To Have or Not to Have – Must-carry Rules explains the European model and compares it with the American approach. What is the source Every edition of IRIS Special is produced by the European Audiovisual Observatory’s legal information department in cooperation with its partner organisations and an extensive The Public of the IRIS Special network of experts in media law. The themes are either discussed at invitation-only expertise? workshops or tackled by selected guest authors. Workshop participants and authors are chosen in order to represent a wide range of professional, academic, national and cultural backgrounds. Service IRIS Special - IRIS Special publications explore selected legal themes in a way that makes them accessible not just to lawyers. Every edition combines a high level of practical relevance unique added value with academic rigour. While IRIS Special concentrates on issues and interactions within Culture The Public Service Broadcasting Europe, it takes a broader geographical scope when the theme so requires. Broadcasting Who needs to read If you hold a position of responsibility in the media industry, particularly cinema, broadcasting or new media, if you work for a specialised law fi rm, for a regulatory IRIS Special? authority or in media and cultural policy making, or if media studies is your academic Culture discipline, then the IRIS Special series is a must for you. Already published ■ Audiovisual Media Services without Frontiers in the IRIS Special ■ Broadcasters’ Obligations to Invest in Cinematographic Production ■ Series: To Have or Not to Have - Must-carry Rules ■ Tomorrow’s Delivery of Audiovisual Services ■ Political Debate and the Role of the Media ■ Regulating Access to Digital Television ■ Co-regulation of the Media in Europe ■ Jurisdiction over Broadcasters in Europe ■ Television and Media Concentration For further information please consult our website: www.obs.coe.int or contact the European Audiovisual Observatory: tel. +33 (0) 3 88 14 44 00 - fax +33 (0) 3 88 14 44 19 - E-mail [email protected] IRIS Special: The Public Service Broadcasting Culture European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg 2007 ISBN: 978-92-871-6188-8 EUR 62,50 Director of the Publication: Wolfgang Closs, Executive Director of the European Audiovisual Observatory E-mail: [email protected] Editor and Coordinator: Dr. Susanne Nikoltchev, LL.M. (Florence/Italy, Ann Arbor/MI) Head of the Department for Legal Information E-mail: [email protected] IRIS Special: The Public Service Broadcasting Culture Contributing Partner Organisations: ★ ★★ ★ ★ ★ ★ EMR★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Institute for Information Law (IViR) Institute of European Media Law (EMR) Rokin 84 Franz-Mai-Straße 6 NL-1012 KX Amsterdam D-66121 Saarbrücken Tel.: +31 (0) 20 525 34 06 Tel.: +49 (0) 681 99 275 11 Fax: +31 (0) 20 525 30 33 Fax: +49 (0) 681 99 275 12 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.ivir.nl URL: http://www.emr-sb.de Editorial Assistant: Michelle Ganter Marketing: Markus Booms E-mail: [email protected] Translation/Proof-reading: Caroline Bletterer, Francisco Javier Cabrera Blázquez, Véronique Campillo, Katherina Corsten, France Courrèges, Christopher Edwards, Paul Green, Isabelle Herold-Vieuxblé, Jürgen Herz, Florence Lapérou, Bernard Ludewig, Sharon McLaughlin, Géraldine Pilard-Murray, Stefan Pooth, Patricia Priss, Britta Probol, Erwin Rohwer, Kerstin Spenner, Sylvie Stellmacher, Nathalie Sturlèse, Candelaria Van Strien-Reney, Anne-Lise Weidmann Typesetting/Print: Pointillés, Hoenheim (France) Publisher: European Audiovisual Observatory 76 Allée de la Robertsau F-67000 Strasbourg Tel.: +33 (0)3 88 14 44 00 Fax: +33 (0)3 88 14 44 19 E-mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.obs.coe.int Please quote this publication as: Susanne Nikoltchev, Ed., IRIS Special: The Public Service Broadcasting Culture (Strasbourg, European Audiovisual Observatory, 2007) © European Audiovisual Observatory, 2007. Opinions expressed in this publication are personal and do not necessarily represent the views of the Observatory, its members or the Council of Europe. The Public Service Broadcasting Culture Published by the European Audiovisual Observatory In the recent Report “Public service media in the information society”, commissioned by the Council of Europe, Christian S. Nissen points to a provocative argument in the vibrant discussions about public service broadcasting. He writes that public service media can be seen as a remedy for a market failure inasmuch as the content offered by commercial providers is characterised by a lack of national and cultural diversity, and as such, does not reflect the diversity of European nations and regions. As the author stresses this argument was not the rationale for establishing public broadcasting systems. It might, however, be very relevant for its future. Should we follow this line of thought, we need to know how public service broadcasting and culture connect. This IRIS Special looks at their bond from two different angles. Firstly, it addresses what one might call the culture of public service broadcasting: how did public service broadcasting develop, what does it entail, why does it continue to exist, what are its rules and principles? Secondly, it examines how public service broadcasting contributes to cultural diversity: does it serve different groups of society, does it offer a wide range of high quality broadcasting services, does it contribute to major societal/cultural needs? Being a legal publication, these questions are approached from a regulatory perspective. In other words, this IRIS Special examines how national rules reflect and account for an important part of the actual culture of public service broadcasting while ensuring that public service broadcasters promote cultural goals. As a result, this publication contains detailed information on the public service broadcasting systems of 14 different countries. For each of them, it presents in a first chapter the rules underlying the mission, the economic and financing model of public service broadcasting as well as the structures and procedures that apply to public service broadcasters’ decision making. Based on this information, this IRIS Special analyses in a second chapter, and again country by country, the influence that relevant national, cultural or societal aspects have on the respective public service broadcasting system. Furthermore, it examines to what extent diversity reflects in the organisational structure of public service broadcasters. The countries have been chosen with a view to the particularity of their public service broadcasting system and in order to document different blueprints for regulation. A further reason for the choice was to get to the bottom of the question of how and to what extent considerations of specific cultural, historical or societal features for each country shaped the respective national legal frameworks for public service broadcasting. This goal makes looking at different approaches even more important. The emphasis that this IRIS Special puts on the country reports reflects the fact that the law- making for public service broadcasting is largely in the hands of national legislators. Nevertheless, pan-European rules and standards play a certain role, be it by supporting the goals and functioning of public service broadcasters or by looking after the interests of their competitors, the private broadcasters. Therefore, the publication puts upfront a short overview of some of the questions dealt with at the pan-European level. Finally, this publication pays special attention to one particular aspect of the culture of public service broadcasting. In the new democracies of Europe, public service broadcasting is a relatively 2 THE PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING CULTURE recent achievement. This has not only had its influence on the way the regulatory framework for public service broadcasting has been established but also on how broadcasting reflects culture and society. For this reason, the publication includes a special introduction alluding to the difficulties that had to be overcome for replacing state by public service broadcasters. It is thanks to Karol Jakubowicz, PhD, former chair of the CDMC of the Council of Europe and former Director of the Strategy