Publisher Description

Modern broadcasting policy faces a number of challenges: how to regulate the growing commercial sector; the position and funding of public service television; and finding appropriate forms of public accountability in the changed media environment.



Television and the Public Interest examines these challenges and how they are being addressed in the media systems of eight European nations. The authors' aim throughout is to identify the basic values that European policymakers, politicians, broadcasters and civic groups of all kinds regard as vulnerable in the new conditions and are striving to protect from market pressures. The book includes a wealth of information on broadcasting policy issues and practice in Western European nations and offers a major appraisal of the values enshrined in such policy, how they are protected institutionally in different systems, and how such systems are coping with the challenges of the new media landscape.

Table of Contents

Foreword - Lord Rees-MoggIntroduction - Jay G BlumlerCurrent Confrontations in West European TelevisionPART ONE: WEST EUROPEAN TELEVISION IN TRANSITIONPublic Service Broadcasting Before the Commercial Deluge - Jay G BlumlerVulnerable Values at Stake - Jay G BlumlerPART TWO: NATIONAL EXPERIENCEProtecting Vulnerable Values in the German Broadcasting Order - Wolfgang Hoffmann-RiemBroadcasting Regulation in Britain - Stephen HearstIs there a Question of Vulnerable Values in Italy? - Gianpietro MazzoleniThe Netherlands - Denis McQuailSafeguarding Freedom and Diversity under Multichannel ConditionsVulnerable Values in a Changing Political and Media System - Stig HadeniusThe Case of SwedenTelevision in a Small Multicultural Society - Ulrich SaxerThe Case of SwitzerlandValues and Normative Choices in French Television - Dominique WoltonVulnerable Values in Spanish Multichannel Television - Esteban Lopez-EscobarPART THREE: POLICIES AND DIRECTIONSDefending Vulnerable Values - Wolfgang Hoffmann-ReimRegulatory Measures and Enforcement DilemmasNew Roles for Public Service Television - Jay G Blumler and Wolfgang Hoffmann-ReimToward Renewed Public Accountability in Broadcasting - Jay G Blumler and Wolfgang Hoffmann-Reim

Review

`Given the enormous social, political and legal changes across Europe, which, as discussed in Part 1, have direct and substantial consequences for broadcasting orders in many countries, the book′s attention to its subject matter is timely and welcome.′ - Sociology`should be in the personal library of those interested in comparative media systems. It would also make a suitable text for an international course examining changes taking place in European radio and television.′ - Journal of Communication

Review Quote

'Given the enormous social, political and legal changes across Europe, which, as discussed in Part 1, have direct and substantial consequences for broadcasting orders in many countries, the book's attention to its subject matter is timely and welcome.' - Sociology'should be in the personal library of those interested in comparative media systems. It would also make a suitable text for an international course examining changes taking place in European radio and television.' - Journal of Communication

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