Public Service Media and Policy in Europe

by Donders, Karen

• ISBN13: 9780230290969
• ISBN10: 0230290965
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-12-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Public Service Media and Policy in Europeprovides an in-depth account of EU policies in the area of public service broadcasting, focusing mainly on the application of the European State aid rules. The book discusses when, how and with what impact the European Commission deals with public service broadcasting. There is an element of fear towards the intervention of the European Commission, and a worry that it is overly focused on economic goals to the detriment of public interest objectives. More specifically, the fear exists that 'Europe' might hamper the evolution from public service broadcasting to public service media and introduce harmonized European rules for public service broadcasting. Private media companies have lobbied extensively against the expansion of public broadcasters' tasks and for a European straitjacket in this regard. Karen Donders evaluates whether the European Commission has indeed satisfied private sector interests by marginalising public broadcasters, or whether it has in fact contributed to the emergence of a public service media project.

Author Biography

KAREN DONDERS is Senior Researcher with the Centre for Studies on Media Information and Telecommunication (SMIT) and the Institute for European Studies (IES) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. She also lectures in European media policy at the same university.

Table of Contents

List of Tables
List of Figures
Introduction, Aims and Methodology
From Public Service Broadcasting to Public Service Media
Perspectives on Public Service Media
A Framework for Public Service Media
EU Market Integration in the Broadcasting Sector
EU State Aid Rules and the Broadcasting Sector
There and Back Again: A Chronological Perspective on the State Aid Control of Public Service Broadcasting
'Europe Decides': Evaluating Public Broadcasting Schemes
Germany
Flanders
The Netherlands
Conclusion
References
Index