edition-dw-akademie-in-the-service-of-the-public-functions-and-transformation-of-media-in-developing-countries-pdf

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsPublic service media systems in their various forms are complex,and the attempt to seriously support transformation fromstate media is ambitious. It requires – in every single case –a detailed and broad understanding of characteristics, processesand possible solutions to be able to decide where andhow an intervention should be carried out. The first and mostimportant result of this study, therefore, is the wealth of informationprovided above, in the individual reports on mediaoutlets in various countries of different regions in the world,their specific environments, and the changes they undergo. Ina final step we now look at all our case studies together anddraw some general conclusions. In doing so we are aware thatwe may be neglecting some relevant peripheral aspects andcontext-related questions. So the following analysis is tentative.And yet there are some general lessons to be learned.RQ 1: Which public service functions can be provided today by(former) state broadcasters?In the following we assess our findings with the theoretical approachproposed in chapter 2.1 as a basis. Here we had identifieda number of public service functions and differentiatedbetween the two general functions creating a public sphereand supporting integration.The three broadcasters in our study that are still officiallystate broadcasters – RTA in Afghanistan, NBC in Namibia, andMRTV in Myanmar – do not fulfill the function of creating apublic sphere. They offer in general one-sided information,and they do not let the opposition speak, or at best to a limitedextent only. Critical voices are generally not heard in the programs.The state media do not facilitate open public debate,nor do they offer independent orientation and thus fail intheir responsibility to create a public sphere.A little more surprising is the fact that these state broadcastersdo much better with respect to the general function ofsupporting integration: They offer services in a range of languagesto include minorities, and programming in culture,education, and entertainment. And these less prominent programsin minority languages will also sometimes include criticalvoices, as the case of Namibia shows.So the state media have something to offer even thoughthey do not deliver the functions related to the creation ofa public sphere. And in the cases analyzed here, they are theonly media in their country that offer services to the wholepopulation, even in remote areas. Therefore, they need to betaken into consideration by development actors.An open question here is whether these integrative servicesdelivered countrywide by state media really meet the needsof the population. More detailed analyses are needed here, focussingamong other things on the extent to which state propagandais distributed in minority languages.Compared to the three cases above, the Mongolian broadcasterMNB and OTRK in Kyrgyzstan are quite advanced. Notonly are they officially called Public Service Broadcasters (PSB)or Public Service Media (PSM), they perform much better thanthe aforementioned outlets in creating a public sphere for thecountry: All political parties have opportunities to speak andbe heard. While MNB also offers a wide range of programs toenhance public debate, OTRK at least rebroadcasts the popularpolitical talk show “Inconvenient Questions” produced by RadioAzattyk (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty).There are nonetheless also shortcomings in these mediaoutlets. The quality of the news still has a lot of room for improvement,the ruling party and the government are not criticizedby journalists, there is a strong tendency to self-censorship,and very little agenda setting and in-depth research bythe journalists of the former state media. The news reportingon regional issues is rather limited.Meanwhile, the general function of supporting integrationis fulfilled in many ways in these PSM: MNB, for example,offers a high share of domestically produced content on traditionalculture and values. OTRK, too, has moved in that direction.Yet, both broadcasters could do more to include theirregional audiences.The highest performance with respect to public servicefunctions is delivered by the two broadcasters TRM in Moldovaand RTA in Serbia. In our sample they are the only onesthat generally offer balanced and objective news, democraticdebate, and social orientation and criticism. However, theystill seem to find it difficult to criticize the government andits administration. And again, agenda setting and serious journalisticresearch are rare. Both broadcasters fulfill overall thegeneral function of supporting integration although they arenot the most innovative media outlets.To sum up, we have seen so far that there are a numberof functions that are provided by public service media whichare in the process of transformation. And a small number ofmedia outlets in our sample have even come a comparativelylong way in their reform process and deliver an importantcontribution to the creation of a public sphere through basicjournalism and forums for dialogue. They have reliable, comparativelyobjective news services which inform and orientatecitizens on current affairs. And all these media organizations,whether state or public service, contribute with their programmingto the integration of their society through cultural expression,participation, education, and entertainment. This isof particular importance as these media are in most cases theonly ones providing universal access in their countries.It should also be mentioned at this point that we have identifiedprivate or community-based media outlets which havedeveloped and expanded their services so that they also fulfillbroader public service functions. As we will go on to discussbelow in RQ3, these can be called Alternative Public Service Media(APSM).Edition DW Akademie In the Service of the Public 279