I strayed across this report by @philharding called:

"Public service media in divided societies: Relic or renaissance?"

Very relevant for infoops people who are interested in overseas media ecologies in fragile states.

1/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/publications-and-resources/policy/briefings/public-service-broadcasting-21C

Understanding the local media environment and how these spaces overlay with global broadcasters and participant journalists so that you can shape messages for public consumption is clearly critical for effective media operations.

2/

But Harding also sums up Public Service Broadcasting to mean:

"the abiding values of trust, universality (reaching out to all parts of society), impartiality, editorial independence, and putting the public at the heart of everything..."

3/

See: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/pdf/policybriefing/psb-in-divided-societies-exec-summary-sept-2015.pdf

This he views as one vehicle for building social cohesion.

Given market conditions and the fragmented nature of the media environment (teenagers watch YouTube), you have to wonder how easy that now is.

(something for a book that me & @andrewhoskins are nearly finished with)

4/

In the UK, PSB principles apply to all the terrestrial MSM channels . How they manifest themselves for specific broadcasters will depend on their editorial policies.

They do not apply to new media entrants broadcasting over the web or the newspapers.

5/

This creates an imbalance in the narratives that emerge out of the media ecology.

Most Brits implicitly understand that the Telegraph doesn't really do any news anymore, the Guardian is for lefties & the BBC attempts to be impartial.

6/

The one thing that sticks out in my mind (& I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong) is that the BBC aims at 'balancing' points of view.

And it seems to me that this editorial policy is the one that is being exploited & then used so as to undermine PSB principles.

7/

And that makes me go back to Harding's report and ask whether Public Service Broadcasting principles in the UK need to be updated so that they recognise the polarised divisions in British society and do even more to protect editorial independence.

8/

Anyway you lot might be interested in @Ofcom's efforts to engage the public so as to shape the nature of future Public Service Broadcasting.

I don't have any insights on how this initiative works but I'd be interested to hear from those who do.

9/ https://www.smallscreenbigdebate.co.uk/