This book investigates the extent to which a Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) ethos has been extended to the online world in Europe. It examines the most significant policy initiatives carried out by PSBs in Europe on online platforms, and analyzes how the public service philosophy is being reinvented by policy makers.

'Public Service Broadcasting Online explains the rich and treasured legacies of, and current threats to, institutions that historically have been vital to a cultural and political sense of belonging and engagement among Europeans. By taking stock of and comparing a diverse range of European public service broadcasting (PSB) systems, Benedetta Brevini helps us understand the ongoing political stakes of the digital migration of PSB. More importantly, at a time when European governments of all kinds have fallen prey to the seductions and imperatives of neoliberal ideology and practice, the author offers invaluable guidance for preserving what is best about European public service media.' - Professor Andrew Calabrese, University of Colorado, USA

'Public service broadcasting was a visionary experiment that extended the social purpose of radio and television through the enabling role of the democratic state. Can the potential of the internet to serve the public be similarly extended through state intervention? What are the obstacles that lie in the way? For an innovative and scholarly answer, read this admirable book.'

• Professor James Curran, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

"In short, with this work Brevini adds to the considerable school of thought on PSM. She successfully ties the specifities of public broadcasters' online activities to their historical, political and cultural development. The comprehrensiveness of her theoretical and empirical endeavours, while sometimes perhaps somewhat frustrating to those media policy scholars that look for the 'nitty-gritty' details of legal arrangements, is impressive and shows us a bigger picture that merits more scientific attention in the future." - Karen Donders, International Journal of Digital Television,

Autorentext

Benedetta Brevini is Lecturer in Communication and Media at the University of Sydney, Australia. Previous academics appointments include lectureships at City University and Brunel University in London, UK. A media reformer and journalist, Dr Brevini has been working in Milan, New York and London for CNBC and RAI. Her co-edited book, Beyond WikiLeaks: Implications for the Future of Communications, Journalism & Society, was published in March 2013.

Inhalt
Contents List of tables 1. Introduction 2. The European and Global Policy Framework of Public Service Broadcasting 3. Theorizing Public Service Broadcasting Online 4. A Normative Framework for PSB Online: The Idea of PSB 2.0 5. Comparing Histories of PSB in Denmark, France, the UK, Spain and Italy 6. Historical, Political and Cultural Legacies: The Impact on PSB Online 7. European Union Influence on PSB Online 8. Commercial Pressure from Rival Competitors: The Impact on PSB Online 9. Conclusion Bibliography Endnotes