Reimagining Public Service Media: Navigating Change and Exploring Public Consensus in the Czech Republic

Incorporating perspectives of various key stakeholders, this book critically explores the state and future of public service media (PSM), and maps areas of consensus upon which a renewed social contract for PSM could be built. Broadening the debate beyond normative frameworks and drawing on perspectives other than elite and expert opinions, this book represents a vital contribution to the discussion over PSM’s present and future. The study uses the Czech Republic as a case study, a representative Central and Eastern European (CEE) country that, following the fall of its Communist regime, successfully transformed its former state-run media propaganda system into PSM. Employing a mixed-methods research design, it provides empirically-based insights from three groups, namely: the general public, PSM’s audience and source of funding; politicians and members of PSM supervisory bodies; and PSM journalists and managers. This book synthesises the perspectives of these three groups, focusing on the common ground in their expectations and evaluations, and exploring where the societal consensus lies in terms of the public service PSM should provide and the public value it should bring. The analysis pays particular attention to the unique position of PSM in smaller countries and within the CEE region. Reimagining Public Service Media is recommended reading for advanced students and researchers in fields including Media Ownership, Media Regulation, and Media and Politics.