You are cordially invited to participate in a one-day symposium ‘The Future of Public Service Media in Europe: Freedom, Independence and Media Relations with the State’, organised by the LSE Department of Media and Communications and supported by the Programme on Modern Poland, Collegium Civitas, the LSE Media Policy Project and Polis.
 
This symposium will take place in Silverstone Room, LSE Tower 3 on Friday 2 December 2016, from 10am to 6pm (please see below for more details). The symposium will bring together scholars, policy-makers and regulators to discuss issues of political interference and economic pressures that continue to challenge the development of democratic media cultures in Europe. In European media tradition, public service media (PSM) has been considered vital to European democracy. With its main duty to serve the public interest, throughout the territory and for the whole of the population of the country in which it is established, PSM has provided balance and ensured that the needs of all minorities are met. Public service television makes news more accessible for the population, fosters higher news consumption and results in better knowledge of public affairs in the population.
 
Recent years have brought about new challenges to media landscapes across Europe. Pressures from the commercial broadcasting and declining audiences have been compounded by political and financial pressures that have come to question the very existence, role and purpose of public service broadcasting. Numerous violations of public service media values, including the encroachment on freedom of expression, information, media freedom and pluralism, have been reported across Europe. There is widespread involvement of governments in the deterioration of conditions in which media, including public service broadcasting, functions.
 
We will discuss the following questions:
  • How does PSM monitor and control the power holders on behalf the citizens?
  • How is PSM guaranteed independence from the government and other political forces that determine the life of others?
  • How does PSM provide space for critical and reasoned public debate?
  • How does PSM give voice to the citizens, create public opinion and guide the decision-makers and power holders to their actions?
We look forward to you joining us at this important event. Please let us know if you have any further questions. Since places are limited, please RSVP to Nikola Belakova (n.belakova@lse.ac.uk), who is coordinating the event.
 
Kind regards,
 
Eva Polonska
Nikola Belakova
 
Symposium Information
 
Title: The Future of Public Service Media in Europe: Freedom, Independence and Media Relations with the State
Date: Friday 2 December 2016
Time: 10:00 – 18:00
Venue: TW3.7.01A (Silverstone Room) Department of Media and Communications, 7th Floor, LSE Tower 3 (entrance from Tower 2), Clement’s Inn, Strand, London WC2A 2AZ
 
Programme
9:30-10:00 Coffee & Registration
 
10:00-10:10 Welcome
 
10:10-11:00 Paolo Mancini, University of Perugia, Italy
The Future of Public Service Media in Europe: an academic perspective
 
11:00-12:30 Public Service Media in Europe in a comparative perspective
  1. Damian Tambini, LSE, Public Service Media and Independence from the State in Comparative Perspective
  2. Des Freedman & Vana Goblot, Goldsmiths University, The Future of Public Service Media in Britain 
  3. Raymond Kuhn, Queen Mary University, The State and Public Service Media in France
Chair: Charlie Beckett, Polis, LSE
 
12:30 -13:15 Lunch
 
13:15-14:45 The Rise of Illiberal Democracies in Europe I
  1. Boguslawa Dobek-Ostrowska, Wroclaw University, Media & Democracy in CEE 30 Years After Communism
  2. Peter Bajomi-Lazar, CEU, Market Imperfections and State Imperfections: The Case of Hungary
  3. Stanislaw Mocek, Jacek Zakowski, Collegium Civitas & Eva Polonska, LSE, Media-Politics Nexus in Poland: Implications for Public Service Broadcasting

Chair: Monica Horten, LSE

 
14:45 -15:15 Coffee break
 
15:15 -16:45 The Rise of Illiberal Democracies in Europe II
  1. Sally Broughton Micova, University of East Anglia, The Legislative Machinations on PSB under New Authoritarianism
  2. Petros Iosifidis, City University, Greek ERT: State or Public Service Broadcaster?
  3. Eva Polonska, LSE: The EU and the Public Service Media in Europe
Chair: Corinne Schweizer, LSE
 
16:45-17:00 Coffee break
 
17:00-18:00 Ingrid Deltenre, Director General, European Broadcasting Union
The Future of Public Service Media in Europe: A Practitioner’s Perspective