Though Hallin and Mancini envisaged greater homogenisation in media regulatory models in Europe, with gradual movement towards the professionalised ‘Liberal’
model as a result of increasing secularisation, technological developments and market forces, they also recognised that powerful counter-forces would continue to resist such developments (Hallin and Mancini, 2004: ch. 8). Our research suggests that, in the context of PSM, homogenisation is still a very distant prospect and that marked differences, rooted in political, cultural and economic circumstances, remain in evidence.
Our examination of PSM in the 14 countries covered by the Mediadem study, indicate that financial uncertainty and political interference remain the order of the day for many PSM. Though these pressures appear most acute in the post-communist countries of Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia, governing elites continue to seek to influence reporting by PSM in ‘Mediterranean countries’ such as Spain, Greece and Italy. The countries that afford most protection to their PSM are those that combine a ‘pluralist’ and representative approach to regulation, or, in the case of the BBC in the UK, a constitutionally ‘independent’ body, with a strong legal and professional tradition of journalistic freedom, secure funding, high levels of transparency, and widespread public understanding of the role of public service media in society. Both formal structures alongside cultural expectations and political
conventions appear to be needed for independence to be fully realised in practice. But even in those countries that offer most protection, PSBs continue to be challenged. In Germany, for instance, the ability of PSBs to develop new online services has been curtailed as a result of pressure from commercial competitors.
Independence and autonomy need to be respected across all PSM activities, otherwise protection offered in one area may be undermined by exposure to extraneous pressures in another (CoE, 1996: Explanatory Memorandum, para. 13).
Not only, therefore, must attention be paid to the remit, institutional structure, regulatory oversight, and funding arrangements of PSM organisations but also to the quality, ethos and practices of management, journalists and staff working within them (CoE, 2012b: para. 18), issues that largely fall outwith the remit of this particular paper. In addition, PSM should be as transparent as possible in relation to their governance and activities with clear lines of accountability to enable their independence to be properly assessed.
International organisations such as the Council of Europe have, over time, established detailed standards and guidelines relating to the governance, practices and funding of PSM. All Mediadem countries are members of the CoE and should review their current procedures in the light of these guidelines, particularly as traditional PSBs seek to take advantage of new technological opportunities and respond to social and cultural change. Only where these standards are respected, not only formally but also in practice, will the freedom and independence of PSM be fully realised.
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