Broadcasting & Convergence: New Articulations of the Public Service Remit

Broadcasting & Convergence: New Articulations of the Public Service Remit. Gregory Ferrell Lowe and Tasito Hujanen, eds. Goteborg, Sweden: Nordicom, 2003. 335 pp. SEK300 pbk. The book is a compilation of research papers presented at the 2002 RIPE (Re-Visionary Interpretations of the Public Enterprise) conference in Finland. The editors write that RIPE is an initiative to strengthen collaborative relations between med ia scholars and practitioners. In the book, authors present ideas and suggestions for public service broadcasters as those broadcasters face the challenges of convergence and an otherwise changing media world. As Raboy points out in his chapter, public service broadcasting (PSB) is the only established medium that can be said to still place social and cultural concerns ahead of marketplace imperatives. Hence, public service broadcasters must carefully navigate the uncharted waters ahead as the broadcasting business moves toward digital production and cross-platform presentation. Born adds that public service broadcasters must adjust to and take advantage of the opportunities presented by convergence. As all involved in broadcasting know, change is a constant in the industry. Any help academics can offer would be useful and welcome. Unfortunately, this work falls short in a key way. Rather than being seen as something that will help strengthen collaborative relations with broadcasters, the density of the writing in the book is likely to strengthen the impression many broadcasters (in the United States, at least) already have of academics and their work: that it has little practical real-world application and that even if it did, they would have neither the time nor the inclination to wade through page after page of "academese" to get to the salient points. Additionally troubling, the authors offer up varying and sometimes contradictory definitions of the two primary foci of the book: public service broadcasting and convergence. Jakubowicz points out that it is almost impossible to arrive at a trans-cultural definition of PSB in that a number of varied models exist in Europe (and other places) already. She notes that no clear-cut set of criteria can be applied across national and cultural borders to allow for a universally accepted definition of PSB. Vartanova and Zassoursky add that PSB is not a common concept implemented in different countries in a similar way. But that does not stop many of their colleagues from trying to come up with a "one size fits all" approach while at the same time acknowledging the unique approaches to and missions of PSB in their respective countries. When it comes to convergence, it seems there are as many definitions of the word as there are authors represented in the book. …