RT Journal Article
T1 Public Service Media and Platformization: What Role Does EU Regulation Play?
A1 Dragomir, Marius
A1 Rodríguez Castro, Marta
A1 Aslama Horowitz, Minna
K1 Public service media
K1 Media policy
K1 EU regulation
K1 Digital Services Act
K1 Digital Markets Act
K1 European Media Freedom Act
K1 Platformization
AB Conceived as institutions funded by the public purse and intended to exist devoid of political influence, the mandate of public service media (PSM) entities is to disseminate reliable news content and high-quality audiovisual productions to all demographic segments, inclusive of marginalized communities and audiences that are typically under-served. Over the previous ten years, the rise in prominence of global platforms in national media systems has precipitated many changes in the media sector, including unique challenges for PSM institutions guided by specific public service values. Using a holistic conceptual framework for assessing the implementation of these values, this article analyzes the impact of platformization on Europe’s PSM and discusses how the Union’s policy approaches affect related challenges to PSM. The analysis indicates that while the European Union (EU) has accorded a high priority to PSM within its media policy framework, the role that Brussels plays in protecting the independence and efficacy of PSM has been circumscribed, given that the onus of regulating PSM entities rests with national governments. This has engendered contrasting experiences wherein certain PSM outlets enjoy political independence and command significant public trust while others function as state-controlled propaganda vehicles, advancing the objectives and interests of governing bodies. The EU has addressed global platform power in recent attempts to safeguard its digital future, including the Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). However, these acts do not adequately address PSM’s two central and often interconnected problems: funding challenges and political pressures.
PB MDPI
SN 2673-5172
YR 2024
FD 2024-09-21
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/37754
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/37754
LA eng
NO Dragomir M, Rodríguez Castro M, Aslama Horowitz M. Public Service Media and Platformization: What Role Does EU Regulation Play? Journalism and Media. 2024; 5(3):1378-1394. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia5030087
NO This article is part of the activities of the research project “Public Service Media in the face of the platform ecosystem: public value management and evaluation models relevant for Spain” (PID2021-122386OB-I00), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the State Research Agency and the European Regional Development Fund.
DS Minerva
RD 30 abr 2026