Innovations in Public Service Media Policies

在社会、政治和经济两极分化的时代，公共服务媒体（PSM）在维护一个强大而多样化的公共领域方面的作用可以说比以往任何时候都更加重要；然而，PSM正在与资源减少、受众分散、不信任和虚假信息以及随之而来的日益增长的问责要求等严峻挑战作斗争。该研究网络的主要目标是为PSM发展的下一阶段制定研究议程，以解决解决方案导向的学术和应用研究在PSM政策创新方面的差距。最近对Facebook和b谷歌等大型互联网公司的强烈反对，以及对社交媒体平台上“假新闻”的传播、网络“过滤泡沫”的产生和“标题党”新闻的兴起的越来越多的担忧，可以说为PSM的政策创新打开了一扇机会之窗。越来越多的人认识到，PSM机构（如果有充足的资金和有利的监管框架支持）可以在保持新闻高标准、支持本土形式的媒体和文化生产，以及总体上应对由少数非常强大但不负责任的互联网巨头控制的利润驱动的数字生态系统日益明显的失败方面发挥重要作用。因此，该项目解决了将学术研究界与广泛的PSM利益相关者聚集在一起的迫切需要，以便在当今重大数字挑战的背景下重新构想PSM的未来。通过促进研究合作和知识交流，以及通过案例研究讨论说明PSM政策和战略的创新，这个研究网络项目将制定跨学科的研究议程和制定政策建议。这些目标将通过一系列四次专题讲习班来实现，每一次讲习班都涉及一个主要的政策和战略领域：PSM融资模式创新；2. PSM内容和服务的创新；3. PSM内容获取和可发现性的创新和4。创新参与性做法，以促进更大的私营部门管理问责制。每个研讨会将努力以解决方案为导向，提出政策建议，并将围绕PSM政策的一些案例研究组织，由来自不同学科背景的学者以及来自行业、民间社会和监管机构的代表发表演讲。通过案例研究强调的问题将导致更广泛的讨论，并最终能够解决与每次讲习班的一般主题相关的一些“大”问题。一个由10名国际知名学者和主要PSM利益相关者组织（包括BBC和Ofcom）的高级代表组成的指导小组将指导和监督该项目。该小组将在项目开始时举行一整天的会议，为每个讲习班制定议程，选择个案研究和邀请发言者，并在项目结束时举行半天的会议，审查该网络的产出和评价其成就。该项目旨在促进来自不同学科背景的学者之间的交流，了解如何支持一个强大的通信生态系统，并促进学术界与主要PSM利益相关者组织之间的对话与合作。多方利益攸关方合作的讲习班本身就是产生影响的主要途径。其他传播和影响活动将包括一个项目网站，定期更新有关项目的新闻和博客，四份由参与者贡献的研讨会报告，最后，由威斯敏斯特大学出版社出版的政策简报报告，作为CAMRI政策简报系列的一部分，分发给PSM利益相关者和新闻媒体，报道媒体政策问题。

In an era of social, political, and economic polarisation, the role of public service media (PSM) in safeguarding a robust and diverse public sphere is arguably more crucial than ever; yet PSM is battling severe challenges of dwindling resources, fragmenting audiences, distrust and disinformation, and, consequently, growing demands for accountability. The main goal of this research network is to develop a research agenda for the next phase of PSM development in order to address the gap in solution-oriented academic and applied research on innovations in PSM policies. The recent backlash against big Internet companies such as Facebook and Google, amidst mounting concerns over the spread of 'fake news' on social media platforms, the creation of online 'filter bubbles' and the rise of 'clickbait' journalism, has arguably opened up a window of opportunity for envisaging policy innovations in PSM. There is growing recognition of the fundamental role that PSM institutions (if adequately funded and underpinned by an enabling regulatory framework) can play in maintaining high standards of journalism, supporting indigenous forms of media and cultural production, and in general countering the increasingly glaring failures of a profit-driven digital eco-system controlled by a handful of very powerful and yet unaccountable Internet giants. This project thus addresses the urgent need for bringing together the academic research community with a wide range of PSM stakeholders to re-imagining the future of PSM in the context of today's major digital challenges. By facilitating research collaborations and knowledge exchange, and through discussion of case-studies illustrating innovation in PSM policy and strategy, this research networking project will develop an interdisciplinary research agenda and formulate policy recommendations.These objectives will be achieved through a series of four thematic workshops each addressing a major area of PSM policy and strategy: 1. Innovation in PSM funding models; 2. Innovation in PSM content and services; 3. Innovation in access and discoverability of PSM content; and 4. Innovation in participatory practices to promote greater PSM accountability.Each workshop will strive to be solution-oriented leading to policy recommendations, and will be organised around a number of case-studies of PSM policy to be presented by invited speakers - both academics from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds as well as representatives from the industry, civil society and regulators. The issues highlighted through the case-studies will lead to broader discussions and in the end enable to tackle some of the 'big' questions in relation to the general theme of each workshop. A Steering Group comprising 10 internationally recognised scholars and high-level representatives of key PSM stakeholder organisations, including the BBC and Ofcom, will guide and oversee the project. This group will meet for a full day at the inception of the project to set the agenda for each workshop and to select case-studies and invited speakers and for half-day at the end of the project to review the network's outputs and evaluate its achievements. The project is designed to facilitate networking among academics from different disciplinary backgrounds with a common interest in understanding how to support a robust communication ecosystem and to foster dialogue and collaborations between academia and key PSM stakeholder organisations. The collaborative, multi-stakeholder workshops themselves are a central pathway to impact. Other dissemination and impact activities will include a project website regularly updated with news and blogs about the project, four workshop reports with contributions by participants, and, finally, a policy briefing report published by the U. of Westminster Press as part of the CAMRI Policy Briefs series and distributed to PSM stakeholders and to news outlets covering media policy issues.