Public Service broadcasting in the UK will be researched deeply in this essay. Its history, current situation, and its future will be thoroughly analyzed.

According to the Dictionary of Media and Communication Studies, the term public service broadcasting refers to any broadcasting system whose first duty is to a public within a democracy, serving to inform, educate and entertain, and to regard audience as constituting citizens, members of communities and individuals rather than merely consumers. This system of public ownership has always been promoted on the basis that as a public resource it should include four important features; firstly it should be available to all in society irrespective of wealth or location; it should cater for all of the interests and tastes in society; it should provide citizens with the information and education that they need to contribute to enlightened public debate and for informed democratic participation; finally it should create what Scannell called a ‘common universe of discourse’ in a society. By this he meant a sense of community and togetherness which help contribute to social cohesion.

The beginnings of Public Service Broadcasting within Britain can be traced back as far as 1922 when in this year the Post Office set up the British Broadcasting Company. It was originally set up as a co-operative of radio set manufacturers whose aim was to protect the business interests of companies who made broadcasting equipment. The decision was made that this service was to be financed via a licence fee which was to be paid by all those in possession of a radio set. The end of the war provided the best circumstances and support for the formation of the BBC. The development of the public corporation depended on the rejection of market forces and a general acceptance of intervention. In 1934 Beveridge argued; “in a free market economy consumers can buy only that which is offered to them, and that which is offered is not necessarily that which is most advantageous. It is that which appears to give the best prospect of profit to the producer”. Beverage was not alone in his attitude rather it was a view mirrored by many in society at this time. In 1936 the introduction of television extended the influence of the BBC from merely radio broadcasting and this new medium meant that the BBC succeeded in maintaining a monopoly over British broadcasting.

The foundations of public service broadcasting placed prominent emphasis on public duty, on providing for all, on informing, educating and entertaining. Problems however arose concerning the need for accountability on the part of the broadcasters with their need for a high degree of autonomy in order to carry out their work without undue political or other constraints. As means of solving this issue, power was delegated to a broadcasting authority to run the service along the lines decreed by parliament. The aim was that it would ensure the broadcasting institution was ultimately accountable to parliament yet at the same time free from direct governmental control. This body of regulation was later succeeded by the Independent Television Commission in 1991.

The creation of the BBC as an independent body initially had the predominant aim of informing the public as a means of enabling them to make educated and rational decisions. Today this notion is still upheld and the BBC remains an institution people rely on for independent, impartial information. Moreover if universal access to information is so essential in terms of freedom and democracy why then is public service broadcasting under threat, surely in this sense its end can not be justified. It is in this context that the fate of public service broadcasting assumes an importance as it is often represented as the defence of the democratic ideal against the commercial one. Furthermore public service broadcasting is based on addressing its audience as citizens as opposed to consumers and therefore has a mandate to tell them what they want to hear as well as what they do not.

Multinational corporations seeking to extend their media portfolios constantly see Public Service Broadcasting as an obstacle to their ambitions and so for many years now their pressure on government has been unrelenting. So perhaps what might be seen as the greatest hazard facing Public Service Broadcasting is the degree to which governments support it in the future and the degree to which governments concede to the demands of media corporations.

Of course the future is unknown and so predictions as to the end of Public Service Broadcasting or to its continued importance deserve to be treated sceptically.Yet based on the sources I have read and in conjunction with my own assertions I conclude that there is no justification for abolishing or privatising public service broadcasting and I do not believe it will happen for quite sometime if indeed it does happen at all. Although I acknowledge that it is currently under attack I do not see that these threats have enough substance and support to bring about such a radical change.