Public service broadcasting now and in the future-audience attitudes: A critique

The title of the project is deliberate and clear. It states the projects purpose to understand the current state of public service broadcasting for the BBC as expressed by audience attitudes and feedback as well as projected changes and growth for public service broadcasters in the future. The executive summary at the start of the project is extremely detailed and provides a structured framework for what the reader can expect as the report unfolds. Between the executive summary and the introduction there is a large account of repetition in reporting. The report however does illustrate a detailed view of the research phases, including all the factors that were considered for sampling (Human Capital 2008:18)

The project (Human Capital 2008) also firmly keeps in mind the client the BBC in their reporting. The statement of the problem reads successfully in addressing the intention of the paper with public service broadcasting at the forefront and the BBC at consistent reference. The project (Human Capital 2008) lists its reasons for conducting the research categorically according the following headings; attitudes to public service broadcasting, delivery of public service broadcasting, attitudes to plurality and attitudes to sources of funding.

This project surveys audiences based on a research topic more so than a research question. The research topic is focused on the present and future state of public service broadcasting based on audience attitudes, delivery on public service broadcasting, attitudes to plurality and attitudes to sources of funding (Human Capital 2008). There is indeed more than one aspect that affects an audience’s attitude. From the onset the research analysed and interpreted data based on a broad spectrum, for instance participants without restriction talked about the role of broadcasting in their daily life. This was followed by the mission and distinctiveness of programming as well as different programming genres (Human Capital 2008: 23). Ultimately researchers uncovered the role of broadcasting according to three major roles “Broadcasting as a source of information, as a source of learning and as a source of entertainment” (Human Capital 2008:23). The research topic then analysed the delivery of public service broadcasting to the public (Human Capital 2008: 36). It was found that the BBC was thought of as an “authority figure” (Human Capital 2008:36) in public service broadcasting but was perceived in both a positive and negative light (Human Capital 2008:36).

Attitudes to plurality, perhaps one of the more research saturated categories in this project clearly states the leg work that was put in to gather data. The acknowledgment of the importance of plurality (Human Capital 2008:43) as well as alternatives such as scheduling and programming to achieve audience satisfaction (Human Capital 2008:48) were investigated. A minority of participants commented on the commercialisation of mainstream content and programming over public service broadcast stations (Human Capital 2008:55).

Which brings us to attitudes to sources of funding (Human Capital 2008:58). This chapter focuses mostly on the future of public service broadcasting. The ideas posed (Human Capital 2008:55) as possible options to source funding from the audience were not received in favour, with participants objecting to proposed increases and sources for funding. Some comments included “Taxes should be paying for better health and education

Female – Manchester” (Human Capital 2008:59). On the other hand another participant stated “Unaffected BBC is important to me. If you have extra stuff, you have to pay for it somehow. So a higher Licence Fee would be a way of collecting it somehow Female – Tiverton” (Human Capital 2008:60). Illustrating that there in an understanding for the need of funding but there exists retaliation from the audience who does not want to be liable for any monetary increases. This report is important to the field of media and communications as this is a sector that is still growing and is need of understanding therefore the findings in this report can be helpful. However, with a focus solely on the BBC this report limits its application to public broadcasters around the world for instance in developing countries where public broadcasters are still young in its emergence. Other limitations to the use of this report elsewhere is in countries where English is not the first language, resulting in these public service providers being unable to utilise the data generated as it is not applicable or relatable to their audiences. It is most likely that is report can be published in a minor journal or a conference paper that serves the interest of the sample set and institution at hand.

This report shows no evidence of prior research and is written to address the viewpoints of audience attitude as well as the interpretation of the results generated from the findings of the research conducted. There is no literature review component to this report.

The theoretical framework relies on quantitative data providing a comprehensive descriptive explanation as well as a scientific interpretation and representation of facts and figures.

The sampling of the report was fitting in its undertaking considering the time frame and budget awarded to Human Capital. The research comprised six deliberative workshops which were four hours long per session and a total of 126 participants were involved, this included participants from Carmarthen, Coventry, Edinburgh, London, Manchester and Tiverton over a month long period. Human capital (2008:3). A quantitative survey of 4,577 respondents was carried out in person and online with participants over 16 years of age (Human Capital 2008:6). Results of the report are presented by a range of tabulated data and graphs which clearly presented statistics and findings.

The concluding points are a summarisation of the research results for each heading and follows a chronological order in bullet point form. No new information is introduced and it does not state any recommendations for future research.

LIST OF SOURCES CONSULTED

Human Capital. 2008. Public service broadcasting now and in the future-audience attitudes. A report plus appendix by Human Capital. http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/future/pdf/now_future.pdf Accessed 4 August 2016. 

University of South Africa. Department of Communication Science. 2016. Media Research: Tutorial Letter 101/0/2016 for COM4802. Kwa Zulu Natal.

University of South Africa. Department of Communication Science. 2016. Honours Studies: Tutorial Letter 301/0/2016 for CMNHONE.Kwa Zulu Natal.