Reimagining Public Service Media
Navigating Change and Exploring Public Consensus in the Czech Republic
1st Edition
Published on 5. September 2025
Book
Hardback
154 pages
978-1-041-06687-3 (ISBN)
Description
Incorporating perspectives of various key stakeholders, this book critically explores the state and future of public service media (PSM), and maps areas of consensus upon which a renewed social contract for PSM could be built.
Broadening the debate beyond normative frameworks and drawing on perspectives other than elite and expert opinions, this book represents a vital contribution to the discussion over PSM's present and future. The study uses the Czech Republic as a case study, a representative Central and Eastern European (CEE) country that, following the fall of its Communist regime, successfully transformed its former state-run media propaganda system into PSM. Employing a mixed-methods research design, it provides empirically-based insights from three groups, namely: the general public, PSM's audience and source of funding; politicians and members of PSM supervisory bodies; and PSM journalists and managers. This book synthesises the perspectives of these three groups, focusing on the common ground in their expectations and evaluations, and exploring where the societal consensus lies in terms of the public service PSM should provide and the public value it should bring. The analysis pays particular attention to the unique position of PSM in smaller countries and within the CEE region.
Reimagining Public Service Media is recommended reading for advanced students and researchers in fields including Media Ownership, Media Regulation, and Media and Politics.
Broadening the debate beyond normative frameworks and drawing on perspectives other than elite and expert opinions, this book represents a vital contribution to the discussion over PSM's present and future. The study uses the Czech Republic as a case study, a representative Central and Eastern European (CEE) country that, following the fall of its Communist regime, successfully transformed its former state-run media propaganda system into PSM. Employing a mixed-methods research design, it provides empirically-based insights from three groups, namely: the general public, PSM's audience and source of funding; politicians and members of PSM supervisory bodies; and PSM journalists and managers. This book synthesises the perspectives of these three groups, focusing on the common ground in their expectations and evaluations, and exploring where the societal consensus lies in terms of the public service PSM should provide and the public value it should bring. The analysis pays particular attention to the unique position of PSM in smaller countries and within the CEE region.
Reimagining Public Service Media is recommended reading for advanced students and researchers in fields including Media Ownership, Media Regulation, and Media and Politics.
Reviews / Votes
This compelling and timely analysis of Czech public service media combines rigorous empirical evidence with conceptual clarity to uncover both consensus and cracks in the system. Essential reading for anyone interested in PSM's democratic role, governance, and future in Europe and beyond.- Professor Maria Michalis, University of Westminster, United Kingdom
Aiming to give the public a voice in debates about public service media's future and to find common ground between different stakeholder groups, 'Reimagining Public Service Media' offers a theoretically-grounded and systematic analysis that is highly relevant beyond the case at hand.
- Professor Manuel Puppis, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
A timely, powerful, and profoundly rich exploration of public service media through the lens of those it serves and those who shape it. Offering a Czech experience and global perspective, it provides an essential resource for anyone concerned with PSM in democratic societies.
- Professor Marko Milosavljevic, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Postgraduate
Illustrations
3 s/w Tabellen, 1 s/w Abbildung, 1 s/w Zeichnung
3 Tables, black and white; 1 Line drawings, black and white; 1 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
351 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-041-06687-3 (9781041066873)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Marina Urbanikova | Klara Smejkal | Iveta Jansova
Reimagining Public Service Media
Navigating Change and Exploring Public Consensus in the Czech Republic
E-Book
09/2025
1st Edition
Routledge
€31.49
Available for download
Marina Urbanikova | Klara Smejkal | Iveta Jansova
Reimagining Public Service Media
Navigating Change and Exploring Public Consensus in the Czech Republic
E-Book
09/2025
1st Edition
Routledge
€31.49
Available for download
Persons
Marina Urbanikova is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at Masaryk University, Czech Republic. Her research focuses on public service media and its regulation, journalistic autonomy, the safety and security of journalists, and gender in journalism. Beyond academia, she is a co-founder of the Czech NGO Women in Media, a platform dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by female journalists.
Klara Smejkal is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Masaryk University, Czech Republic. Her research focuses on trust in institutions, public service media, studies of audiences in the fragmented media environment, and production in the audiovisual industry. She has been participating in several research projects and has co-authored publications in journals such as International Journal of Press/Politics and Media, Culture & Society.
Iveta Jansova is the Head of the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at Masaryk University, Czech Republic. She holds a PhD in Cultural and Media Studies and has worked at multiple journalism departments in the country. Her research interests include audience studies, fan studies, cultural studies, and television studies, with a focus on the representation of marginalized identities and the portrayal of women in crime genre in TV.
Lenka Waschkova Cisarova is an Associate Professor at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Masaryk University, Czech Republic. Her teaching and research focus is on changes in journalistic work, local media, media ownership, emotions in journalism, and the transition of media markets. She is the author and editor of several journal articles, book chapters, and books on related topics.
Klara Smejkal is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Masaryk University, Czech Republic. Her research focuses on trust in institutions, public service media, studies of audiences in the fragmented media environment, and production in the audiovisual industry. She has been participating in several research projects and has co-authored publications in journals such as International Journal of Press/Politics and Media, Culture & Society.
Iveta Jansova is the Head of the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at Masaryk University, Czech Republic. She holds a PhD in Cultural and Media Studies and has worked at multiple journalism departments in the country. Her research interests include audience studies, fan studies, cultural studies, and television studies, with a focus on the representation of marginalized identities and the portrayal of women in crime genre in TV.
Lenka Waschkova Cisarova is an Associate Professor at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Masaryk University, Czech Republic. Her teaching and research focus is on changes in journalistic work, local media, media ownership, emotions in journalism, and the transition of media markets. She is the author and editor of several journal articles, book chapters, and books on related topics.
Content
Acknowledgements
Preface
1. Setting the Stage: Public Service Media and Its Mission in the Remaking (Marina Urbanikova)
2. Public Service Media Through the Public's Eyes: Expectations, Evaluations, and Satisfaction (Klara Smejkal and Marina Urbanikova)
3. Political Perspectives: What Politicians and PSM Supervisory Board Members Think About Public Service Media and Its Regulation (Marina Urbanikova)
4. Inside Public Service Media: Manager and Journalist Perspectives on the Present and Future of PSM (Iveta Jansova, Klara Smejkal and Lenka Waschkova Cisarova)
5. Conclusion: PSM Finding Its Way Through the 21st Century (Marina Urbanikova)
References
Preface
1. Setting the Stage: Public Service Media and Its Mission in the Remaking (Marina Urbanikova)
2. Public Service Media Through the Public's Eyes: Expectations, Evaluations, and Satisfaction (Klara Smejkal and Marina Urbanikova)
3. Political Perspectives: What Politicians and PSM Supervisory Board Members Think About Public Service Media and Its Regulation (Marina Urbanikova)
4. Inside Public Service Media: Manager and Journalist Perspectives on the Present and Future of PSM (Iveta Jansova, Klara Smejkal and Lenka Waschkova Cisarova)
5. Conclusion: PSM Finding Its Way Through the 21st Century (Marina Urbanikova)
References