Managing in the Media

Chapter 2

British public service broadcasting

2.1 Summary

This chapter will consider a variety of definitions of public service broadcasting (PSB), tracing the history of the concept from the establishment of the British Broadcasting Company in 1922 to the multichannel broadcasting system we have today. The Broadcasting Research Unit’s definition will be considered, together with the findings of commissions on broadcasting. Public service broadcasting has, from its inception, been seen to be vital to the formation of a national identity. This chapter will therefore consider theories of identity, and debate what identity is created by the British broadcasters.

This introduction to PSB will mainly focus on the British broadcasting environment, ...