ABSTRACT

Public broadcasters, like the BBC and the Italian broadcaster RAI, are some of the most important media organisations in the world. Politicians are often tempted to interfere in the workings of these broadcasters and when this happens, the results are highly controversial, as both the Blair and Berlusconi governments have discovered.

Public Broadcasting and Political Interference explains why some broadcasters are good at resisting politicians’ attempts at interference, and have won a reputation for independence – and why other broadcasters have failed to do the same. It takes a comparative approach of broadcasters in different countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Sweden arguing political independence for public service broadcasters is important because of its contribution to democracy allowing voters alternative sources of information which allow them to choose between electoral alternatives.

The book will be of interest to be of interest to policy-makers, scholars and students of political communication, broadcasting and the media.

part I|41 pages

The broad picture

chapter 1|8 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|31 pages

The broad picture

Testing rival theories of independence on 36 public broadcasters

part II|134 pages

Specific cases

chapter 3|36 pages

Italy

The absence of Caesars

chapter 4|8 pages

Spain

Huge steps forward?

chapter 5|36 pages

The United Kingdom

“Treading delicately like Agag”

chapter 6|11 pages

Ireland

Importing experience

chapter 7|28 pages

Sweden

“Disturbing neither God nor Hitler”

chapter 8|13 pages

Denmark

Being driven to the left?

part III|20 pages

Comparisons and conclusions

chapter 9|10 pages

Comparing the six broadcasters

chapter 10|8 pages

Conclusions