Media Uncovered – Details, episodes & analysis

For our final episode of 2024, and the final in our short bonus series of conversations recorder at the PBI conference in Ottawa, we sit down with two public media CEOs, to discuss what it's like, running a public media organisation. 

Both Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, and Hanna Stjärne, CEO of Swedish Television, will be leaving their positions at the end of this year. In this podcast, they consider their achievements and any regrets. As two women, they also talk about the harassment, attacks and threats they have faced during their time. Plus, they talk about the future of public media in their respective countries, the wider challenges facing the industry and journalism. 

Presenter: Harry Lock. Producer: Jamie Tahana. Guests: Catherine Tait (CBC/Radio-Canada), Hanna Stjärne (SVT). Music: Rachel Still, Lucas Thompson, & Tom Brazier. 

In this second bonus episode, featuring a conversation recorded in Ottawa in October at the Public Broadcasters International conference, we explore the Public Spaces Incubator.

The Incubator was originally founded as a partnership between four public broadcasters – CBC/Radio-Canada, RTBF, SRG SSR and ZDF – and one tech company, called New_Public. It released its first prototypes earlier this year, and has now welcomed ABC and ARD onboard as well.

How did the Incubator start? What problems is it trying to solve? And when co-productions of this nature are so hard to get off the ground, what's the secret behind the success of the Incubator?

Presenter: Harry Lock. Producer: Jamie Tahana. Guests: Catherine Tait, CBC/Radio-Canada & Eli Pariser, New_Public. Music: Lucas Thompson, Rachel Still & Tom Brazier. 

For more information on the Public Spaces Incubator: https://newpublic.org/psi.

What has the impact of the digital age been on public service media? What challenges has it thrown up? How have public media adapted? What opportunities does increasing digital connectivity throw up for public media entities? 

In this one-on-one conversation with the Senior Research Associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Nic Newman, we explore how the digital age gives public media access to young audiences, how it has presented financial challenges, and how it has impacted the entire media ecosystem. 

Presenter: Harry Lock. Guests: Nic Newman (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism)

Music: Lucas Thompson, Rachel Still. 

Links: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Digital News Report 2023: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2023

PMA Global Grants 2024: https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/resources/grants-opportunities/pma-global-grant/.

Speaking to three public broadcasters from three continents, we explore how public service media provide language services, why they're so vital, and what difference they make, from the provision of critical lifesaving information, to the upholding of Indigenous cultures and languages. But language services face challenges – particularly when it comes to reaching the audiences, and getting the funding to provide the quality of service you need. 

Presenter: Harry Lock. Guests: Stanley Similo (NBC); Vicky Eluq (RTM); Bakel Walden (SRG SSR).  Reporter: Desilon Daniels (PMA). Special thanks to Menesia Muinjo and Bianca Gowases of NBC for the vox pops. 

Music: Lucas Thompson, Rachel Still and Tom Brazier. 

Over the past couple of episodes, we’ve been examining the relationship between public media and social media. In this episode – the final episode of this mini series – we’re asking how can we regulate social media? How can we ensure a more balanced media ecosystem, where media organisations are financially viable, publicly visible and accessible, and where mis- and disinformation is controlled?

Presenter: Harry Lock. Guests: Pascal Albrechtskirchinger (ZDF), Helen Jay (University of Westminster), Courtney C. Radsch, David Sutton (ABC). Reporter: Desilon Daniels (PMA). 

Music: Lucas Thompson, Rachel Still and Tom Brazier. 

Special effects: Studio Kolomna, Microsammy and pixabay. 

In the last episode, we ended with a vision from the Director General of RTBF, Jean-Paul Philippot, where RTBF no longer needs to be on social media. In this episode, we dig deeper. Jean-Paul says to leave platforms, they first need to bring audiences to their own apps. So how can public broadcasters do that? We look to NRK and what we can learn from their experience moving away from third-party audio platforms. 

And when there is such a gulf in size and spending power between PSM and tech platforms, how can you attract those audiences? Does the answer lie in user-generated content? We explore two initiatives trying to find the answer to this question, and provide a digital space which is filled with democratic debate rather than toxic abuse or mis- and disinformation. 

Presenter: Harry Lock. Guests: Jean-Paul Philippot (RTBF), Cathinka Rondan (NRK), Catherine Tait (CBC/Radio-Canada), and Matthias Pfeffer (The Council for a European Public Space). Music: Rachel Still, Lucas Thompson and Tom Brazier.

Link to roundtable event: https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/psm-unpacked-connecting-with-and-serving-indigenous-audiences/

Throughout the past two decades, social media networks have provided opportunities for public media to reach younger audiences and provide fresh content. It's been a necessary move, as younger audiences increasingly use these sites as a source of news. But recent headlines about two networks in particular – Twitter and TikTok – have shone a spotlight on public media’s relationship with social media. What do these issues tell us about what it means for public service media to be on social media? And when the mission and values that govern social media are so different to that of public media, can public service media survive on these platforms? Presenter: Harry Lock. Guests: Jean-Paul Philippot (RTBF), Christian Gillinger (Swedish Radio), Courtney C. Radsch, and Philippe Edmond and Anne-Sophie Letellier (CBC/Radio-Canada).

Music: Rachel Still, Lucas Thompson and Tom Brazier.

How can public service media manage and mitigate the cyber security threats which they now face? These threats – such as phishing, ransomware, or online abuse & harassment – are becoming ever more present and real. And they’re having an ever-greater impact on public service media – both at an organisational and an individual level. The seriousness of the threat has seen the cyber security team at CBC/Radio-Canada swell in size over just one decade.

This podcast is a conversation with the people leading the Canadian broadcaster’s cyber security response, from how they deal with these threats, to where they see threats developing in the future. 

Presenter: Harry Lock. Guests: Philippe Edmond and Anne-Sophie Letellier (CBC/Radio-Canada). Music: Rachel Still, Lucas Thompson and Tom Brazier. 

Video on demand has been around for barely longer than a decade, and yet it’s now impossible to imagine public broadcasting without it… let alone the wider media landscape. Its impact has been huge. 

In this episode, we look at public broadcasting in a streaming world. How has public service media changed in a changing market to remain competitive, relevant, and valued by their audience? How has the rise of those global streamers affected national public media? And how are public broadcasters rising to the challenge? 

Presenter: Harry Lock. Guests: Jari Lahti (Yle); Dr Alessandro D'Arma (University of Westminster); Wolfgang Kreißig (Die Medienanstalten); SunWook Choi (KBS). Music: Rachel Still, Lucas Thompson and Tom Brazier. 

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In this episode, we examine the various ways in which radio is being used as a force for peace? From its utility able to reach audiences, other forms of media cannot access, to the way it establishes a special connection with its audience, radio possesses a unique power in being able to break down barriers, and establish social unity. 

So where and how is this being done? We head to Colombia to speak to two people working for the 'emisoras de paz' (peace radio stations) created through the 2016 Peace Agreement, and also to the Central African Republic where an independent radio station is trying to establish peace. 

Presenter: Harry Lock. Guests: Yesenia Polania & Juan Ricardo Pulido (RTVC); Brice Landry Ndangoui (Radio Ndeke Luka); and Jackie Dalton (Fondation Hirondelle). Translation: Glynis Robshaw. Voiceover: Libby Corrie. Music: Lucas Thompson, Rachel Still, Tom Brazier.