The public interest role of the Serbian public service broadcasters

The public interest role of the Serbian public service broadcasters

Novi Sad School of Journalism published an analysis of the news and information programming of Radio Television of Serbia and Radio Television of Vojvodina, the national and regional public service broadcasters (PSBs). It was led by the envisaged role of public service broadcasters - serving the public that consists of active members of the community, who want to be well-informed in order to make rational decisions on the development of their own community, in their own best interests.

The results of the analysis suggest that the public service broadcasters in Serbia to a great degree promote human rights values, but that they do not assure equal presentation of different viewpoints on relevant socio-political issues, that they primarily reflect the interests of political elite in the selection of the topics, while controversial topics are avoided and critical views are not adequately presented.

The analysis includes not only review of the content but also the managing and financing models of PSB-s in Serbia, offering recommendations on how to improve the funding models, organisational structure and finally the programming, bringing it closer to the legal and regulatory requirements, and finally to the interests of the public.

Note: the publication is in Serbian language.

Author: 
SEEmediaobservatory