HAM_F_03 Integration-related Remit and Functions of Public Service Media

Objectives/ Research Questions

Public service media play a pivotal role in the German media system and the media repertoires of citizens. In recent years, however, the debate about their mission and scope of services has intensified, especially with respect to their relevance in digital media environments. This interdisciplinary project combines perspectives from legal and regulatory science with communication science. It, in particular, addresses the following research questions: Is there a public service remit to create social cohesion? And how do different social groups perceive the actual performance of public service media in this respect?

Thematic Reference to Social Cohesion

Given their relative independence from state intervention and their reliance on broadcasting fees, public service media (PSM) are less affected by negative market externalities. Theoretically, this gives them an advantage in the editorial selection of topics and the production of media content. An orientation towards public interests would help, at least theoretically, to integrate diverse communities and enable political participation, thus fostering social cohesion. Starting from the German constitution and the current legal provisions, the project analyses the scope and aspects of an integration-related mandate of PSM. In addition, it examines to what extent the current public service broadcasters perform this mandate from the perspective of the population.

The project combines research on the institutional foundations of society – its media order – with empirical studies on the conception, implementation, and acceptance of “social cohesion” as a remit of PSM. The project focuses in particular on (1) attitudes and opinions (affective dimension) and (2) structural institutional conditions.