Öffentliche Rundfunkorganisationen als Media Commons?

Abstract

This volume uses the theory of the commons, which is often associated with Elinor Ostrom, to conduct a holistic analysis of public service broadcasting. The author argues that social participation, collaborative production and open access to content, as well as distance to markets and the state, are central to the legitimacy of this form of media organisation in the digital age. She discusses three opposing approaches to the theory of the commons and related ‘conceptual stumbling blocks’, and suggests 18 characteristics in order to analyse media organisations as ‘media commons’. By means of a document analysis, she examines 30 public service broadcasting organisations—including ‘the usual suspects’, like ARD, the BBC, ORF or SRG, but also lesser known organisations. She concludes that public service broadcasters feature some, but by no means all, of the characteristics of ‘media commons’ and that they operate with varying degrees of sustainability.