Trine Syvertsen
PUBLIC TELEVISION IN TRANSITION: A COMPARATIVE AND HISTORICAL
ANALYSIS OF THE BBC AND THE NRK
Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
at
TABLE
OF CONTENT:
PART
ONE: INTRODUCTION, THEORY AND METHODOLOGY
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1.
Approach and research questions
1.2.
'Public service broadcasting'?
1.3.
Thesis outline
2.
THEORY AND APPROACH
2.1.
Constraints, forces and interests
2.2.
Broadcasting institutions: Survival, legitimacy and change
2.3.
Historical and social change
3.
METHODOLOGY, CASES AND SOURCES
3.1.
Comparative analysis: The cases
3.2.
Documentary analysis: The sources
PART
TWO: PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND PUBLIC TELEVISION
4.
PUBLIC BROADCASTING: ORIGINS AND CHARACTERISTICS
4.1.
Why public broadcasting: Constraints, interests and perspectives
4.2.
Public broadcasting: Original characteristics
4.2.1. The control structure
4.2.2. The privileges
4.2.3. The obligations
5.
TELEVISION: INTRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENTS BEFORE 1980
5.1.
The development and implementation of television
5.2.
The control structure
5.3.
The privileges
5.4.
The obligations
6.
PUBLIC TELEVISION PR. 1980: CORPORATIONS AND CONCEPTS
6.1.
Fragmentation of the PSB support base
6.2.
Public broadcasting anno 1980: Structures and programming
PART
THREE: RE-REGULATION OF BROADCASTING IN
7.
CHANGES IN THE FRAMEWORK FOR BROADCASTING
POLICY-MAKING
7.1.
Transformation of the technological constraints
7.2.
Transformation of the economic context for broadcasting
7.3.
Shifts in the balance between citizens and consumers
8.
ECONOMIC INTERESTS AND DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN
THE
MEDIA INDUSTRIES
8.1.
The hardware interests
8.2.
The software interests
8.3.
The advertising interests
8.4.
General developments within the media industries
9.
GOVERNMENT INTERESTS AND POLICY-INITIATIVES
9.1.
Challenges to governments and policy-makers in the 1980s
9.2.
Political situations and government policy-initiatives
9.3.
Intergovernmental policy-initiatives
10.
CITIZENS' VIEWS AND PERSPECTIVES
10.1.
General ideological and philosophical positions
10.2.
Dominant perspectives: 'Quality' and 'national culture'
10.3.
Democracy and pluralism of information
10.4.
Regionalism and regional programming
10.5.
Sex, violence and moral standards
10.6.
Protection of the interests of vulnerable groups
10.7.
Protection of vulnerable types of programming
10.8.
Negative alliances and legislative changes
PART
FOUR: PUBLIC TELEVISION IN BRITAIN AND NORWAY IN THE 1980S AND EARLY 1990S:
IMPLICATIONS AND RESPONSES
11.
THE CONTROL STRUCTURE: IMPLICATIONS AND RESPONSES
11.1.
Control over the licence to broadcast
11.2.
Appointment of controllers
11.3.
Financial control
11.4.
Control over content
12.
THE PRIVILEGES: IMPLICATIONS AND RESPONSES
12.1.
From monopoly and duopoly to a multi-channel environment
12.2.
Strategies for financial survival
13.
THE OBLIGATIONS: IMPLICATIONS AND RESPONSES
13.1.
A universal service
13.2.
A 'balanced' output
13.3.
In the 'national interest'
PART
FIVE: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
14.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
14.1. Broadcasting and social change:
Structures, actions and ideological perspectives
14.2. Public broadcasting corporations:
Survival, legitimacy and change
APPENDIX
A: PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIAL AND DOCUMENTARY SOURCES
1. General comments
2. Overview over the primary source material
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people have played a supportive role in the creation of this thesis.
Above all, I am indebted to my tutor Olga Linne for her valuable advice,
good-humoured encouragement, intellectual feedback and stimulating comments
throughout the project. She has read and commented numerous drafts, often
at a short notice, and has combined a thorough and critical approach to
my work with a helpful and supportive attitude towards me. She has also
provided wonderful meals and many other forms of diversion and entertainment,
and has thereby contributed towards making my years in Leicester a memorable
and valuable time for me.
Thanks also to the archival staff at the Ministry of Culture in Oslo,
who, in contrast to what was the case with the Home Office in Britain, actively
encouraged me to look through their records; to Martin Field who lent me
his collection of documents related to the British Broadcasting Bill; to
the BBC and the NRK which (at times) sent me the documents I had asked for;
and to the many researchers, broadcasters and friends with whom I have had
the pleasure of discussing the fate of public service broadcasting over
the last five years.
Five people deserve to be mentioned because they played a crucial role
during the final stages of the project. Martin Eide, Helge Østbye and Karl
Knapskog read the manuscript at a short notice and provided critical and
stimulating comments, Peter Thompson corrected my English and gave me valuable
advice, and Arild Aspøy offered masses of moral support, checked all the
references and corrected many mistakes. I am grateful to them all.
Finally, I am indebted to academic and administrative staff at the Centre
for Mass Communication Research in Leicester and the Department of Mass
Communication at the University of Bergen, for providing working environments
which were both challenging and supportive, and to present and former students
in Leicester and Bergen for fellowship, support, advice and yet more challenges.
Especial thanks go to my colleagues and friends Ingunn Hagen, Eva Bakøy
and Borghild Gramstad for endless intellectual and emotional feedback, and
for helping me to stay in touch with reality during the rough periods.