Order Soma - Lowest Prices Guaranteed http://www.beyondbroadcast.net/blog/?p=35 New directions in public media for a digital, participatory era Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:27:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 Order Soma - Lowest Prices Guaranteed http://www.beyondbroadcast.net/blog/?p=35#comment-11 Wed, 12 Apr 2006 12:23:57 +0000 http://www.beyondbroadcast.net/blog/?p=35#comment-11 This post made me realize that there isn't a formal definition for "Public Media," and so I thought I'd share some free associations that come into my mind when I try to define it for myself. It seems easier to define public media by looking at what the private -- or corporate / mainstream / profit-driven -- media fails to do, which is have an attention span beyond the 24/7 news cycle. The economic bottom-line also seems to drive private media, while public media has multiple bottom lines that try to incorporate the public interest and the social impact of their coverage. This is not to say that private media doesn't try to help society as well, but that there is a clear threshold of entertainment value that a story must exceed before it is covered by private media. Public media tries to fill the gap by going the extra mile to shine spotlights on relevant issues that may not necessarily be interesting. Because public media identifies more with the public interest than their self-interest, then they are better suited to start conversations that may not have a business model. The dialogue that they facilitate is for the good of society, but is not as profitable and therefore needs to find alternative ways to become financially sustainable. This post made me realize that there isn’t a formal definition for “Public Media,” and so I thought I’d share some free associations that come into my mind when I try to define it for myself.

It seems easier to define public media by looking at what the private — or corporate / mainstream / profit-driven — media fails to do, which is have an attention span beyond the 24/7 news cycle.

The economic bottom-line also seems to drive private media, while public media has multiple bottom lines that try to incorporate the public interest and the social impact of their coverage.

This is not to say that private media doesn’t try to help society as well, but that there is a clear threshold of entertainment value that a story must exceed before it is covered by private media. Public media tries to fill the gap by going the extra mile to shine spotlights on relevant issues that may not necessarily be interesting.

Because public media identifies more with the public interest than their self-interest, then they are better suited to start conversations that may not have a business model. The dialogue that they facilitate is for the good of society, but is not as profitable and therefore needs to find alternative ways to become financially sustainable.

]]> Order Soma - Lowest Prices Guaranteed http://www.beyondbroadcast.net/blog/?p=35#comment-10 Tue, 11 Apr 2006 21:01:54 +0000 http://www.beyondbroadcast.net/blog/?p=35#comment-10 [...] Over at the Beyond Broadcast 2006 blog, Colin Rhinesmith writes: On May 12th and 13th, The Berkman Center – along with a team of others – is hosting “Beyond Broadcast: Reinventing Public Media in a Participatory Culture”. The title assumes that something called “public media” exists – but what is it? [...] […] Over at the Beyond Broadcast 2006 blog, Colin Rhinesmith writes: On May 12th and 13th, The Berkman Center – along with a team of others – is hosting “Beyond Broadcast: Reinventing Public Media in a Participatory Culture”. The title assumes that something called “public media” exists – but what is it? […]

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