Media Policy and Globalization - Blogs Unpad

98 MEDIA POLICY AND GLOBALIZATION
British governments assigned the role of scrutiny and policy proposal
making to a number of independent committees. From Sykes (1923) to
Beveridge (1951) and from Pilkington (1962) to the Peacock Committee
(1986) and to the Communications Act of 2003, British governments
have sought to define the ‘problem’ within specific discursive frameworks
that reflect the ideological dispositions of the dominant groups of British
society. Therefore the definition of public service broadcasting in Britain
as a ‘national service’ was represented by the Sykes Committee in a period
when the politics of the country was geared towards democratic representation
and universal suffrage. The beginnings and development of a
welfare state in the country were also created under conditions friendlier
to broadcasting decentralization (proposed by the Ullswater Committee
in 1936) than the totalitarian regimes of Germany and Italy that sought
to exercise absolute control over broadcasts.
The fall of British colonial rule gave an impetus to reassessment of the
role of the BBC. Compounded by the beginnings of the cold war era and
the intensification of a capitalist economy, the conservative government
supported the establishment of commercial broadcasting (1954), withdrawing
its support for a PSB monopoly and introducing an immature
television programming to the competition environment of the market.
A series of government interventions since the 1950s has extended the
liberalization of the media market in Great Britain and, with every step,
the ‘issue’ of the BBC is addressed anew. This sustained state hostility has
not managed to marginalize the corporation, as it evolved and maintained
its position as the most successful public service broadcaster in the world
and has increased its revenue and strengthened its position in international
communication systems. The added risks caused by deregulation
of both the market and the use of new technological possibilities and in
particular the digitization of communications were pointed out in the
early days of television digitization in Britain (Chalaby and Segell 1999).
Largely owing to its commercial ventures, the BBC succeeded in reorganizing
its structure and priorities and is currently offering a number
of digital services alongside private entertainment or highly specialized
channels. The other European broadcasters, however, often struggle with
decreased audience shares and little development-oriented policy.
Protecting one’s own: cultural expression and policy hegemonies
Broadcasting policy has impacted upon European market integration like
few other policy areas in the EU. It has created a market for private
European media conglomerates and has allowed cross-ownership and
increased ownership concentration despite strong objections from the