Normative and Audience Discourses on Public Service Journalism at a “Critical Juncture”: the Case of TVE in Spain

ABSTRACT

The concept of journalism, its metatheory and, in particular, public service journalism is regulated by feedback between political models (legal and normative framework), academic precepts and social practices. Scant attention has been paid to date to the impact that these models have on citizens’ discourses, which is especially relevant at “critical junctures”, i.e. periods in which the old institutions are collapsing and require renovation. Hence, this paper addresses the issue in the Spanish context in order to explore the similarities and differences between the academic/legal/normative framework and audience discourses. The former has been studied using documents, reports and legislation, and the latter explored by means of discussion groups with viewers of the newscasts of Televisión Española (TVE).

KEYWORDS:

• Public service journalism
• media democracy
• normative framework
• TVE
• metajournalism
• critical juncture
• audience discourses
• reception analysis

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

María Lamuedra http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3688-3488

Mª Concepción Mateos http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6805-0624

Manuel A. Broullón-Lozano http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0840-474X

Notes

1 In Spain there are also regional public media corporations in 12 of the 17 Spanish regions, comprising FORTA (Federación de Organismos de Radio y Televisión Autonómicos), in addition to numerous local public radio and television stations depending on local council funding.

2 In Moe Hallvard.

3 In Spain, also known as the 15-M movement.

4 Although representativity was not the aim of this study, a reasonable degree of diversity was needed to make sure that different positions were taken into account. Thirty subjects took part in the discussion groups: 18 men and 12 women. Five of them were aged over 55, 12 between 36 and 55 and 21 under 35. Subjects with a lower socio-economic status were reckoned with by creating a focus group of people without higher education. Geographical diversity was achieved by creating the groups in different provinces, although this variable has not proved to be significant for the analysis.

5 The only TV channel which tends to be considered left-wing in Spain.

6 The alternative allowed by the advent of the Internet was also discussed (Surfer Group).

7 This discussion is developed in another paper (now in the process of publication) offering a detailed analysis of viewers’ demands for participation and voice.

8 A process that can be clearly seen in the creation of a professional online newspaper space, supported by citizens’ subscriptions, in Spain over the past decade (Informe Anual de la Profesión Periodística 2015, 65-66).

9 The most prudent conjecture is that the time and effort that the News Council has dedicated to denouncing these issues in the media and different institutions have put them on the news agenda. However, no study has been undertaken as yet to confirm this possibility.

Additional information

Funding

This paper forms part of the “Dinámicas de relación ante el cambio social: contextos, contenidos, productores, público y produsuarios en las noticias de TVE e YLE” (CSO2013-45470-R) research project, financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness 2013 National Programme for Research Aimed at the Challenges of Society, and led by María Lamuedra and Manuel Ángel Vázquez Medel. This programme also received supporting funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).