Media to serve the public

Abstract

There is much confusion about how the term "public service" should be understood in the field of socia/ communication. In broad terms the public at large usual/y understands it to be a service of eosy access, free of charge ond general/y conducive to the public interest and the defence of citizens' rights, or characterised by other similar cri.terio. But it is one thing for the media, whether public or prívate, to respond to the real interests of the public, and quite another for the state to arrogate to itself the exclusive ownership thereof, on the pre­text of protecting general interests that are in fact not always safeguarded. A statist con­ception of the public service is sti/1 upheld todoy, more or less surreptitiously, in countries where the state tries to justify its news monopoly or, at least, the obligation of broadcasting the messages imposed by the government.