Leapfrogging into the market approach: the loss of public service broadcasting for development and nation building

Can public service broadcasting under the pressure of the market approach be saved for development and nation building purposes in developing countries? Within the context of the ongoing debate about the future of public service broadcasting and how to justify it, this paper seeks answers to the above question by first of all describing what the market paradigm or approach to the regulation and management of broadcasting entails. Thereafter the approach’s impact on public service broadcasting (PSB) is briefly discussed, followed by an analysis of the impact thereof on broadcasting in developing countries. South African broadcasting is the case study. In the following part, public service broadcasting policy is problematised by focussing on the paradoxes that faces policy-makers and researchers, leading them to consider whether the time has not arrived to seek a new model for public service broadcasting. In the concluding part an alternative is suggested, namely to focus on public service broadcasting as a genre offered by all role players in the broadcasting sector, instead of focussing on public service broadcasting as an institution. It is argued that such an approach could eliminate many of the present problems associated with PSB in a changed and converged media environment and simultaneously ensure social responsibility in broadcasting in developing countries.