British Broadcasting and the Public-Private Dichotomy : Neoliberalism, Citizenship and the Public Sphere

This text offers a theoretical engagement with the ways in which private and public interests - and how those interests have been understood - have framed the changing rationale for broadcasting regulation, using the first century of UK broadcasting as a starting point. Unlike most books on broadcasting, this text adopts an explicitly Foucauldian and genealogical perspective in its account of media history and power, and unpicks how the meanings of terms such as 'public service' and 'public interest', as well as 'competition' and 'choice', have evolved over time. In considering the appropriation by broadcasting scholars of concepts such as neoliberalism, citizenship and the public sphere to a critical account of broadcasting history, the book assesses their appropriateness and efficacy by engaging with interdisciplinary debates on each concept. This work will be of particular significance to academics and students with an interest in media theory, history, policy and regulation, as well as those disposed to understanding as well as critiquing the neoliberalization of public media. British Broadcasting and the Public-Private Dichotomy 3 Preface 6 Acknowledgements 10 Contents 12 Part I Introduction, Theory and Methodology 14 1 Broadcasting Regulation, History and Theory 15 Broadcasting Regulation 15 Broadcasting History 19 Broadcasting Theory 22 Problematizing Broadcasting Critique 28 Aims and Structure 30 2 Genealogy, Critique and the Public-Private Dichotomy 32 Public and Private 33 Power and Critique 35 Genealogy and Problematization 40 Conclusion 45 Part II Key Concepts in Broadcasting Regulation 48 3 Broadcasting and the Public Sphere 49 PSB and the Public Sphere 49 Public Opinion and Rational-Critical Debate 54 The Pre-History of the Public Sphere 60 Press Freedom and Liberalism 62 The Social Welfare State and the Mass Media 64 Exclusions and Omissions – A Historical Revision 68 Conclusion 72 4 Broadcasting, Citizenship and Consumption 77 Broadcasting, Citizens and Consumers 78 Citizenship Rights and Equality 83 Citizenship, Participation and Culture 87 Critiquing Consumerism 91 Acknowledging Consumption 94 Conclusion 99 5 Broadcasting and Neoliberalism 101 The Privatization, Marketization and Neoliberalization of Broadcasting 101 Naming Neoliberalism 106 Historicizing Neoliberalism 110 Neoliberal Ideology 113 Neoliberal Governmentality 116 Liberalism and Neoliberalism 120 Conclusion 123 Part III Problematizing Broadcasting Regulation in the UK 125 6 Problematizing Public Control, Service, Interest and Value 126 Public Control and Private Enterprise 127 Public Service and Public Interest 128 The Wider Public Interest 129 Public Service, Market Failure and Consumer Sovereignty 130 A Wider Economic Framework 133 Public Value and the New Market Framework 134 Conclusion 136 7 Problematizing the Public, Citizens and Consumers 137 Consumer Sovereignty 138 Citizens and Consumers 142 Conclusion 147 8 Problematizing Monopoly, Competition and Choice 149 Monopoly 150 Competition 152 Good and Bad Competition 155 Choice and Competition Regulation 156 Conclusion 161 Part IV Confronting the Public-Private Dichotomy 162 9 The Social, the Political and the Public Sphere 163 Political and Social Rights 165 The Social and the Political 168 Politics Beyond Citizenship 174 Conclusion 177 10 Individualization, Voice and Citizenship 181 Moralism, Relativism and Critique 182 Individualization – Beyond the Citizen-Consumer Dichotomy? 184 Voice 189 Conclusion 192 11 Neoliberalization as Discursive Process 194 ‘Actually Existing’ Neoliberalism 194 Between Ideological and Governmental Approaches 198 Conclusion 204 12 Why the Public-Private Dichotomy Still Matters 206 The Problematizations 206 The Dichotomies 209 Critique and Neoliberalism 213 Concluding Remarks 216 References 218 Sources (chronological order) 238 Index 240 Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Broadcasting Regulation, History and Theory....Pages 3-19 Genealogy, Critique and the Public-Private Dichotomy....Pages 21-36 Front Matter....Pages 37-37 Broadcasting and the Public Sphere....Pages 39-66 Broadcasting, Citizenship and Consumption....Pages 67-90 Broadcasting and Neoliberalism....Pages 91-114 Front Matter....Pages 115-115 Problematizing Public Control, Service, Interest and Value....Pages 117-127 Problematizing the Public, Citizens and Consumers....Pages 129-140 Problematizing Monopoly, Competition and Choice....Pages 141-153 Front Matter....Pages 155-155 The Social, the Political and the Public Sphere....Pages 157-174 Individualization, Voice and Citizenship....Pages 175-187 Neoliberalization as Discursive Process....Pages 189-200 Why the Public-Private Dichotomy Still Matters....Pages 201-212 Back Matter....Pages 213-239