The Privatization of Television

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the qualitative effects on programming, structure, governance and employment when a broadcast industry is deregulated and when state TV is privatized. The author points out that media output in the form of programs is affected by deregulation and privatization in the areas of format, content and program schedules, such as the pushing aside of public service and traditional cultural formats in favor of talk shows. The paper illustrates that the negative effects of privatization outweighs its benefits because commercial operations are reliant on advertising and ratings resulting in dumbed-down, infotainment types of programming.

From the Paper:

"The argument is more into whether Governments' goals of rationalization of the Government corporate sector; competition and debt service were realized after privatization. First, governments embarked on reengineering of the bureaucracy and disposition of state-owned assets with the goals of efficiency and maximum ownership base in privatized corporations. While it is true that some private TV networks (e.g. ABS-CBN 2 in the Philippines), perform more efficiently in a limited economic sense (fiscal performance or economic viability) than State TV in a liberalized environment, economic efficiency is not a measure of ultimate economic performance."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aufderheide, P. (2000). The Daily Planet: A Critic on the Capitalist Culture Beat. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press
• Bates, B. J. (1993, May). The Macrosocial Impact of Communication Systems: Access, Bias and Control. Paper presented at the 43rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Washington, D.C. Available: http://www.excellent.com.utk.edu/~bates/papers/93ica3.htm
• Beattie, L., Khan, F. & Philo, G. (1999). Race, Advertising and the Public Face of Television. In G. Philo (Ed.) Message Received, (pp. 149-170). England: Longman
• Boston, J. (1995). The State Under Contract. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, Ltd.
• Bromley, M. (2000). The Manufacture of News --- Fast Moving Consumer Goods Production or Public Service? In D. Berry (Ed.) Ethics and Media Culture, (pp. 111-131). Oxford: Focal Press

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