In 2016, the 16 federal state governments in Germany started discussions on the reform of public service broadcasting, prompted by the prospect of having to raise license fees—the main source of income for German public service broadcasters. The discussions proceeded in two directions. One aimed at cost reduction by further streamlining the organizations and services of public service broadcasters. The other involved a more comprehensive approach of reviewing the remit of public service broadcasters, taking into consideration of the recent changes in the media landscape such as the spread of video streaming services and social media. It took time, however, for these discussions to come to a consensus. In November 2022, the amendments to the Interstate Media Treaty were finally passed as the achievement of the latter discussion. The main revisions included the redefinition of public service broadcasters’ remit in the digital information space, changes in the form of service commissioning aiming at enabling faster transformation from broadcasting to online distribution, and increased authority of internal supervisory boards. Also triggered by a scandal involving the head of a public broadcaster in the summer of 2022, the chairman of ARD (Association of Public Broadcasting Corporations in Germany) stated that it would be necessary to make a drastic reform to take a step further to restructure the organizations and services of public service broadcasting. In response, the federal state governments and public service broadcasters respectively re-initiated reform efforts in November 2022, which is still ongoing. This paper tracks these complicated developments of the public service broadcasting reform in Germany that began in 2016 and has continued to this day. Along the way, the author also elucidates what challenges the progress of digital transformation poses to the remit, organizations, and services of German public broadcasters and how solutions are being sought.

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The NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute has been regularly conducting nationwide surveys of schools and individual teachers since 1950 to study the ongoing situations of the media environment in schools as well as to overview the usage of NHK’s educational services such as broadcasting, the internet, and events. It has been two years since the “GIGA School Concept” was introduced in full scale. The concept aims to equip primary and junior high schools across Japan with “one-to-one device” for pupils and students and “high-speed internet connection” in an integrated manner. The AY2022 survey aimed at individual junior high school teachers to understand the usage of “one-to-one devices” not only how they are used in the classrooms but also whether and how they are used at home. The number of surveyed subjects has increased from the previous occasion by one to five for the first time in the series: science, social studies, Japanese language, foreign languages, and mathematics. Compared to the survey result in AY 2019, when the “GIGA School Concept” was yet to be introduced, teachers with access to tablet computers have markedly increased (from 63% to 91%), and those with access to the internet have also risen (from 77% to 93%). Teachers who let students use “GIGA school devices” (personal computers or tablet devices distributed to each student) in the classroom are 87% overall in all five subjects, among whom more than 60% let students take the “GIGA school devices” home for home learning. With regards to the use of media materials in the classroom, there have been increases in the utilization rates of “digital textbook for teachers” (from 33% to 49%) and of “NHK for School”—the use of NHK’s school broadcasts and/or NHK Digital Curriculum” (from 38% to 49%). By subject, while “NHK for School” is used by many science and social studies teachers, “digital textbooks for teachers” and “digital textbooks for learners” are used by many foreign language teachers, showing a difference in the usage depending on the subject. As to teachers’ support for students’ home learning, many (70%) use “commercially available workbooks and handouts” and “print-version textbooks.” Meanwhile, 60% use “digital materials” such as “applications and digital workbooks” that students learn on computers and tablet devices at home, which suggests that supports provided for home learning are diversifying. “Simultaneous interactive online teaching” tools equipped with video conferencing, material sharing, and communication functions, which can be utilized both for school lessons and home learning, are used by 84% of the teachers. The media environment in the classroom has drastically changed by the implementation of “GIGA School Concept.” With challenges still remaining, such as the disparity in the media environment at home, it is imperative to contemplate the total design of learning support, taking into account both school and home learning, focusing on how students’ learning can expand through the utilization of media materials that can connect lessons and home learning, such as NHK for School” and “digital textbooks for learners,” as well as “simultaneous interactive online teaching” tools.

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This second report of “The Survey on the Lives and Attitudes of Middle and High School Students,” which was conducted by NHK in summer 2022, focuses on the attitudes of middle and high school students (hereinafter “students”) and their parents towards gender. Female students hoping to go to university account for 54%, exceeding male students (48%) for the first time in 40 years. Likewise, ten years ago, there were more parents of boys wanting their children to “go on to university” than those of girls, but such difference was not found in the 2022 survey. While the gender gap in terms of desire for higher education is narrowing, domestic matters, or how parents treat their children, indicate different tendencies depending on the sex of the child. Many parents find their sons “lagging behind in studies” or “weak-willed.” Parents agreeing with the idea of “developing masculine traits for sons, and feminine for daughters” account for more than 70% of parents of male students. Still, many students are not preoccupied with traditional gender roles, being more tolerant with diversity. To a question what if a close friend confessed, “my gender identity does not match with my physical body,” those responding that it would be “understandable” were nearly 70% for middle school students, and as many as 80% for high school students. As to parents’ childcare-sharing, while “carried out mainly by mother” is still the majority, which is no change from 10 years ago, the future ideal of childcare-sharing envisioned by students shows many of them citing “father and mother sharing childcare equally,” which has markedly increased from ten years ago, from 50% to 70%.

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In the age of digital transformation where the sources of information and entertainment are ever expanding, public service broadcasters around the world are working to reexamine their roles and find their footing in the new media ecosystem, as they make their own digital transition to expand their service beyond traditional broadcast. To learn from their insights, the Overseas Media Studies Group of the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute interviewed six representatives of public service media who attended the Public Broadcasters International (PBI) annual meeting held in November 2022 in Tokyo. We asked what challenges each media outlet was facing and what roles public service media (PSM) should play. The third installment of this series features interviews with Cindy Shyu, President of Taiwan Public Television Service (PTS Taiwan), and David Sutton, Senior Strategist at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). “PSM provides service that everyone gets” says Mr. Sutton. He said they guarantee reliable news relevant to local communities and quality cultural contents that reflect their own culture. People have come to rely more on PSM such as ABC as newspapers close and ‘news desert’ expands. At the same time, some groups of people are questioning the legitimacy and the need of PSM, leading to governments curtailing their funding and activities, and that is why public trust is crucial for PSM to stay independent, in order to continue to fulfill their role, according to Mr. Sutton. Ms. Shyu underlined the importance of “digital first,”- delivering content on diverse platforms for viewers both in Taiwan and abroad. She emphasized the significance of digital transformation (DX) that would allow younger generations to bring out their potentials and experienced professionals to pass on their knowledge and experiences. She also mentioned the geopolitical necessity of focusing on countermeasures against disinformation and information security.

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In January 2023, the British public broadcaster BBC published the results of an external review assessing whether they were achieving impartiality in their coverage of contentious topics. This initiative started following a recommendation of another review which scrutinized the BBC's editorial standards in the aftermath of a historic scandal. The first topics chosen for this latest review were taxation, public spending, and government borrowing and debt. The work was led by a seasoned economic expert and a broadcaster who examined 11,000 pieces of relevant content and looked closely into 1,000 of them. They analyzed whether the BBC's broadcast, radio, and online content reflected a breadth of voices and viewpoints. They also considered various elements such as accuracy, use of data, and the questions, and the tone of interviews. The BBC has been facing increasing criticism for being ”biased or ”unfair” as political and social divisions widen and debates become argumentative, especially on social media. While the report did not find evidence of ”political bias,” it pointed out that there were ”gaps and assumptions” which put impartiality at risk.

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