CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA
For 100 years public service media have been champions and innovators in bringing free-to-air news, sport and entertainment to Europe. Driven by the positive impact we can have on every single person we serve, we will continue to serve for the next 100 years. Keep Media Good is a pan-European campaign that showcases how public service media acts as a force for good in our lives. Organised by the EBU, it is the first time broadcasters have collaborated on a Europe-wide campaign. Find out more at keepmediagood.com.
100 Years of Media Technology Timeline
The 455-line system studio on Trial in Paris 1938
From 1922 when broadcasting took off in Europe to today’s merging of media, IP and IT, the technologists of public service media will never stop dreaming. From their dreams come advances in media technology. Their objective is to bring audiences the finest media experience that technology can provide. They will continue to strive to do so and shape our lives in the decades ahead. They have much to live up to – behind them are one hundred years of achievements. Discover the countless technology advances driven by public service media in our timeline.
Contribution to Society
Public service media (PSM) benefit society in many different ways from the positive impact they have on culture, education and democracy to their impact on the technological and the economic life of nations. Download and share the slides shown in the video.
EBU Members have access to a wealth of interviews with directors general, an executive guide on "The Value of Public Service Media" and more casebooks that will help you demonstrate the importance and worth of your media organization. Find these on our Contribution to Society page.
What is public service media?
Public service media (PSM) is broadcasting made, financed and controlled by the public, for the public. Their output, whether it be TV, radio or digital, is designed to inform, educate and entertain all audiences.
PSM broadcasters are often established by law but are non-partisan, independent and run for the benefit of society as a whole.
Well-funded and strong public service media are the cornerstones of democratic societies and have been shown to correlate with higher degrees of press freedom, lower levels of extremism and better control of corruption.
With the proliferation of fake news and hate speech in the world today, an independent, trusted source of news and information has never been more important.
As public service media, EBU Members share the same core values of:
- Universality
- Independence
- Excellence
- Diversity
- Accountability and
- Innovation.
Our Members have pledged to uphold these standards with the aim of empowering societies and democracies across the globe. You can find more on this in the signed declaration
The EBU helps its Members embody these public values through its services and initiatives and through the work it does with its partners in influencing media policy. We also work closely together with our Members when these core values are threatened.
