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Partnerships between public broadcasters and governments can work

By Antoinette Lazarus, South Africa | 21st April 2010


Photo by Nolwazi Shange

The CEO of India’s Public Service Broadcaster, Prasar Bharti, Baljit Singh Lalli says it is possible and desirable to have a creative partnership with the Government. Lalli was addressing delegates attending the Commonwealth Broadcasters Association (CBA) conference being held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

It is generally said that the public service broadcaster needs to keep the government at arms length, but, Lalli feels differently. He’s of the opinion that a partnership between the two can work if “ the public service broadcaster retains an independent editorial policy, has complete control of all operational and tactical decisions, but partners with the government in raising levels of awareness about public programmes, their implementation and impact”.

Lalli adds that disseminating information about public services and discussing public issues is at the heart of democracy. “This creative partnership between the public broadcaster and the government, whenever forged, helps in encouraging and sustaining a wholesome and healthy dialogue between citizens and those who administer public policies and programmes.”

Lalli says that in India there are a number of socially oriented governmental initiatives. “Of course, we cannot promote any political creed or party or ideology, the aim simply is to create awareness among people and give balanced inputs to our citizens,” he says.

Digital Era

Technology and bridging the digital divide was also given a platform in Lalli’s address. He says the digital era heralds opportunities for public broadcasters so that the new technologies can be adapted to provide more diverse, richer and faster content. Parsar Bharti like many other public broadcasters is also in the process of providing TV on mobile phones, digitalizing it’s network and using new media in a more substantive manner.

Lalli says Parsar Bharti hopes to reduce its independence on government funding as the use of new media would open several new streams of revenue. “The plan is to go in for public-private-platform model on a revenue sharing basis.”

PBS mandate

The role of the Public Service Broadcaster was again stressed in the last session of the CBA conference, with Lalli urging delegates not to forget that the public broadcaster’s role is to ‘engage in developing tastes, promote understanding, spread literacy and development and create an informed debate, empowering the disadvantaged’.