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Konrad Mitschka PUBLIC VALUE TEXTE The definition was given right at the beginning: "Public Value: The qualifying distinguishing feature in the evaluation of media programs is the additional public benefit that programs provide, even if, and perhaps even because, they rely on large reach or identified target groups for the sake of economic rationality," This is how communications scientist Prof. Dr. Thomas Bauer (University of Vienna) explains the term "Public Value" in TEXTE 1. In the following edition, TEXTE 2, Priv.Doz.DDr. Julia Wippersberg (University of Vienna) defines the difference between commercial and public media: "Public providers have (in contrast to private broadcasting corporations) by their programme mandate the obligation and the task to generate Public Values". The historian Univ.-Prof.Dr. Karl Vocelka (University of Vienna) is even more explicit in TEXTE 3: "Public broadcasting is not only necessary as a counterweight against the dumbing down of the population by private broadcasters, but is also indispensable as a socio-political steering body for the basic lines of orientation of this state towards its own identity and consciousness."

Since its inception, the publication series "PUBLIC VALUE TEXTE" has been committed to the discourse of public service quality. More than 250 authors have participated in this discourse, not only describing general distinctive features, but also repeatedly discussing specific topics. Dr. Beate Großegger (Institute for Youth Culture Research), for example, discussed the topic of youth: "From the point of view of youth research, public broadcasting has a different mandate: On the one hand, it should serve both the information and entertainment needs of young media users in as sophisticated a manner as possible. On the other hand, public broadcasting should also contribute to correcting the common wishful thinking and distorted images of today's youth by providing adult audiences with information offerings that show youth at least approximately as it really is - namely youth in all its diversity and breadth". Dr. Brigitte Naderer (University of Munich) writes in her contribution on, among other things, advertising in public media: "Advertising is necessary to cover the production costs of media providers. But the placement of this advertising content plays a role especially in the consciously perceived media enjoyment of the viewer. Public television stands for this uninterrupted media enjoyment and thus sides with its audience."

ORF Public Value has published its own issues on the programme pillars of sports, science, and entertainment. DI Dr. Helmut Leopold (AIT), for example, establishes the training of "digital literacy" "as a fundamental core task for Public Service Media institutions" and Dr. Georg Spitaler (University of Vienna) says on the subject of sports: "Critical journalism instead of alleged "national interest" also concerns sports, especially in times when the public sphere appears to be endangered by the obsequious reporting of paid PR and journalistically unreliable social media". Prof. Dr. Gabriele Siegert (University of Zurich) sums up public entertainment in this way: "At the same time, the entertainment production of public providers is also facing current challenges, driven by technological and economic imperatives, firstly in a changing media industry, secondly in changing content and thirdly in changing media use. In view of these developments, a debate on quality must be intensified. However, while quality criteria in journalism have been discussed intensively for a long time, the debate about quality in entertainment is more limited. Nevertheless, starting points for quality entertainment can also be found here, such as legality, transparency, content, design, comprehensibility, harmlessness, professionalism, innovation, acceptance, and diversity, as well as the contribution to identity construction, which is especially important for small states." Other special issues have dealt with the task of Public Service Media in relation to elections, the Eurovision Song Contest and, most recently, the coronavirus. Again and again, the contributions pointed out the special nature of the tasks, especially about information. Dr. Beate Winkler (Bureau of European Policy Advisers of the European Commission), for example, puts it this way: "Public broadcasting - and not the private providers - has the task of ensuring that the plurality of our society is reflected in the programming and that the journalistic contributions are based on the common system of values." Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ulrich Körtner (University of Vienna) stated: "From the point of view of democracy, information comes first. This must remain the case if public broadcasting is to continue to have a right to exist. Without comprehensive information, the participation of citizens in a democratic society and its political decision-making is not possible."

And Univ.-Prof. Dr. Peter Vitouch (University of Vienna) interpreted Public Service Media psychologically: "Public Service Media serve as mountain guides in the rugged, rocky terrain of fear management. As a counterpart to the tabloids, which make recipients fearful, immobile, and helpless with their undifferentiated horror news." There were also repeated references to the importance of Public Service Media on the Internet, although - or precisely because - ORF is subject to strict restrictions here, which for years made self-evident attitudes such as "online first" or permanent publications of self-produced content impossible for others. According to Prof. Dr. Bernd Holznagel's (University of Münster) contribution, another core element would be "the ability of public broadcasting to effectively stand up for its values and objectives on the Internet as well. It must be able to use the new technical possibilities of addressing users to fulfill its mission of integration and counteract polarization tendencies on the net." PUBLIC VALUE TEXTE has not only offered Austrian or German-speaking authors the opportunity to publish their analysis on Public Service Media. In fact, contributions have come from the USA, Canada and from all EU countries. One special issue of the series focused on Greece and the closure of the public broadcaster ERT, another on the struggle for independence of the Slovenian public broadcaster. Most recently, contributions from the international RIPE conference were published, which addressed the future of Public Service Media in the digital age in Vienna in 2022. This latest issue - PUBLIC VALUE TEXTE 26 - made clear that the demand to strengthen Public Service Media facing the power of commercial media and global players is being raised internationally. The PUBLIC VALUE TEXTE currently includes 272 authors, forming a unique collection of opinions, attitudes and viewpoints on Public Service Media quality, all available on zukunft.ORF.at.