The politics of pleasing

A critical analysis of multistakeholderism in Public Service Media policies in Flanders

Bibliographic Data

ID11268307
AuthorsKaren Donders (0000-0002-4446-5753, Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Hilde Van Den Bulck (0000-0002-3858-1897, University of Antwerp), Tim Raats (0000-0003-1220-4150, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume41
Issue3
Pages347-366
Publication date2019-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedia Culture & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0163443718782004
OpenAlexW2808773890
LanguageEN
Citations received23
References cited26

This article focuses on contributions and pitfalls of multistakeholder approaches to Public Service Media policymaking. It asks whether the inclusion of stakeholders effectively leads to more coherent and sustainable policies or whether it mainly serves as window dressing and as additional inroad for the private sector to lobby against Public Service Media. First, we discuss multistakeholderism on the basis of deliberative democracy research and scholarly insights on the inclusion of stakeholders in media policy. Subsequently, we present results from Public Service Media policymaking in Flanders since 2010, examining seven instances of multistakeholder policymaking. Findings show that the reality of multistakeholderism is not necessarily inclusive, seems concerned predominantly with the interests of legacy media and does not prevent continued informal lobbying from commercial media. Even when the process is led by academics, politicians instrumentalize results and rarely with a view to improve Public Service Media as democratic policy project

Business · Deliberative democracy · Democracy · Inclusion (mineral · Political science · Politics · Public policy · Public relations · Public service · Service (business · Social science · Sociology · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Media and Politics · Marketing

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