Public Media Ireland: a new PSM for a new country?

Description

Given the expanding discourse surrounding the possibility of a the reunification of Ireland (however constituted) in recent years, it seems useful to consider what the core institutions of such a society might look like. Public Service Media, in particular, have long been identified as playing a key role in constructing and amplifying expressions of national identity. This is a nuanced task even in the context of relatively culturally homogenous national settings, but the challenge posed by the kind of consociational democracy a reunified Ireland would constitute is significant (assuming it’s possible at all).

Given this, researchers from the School of Communication and Media, Ulster University and School of Communications, DCU have come together to try and identify if not the answers then at least the core questions relating to the establishment of a new PSM for a new political dispensation.

This seminar will see the panel address the following questions:

•What does PSM mean in the Twenty-First Century ?
•What does a ‘new Ireland’ mean and what diverse identities constitute it?
•What kind of PSM institutions or networks might be appropriate to this new political setting?
•What does public service journalism mean in this context?
•What kind of content should a new PSM support?
•How should such an all-island PSM be funded ?
•What Governance/Democratic Accountability/Regulatory Frameworks are appropriate for such a PSM?
•How are disparate audiences to be accommodated and how should they be conceived: as consumers of content or co-creators?
•How should labour relations be managed in this context?

In this seminar we propose ‘Public Media Ireland’, as a new Public Service Media Organisation for a new country.

Period	6 Mar 2025
Held at	Dublin City University, Ireland
Degree of Recognition	International