Between the hammer and the anvil
On the future of public service broadcasting
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Technological change, the unchecked power of global digital corporations, and the rise of political forces seeking to undermine trust in professional journalism and attacking the licence-fee-funded system – all of this poses enormous challenges for public service broadcasting in the Czech Republic and in Germany alike. TV presenter Václav Moravec criticises Czech Television for acting like a profit-driven private company, cutting quality programmes and thereby sawing off the branch on which it sits. He left the broadcaster in protest against a pseudo-balance imposed from above for political reasons. The Director-General of Deutschlandradio, Stefan Raue, defends the full-service channels and argues that public service broadcasters are obliged to invite and interview representatives of a “confirmed far-right” party as long as it is not banned.
(Osteuropa 5-6/2026, pp. 71–84)