Beata Klimkiewicz
Abstract by Prof. Beata Klimkiewicz, Institute of Journalism and Social Communication, Jagiellonian University of Krakow .
LOCALISM, GLOBALISATION AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE OFFER OF POLISH PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA
Historically, PSM in Europe have fulfilled various obligations of content and structure reflecting the different geographical and cultural dimensions of the formation of an identity. In the complex process of shaping an identity, various different layers interact that help communities to define and recognize themselves in the midst of an abundance of representations offered by current media and communication networks. These layers obviously include such cultural and media spaces of the crystallization of meaning as local/regional; national; geo-cultural or macro-regional (e.g. European) and global.
Localisms or local and regional diversity as reflected by PSM involve a structural dimension (the structures of media production resonate with local and regional institutions or administrative structures) as well as a content dimension (media contents and services address the unique needs and interests of local and regional communities). On the other hand, the development of PSM globalised services could function as a cultural projection, since it can be seen as the conscious effort of PSM to place recognizable images and representations of local; national or macro-regional cultures in the global public sphere.
As will be demonstrated in the case of Poland, the relative strength of each of these dimensions depends on an overall political vision of PSM, the cultural policies of the state, international trends and the mobilization of identity groups. A description of the structural design of Polish Television, as well as an analysis of its local and regional programming, minority language services, and global services clearly reveals a trend of constant centralization. In other words, the centralistic vision of PSM that accompanied the initial launch of television in Poland at the beginning of the ‘50s has not been fundamentally challenged by international or mobilization factors, or cultural policy, in contrast to other European countries (such as Spain and the UK). |
