ABSTRACT
Public broadcasters must therefore work out a mission and role for themselves that can give principled guidance to their policies internally and justify their continuing claim on societal resources externally. This task will be formidable, however, for three reasons. First, new and unfamiliar challenges are posed. When only public broadcasters provided programs, they could be all things to all people. Second, no models suited to the present condition of European public broadcasting have yet emerged from the analytical literature or operative systems elsewhere. The U.S model of public television, for example, appears a recipe for marginalization and cultivation of an elitist image. Third, the new role or public television must be compatible with the increased autonomy of viewers in multichannel conditions. In Europe, commercial channels are likely to schedule a significant amount of US programming, available at relatively cheap prices with an already demonstrated popular appeal.
