The purpose of this reference book is to provide meaningful and ready-to-use information to media professionals, decision makers, students, and the general public on the core public service broadcasting (PSB) concepts related to legal, regulatory, financial and other major issues. Key notions of PSB, such as editorial independence, universality, secured funding free of all pressures, distinctiveness, diversity, representativeness, unbiased information, education and enlightenment, social cohesion, citizenship, public accountability, and credibility, are dealt with in the book.

This publication is the result of a series of discussions, conferences, and seminars that have been held over the past few years on the role and future of public service broadcasting. The main impetus for this publication came from UNESCO, which provided the terms of reference for the sourcebook. UNESCO strongly felt that, in spite of the large number of research reports, publications and conferences on the topic of public service broadcasting, there existed profound misconceptions and misunderstandings on the mission, mandate and role, place, scope and workings of genuine public service broadcasting.

This source book is intended to be an authoritative commentary or analysis of public service broadcasting around the world. The project started with a simple objective of preparing a discussion on key features and characteristics of what can be perceived as genuine public service broadcasting. The idea was to clearly identify the key characteristics of PSB and differentiate it from state and other forms of broadcasting, while at the same time providing concrete examples and best practices.

The publication aims at eliminating the existing confusion between public service broadcasting and all the other forms of broadcasting. The various examples of best practices that have been provided in it can help to inspire public service broadcasters and the citizens of the world. This source book could also contribute modestly in assisting state broadcasters that are attempting to transform themselves into genuine public service broadcasters.