[ecrea] CFP - Public Service Broadcasting in Africa: Continuity and Change in the 21st Century - University of Westminster

CALL FOR PAPERS
Public Service Broadcasting in Africa: Continuity and Change in the 21st 
Century

Conference organised by
Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), University of 
Westminster,
with support from UNESCO and BBC Media Action

Date: Saturday 2nd March 2013
Venue: University of Westminster, Regent Campus
309 Regent Street, London, W1B 2UW

The Future of Public Service Broadcasting in Africa
Public service broadcasting is still important for Africa and other 
developing regions. There are, however, questions about the next 
generation of public service broadcasting and issues about the continued 
relevance of the public service broadcasting model. Are we witnessing 
the disappearance of BBC-type of public service broadcasting in Africa? 
There is increasing evidence that this may be so. The growing dominance 
of community, private and commercial broadcasting in countries such as 
South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana is calling for a rethink 
of a license-fee funded broadcasting model and a switch of ads to these 
broadcasters, damaging the financial base for public service 
broadcasters, and more and more closures. As for TV, the younger 
generation is switching to viewing on platforms other than the TV set. 
As license fees are mostly based on the TV set within a household, this 
reduces willingness to pay the license fee. Additionally, as more and 
more channels appear, the audiences for PSBs are eroding in many African 
countries.
Public Service radio is still strong in countries such as South Africa, 
Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Nigeria and 
Kenya but in others it has evolved into commercial models, with little 
informational content.
In many parts of Africa, state broadcasters still have public service 
broadcasting aspirations, but the reality is all too often government 
control. Nonetheless, the need for trusted information about national 
and local developments is as crucial as ever, as is the need for 
programming to celebrate national cultures, explain social change 
projects, and to offer relevant, quality entertainment for all ages and 
ethnic groups. For all these reasons, new thinking on public service 
broadcasting in Africa is urgently needed. This is why the University of 
Westminster is inviting students, researchers, academics, practitioners, 
policymakers and thinkers to look ahead and identify how public service 
broadcasting can be helped to survive and develop in the years ahead.
The themes explored in the one-day workshop are likely to include:
• The concept of public service broadcasting in a changing Africa
• New funding models for public service broadcasting in Africa
• Public service broadcasting and censorship in Africa
• Public service broadcasting funding models in Africa and sustainability
• Audiences for public service broadcasting in Africa
• Political pressures on public service broadcasting news in Africa
• Regulation of public service broadcasting in Africa
• New formats for Public service broadcasting in Africa
• Young African audiences, new ICTs and public service broadcasting
• Politics of managing public service broadcasting stations in Africa
• Alternative models to public service broadcasting in Africa
• Political, social and cultural roles of public broadcasting in Africa

Abstract Submission
Please send a 300-word abstract by 24 January, 2013. Successful 
applicants will be notified by 31 January, 2013. They must include the 
presenter's name, affiliation, email and postal address, together with 
the paper’s title. Please send abstracts to Helen Cohen at 
(journalism /at/ westminster.ac.uk) 
<https://dbxprd0710.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=VRgjpL40Hk2XnatI7qHzSJ6LArYVxs8I6rGwOHjLpHV98hOppf5V_Gt1HIbXNrHIHjMNXHaGbpI.&amp;URL=mailto%3ajournalism%40westminster.ac.uk> 

Programme and Registration
The fee for registration (which applies to all participants, including 
presenters) will be £99, with a concessionary rate of £49 for students, 
to cover all conference documentation, refreshments, lunch and 
administration costs. Registration will open at the end of January 2013.

Related Event
Please note that the above event is preceded by a related one-day 
workshop on “New Thinking on Public Service Broadcasting for the Next 
Generation” that is also organised by Communication and Media Research 
Institute (CAMRI), University of Westminster, with support from UNESCO 
and BBC Media Action. It will be held at the University of Westminster, 
Regent Campus, 309 Regent Street, London, W1B 2UW, UK, on Friday 1 March 
2013, 9am-6.30pm.

Confirmed Speakers Include:
Akinori Hashimoto, Head of News Production Division, NHK
Deane James, Director of Policy and Learning, BBC Media Action
Elizabeth Smith, former Secretary General, Commonwealth Broadcasting 
Association
Greg Dyke, former BBC Director General (keynote speaker)
Ingrid Deltenre, Director General, European Broadcasting Union
Kip Meek, Special Adviser, Everything, Everywhere and ex Ofcom
Sally-Ann Wilson, Secretary General, Commonwealth Broadcasting 
Association (CBA)
For more information contact Helen Cohen, Events Administrator 
(H.cohen02 /at/ westminster.ac.uk) 
<https://dbxprd0710.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=VRgjpL40Hk2XnatI7qHzSJ6LArYVxs8I6rGwOHjLpHV98hOppf5V_Gt1HIbXNrHIHjMNXHaGbpI.&amp;URL=mailto%3aH.cohen02%40westminster.ac.uk> 
. Registration will open at the end of January 2013.

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