Public Service Media and Parliaments: How the Two Institutions Can Collaborate and Promote Public Values in a Democracy (The European Perspective)

Public service media (PSM) are linked to a variety of bodies and function in a setting in which various stakeholders participate. The article deals with the issue of the relationships between public service media and parliaments as two public institutions indispensable to democracy. They have to be independent, to act to the interest of society and to initiate and sustain an open democratic debate enabling a diversity of voices to be heard. Conspicuous is their characteristic to integrate groups and communities around commonly shared values and to promote human rights. The discussion dwells on the direct and indirect relationships that expand between public service media and parliaments and makes conclusions about the principles that have to be put in practice in order for the democratic dialogue between the two to be strengthened.