Beyond broadcast 2006

A report on Beyond Broadcast: Reinventing Public Media in a Participatory Culture, a conference held at the Harvard Law School on May 12-13, 2006. The participants explored the intersection of traditional public broadcast and new web-based participatory media, showcasing emerging models and practices that suggest a “new third way in public media” in a transformed media landscape (www.beyondbroadcast.net). Participants identified ways in which public broadcasters are incorporating user-generated content and testing interactive approaches that move beyond the one-to-many model of push media. At the same time, commercially-driven digital technologies are producing creative experiments in social networking and public expression. The group observed examples of cross-fertilization: public media is tapping into new practices as its draws upon longstanding strengths, while web-based participatory media is a seed bed for new practices in active public engagement. The cultivation of a shared understanding of public mission is essential in this emerging hybrid media environment.