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![6 Jessica Clark and Minna Aslama Horowitz
in some cases, outlets for free expression by local citizens. User-supported
community and low-power radio stations serve a similar purpose. Like
public broadcasting outlets, these channels were established through policy
interventions to address a particular gap in public access to the airwaves—
one many now perceive to be filled by the rise of digital citizen media. As a
result, PEG and community stations are working to reposition themselves
as hubs for digital literacy and journalism training and points of broadband
access for those who can’t otherwise afford it (Breitbart et al., 2011).
Partisan media outlets: Over the past two decades, the number and range
of expressly political media outlets in the U.S. has risen precipitously, serving
as both competition to public broadcasters and as a challenge to the ‘neutral’
journalistic practices of the broadcasting sector that had been developed and
standardized over the second half of the 20th century. Facilitated in part
by the elimination of the Federal Communications Commission’s Fairness
Doctrine in 1987 and accelerated by both the deregulation of media owner-
ship and the burgeoning of cable, satellite, and digital outlets, partisan news
and opinion has become a booming business (Hamm, 2008; Jamieson and
Cappella, 2008).
Producers of political media have been early adopters of digital platforms,
driving rapid and steep growth of outlets devoted to the topic ahead of other
areas of coverage. As technology and media researcher Steven Johnson noted
in his 2009 South by Southwest (SXSW) keynote, the political web is “old-
growth media. The first wave of blogs was technology-focused, and then for
whatever reason, they turned to politics next. And so Web 2.0-style political
coverage has had a decade to mature into its current state” (Johnson, 2009).
Four years later, the canopy has only grown more dense and lush.
In contrast, as noted by a recent Federal Communications Commission
report, The Information Needs of Communities, public broadcasters are still
required to hew to more traditionally objective reporting standards:
A condition of [Corporation for Public Broadcasting] funding is that
public stations must demonstrate ‘objectivity and balance’ in their cov-
erage of controversial matters—and it is up to [the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting] to ensure that this is done. This stipulation has led
public broadcasters to strive for a disciplined nonpartisanship, a role
that increasingly distinguishes them from the many other media entities
that have grown more partisan. (Waldman, 2011)
Social media: Beyond explicitly civic or political media production, popular
social media platforms invented and hosted in the U.S.—including Wikipe-
dia, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress, and numerous others—are supporting a
seemingly endless array of creation, remixing, and sharing on topics and ques-
tions that might once have been the provenance of public broadcasters. Many](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2613006-250516122744-150a29e3/75/Public-Media-Management-For-The-Twentyfirst-Century-Creativity-Innovation-And-Interaction-1st-Edition-Michal-Glowacki-45-2048.jpg)
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- 6. This book analysesthe challenges facing public service media management in the face of ongoing technological developments and changing audience behaviours. It connects models, strategies, concepts, and managerial theories with emerging approaches to public media practices through an examina- tion of media services (e.g., blogs, social networks, search engines, content aggregators) and the online performance of traditional public media orga- nisations. Contributors identify the most relevant and useful approaches, those likely to encourage creativity, interaction, and the development of innovative content and services, and discuss how such innovation can under- pin the continuation or expansion of public service media in the changing mediascape. Michał Głowacki is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Journalism at Uni- versity of Warsaw, Poland. Lizzie Jackson is Professor of Interactive Media at Ravensbourne, UK. Public Media Management for the Twenty-First Century
- 7. 23 Trauma andMedia Theories, Histories, and Images Allen Meek 24 Letters, Postcards, Email Technologies of Presence Esther Milne 25 International Journalism and Democracy Civic Engagement Models from Around the World Edited by Angela Romano 26 Aesthetic Practices and Politics in Media, Music, and Art Performing Migration Edited by Rocío G. Davis, Dorothea Fischer-Hornung, and Johanna C. Kardux 27 Violence, Visual Culture, and the Black Male Body Cassandra Jackson 28 Cognitive Poetics and Cultural Memory Russian Literary Mnemonics Mikhail Gronas 29 Landscapes of Holocaust Postmemory Brett Ashley Kaplan 30 Emotion, Genre, and Justice in Film and Television E. Deidre Pribram 31 Audiobooks, Literature, and Sound Studies Matthew Rubery 32 The Adaptation Industry The Cultural Economy of Literary Adaptation Simone Murray 33 Branding Post-Communist Nations Marketizing National Identities in the “New” Europe Edited by Nadia Kaneva 34 Science Fiction Film, Television, and Adaptation Across the Screens Edited by J. P. Telotte and Gerald Duchovnay 35 Art Platforms and Cultural Production on the Internet Olga Goriunova 36 Queer Representation, Visibility, and Race in American Film and Television Melanie E. S. Kohnen Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com
- 8. 37 Artificial Culture Identity,Technology, and Bodies Tama Leaver 38 Global Perspectives on Tarzan From King of the Jungle to International Icon Edited by Annette Wannamaker and Michelle Ann Abate 39 Studying Mobile Media Cultural Technologies, Mobile Communication, and the iPhone Edited by Larissa Hjorth, Jean Burgess, and Ingrid Richardson 40 Sport Beyond Television The Internet, Digital Media and the Rise of Networked Media Sport Brett Hutchins and David Rowe 41 Cultural Technologies The Shaping of Culture in Media and Society Edited by Göran Bolin 42 Violence and the Pornographic Imaginary The Politics of Sex, Gender, and Aggression in Hardcore Pornography Natalie Purcell 43 Ambiguities of Activism Alter-Globalism and the Imperatives of Speed Ingrid M. Hoofd 44 Generation X Goes Global Mapping a Youth Culture in Motion Christine Henseler 45 Forensic Science in Contemporary American Popular Culture Gender, Crime, and Science Lindsay Steenberg 46 Moral Panics, Social Fears, and the Media Historical Perspectives Edited by Siân Nicholas and Tom O’Malley 47 De-convergence in Global Media Industries Dal Yong Jin 48 Performing Memory in Art and Popular Culture Edited by Liedeke Plate and Anneke Smelik 49 Reading Beyond the Book The Social Practices of Contemporary Literary Culture Danielle Fuller and DeNel Rehberg Sedo 50 A Social History of Contemporary Democratic Media Jesse Drew 51 Digital Media Sport Technology, Power and Culture in the Network Society Edited by Brett Hutchins and David Rowe 52 Barthes’ Mythologies Today Readings of Contemporary Culture Edited by Pete Bennett and Julian McDougall 53 Beauty, Violence, Representation Edited by Lisa Dickson and Maryna Romanets 54 Public Media Management for the Twenty-First Century Creativity, Innovation, and Interaction Edited by Michał Głowacki and Lizzie Jackson
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- 10. Public Media Managementfor the Twenty-First Century Creativity, Innovation, and Interaction Edited by Michał Głowacki and Lizzie Jackson
- 11. First published 2014 byRoutledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Taylor & Francis The right of the editors to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Public media management for the twenty-first century : creativity, innovation, and interaction / edited by Michal Glowacki and Lizzie Jackson. pages cm. — (Routledge research in cultural and media studies ; 54) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Public broadcasting. 2. Mass media—Management. 3. Internet in public administration. I. Glowacki, Michal. HE8689.7.P82P83355 2013 384.54068—dc23 2013015625 ISBN: 978-0-415-84325-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-79698-6 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC
- 12. This book isdedicated to Dr. Karol Jakubowicz, whose last academic work before his death in April 2013 was written for this edited collection.
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- 14. List of Tablesxiii List of Figures xv Foreword xvii JAN MALINOWSKI Editors’ Introduction xxv MICHAŁ GŁOWACKI AND LIZZIE JACKSON PART I The Changing Mediascape: Implications for Public Service Media 1 Remixing Public Media’s Remit: The Implications of Networks for Public Service Media 3 JESSICA CLARK AND MINNA ASLAMA HOROWITZ 2 The Value of Change, or How to Manage Uncertainty in Contemporary Communications 21 AUKSĖ BALČYTIENĖ 3 Moveable Media: Mobile Internet and New Policy Modes 40 GERARD GOGGIN, TIM DWYER, AND FIONA MARTIN 4 Strategies for Stakeholder Management and Crowdsourcing 59 MATTHIAS KARMASIN AND DANIELA KRAUS PART II Public Service Media Management Face Old and New Challenges 5 Organisational Culture and Structures in Public Media Management—In Search of a Model for the Digital Era? 81 CHRISTIAN S. NISSEN Contents
- 15. x Contents 6 KeyManagerial Steps Towards a Public Service Mixed-Platform Offer 103 ROBERTO SUÁREZ CANDEL 7 Governance, Accountability, and Transparency of Public Service Media in a Contemporary Mediatised World: The Case of Bulgaria 125 BISSERA ZANKOVA 8 Funding Models for Online News 143 ANDRA LEURDIJK 9 The Mass, the Audience, and the Public: Questioning Preconceptions of News Audiences 161 HEIKKI HEIKKILÄ, LAURA AHVA, JAANA SILJAMÄKI, AND SANNA VALTONEN PART III Repositioning the Public in the Public Service and Other Media Enterprises 10 New Public + New Media = New Leadership? The Council of Europe’s Approach to Governance in Public Service Media 181 MICHAŁ GŁOWACKI 11 Public Service Content Provision: New Models, New Partnerships, New Skills 198 CHARLES BROWN 12 Managing Spontaneity: User-Generated Content in the Media Ecology 216 KAROL JAKUBOWICZ 13 Participating Publics: Implications for Production Practices at the BBC 234 LIZZIE JACKSON 14 Managed Not Edited—How Participative Platforms Operate 251 REN REYNOLDS
- 16. Contents xi Conclusion 15 Towardsa Twenty-First Century Public Media: Conclusions 271 MICHAŁ GŁOWACKI AND LIZZIE JACKSON Contributors 289 Index 295
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- 18. Tables 5.1 Possible/probable developmentsin production and usage of media and foreseeable impact on organisation and management 98 6.1 Impact of digitalization of broadcasting on public service media 105 6.2 Impact of the enhancement of image technology on public service media 109 6.3 Impact of the evolution of online strategies on public service media 114 6.4 Key issues regarding the adaptation of public service media according to managers interviewed 116 9.1 Discursive positions of media reception 176 11.1 Value network functions and new organisational competencies 210 12.1 Different forms of user-generated content (UGC) in broadcasting 220 12.2 Types of user-generated content and publication venues (2007) 223 12.3 Content and conduct provisions in terms of service of UGC sites 225 12.4 Issues covered by the terms of service of some UGC platforms 227 13.1 Proposed division of labour between the PSM, the public, and technology 240 13.2 From public service broadcasting to public-service communication 247 15.1 Principles to assist the evolution of public-service media 285
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- 20. Figures 2.1 The correlationbetween online newspapers and e-government, e-payment, and e-banking. 28 2.2 Internet access and social media use among different age groups in various European countries. 29 2.3 Mainstream and alternative news media spaces: Competing media and professional and user networks. 31 3.1 Mobile Internet axes of convergence. 43 4.1 Interconnections between the media company, its target groups, and funding sources. 68 4.2 Primary stakeholders for media companies. 69 4.3 Secondary stakeholders for media companies. 70 4.4 A stakeholder model for media companies. 70 4.5 Stakeholder strategy. 72 5.1 PSM management—its environment and the Two Cultures. 82 5.2 The typical PSM organisation of the monopoly era (“Model 1”). 89 5.3 A PSM organisation in market competition (“Model 2”). 92 5.4 The new combination of distribution and user paradigms. 96 5.5 A PSM organisation in the digital environment (“Model 3”). 99 6.1 Evolution of online strategies developed by broadcasters—six waves. 110 10.1 Towards a model of PSM governance. 188 11.1 PSM aspires to a coordinating function within public media networks. 205 11.2 PSM is an important node in a prosumer-centred value network. 206 11.3 PSM value networks exist within larger constellations of value creation. 208
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- 22. Foreword Jan Malinowski1 CAUSAL LINKSBETWEEN MANAGEMENT AND CRISIS What do the 2008 world financial crisis and the British newspaper The News of the World’s phone-tapping scandal (traceable back to 2006) have in common? Both surfaced at the beginning of the 21st century, yes, but they are also both symptoms of the same ill, bad management. Management in this context should be understood in broad terms: corporate policies, coupled with top executive practices, and other decision-making arrange- ments and processes. It should encompass, at least in part, the notions of governance and corporate ethos. It would be enlightening to explore the connection between management and crises in general and not limit this to the business environment. Research could involve concrete case studies, examining decisions and decision-making processes that led or contributed to major historic and humanitarian disasters such as wars, famines, pests, inquisitions, wide-scale persecutions, and eco- nomic debacles. It could even extend to the governance of empires and nations or states, of major religions, and to known episodes of gross public and pri- vate misadministration. The exercise could even extend to modelling (using good governance principles) what might have been alternative outcomes and the impact of those alternatives on economic growth, social development, and human well-being. However, this is not the place to engage in such a vast and inspiring exercise. The focus must remain the media. But one could consider whether there are general lessons to be drawn from the relationship between management and crises and how it applies to media. MANAGEMENT AND MEDIA’S RAISON D’ÊTRE It may be relatively easy to establish a link between management and cri- sis in respect of concrete situations of specific media operators. Following the uncovering of The News of the World scandal and of related manage- rial decisions and practices in News International and News Corporation,
- 23. xviii Foreword a Britishparliamentary committee regarded Rupert Murdoch in May 2012 as unfit to head a major international corporation. In September 2012, his son James was similarly slammed by the British regulator Ofcom for ill judg- ment and repeatedly falling short of what is to be expected from someone in his position. If not more, these conclusions at least have a symbolic value for our current exercise. Media’s primary objectives have mostly been acknowledged to include the provision of balanced information and nurturing public debate. But the media also have a role in enhancing transparency and accountability in respect of public affairs and matters of public interest or concern—media’s so-called public watchdog function—as well as purposes relating to educa- tion, culture, and entertainment. These objectives and, more specifically, media’s contribution to the common good, not others, justify media’s privileges. “Murdoch-Gate”, along with oligarchic management styles such as that employed by the Italian media mogul Berlusconi, reveal a blatant depar- ture from the objectives that are media’s raison d’être. They have yielded to other aims, mostly related to the exercise of political influence, the cap- ture of power and the acquisition of wealth. More dramatically, they can undermine the protection of media freedoms generally and take a toll on democracy. MANAGEMENT AND MEDIA DEVELOPMENT Looking at the broader picture, legacy media have largely shown an inability to adapt to change and to embrace new realities and opportunities. In the past, media benefitted from a sort of spontaneous growth. This natural— or circumstantial—progression has been due, for example, to increased alphabetisation in society, economic growth, and well-being. Industrialisa- tion, technological developments, increased leisure time, and, more recently, broad access to information and communication technology made it all pos- sible. Interpreting Maslow’s pyramid and transposing it into a media context, the abovementioned changes provoked large-scale societal moves up the hierarchy of needs. By this, I mean the wish to focus on ethical values, lack of prejudice, pursuit of the common good or inner talent, recognition and respect of others, or participation above the pursuit of more basic concerns and requirements such as survival, property, or procreation without regard for others. However, media management and therefore the media channels they were responsible for did not always reflect these changes. It is disturb- ing to observe how part of the legacy media have focussed on the base of the pyramid, people’s physiological needs and basic impulses—panem et cir- censes. The increased economic returns and competitiveness of this approach led other media to follow the example. Instead of inspiring people’s move
- 24. Foreword xix up thehierarchy of needs, legacy media have often focussed on or promoted a return to the base. This is often the case for both the content offered by the media and the values they promote. In addition to a reticence or inability to adapt to change and take advan- tage of new opportunities, media have historically often actively resisted major transitions: from print in book form to periodicals, from elites to broader access and empowerment, from newspaper to radio, and then on to television. For their part, state-owned or state-funded media failed to pursue their responsibilities in the transition to public service media in a sus- tained manner. This lack of preparedness for—or resistance to—change is an expression of media’s poor governance and management, which has been compounded by additional external factors, such as political interference. The arrival of the Internet has offered additional examples of media’s lack of readiness to seize opportunities and of resistance to change. This is true not only in respect of media’s distribution but also in respect of new means of content production and interactivity. Instead of moving into the new spaces offered by the Internet, legacy media have feared for—and doggedly tried to protect—their business models. As a consequence, legacy media have lost out to new and more dynamic actors in the media and communi- cations ecosystem. A telling example is the futile struggle and turf wars in which commercial and public broadcasters have engaged. The resources and energy expended have been far from insignificant; the creativity employed in the process could have been used to better ends. Similarly, Google is not the problem confronting print media, and a “Google tax” is not the answer. One can reasonably conclude that on the whole legacy media have not been change ready. This is true whether or not there was significant public service media presence in the media market concerned. It is a question of management, linked to creativity and innovation, not just about market share or profit margins, influence, and power. Media’s lack of vision and adaptability is tantamount to managerial and governance incompetence. Like all generalisations, these can have many exceptions and should therefore be taken with some circumspection. Admittedly, some media were drawn into trying out new ways, albeit timidly, sometimes reluctantly. Nonetheless, the generalisations help to set the scene. MEDIA MANAGEMENT IN CRISIS The future will tell what has been the impact of these circumstances and of the managerial and decision-making processes involved in media’s own development and relevance. At present, in addition to the acknowledged dif- ficulties faced by legacy media, it can already be observed that some space left by them in the upper levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been or is being occupied by social, often collaborative, Internet-based media. This has to be viewed against the background of media’s primary objectives, their
- 25. xx Foreword connection tothe hierarchy of needs, and any resulting distribution or attri- bution of media-related privileges. Interestingly, new successful media are mostly entities without the managerial heritage of legacy media. Is this the end or is there more to it? The matter may indeed be more important and the consequences more far reaching than we presently understand. Up to this point, I have been concerned with the survival or sustainability of legacy media or specific media outlets. The value and impact of new forms of decision making and management and, in particular, associating users as a fundamental component of a new governance approach seem to produce results. The Huffington Post illustrates how a fresh, creative, and innova- tive start can give results. These are early examples of what might be a trend towards the disaggregation of media into different components: • Information, analysis, and debate with examples like The Huffington Post • Entertainment with the constant development of on-demand services • Knowledge with Wikipedia leading and The Encyclopaedia Britannica discontinuing the printed version, and top universities going online • Watchdog function with Wikileaks, inspired hackers, and an exponen- tial increase in communication by civil-society organisations While the Internet revolution in respect of culture has yet to happen, phe- nomena such as YouTube, TED, and others should provoke some thinking on the part of various culture decision makers. Similarly, all of this should send media—including public service media—managers into a thinking spree. These developments might have a salutary effect on professional journal- ism and quality media, revitalising the production of reliable information, robust scrutiny, and independent opinion that can inspire public debate. In this connection, Google’s recognition of and support for quality journalism, as well as its move to recruit journalists to reinforce its editorial processes, is very telling. More important, increasingly disaggregated media that do not rely on outdated business models may well be able to attract new sources of funding, including, perhaps crowdfunding, replacing “I like” with “I pay a modicum”. That said, if the role of management and decision making is indeed key to major disasters throughout history, can legacy media management style— collectively, at sector level—sit on a major impending crisis? If so, can there be a change of course? Is the arrival of the newer players and their role in mass communication and mass communication-in-aggregate capable of sidelining the threat? Is their management style fundamentally different from that of ailing legacy media? Or, conversely, will the newcomers’ man- agement styles increase the risks? Should we wait and see, or must we do something to mitigate or allay the risks?
- 26. Foreword xxi THE MEDIAAND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO CRISES Looking back in time—which is not the purpose of this piece but may inspire pertinent reflection—one might examine the role of media and mass com- munication in some major crises. Incipient forms of mass communication or mass communication-in- aggregate may have played a role in various inquisitions and holy wars. Mass communication has certainly played a part in 20th-century disasters, such as the events that led to the Second World War or the Soviet-related large-scale abuses. It played a major role in the humanitarian disasters in the Balkans (1999), and media’s responsibility may have been even greater in the massive Rwanda killings (1994). Media and mass communication have not always maintained a neutral position in 21st-century conflicts and calamities. Could media, understood in its various forms (press, radio, television, related mass advertising, and other text and audiovisual content made available to large audiences), and mass communication-in-aggregate (Internet-based social media and networks, search engines, and other applications) be con- frontedwithamajoreconomicmeltdowncomparabletotheGreatDepressions of 1929 and 2008? Could media themselves be at the centre of a major future crisis? For argument’s sake, let’s imagine some scenarios: • Legacy media lose the audience battle against the new players in the media ecosystem. As a result, media firms start closing down due to financial unsustainability, and this provokes a domino effect that wipes out professional media. • Avid for expansion and integration, big Internet corporations involved in mass communication and mass communication-in-aggregate suc- cessfully launch takeover operations onto weakened legacy media but afterwards operate without traditional media values, journalistic eth- ics, and professionalism, which are seen as outdated. • Big Internet corporations involved in mass communication, mass com- munication-in-aggregate, and integrated tech corporations follow the Murdoch and Berlusconi approach and successfully launch takeover operations on politics and democracy. • The Internet’s growth trend is reversed (e.g., more than 500,000 fewer Internet users every day rather than more) due to users’ lack of trust or due to Internet service providers’ and other big Internet corporations’ perceived greed and abuse of their dominant position. As a result, com- panies go out of business, and there is a domino effect and Internet meltdown. Having become Internet dependent, legacy media follow the same fate. What would be the consequences for democracy and accountability, for human rights, for the economy, for social cohesion and peace, for education and culture, and ultimately for society at large?
- 27. xxii Foreword ENSURING MEDIAPLURALISM AND DIVERSITY OF CONTENT Europe’s major political players and institutions consider and advocate for media and media freedom, built upon freedom of expression and the right to impart and receive information of one’s choice. Media freedom is repeat- edly characterised as a cornerstone of democracy. Other parts of the world either embrace the same principles or come to comparable conclusions by the hand, for example, of the market economy. Europe attaches such importance to these freedoms that it has acknowl- edged the role of veritable public service media—alongside commercial and third-sector (community) media—as the guarantor of pluralism and diver- sity. Public service media are defined by their remit, which is closely linked to media’s primary objectives, and by their organisational, funding and gov- ernance arrangements. Monitoring and supervision have also been recognised in Europe as key tools for ensuring diversity and pluralism. Europe has also incorporated new forms of mass communication and mass communication-in-aggregate into the notion of media and has recognised their role and the need to secure for them the fundamental values and rights associated with legacy media. Europe has declared support for public service media, extending their remit to all platforms and new applications (Council of Europe, 2012). However, these political commitments have not always been translated into operational arrangements, nor have they always been followed through to the end. Policy lines and programmatic measures will not suffice. Media’s own vision, governance, and management must also contribute to preserv- ing those values. In particular, media should hold governments to account for their performance in delivery against those commitments. Media also need to assert their own independence, resist vigorously attempts to interfere with them, and return resolutely to the primary values and objectives that justify their privileges. ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES FOR PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA Public service media face additional challenges due to their origins and his- tory and also to the perceived risk that they may take business away from commercial media. As with other media, public service media have to defend their inde- pendence. They also need to broaden both their scope and their range of platforms and services. But mostly, public service media have to resolutely serve the public and the public interest. This requires reinvigorating media and journalistic values, principles, and objectives, together with increased interactivity, responsiveness, and accountability. Secondly, public service media have to persuade all actors of their legiti- macy and added value within the broad media scene, bearing in mind the
- 28. Foreword xxiii challenges relatedto the perceived or presumed risk they pose to commercial media and their business opportunities. As has been the case in the past (when market and technical advances allowed state media to cede space to commercial operators who benefitted from the governments’ prior media investments and development), there is scope for a win-win approach. In addition to the delivery of their overall public service remit, this requires evidence of the public media firm’s ability to put its creative and innovative potential to common benefit. Public service media should be given the resources and mandate to explore and experiment and to create and innovate in the media environment. In this way, public service media would again become a beacon for other media to follow. Moreover, together with policy makers, public service media have to provide leadership in a dialogue that moves away from wasteful confrontation with commercial audiovisual media. PUBLIC MEDIA MANAGEMENT FIT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY New opportunities and methods should allow for private- and public-sector media growth in parallel. This would consider development connected with new platforms, services, applications, and, most important, new managerial and decision-making methods and arrangements. Overall, the media should be instrumental in the promotion and sus- tainability of democracy and promote and support people’s enhanced participation. Drawing from past experience in Europe, media should also play a role in the meta-advancement of socioeconomic improvement, with a necessary focus now on sustainability if we wish our societal models and well-being to persist. In this way, public service media would regain their cen- trality as privileged partners in—and conveyors of—culture and education. Even if it were only a remote possibility, the state must be ready for a major media-related crisis or even a media meltdown. There is here a new, perhaps unexpected, justification for well-funded, sustainable, independent, ethical, highly professional public service media capable of vigorous scrutiny and criticism and subject to the highest journalistic professional standards. Crisis management also speaks in favour of protecting public service media, as Germany did drawing from the lessons learned before and during the Second World War. This should not exclude new methods of production, such as the collab- orative activities and user-generated content originating from prosumers, (members of the public who produce content). On the contrary, public service media’s survival and sustainability require not only embracing but actively promoting and facilitating the technical and professional means for new and innovative forms of production. Media will have to persuade disenchanted actors and attract them to public service media platforms and applications of all sorts. At the same time, with their professionalism and high standards,
- 29. xxiv Foreword public servicemedia should rebuild users’ confidence on the availability of, and facilitate access to, trustworthy content. Against this background, now more than ever, the proposal made by some actors to guarantee the sustainability of public service media through suitable constitutional provisions has some merit. Further, in true public service spirit, the ownership of the public media enterprise, in terms of gov- ernance, choice of content, and content production, should devolve to the people. All of this demands new management approaches and innovative decision-making arrangements. In brief, the survival and sustainability of public service media calls for the evolution of new governance and management models. The challenges faced by public service media and the changes needed to their management and governance are not unique to Europe; they are global. Whether countries have fully operational public service media or some smaller public service media provision, as many do, it is hoped that the European model and the standards and governance developed to support such an enterprise should be seen as a reference for media reform worldwide with a view to promoting and protecting democracy. NOTE 1. Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author only and should in no way be regarded as representing those of the Council of Europe or any of its organs, bodies, or services. REFERENCE Council of Europe (2012) Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on Public Ser- vice Media Governance. Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 15 February 2012 at the 1134th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies. Available at https://wcd. coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1908241 (Accessed 17 February 2012).
- 30. Social, cultural, andtechnological changes that led to the development of new distribution platforms and media players have changed the nature of communication, making it more open, diverse, fragmented, and interactive. The growing civic, societal, and cultural role of online platforms that fos- ter user-generated content, as well as public conversations and interaction through Twitter feeds (see, for instance, the Arab Spring of 2012) and other social media, has underlined the need for a large-scale re-evaluation of the functions of leadership in contemporary media enterprises, including public service media (PSM). Convergence, growing market competition, and the emergence of a mul- tichannel environment, in parallel with a global financial slowdown, foregrounds the need for public service media managers to re-evaluate the position of the public within the public media enterprise and the urgency of evolution. Managerial vigilance with respect to editorial independence also continues to be a priority alongside ensuring sufficient funding, staff moti- vation, and the maintenance of self-regulation processes. However, these concerns need to be complemented by a wider, global discussion on leader- ship and the emerging managerial tasks and skills necessary for change and the maintaining of creativity, the fostering of users’ participation, and the linking of professional and nonprofessional content creators. This book derives from a 3-year discussion and review of global gover- nance and management systems for PSM outlets, convened by the Council of Europe (2009–2012). It draws together for the first time a group of media experts, independent consultants, academics, and policy makers who all work at national and/or international levels to discuss how public service media can maintain the same speed of evolution as private media organ- isations whilst-at the same time maintaining PSM’s traditional ethos and mission. The aim is therefore to explore models, strategies, and practices for the deconstruction of traditional public service media organisations. Further, the intent is to stimulate reconstruction through the provision of examples from ‘pure’ new media outlets and other enterprises in which approaches likely to encourage creativity, innovation, and interaction can be found. Editors’ Introduction Michał Głowacki and Lizzie Jackson
- 31. xxvi Editors’ Introduction Thesalient questions we address are: How can you evolve institutional structures and production processes that maintain users’ and media manag- ers’ creativity? What kinds of approaches are needed to turn public service media organisations into innovative and participation-oriented structures in a fast-changing information society? What kind of strategies and models might enable publics to actively contribute to decision making, as well as content creation and distribution, in order to support the public media enterprise? PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA BETWEEN TWO PARADIGMS The marketplace of ideas is changing; in 2008, the American company Star- bucks launched MyStarbucksIdea.com, “where its customers were invited to tell the company what to do” (Jarvis, 2009: 60). Thousands of suggestions were submitted through the system and rated by the community in order of preference. Starbucks were following Dell’s IdeaStorm.com, offering to cus- tomers the possibility to share ideas and collaborate on new products and services. Similarly, business leaders such as Gary Kovacs (CEO of Mozilla) encourage staff to set aside 1 day a week for experimentation, which feeds back into the continual evolution of existing services and management prac- tices. Such post-industrial approaches are likely to support ‘clouds’ of ongoing conversations and ideas between producers and stakeholders which support the shared enterprise. On the surface, public service media would seem ideally placed to thrive in such a multicultural, interdisciplinary ecosystem, one which privileges ‘open’ production practices, but this has not proved to be the case. Technological determinism has often prevailed, characterised by a lack of consideration of the public as public service broadcasting (PSB) extend into the participatory media (social media, user-generated content, games, immersive media and so on). Although the affordance of these ‘new’ and ‘interactive’ platforms has resulted in the partial replacement of the ‘traditional’ PSB concept with that of public service media and, most recently, by the idea of public service communication (Collins, 2010), in many cases opportunities for the embed- ding of new practices have not been taken up (due to a lack of motivation, finance, skills, and so on). Often new forms of media, such as user-gener- ated content, are seen as a ‘bolt on’ to more traditional media. This doesn’t address deeper organisational and managerial shifts that may be necessary to retain relevancy as the processes of production and consumption con- verge. In several countries, public service media have found the provision of social media and ‘co-generated’ services to be problematic; expensive, risky, and of potentially low quality. In addition, there is also a high level of sepa- ration between producers and publics (Jackson, 2009) in which “insider/ outsider metaphors tend to dominate professional media discourse” (Cole- man and Ross, 2010: 3). External factors are also preventing the large-scale evolution of public service media, such as pressure from commercial outlets
- 32. Editors’ Introduction xxvii ornational governments and this may limit activity in the new media sphere (Nissen, 2006; Nord and Głowacki, 2010). Public service media today are entities that are between two models, the broadcast and network paradigms, sometimes successfully blending both but often finding adjustment to such potential hybridity problematic. Although there is a willingness to embrace emerging post-industrial opportunities— demonstrated by strategic reorganisations, prototyping, and collaborations with independent producers (Bennett et al., 2012; Jakubowicz, 2010)—the concept of PSM is still rooted in ideas from the past, having the organ- isational characteristics of a typical 20th-century industrialised enterprise. The latter is based on asymmetrical relationships between public service media and the public and by project or channel-oriented financial systems that exploit intellectual property through complex contractual agreements. The orientation of the industrialised process is towards edited, highly medi- ated content, which locates producers and consumers in separate domains. Above all, industrial forms of PSM are characterised by vertical manage- ment systems and outdated governance structures. Media scholars and policy makers have previously identified and empha- sised the media-management tasks necessary for the creation and distribution of media content in an era of market competition and convergence. Media management has been largely analysed through diverse theoretical concepts that foreground the examination of, for example, profit and loss structures, the development of new media industries, and innovations in business models (Picard, 2002). Researchers have also investigated links between manage- rial strategies and media content production (Born, 2004), for example the changing journalism ecosystem. Our understanding has also augmented by analyses of different multistakeholder approaches to governance (McQuail, 2003; Puppis, 2007). The public, one such stakeholder group, traditionally understood as audiences, citizens, the masses, and consumers, has recently been broadened to encompass the audience as individuals, players, engagers, and participants (Livingstone, 2005; Syvertsen, 2004). At the same time, a shift towards a more public-centred approach has been observed in the development of new genres of interactive media, and the emergence of non- professional content creators (Domingo and Heinonen, 2008; Pavlik, 2008). However, such studies have not sufficiently redefined the challenges, opportunities, practices, and factors concerning the development of public media management. With the exception of Küng (2008), Caldwell, (2008), and Lowe (2010), who have looked at creativity, production models, and innovation in the media, only a small number of scholars and practitioners have attempted to redefine practices and theoretical approaches to creative management and the role of managerial culture in the participatory, post- industrial, public service enterprise. Research that juxtaposes theories and practices concerning new notions of media and public media management with research on creative and interactive audiences is rare. For this reason, we take a holistic multistakeholder approach that examines internal and
- 33. xxviii Editors’ Introduction externaldynamics, in order to explore emerging practices relating to public service media that are likely to be of interest to leaders, managers, and pro- ducers. This will require a hard look at first principles: “For PSB to regain the initiative, and beyond that to maintain initiative, its executive managers must take the leadership role in areas that are core to public service identity, and that lie primarily in the philosophy of the enterprise” (Lowe and Steem- ers, 2011: 16). The prognosis is optimistic as technological developments and changing audience behaviours provide opportunities if the manage- ment of public media also evolves in order to become fit for a 21st-century mediascape in which the public is central to the media enterprise. CHANGING APPROACHES TO PSM No complete definition of public service media has been or can been applied, as the ‘flavours’ of PSM are varied, however many universal principles apply. The role and remit of public media is to serve individual citizens and minority groups, sustain national culture, foster cultural diversity, support democratic process, and enhance the societal, political, and cultural cohesion of its nation. Public service media have been characterised as existing for the public good, to uphold principles of universality, independence, accountability, openness, transparency, and governance. The use of the term ‘public media’ rather than the more usual public service media in the book title, denotes the argument made by Clark and Horowitz, and others that PSM has an opportunity to widen and include less curated, more democratic, forms of participatory and civic media. The variety of governance systems that apply to public service media across the globe are legion. However they all provide—at the national level—the conditions that enable PSM to be “a special adaptation to the new media structure dominated by private corporations, commercialization and internationalization” (Siune and Hultén, 1998: 35–36). It is clear governance systems that merely designate PSM ‘a special case’ without offering any further intervention, such as defining which new or emerging spheres of operation are open to public service media enterprises, are ineffective. The recognition at national level that public service media are now operating “in the global arena of macro-economic integration and institutional change” (Chakravartty and Sarikakis, 2006: 106) would provide more logical and robust governance structures. In addressing how PSM managers might adapt to the post-industrial age, there are useful resources emerging. For example, the Management Innovation eXchange (MIX) is an online community of practice created by Gary Hamel, visiting professor of the London Business School, Michel Zanini, a busi- ness architect, and others. The MIX exists to ‘reinvent management’, noting “Current management practices emphasize control, discipline and efficiency above all else—and that’s a problem. To thrive in the 21st century, organi- zations must be adaptable, innovative, inspiring and socially accountable” (Management Innovation Exchange, 2012). For managers of public service
- 34. Editors’ Introduction xxix media,this involves adapting institutions that may have become entrenched in the belief that they have an unalienable right to exist. Jakubowicz feels any latency would be reckless; “While the fundamental rationale of PSB to deliver socially valuable content and protect and promote the public interest remains the same, almost everything in the way it performs its mission should change” (Jakubowicz, 2010: 17). So, how can public service media change? Küng suggests that “vertically integrated large corporations are ceasing to be the default structural model for organisations, with looser structures of inter-firm alliances emerging as the alternative” (Küng, 2008: 180), a view supported by Miles and Snow (1986) and Castells (1996). De Geus (1999) looked at the organisational structure of the 100 companies with the most longevity for the energy and petrochemical company Shell. He found the encouragement of innovation by all employees and a tolerance towards (seemingly) radical ideas from all stakeholders was an important factor in their long history. De Geus concluded these organisa- tions have an ability to learn and adapt, a sense of community, tolerance, and a level of decentralisation (the building of constructive relationships internally and externally). Finally, these successful businesses all demonstrated conserva- tive financing (De Geus, 1999: 16). The foregrounding of iterative evolution within progressive organisations was also identified by Brynjolfsson and Saunders (2010). The authors emphasised the importance of ‘organizational capital’, the investing of nontangible assets in order to become a digital organ- isation: “Organizational capital can include such practices as the allocation of decision rights, the design of incentive systems, cumulative investments in training and skill developments, and even supplier and customer networks” (Brynjolfsson and Saunders, 2010: 78). In The Ten Habits of Innovation, a report commissioned from the new- media thinker Charles Leadbeater, the ingredients for a future innovation society were cited as being an empowered citizenry of “adapters, contrib- utors, participants and designers, with people having their say, making a contribution (often in small ways) to add to the accumulation of ideas and innovation” (Leadbeater, 2006: 18). The opening out to involve all stake- holders as active, creative, and innovative participants in the PSM enterprise could be a central ethos of an evolved public service media, alongside models of how to facilitate such collective creativity. The evolution into such an entity requires, it is argued here, a deeper analysis and reorganisation as previous attempts at blending ‘traditional’ and ‘new’ media approaches have been flawed. Moe (2008) identifies these failed strategies as (1) ‘Extending broadcasting’ (fitting new services under broadcasting), (2) ‘Adding to broadcasting’ (new activities are appended as complementary and secondary), or (3) ‘Demoting broadcasting’ (broad- casting is no longer viewed as the key component of public service media provision). The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is an example of a public service media enterprise that has positioned new media as being “to provide a more efficient dissemination of radio and TV content” (Savage, 2010: 280). Baer believes that public service media in the United States,
- 35. xxx Editors’ Introduction liketheir European counterparts, face formidable challenges resulting from rapid technological change, audience fragmentation, and declining TV viewership: “Old media models everywhere are breaking down in the new environment characterised by user-generated content, collaborative produc- tion and editing, and multiple distribution alternatives” (Baer, 2010: 258). There are, however, also ‘green shoots’ for PSM worldwide; Bennett and colleagues (2012) argue the commissioning of independent new media pro- duction companies by public service media outlets in the UK has resulted in an evolution of media forms and engagement strategies between pro- ducers and publics. Furthermore, attempts have been made in the United States to define new tools, platforms, or practices of enormous possibility for ‘people-centric public media’, based on choice, conversation, curation, creation, and collaboration (Clark and Aufderheide, 2009). In 2010, the European Parliament’s report on public service broadcasting in the digital era noted, “sharing audiovisual content, exchanging formats and cross- references between platforms could benefit stakeholders. Cooperation based on the voluntary involvement of different partners, demands a mind shift, but could result in a win-win situation” (European Parliament, 2010). On the 15 February 2012, as a direct result of a 3-year review carried out by the Ad hoc Advisory Group on Public Service Media Governance (MC-S- PG) at the Council of Europe, a Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on Public Service Media Governance (Council of Europe, 2012a) was adopted, accompanied by Recommendation CM/Rec(2012)1 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on Public Service Media Governance (Coun- cil of Europe, 2012b). In order to limit any counter-evolutionary moves located within European nations these two policy documents underline the imperative that public service media cannot be restricted from operating on any distribution device or channel, be it a tablet, mobile phone, gaming console, or augmented-reality platform. Specifically, the Declaration states public service media should provide “an active and meaningful dialogue with its wider stakeholders including new levels of interaction, engage- ment and participation”, and furthermore that PSM should be encouraged to develop new information and communication technologies (Council of Europe, 2012a). The Recommendation is a guidance framework compiled for executive managers of public service media that aims to examine modali- ties of delivery to the widest possible public, including young audiences. The guidance hopes to stimulate the evolution of trustworthy, diverse, and pluralistic media and media-like services. THE CONTRIBUTORS AND SCOPE OF THIS BOOK In order to locate organisational structures that maintains users’ and media managers’ creativity and to establish what kind of strategies and models might enable the public to actively contribute to decision making we have
- 36. Editors’ Introduction xxxi takenboth an interdisciplinary and a multistakeholder approach, drawing together media experts, scholars, and policy-makers to address these ques- tions. We also, unusually, look at public service media from a production perspective rather than a consumption or industrial viewpoint. For information, the list of contributors to the book includes those involved in the European consultations connected with the Ad hoc Advisory Group on Public Service Media Governance: • Christian S. Nissen—independent advisor and Adjunct Professor at Copenhagen Business School; ex-Director General of DR, The Danish Broadcasting Corporation, 1994–2004 (Denmark) • Bissera Zankova—media expert at Ministry of Transport, IT and Com- munications (Bulgaria); Member of the Bureau of the Steering Com- mittee on the Media and Information Society (CDMSI) at the Council of Europe • Andra Leurdijk—independent researcher and former member of the team at TNO, independent research organisation (The Netherlands) • Karol Jakubowicz—international media expert, former Chair of Infor- mation for All Programme at UNESCO (Poland) • Lizzie Jackson—former Editor, BBC Online Communities (United Kingdom) The list of contributors also includes: • Jessica Clark—Media Policy Fellow, New America Foundation Media Strategist, Association for Independents in Radio, Inc. (USA) • Minna Aslama Horowitz—St. John’s University Research Fellow, New America Foundation, Fordham University (USA) • Auksė Balčytienė—Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas (Lithuania) • Gerard Goggin—University of Sydney (Australia) • Tim Dwyer—University of Sydney (Australia) • Fiona Martin—University of Sydney (Australia) • Matthias Karmasin—Medienhaus Wien (Austria) • Daniela Kraus—Medienhaus Wien (Austria) • Roberto Suárez Candel—postdoctoral scholarship holder at Hans Bre- dow Institute in Hamburg (Germany) • Heikki Heikkilä—University of Tampere (Finland) • Laura Ahva—University of Tampere (Finland) • Jaana Siljamäki—University of Jyväskylä (Finland) • Sanna Valtonen—University of Helsinki (Finland) • Michał Głowacki—University of Warsaw (Poland) • Charles Brown—University of Westminster (United Kingdom) • Ren Reynolds—Virtual Policy Network, a think tank dedicated to examining the relationships between social media and public policy (United Kingdom)
- 37. xxxii Editors’ Introduction Theoverall imperative for this work is supported by a Foreword prepared by Jan Malinowski—Head of The Information Society Department—Media, Information Society, Internet Governance, Data Protection and Cybercrime at the Council of Europe. The collection has been shaped into three sections. Part I, The Changing Mediascape: Implications for Public Service Media gives an overview of the theoretical framework relating to the analysis of public service media in an era of social change, new participatory and cross-platform consumption behaviours, and the emergence of new technologies, specifically an advanced Internet and the rise of mobile devices. Several contributions argue that the idea of PSM needs to change in order to maintain position and currency in a media landscape that is increasingly defined by network practices and the delivery of ‘traditional’ media by Internet protocols to a variety of large, medium, and small screens. Part II, Public Service Media Management Face Old and New Challenges explores the philosophy of the public media enterprise, focusing on the most relevant challenges for public media managers. Particular emphasis is given to the adaptation of organisations to the emerging industrial landscape whilst maintaining the public good. The contributors draw on historical, existing, and potential future institutional models. The aim is to identify what strate- gies and frameworks might be suitable for multiplatform or mixed-platform scenarios which may also be ‘disrupted’ by user-generated content, and por- table, mashable, spreadable media. Consideration is also given to internal barriers to change and external challenges, such as out-moded governance systems, how to ensure independence from political interference, and addi- tional responsibilities connected with the amplification of transparency and accountability within an increasingly multistakeholder environment. Part III, Repositioning the Public in the Public Service and Other Media Enterprises provides ideas and case studies on how leaders, managers, and producers might re-orientate towards a public who are becoming increas- ingly active and creative stakeholders. Examples of public involvement in media creation, management, and evolution are offered, including crowd- sourcing, crowdfunding, and collaborative media making. Management models that have emerged from the online gaming industries, social media, and the mobile Internet are of particular interest. The Conclusion draws together the three overall themes of the edited collection, and looks at the implications and choices for PSM outlets going forward. The ideas, studies, and provocations drawn together here will interest not only policy makers and managers of media firms but also students of media and communications and researchers interested in the media or in business studies worldwide. Above all, we hope the interdisci- plinary research and multistakeholder approach presented in the collection will result in the emergence of new concepts that may contribute to a more public-centred, energised approach for PSM in the changing mediascape.
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- 40. Part I The ChangingMediascape Implications for Public Service Media
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- 42. 1 Remixing PublicMedia’s Remit The Implications of Networks for Public Service Media Jessica Clark and Minna Aslama Horowitz INTRODUCTION: REVISITING PUBLIC MEDIA’S REMIT Around the world, media regulators, makers, and scholars are working to redefine the mission, structures, and supports for public-interest media in the face of rapid and disruptive technological change. A raft of new production and consumption devices, distribution platforms, and tools for two-way communication has unsettled traditional assumptions about the role of the public service broadcasters (PSB) as the core players in media markets or even filling in the ‘market gaps’ that the service was ini- tially designed to remedy. As Bajomi-Lazar and colleagues (2012: 358–360) note, the dominant theory of PSB, based on the early model of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), is becoming more and more obsolete. Not only are other, often commercial, media outlets performing many tasks of the public service broadcasters, but in addition, our globalizing world chal- lenges PSB’s traditionally nation-state–focused remit. Whereas different countries’ media contexts still differ, media manag- ers and policy makers share common concerns: ensuring that publics have access to reliable news and information and universally shared communica- tion spaces for self-expression and civic debate. However, the practicalities of producing content and providing space for democratic deliberation have shifted as state funding is threatened, while audiences simultaneously come to expect on-demand and participatory media options. Calls for PSB innovation are inexorably intertwined with debates around terminology, which in turn stand as proxies for deeper political questions: Should the term public media simply connote the digital activities of tra- ditional PSB? Or should it also include less curated and more democratic forms of participatory and civic media? What about other forms of produc- tion beyond broadcast, such as gaming, blogging, or augmented reality? If so, how will such projects be funded, and who will choose? And if not, why fund public broadcasting at all? In other words: How do we merge the remit and practices of de jure pub- lic service and de facto public media (Bajomi-Lazar et al., 2012) to support a truly vibrant democratic public sphere?
- 43. 4 Jessica Clarkand Minna Aslama Horowitz Over the last decade, these and related dilemmas have soaked up gal- lons of ink and months of meeting time—with incumbent PSB stakeholders struggling to maintain control of resources while new entrants make the case for the democratizing potential of open, participatory media. In many ways, these mirror earlier arguments for government support of indepen- dent and community media by advocates arguing that the remit for PSB should emphasize freedom of expression, bottom-up innovation, diversity of perspective, and localism. What is different about the current moment, however, is the widespread availability of low-cost media production tools and platforms for both dis- tribution and deliberation. This creates both new opportunities and new scarcities, as the role of both state and commercial broadcasters as gate- keepers is diminished, and the centre of gravity for political and cultural deliberations migrates online—albeit unevenly across different countries and publics. Issues of universal broadband access, digital literacy, and profi- ciency in collaborative and multiplatform production take on new urgency when they are understood not as pleas from special-interest or minority pop- ulations but as baseline requirements for informed and engaged citizenship. Opening the doors to new producers and participants also necessitates a more transparent approach to defining public media’s remit, providing an opportunity for users to help to define what constitutes innovation—for whom, and to what end. These challenges seem surprisingly similar in countries and regions that otherwise embrace very different approaches to public media—from those in which PSB dominates media markets to those in which the media systems are primarily market driven. These models, and other media systems around the globe, are often said to become more and more alike, that is, more and more commercial—and, given the increasing competition, less diverse. At the same time, due to the potentially borderless nature of the ever-expanding online and mobile media platforms, there are also similar new opportu- nities. More and new stakeholders are active in the public sphere and in re-envisioning media that could serve the public interest. This situation calls for remixing the traditional public service remit in terms of platforms, for- mats, and stakeholders involved. In this chapter, we focus on the current developments of public service media in the United States. The country provides a particularly interesting case study for alternative models for future public (service) media develop- ment in terms of the growing importance of different publics, as well as the role of media innovation. In the market-driven media landscape of the U.S., public broadcast- ers have not formed the foundation of the electronic media system in the country but instead consist of a more complex and diverse set of outlets, formats, approaches, and producers of content. We will examine a range of new, innovative cross-sector projects designed to network both emerging and legacy outlets with media researchers, policy makers, and members of the public for the purpose of deliberating about how public media should
- 44. Remixing Public Media’sRemit 5 evolve. We will then reflect the U.S. experience to core issues and develop- ments in Europe. Finally, we conclude with specific recommendations about a fresh remit for public media in this age, as well as tasks that the full range of stakeholders should engage in. THE U.S. CASE: REMAKING PUBLIC MEDIA FROM THE OUTSIDE IN In the United States, public service media (PSM) play a key but peripheral role in a media landscape dominated by commercial institutions. Per-capita funding for public media is significantly lower than in many countries (Benson and Powers, 2011), with infrastructure rather than content or engagement serving as the primary focus of federal support. Many local stations serve merely as repeaters of nationally distributed programs, with the production of localized news content and public engage- ment projects varying widely, based on the initiative and orientation of station management along with the amount of local support from members, foundations, and state and city governments. Although there is widespread public support for and trust in public broadcasting institutions, political battles are regularly waged over whether to slash or abolish funding for the service entirely. This instability can result in a chilling effect when it comes to reporting on controversial or politically sensitive topics, a weak point widely criticized by observers on both sides of the political spectrum (Burrus, 2012). Originally designed to fill a gap in high-quality educational and civic content and to provide opportunities for diverse perspectives to be aired, public television’s mission has become less clear cut as commercial competi- tors have arisen on cable and satellite to offer comparable nonfiction and cultural programming. Public radio has remained a more viable proposition as a provider of high-quality news given the highly consolidated commer- cial radio marketplace dominated by partisan talk and music. Nonetheless, both public radio and television outlets and their associated national public production networks have been challenged to rethink and defend their remit given the diversity and amount of content now available. As a result of these market and political conditions, innovation inside the traditional public broadcasting sector has proceeded in a slow and reactive fashion. In many cases, new practices have been driven by pressures from outside of the traditional print and broadcast media spheres to allow for more participation by users as sources, contributors, remixers, and ampli- fiers of news and educational content. Adjacent communities of media producers influencing perceptions and priorities of the sector include: Citizen/communitymediaoutlets: Runningparalleltothepublicbroad- casting system in many U.S. cities are complementary public/educational/ government (PEG) channels designed to offer useful civic information and,
- 45. 6 Jessica Clarkand Minna Aslama Horowitz in some cases, outlets for free expression by local citizens. User-supported community and low-power radio stations serve a similar purpose. Like public broadcasting outlets, these channels were established through policy interventions to address a particular gap in public access to the airwaves— one many now perceive to be filled by the rise of digital citizen media. As a result, PEG and community stations are working to reposition themselves as hubs for digital literacy and journalism training and points of broadband access for those who can’t otherwise afford it (Breitbart et al., 2011). Partisan media outlets: Over the past two decades, the number and range of expressly political media outlets in the U.S. has risen precipitously, serving as both competition to public broadcasters and as a challenge to the ‘neutral’ journalistic practices of the broadcasting sector that had been developed and standardized over the second half of the 20th century. Facilitated in part by the elimination of the Federal Communications Commission’s Fairness Doctrine in 1987 and accelerated by both the deregulation of media owner- ship and the burgeoning of cable, satellite, and digital outlets, partisan news and opinion has become a booming business (Hamm, 2008; Jamieson and Cappella, 2008). Producers of political media have been early adopters of digital platforms, driving rapid and steep growth of outlets devoted to the topic ahead of other areas of coverage. As technology and media researcher Steven Johnson noted in his 2009 South by Southwest (SXSW) keynote, the political web is “old- growth media. The first wave of blogs was technology-focused, and then for whatever reason, they turned to politics next. And so Web 2.0-style political coverage has had a decade to mature into its current state” (Johnson, 2009). Four years later, the canopy has only grown more dense and lush. In contrast, as noted by a recent Federal Communications Commission report, The Information Needs of Communities, public broadcasters are still required to hew to more traditionally objective reporting standards: A condition of [Corporation for Public Broadcasting] funding is that public stations must demonstrate ‘objectivity and balance’ in their cov- erage of controversial matters—and it is up to [the Corporation for Public Broadcasting] to ensure that this is done. This stipulation has led public broadcasters to strive for a disciplined nonpartisanship, a role that increasingly distinguishes them from the many other media entities that have grown more partisan. (Waldman, 2011) Social media: Beyond explicitly civic or political media production, popular social media platforms invented and hosted in the U.S.—including Wikipe- dia, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress, and numerous others—are supporting a seemingly endless array of creation, remixing, and sharing on topics and ques- tions that might once have been the provenance of public broadcasters. Many
- 46. Remixing Public Media’sRemit 7 digital-first news outlets, such as The Huffington Post, actively encourage users to both share and contribute content via these popular platforms, while both online-only and broadcast outlets have developed proprietary social media systems to encourage participation and production by users, such as CNN’s iReport or citizen media site The Uptake (Aufderheide et al., 2009). Numerous observers have proposed that popular participatory sites such as Wikipedia may in fact serve as more useful and nimble tools for informing and capturing public debates than broadcast or print outlets can ever hope to—for example, see Yochai Benkler’s sophisticated deconstruc- tion of how the online debate and mobilization surrounding the SOPA/ PIPA/ACTA legislation, which critics said would have crippled popular social media sites by enforcing wholesale takedowns of copyrighted mate- rial, depended on Wikipedia as both a primary source and a political actor (Benkler, 2012). Global media innovations: Not only do state and international broad- casters and news outlets serve as attractive alternatives to domestic public broadcasting for U.S. news consumers with the time and/or money to gain access to them, but innovative political uses of social and mobile tools, such as those employed during the Arab Spring and the global Occupy move- ment, are both serving as primary news sources and influencing the practices of both journalists and activists in the U.S. The Information Needs of Communities report explores this dynamic, noting that not only has the Internet “made it much easier for citizens who want more foreign information than TV or newspapers provide” but also, “The Internet also enables ordinary citizens around the world to report information to the rest of the planet” (Waldman, 2011). While this is not a phenomenon unique to the United States, it highlights the globalizing nature of media outlets, even for a country that tradition- ally has relied on national print and broadcast news media for international coverage. Whereas those news outlets are now struggling, these new foreign and international competing sources of news, information, and engagement serve as both an inspiration and a rebuke to legacy public broadcasting leaders in the U.S. Funders as Catalysts for Innovation Foundations, which provide substantial support for U.S. public broadcast- ing content production, have been central in forcing leaders in this sector to rethink and justify why and how they do business and what role policy might play in transforming the closed and balkanized ‘public broadcast- ing’ system into a more open, participatory, and responsive ‘public media’ network.
- 47. 8 Jessica Clarkand Minna Aslama Horowitz Jessica Clark, a co-author of this article, has coordinated a number of foundation-led initiatives involving research into innovative journalism and public media projects, and the convening of stakeholders both inside and outside the sector to compare emerging practices and mount demonstration projects designed to model and refine best practices for ‘public media 2.0’. The following analysis of the Ford Foundation’s multiyear Future of Pub- lic Media project, which Clark directed, and complementary initiatives by other funders in the field reveals both the climate of innovation in the broader U.S. public media sphere and the competing rationales for continu- ing to fund this sector. The Ford Foundation: Future of Public Media Project From 2007 to 2011, Clark directed the Ford Foundation–funded Future of Public Media (FoPM) project, based at American University’s Center for Social Media and online at futureofpublicmedia.net. Combining research, policy analysis, convening of analysts and practitioners, and demonstration projects, this 6-year initiative served a signal role in both defining a new remit for ‘public media 2.0’ and establishing relationships across academia, media production, and the policymaking arena. Center for Social Media Executive Director Patricia Aufderheide is a noted scholar on public broadcasting, social issue documentary, and fair use. Aufderheide served as the principal investigator for the FoPM project. She summed up the goals and outcomes of the initiative in a 2011 blog post written to inform a preconference at the International Communica- tions Association titled The Future of Public Media: Participatory Models, Global Networks: It was our goal to help people both within and outside public broad- casting imagine public media for a participatory era . . . When the project began, we encountered, of course, the unpleasant realities of that moment: public broadcasters hunkering down trying to avoid the winds of change and muttering about how nobody appreciated what they did, contrasting with brash and entrepreneurial media startups of all kinds—entirely unaware that there had ever been a discourse of the public interest and not interested in finding out, but quite sure they were democratizing/liberating the media space. (Aufderheide, 2011) Drawing from the work of scholars such as John Dewey, Jürgen Haber- mas, Nick Couldry, and Ben Barber, Aufderheide (2011) continues, We made a simple argument in many ways. The argument was that public media could now, for the first time, be user-centric, which meant that for the first time public media could properly prioritize its raison d’être—to engage people as potential and actual members of the public.
- 48. Remixing Public Media’sRemit 9 Related Foundation Initiatives During this same period, innovation in and analysis of rising news and public engagement practices were supported by a number of overlapping initiatives. These included: The Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere program of the Social Science Research Council (New York). Also funded by the Ford Foundation, its goal was to build a stronger culture of collaboration among researchers, advocates, and activists working on policy and social change issues in the media and communications sector. Begun in 2005, the project featured a Collaborative Grants competition for partnerships between researchers and activists, which funded some 44 projects over 3 years (e.g., Karaganis, 2011). The particular mission of the Necessary Knowledge Collaborative Grants program entailed three dimensions. Firstly, it sought to build a field of media reform and justice that would bring together practitioners addressing struc- tural, macro-level problems, as well as change agents from civic groups supporting and developing grassroots media. Secondly, it wanted to fos- ter partnerships not only amongst advocates and activists but also between media practitioners and researchers—that is, it aimed to support engaged scholarship that is often neglected in academic contexts. Lastly, and most fundamentally given our increasingly mediatized societies and everyday life, the program wanted to highlight the importance (and inevitability) of multi- stakeholder collaboration between communications scholars, practitioners, and policy makers in solving social and public policy problems (Napoli and Aslama, 2011). The challenges of the program were numerous (see frank and insightful evaluations by Karaganis, 2011, and Borgman-Arboleda, 2011); at the same time, it was one of the first systematic attempts to create a structure to facilitate collaborative, change-driven research and action. The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and co-led by the Aspen Institute was initially structured as a blue-ribbon panel and public inquiry in 2008 to 2009. This wide-ranging research project aimed to move beyond debates about the future of news and to explore how and why community members were obtaining the information neces- sary to act as informed citizens. Published in 2010, the commission’s report, Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age (Knight Commission, 2010) offered a series of provocative recommendations that recognized the need to foster universal access to broadband and digital lit- eracy and flagged an interlocking set of information hubs in communities that feed and supplement traditional news sources, including schools, librar- ies, government agencies, nonprofits, and citizens themselves. The report also included a call for increased support for public media— but with a few caveats similar to those explored by the FoPM initiative, tied to increasing public engagement: “Public broadcasting needs to move quickly toward a broader vision of public service media, one that is more local, more inclusive, and more interactive” (Knight Commission, 2010: 11).
- 49. 10 Jessica Clarkand Minna Aslama Horowitz The Aspen Institute followed up the report’s release with a series of more targeted white papers pegged to specific recommendations. Veteran journalist Barbara Cochran, the Curtis B. Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, wrote the white paper Rethinking Public Media: More Local, More Inclusive, More Interactive (Cochran, 2010), which reflected the growing consensus about what it would take for public media to retain relevance: localism, diversity, interactivity, and a connection with policy makers and practitioners fighting to expand broadband access. In addition to supporting the production of these reports, the foundation has also been systematically building and refining a competition designed to foster innovation in the tools and methods for open-source, digital public- interest journalism: Knight News Challenge. Consulting group Learning for Action conducted an evaluation of this 5-year media innovation contest, launched in 2006 (LFA Group, 2011). It is instructive to observe that while very few winners of this challenge have been traditional public broadcasting outlets, the report adopts the new usage for the term public media to refer to platforms designed both to provide free information to members of the public and to serve as freely available and adaptable toolsets for those seek- ing to create their own news projects. The few public broadcasting projects that have received News Challenge funding have been notably open and participatory. The same logic, of bring- ing outsiders in to redefine and open the sector, is evident in Knight’s recent decision to fund a Public Media Accelerator. Modelled on Silicon Valley tech accelerators, this competitive project will support public media entrepre- neurs, whose ideas for remaking public media may feature both nonprofit and for-profit projects (Lunden, 2012). The Knight Foundation also funded the Media Policy Initiative (MPI) at the New America Foundation, which merged research on open and com- munity media and access with inquiry into public media innovation. Led by Tom Glaisyer and involving a cadre of research fellows with experience in both academic research and community/public media (including Clark), this initiative helped to inform the Federal Communications Commission’s The Information Needs of Communities report and other federal agency-based deliberations, bringing the work of all of these practitioners and convenings directly into the policy sphere. Ultimately, the MPI has sought to spur local action in pockets across the country, given the Federal Communication Com- mission’s unwillingness to push for change in the wake of the 2011 report and a lack of action from the embattled legacy public broadcasting entities. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Dialogue, Diversity, Digital To be fair, the sluggishness of innovation within the U.S. public broadcasting system is not due to a dearth of discussion or effort on the part of national leaders. Take, for example, the ambitions expressed in a 2009 memo from
- 50. Remixing Public Media’sRemit 11 Corporation for Public Broadcasting Executive Vice President Michael Levy to Earnest Wilson, the Chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Board of Directors Digital Media Committee (Levy, 2009). After enu- merating multiple goals and obstacles for the development of public media 2.0, the memo offers the following draft vision statement: Public Service Media 2.0 will be a multi-channel network of diverse non-profit creators and distributors of high-quality non-commercial content that informs, educates, inspires, engages, promotes democratic governance, provides access to arts and culture, and builds capacity in the diverse American people in their homes and communities through- out the nation. (Levy, 2009) These ambitions were further reflected in a statement of strategic goals and objectives established by CPB’s Board of Directors in 2011. Following the priorities of the so-called “three D’s—Digital, Diversity and Dialogue”, this guiding document lays out ambitious goals for the sector, including “Fund high-quality public service media content for all ethnicities, cultures, and ages” (Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2011), and “Make inno- vative use of technology, online distribution, and broadcast and multicast channels to reach audiences wherever and whenever they use media” (Cor- poration for Public Broadcasting, 2011). Whereas the CPB is the primary federal funder of the U.S. public broad- casting system, the organisation is hamstrung by the decentralized and politicized nature of that system as it currently stands. Funding for digital experiments has now been scaled back by Congress. Reform and innovation will continue to proceed in fits and starts. Working within the constraints of their funding formula, which priori- tizes broadcast, CPB leaders have attempted to meet these high aspirations with concrete investments in public media experiments and support services designed to bring in new producers and members of the public, including a number of projects noted within the reports outlined above, such as the Pub- lic Insight Network, the Public Media Corps, the Public Radio Exchange, Project Argo, the Local Journalism Centers, the National Center for Media Engagement, the Association for Public Radio’s Localore project, for which Clark is currently serving as the media strategist, and others. Hacking U.S. Public Media These overlapping but distinct national demonstration projects—many jointly supported by the funders described above—have served as a de facto distributed lab for defining and testing new public media forms. These proj- ects also feed into the larger cultural project of ‘hacking’ journalism—both commercial and nonprofit—for social good, as exemplified by the grass- roots journalism organisation Hacks/Hackers (http://hackshackers.com/). The group’s About Us page explains: “Journalists sometimes call themselves
- 51. 12 Jessica Clarkand Minna Aslama Horowitz ‘hacks’, a tongue-in-cheek term for someone who can churn out words in any situation. Hackers use the digital equivalent of duct tape to whip out code. Hacks/Hackers tries to bridge those two worlds”. Given all of this transition, how will the legacy public broadcasters fare? Adapting to the volatile media environment is key to their survival, and yet they face the ‘innovator’s dilemma’ (Christensen, 1997)—finding it dif- ficult to maintain a successful but shrinking franchise while simultaneously experimenting with disruptive practices and platforms that threaten to pull audience away from their core services. Instead, it seems that innovation will continue to advance not via inter- nal dialogue or an influx of federal dollars but through interactions with competing sectors, disruptive innovators, and engaged publics. A survey of U.S. public media experiments across the span of the Future of Public Media Project reveals a common set of innovation practices: • collaboration across outlets both within and outside of the sector • increasing broadband access and media literacy for minority and low- income users • engagement of youth • support for independent producers who bring new perspectives and digital skills • the decoupling of journalistic functions from traditional reporting struc- tures, multiplatform distribution of both radio and television content • community engagement via both proprietary and commercial social media platforms The new remit for these emerging practices might be summed up in a phrase that’s often been repeated in discussions of public media 2.0: putting the public into public media. TOMORROW’S PUBLIC MEDIA: DEVELOPING NEW MODELS ACROSS NATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES The search for new vibrancy and the essential goals shared by the public media activists, organisations, and regulators in the U.S. and in Europe are the same. Their aim is to foster diversity of media ownership in commercially driven or mixed markets, to secure diversity of voices, and to provide univer- sal access to content. Whereas the definitions and forms of public media may be continuously evolving in the digital era, the core goals have not changed with online and mobile platforms. But it also seems that the new media land- scape has inspired scholars, advocates, and policy makers working around public media issues to look at practices across the Atlantic. In addition, they have begun to build multistakeholder alliances to envision directions for public media of the future.
- 52. Remixing Public Media’sRemit 13 American Developments Meet European Models Historically, in most Northern and Central European Countries (dubbed by Hallin and Mancini, 2004, as exemplifying the Democratic Corporatist media systems), PSB has played a significant role in establishing electronic media systems. Although autonomous, PSB has been strongly supported by the state. In Southern European countries, too, public broadcasting has been an important player in media markets. Yet, since the 1970s, deregulation and commercialization have been quicker and more impactful than in the North. As Iosifidis (2011) notes, public-interest priorities in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe also struggle more with questions of citizen participa- tion and the freedom of speech. In countries that some depict as examples of the Liberal Model (such as the U.S., the UK and Canada; Iosifidis, 2011), the media systems are market driven, even if public broadcasting exists. What public broadcasting means also differs significantly even in these North Atlantic countries, ranging from the BBC in the UK to the Public Broadcasting Company and National Public Radio networks, public-access cable channels, Low Power FM (LPFM) radio stations, and emerging online media platforms in the U.S. Although European PSB has in the past decades been experiencing legiti- macy and financing crises, many public media advocates in the United States still look up to the European tradition in terms of the public funding models and provision of service to underserved communities. For instance, non- profit models of journalism draw inspiration from the traditional European PSB funding structures (e.g., McChesney and Nichols, 2010). At the same time, public media organisations in Europe are sometimes considered to endanger diversity of online journalism, as they can offer quality brand news for free whereas, to exist, newspapers must establish pay-walls or find other revenue models. But many Europeans are keen to learn from the strong tra- dition of local and community media, media activism, and advocacy (e.g., Hackett and Carroll, 2006), and innovative, networked communities (e.g., Aufderheide and Clark, 2009) in the U.S. It is true that in Europe, public service media organisations have been the flagship companies in digital system development. This is especially obvious in the digitalization of television, but this has also been evident in the intentions of broadcasters in terms of development of new contents and services. Yet policy approaches have varied greatly country by country (e.g., Aslama and Syvertsen, 2006). In addition, questions about the old public broadcasters’ role in the new media markets have been raised, in individual countries and at the EU level: Would they distort fair competi- tion? How far can they go in offering online and mobile contents and related services? Clearly, the diversity ideal remains a relevant and foundational prin- ciple for media policy making, but the European public service media
- 53. 14 Jessica Clarkand Minna Aslama Horowitz organisations have actively been seeking new ways to find their place in the infinitively expanding and increasingly participatory media landscape. The question for the European–style public media is what kind of participatory mix to engage in and to facilitate. Should public media organisations par- ticipate in popular social media phenomena, seek beyond that to create new options and even alternatives, or act mainly as hubs—as a kind of knowl- edge broker—for public service-relevant user-generated contents? Most European public media organisations think they should engage in making and providing platforms for participatory media in its diverse forms. Despite a variety of regulatory and funding challenges, public broadcasters began to experiment in interactive television as well as online and mobile services early on—for example, the BBC, YLE, and NRK—since the mid 1990s. In this quest, there are several allies, areas of foci, and sources for inspiration that European public media could potentially utilize when taking participation seriously as a part of their diversity mandate. One forerunner regarding participation is community media, which have traditionally addressed specific audience needs in geographic or thematic terms and been specifically dependent on supporters’ active engagement. Ranging from public-access cable channels to alternative low-FM radio sta- tions to activist online listservs, the media landscape of the United States has fostered such grass-roots-driven activities. In addition, the so-called ‘media reform’ or ‘media justice’ movements, albeit vibrant in the U.S. and becoming increasingly global, are not very typical in Europe. Various civic organisations are increasingly concerned with diversity in reference to media ownership concentration and alterna- tive media outlets, the representation of voices in media content, access to media technologies and contents, net neutrality, and so on (Hackett and Carroll, 2006; McChesney, 2007). Public media need public support, and citizens’ participation in media-policy-related debates can only sharpen pub- lic media’s remit and strengthen their identity. Finally, community-driven cases such as those described in the first half of the chapter serve as models to rethink the constituents and format of public service media. Efforts to Build Multistakeholder Networks Digital communities or networks tend to be thematically driven and there- fore, depending on their purpose, sometimes short lived. This is quite the opposite of the paternalistic public broadcasting model that has dominated the European landscape. But the two ways of building communities and cre- ating content are not mutually exclusive. They provide two different forms of participation that potentially can both build citizenship and enhance civic engagement as well as content diversity and access. The strengths of the European system are at the macro-level; histori- cal, structural, and political. Public media have been at the centre of most
- 54. Remixing Public Media’sRemit 15 Western European media systems in the electronic age, and they continue to play an important role as content producers and service providers; however, they are big institutions. In the U.S., then, many media outlets that could be defined as ‘public’ are created and supported by the civil society. Neither model is sufficient in today’s participatory media landscape. As this book and other efforts on both sides of the Atlantic suggest, the answer is to be found in multistakeholder collaborations. The interest in understanding and reworking public media questions has traditionally hap- pened by and/or with public media organisations. Now there is an increasing amount of thinking and innovation at the structural level (industry land- scape, policy making) as well as at the individual, small-scale, grassroots level (a variety of civic groups and collectives, as well as micromedia by indi- viduals). Yet relatively little systematic collaborative action is taking place, whether in the form of knowledge transfer or in concrete content production and strategic collaboration. At the same time, scholars are working on issues pertaining to structural, institutional, content, and consumption questions—and sometimes with practitioners and other stakeholders. It seems that research, whether within the traditional scholarship or by organisations committed to the cause of public media (such as the European Union, the European Broadcasting Union, the U.S.–based nonprofit Pew Research Center known for its annual news research, the U.S.–based journalism-focused Knight Foundation, or the international Open Society Institute) could be the most natural and effi- cient bridge between different stakeholders. At the same time, scholars could make some important connections beyond traditionally national borders of public media debates and research. Unsurprisingly, numerous initiatives outside of the conventional frame- work of public media organisations have begun to address concerns at the heart of public service and public-interest media. In the U.S., from the models to save journalism to the flagship report commissioned by the Fed- eral Communications Commission (Waldman, 2011) to the wide array of independent examinations on the topic (e.g., Aufderheide and Clark, 2009; McChesney and Nichols, 2010), one of the key ideas for fostering public media is to focus on multistakeholder collaboration in creating forms of public media. This broadening of the public media landscape was addressed in the Inter- national Communication Association’s 2011 Preconference, The Future of Public Media: Participatory Models and Networks, in which the lead- ers of several of these projects met to discuss ways to draw connections between their efforts. One ongoing effort is Re-Visionary Interpretations of the Public Enterprise, or, the RIPE network, a pioneering initiative of practitioner–scholar collaboration. Originally a European collective that has grown into a global one, RIPE brings together public media managers and university researchers to share and brainstorm. The discussions address
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- 56. CHAPTER XIII "Morris Thornton!" Boththe porter and the locksmith had heard the name distinctly before Eversleigh swooned away, and both understood who the dead man was. They were so astounded that they stood looking at each other with startled faces and mouths agape, while Gilbert bent over the unconscious form of his father. "Morris Thornton at last!" cried the porter; "it's the gentleman as was missing." "Morris Thornton—yes," said the locksmith; "the missing millionaire —the man wot was advertised for in all the papers." And then both men were silent, thinking of the reward of a thousand pounds offered for information about this very man. "I was the first as found him," remarked the locksmith, coming to his wits, to the porter. "We all found him together, didn't we?" asked the porter, in an aggrieved tone. Gilbert, meanwhile, had moved his father from off the dead body of Morris Thornton on to the floor, and sought to bring him to by unfastening his collar and tie and opening his shirt. The son felt that his first concern was with his father, not with Morris Thornton—with the living rather than the dead. And now, as he tried to bring back to the inanimate frame the spark of life, he noticed, as he had not done before, how changed, how shrunken were the face and figure of his father. He knew his father had been ailing for some time, but he had not realised how far the mischief had gone. And on the top of this illness had come, first the death of Silwood, and now the discovery
- 57. of Morris Thorntonlying dead in Silwood's chambers! Small wonder was it, he thought, that the shock of this last circumstance, combined with all that had preceded it, had proved too much for his father. For some minutes he continued his efforts to re-animate Francis Eversleigh, but without avail. The porter and the locksmith gave him what assistance they could; finally the former suggested that a doctor should be sent for. "Yes," agreed Gilbert; "go round to King's College Hospital. I know one or two of the doctors there; take my card, and get one of them if you can. Say the case is urgent." But the porter, who by this time was swelling with the importance of the affair—an importance in which he saw himself included—had another suggestion to make. "After I get a doctor," he said to Gilbert, whom he knew to be Francis Eversleigh's son, "don't you think it would be well if I fetched a policeman? There's the dead body," he added significantly, "and of course there will have to be an inquest." "Quite right," replied Gilbert; "but get the doctor first." And the porter withdrew, more important than ever. "Shall I stay, sir?" asked the locksmith. "Yes, please, until the police come; they will want your evidence." "Very well, sir." While he was trying to resuscitate his father, Gilbert's mind had been in a whirl; now that he had desisted from the attempt his thoughts shaped themselves more clearly. Here, before him, lay Kitty's father dead—Kitty's father, that was his first thought—and his heart bled for her. He knew that, though she had said and felt that Morris Thornton
- 58. was no more,she would still suffer terribly on hearing positively that he was dead. Then the strangeness of the thing—the body being found in Silwood's room, and Silwood his own father's partner!—took hold of him. Silwood dead! Morris Thornton dead! What did this conjunction indicate? That there was something extraordinary about it did not admit of any doubt whatever when it was coupled with the fact that Thornton's body had been found in Silwood's chambers. How had Morris Thornton come to be there at all? And in what way had he met his death? What connection was there between that death and Cooper Silwood? What had Silwood to do with it? Had he anything to do with it? For what reason? With what end in view? Had Thornton been murdered? If so, it could not have been by Silwood, for what motive could he have had for killing Thornton?—Silwood, a member of one of the most respectable firms in London. And yet there must be some connection and some explanation. What was it? What could it be? As these questionings flashed through Gilbert's mind, he stood gazing upon the dead man's face, as if from its sightless eyes and from its dumb lips there might come some solution of the mystery. And then his thoughts took a fresh turn. Still gazing at the face of Morris Thornton, he wondered if the man had come to his death by being shot, if upon the body would be found the marks of the lethal weapon that had slain him, if the murderer had left behind him some sign which in the end would lead to his detection and conviction. But this was to presume Thornton had been murdered, and there was no certainty as to that. While he was thus musing, his father showed some indications of reviving. His eyelids fluttered and his lips worked slightly. Gilbert bent down and raised his father's head. With a deep sigh, Francis Eversleigh opened his eyes and stared at his son as at some stranger. But reviving still more, a light of recognition came into his face, and he moved his head.
- 59. "Are you better,father?" asked Gilbert. Eversleigh made an effort to speak, but it failed; then he looked piteously at his son. "I wish I had some brandy to give you," said Gilbert. "A doctor will be here in a few minutes." At the mention of the word "doctor," Francis Eversleigh struggled to raise himself, and, with Gilbert's help, managed to get into a sitting position. Glancing about him in a weak and uncertain way, his eyes fell upon the body of Thornton; a frightful spasm seemed to shake him to pieces; then his eyes all at once blazed with light and life, but in an instant they became clouded and overcast. "Morris Thornton—I remember," he said, speaking with great slowness, as though speech were exceedingly difficult to him. He shut his eyes, as if he would shut out the sight of the dead man, while Gilbert watched him anxiously and supported him with his strong young arms. Presently he opened his eyes again, looked at the body, and then at Gilbert. On his face was a great solemn interrogation which his son could scarcely fail to understand. Eversleigh was asking what did it all portend, but Gilbert did not speak; he himself could see no way out of the darkness surrounding the scene. "What has happened?" asked the older man, but even as he spoke Gilbert felt his father's form was beginning to press more heavily on him. "I do not know," the son replied. Francis Eversleigh now fixed his gaze on Thornton's body once more. "Murder!" he suddenly cried in a piercing voice, and dropped back unconscious again. "Murder!"
- 60. Gilbert told himselfthat he could follow the mind of his father perfectly. His father thought Morris Thornton had been murdered. It was to all intents what was in his own mind. But if Thornton had been murdered, who, then, was the murderer? The piercing cry of "Murder!" which Francis Eversleigh had raised before swooning again had not been heard by Gilbert only. The locksmith, who was still in the room, heard it for one, and it filled him with fresh excitement. He had been endeavouring to puzzle out the thing in his own way, and was not exactly surprised to find the idea of murder imported into it. That cry of "Murder!" was the echo of his own thoughts, and from that moment he was so convinced that Thornton had been murdered that nothing would disabuse him of the notion. The cry was heard by three others, who were only a few steps away from the door of Silwood's chambers when Francis Eversleigh gave utterance to it. They were the doctor from King's College Hospital, a policeman from Lincoln's Inn Fields, and the Inn porter, all arriving together. On hearing it, they ran forward into the room. The porter had already told both the doctor and the policeman his own version of the finding of the body of Thornton and of the fainting fit of Mr. Eversleigh. "What was that cry I heard?" demanded the policeman, who was the first to speak. As he spoke he threw searching glances about and around the room. But Gilbert paid no heed to his question. He knew the doctor, thanked him for coming so promptly, and asked him to try to revive his father. "It is the second time he has fainted," said Gilbert. It was the locksmith that answered the policeman's query.
- 61. "The sick gentleman,"said he, "him that's in the swound, called out loud 'Murder!'—he'd been looking at the body—and then he dropped off again. That was the second time he swounded." "Oh, it was he," said the policeman. Then he advanced to Gilbert, having been prompted thereto by the porter, who whispered to him, "He's young Mr. Eversleigh," and said, "Will you tell me from the beginning the whole story, sir?" By this time his father was in the capable hands of the doctor, so that Gilbert was able to give his whole attention to the policeman. As succinctly as possible, he narrated the circumstances which had led to his father and himself going to Silwood's chambers, how the door was broken open, and the body of Thornton found lying on the floor. Next the policeman listened to what the porter and the locksmith had seen, and by the time he had heard what they had to tell him, Francis Eversleigh had come to himself, though he looked shattered and frightfully ill. Him, too, the policeman questioned. "Mr. Thornton was a client of yours, I believe?" remarked the policeman, after many other queries. "Yes, an old schoolfellow, and one of my greatest friends," replied Eversleigh. "His daughter is engaged to marry my son Gilbert, here." "This gentleman?" asked the policeman, pointing to Gilbert. "Yes." "And these are the private apartments of your partner, Mr. Cooper Silwood?" "Yes." "And the dead body of Mr. Thornton, your friend, is found in the private apartments of your partner, Mr. Silwood?" "Yes." "And Mr. Silwood is dead?"
- 62. "Yes." "Most extraordinary thingI ever heard of!" exclaimed the policeman. "There's something very strange here." "My father, as you can see for yourself," interposed Gilbert, "is ill; he is in no fit state to stay here a moment longer than is necessary. But if I can help you, I shall be glad to do so." "Mr. Eversleigh ought to go home at once," said the doctor. "That is all right," said the policeman. "Do you report to Inspector Gale?" asked Gilbert of the policeman; "I know him very well." "Yes; I shall report to him. And in the mean time these chambers must be closed up and sealed. The inspector will no doubt come and examine everything in them. This is the usual procedure. And of course there will be a coroner's inquest. Nothing more can be done at present, I think. Please sir, do not touch the body," he added, speaking to the doctor, who was scrutinizing it carefully. "If I went to Scotland Yard, should I find the inspector in?" asked Gilbert. "You'll find him there at 2.30." "And there is nothing more that can be done just now?" "Nothing." Leaving Silwood's chambers in the charge of the policeman, who had now been reinforced by the arrival of two other constables, the two Eversleighs, the doctor, the locksmith, and the porter filed out of the chamber of mystery and death. As they entered the court of Stone Buildings, they saw that little knots of people had collected, who were discussing something that evidently was unusually interesting. The fact was that the porter, on his way for the doctor and the policeman, had let fall hints of what had been found. The
- 63. Eversleighs were askedby some gentlemen of the long robe, whom they knew, what was the truth of the matter, and they put before them the bare facts. But the porter and the locksmith were not so reticent. The former gossiped freely, but not without a fitting sense of the greatness of the occasion. The latter went into Chancery Lane by the iron-gated footway leading from the court of Stone Buildings and saw a crowd gathered on the pavement opposite the windows of Cooper Silwood's chambers. Already it had been spread abroad that these chambers had been the scene of some astounding tragedy. The locksmith, on being asked by some one in the crowd if he could throw any light on the subject, forthwith poured forth all he knew, declaring that undoubtedly Morris Thornton, whose dead body had been discovered in Silwood's room, had been foully murdered. And when the rumour ran that it was the body of the Missing Millionaire, of whom everybody had heard, the excitement rose to fever heat in the crowd. A passing reporter, on the staff of one of the evening papers, saw the crowd, and was soon in possession of the pith of the news, but desirous of getting the fullest particulars, he sought out the locksmith, who told him the whole story, again reiterating his conviction that there had been a murder of the blackest kind. Thus it was the locksmith's idea of what had happened that coloured the tone of the papers that evening, all of whom made the most of "The Mystery of Lincoln's Inn" and "The Murder of the Missing Millionaire," as they entitled it on their bills in the largest of capitals. And the affair quickly created an extraordinary sensation.
- 64. CHAPTER XIV It wasnearly two o'clock that Saturday afternoon when Francis Eversleigh, supported by Gilbert and the doctor, left Silwood's chambers in Stone Buildings. He stopped on his way to his office, as has been said, to gratify the curiosity of some of his acquaintances; but he was so weak and unsteady that the doctor soon forbade him, and rightly, to exert himself even to talk. On the arrival of the little party at 176, New Square, they were met by Ernest Eversleigh and Williamson the head-clerk, who were anxiously awaiting them, as a rumour had already reached them of the discovery of the body in Silwood's rooms; the report, however, had been so vague that they could not believe it. Williamson, in particular, was sceptical. Ernest eagerly pressed his father and brother for information; the doctor, however, would not allow Francis Eversleigh to speak, and Gilbert said that he would presently tell them all, but that he must first attend to his father, who was far from well. "Just one word, Mr. Gilbert," said Williamson. "Is it true that the body of Mr. Morris Thornton was found in Mr. Silwood's sitting-room? —that is the rumour." "Yes, it is quite true." Williamson, on hearing this, fell back, with a look of the profoundest astonishment on his face. Up to this time he had not believed it, because, if it were true, then the suspicions which he had for some time entertained appeared to be more than confirmed, but he had not looked for so startling a confirmation. "I was right," he told himself. "I wish I could get to the bottom of it."
- 65. Francis Eversleigh meanwhilewent up to his room on the second floor, and now the doctor insisted that he must remain quiet. Further, the doctor said that he himself would go out to obtain some suitable nourishment for him. As he withdrew from the room, he beckoned to Gilbert. "Do not leave your father," he said to Gilbert, in the passage. "I am afraid he is ill—of what I cannot say, but it is easy to see that his vitality is very low. Has he suffered from some severe illness—some bad attack recently?" "No. He has been ailing slightly for a few weeks past—that is all." "He seems to me to be very much run down," the doctor went on. "You must make a point of getting him to see his own physician—the family doctor. In the mean time, I'll fetch him a strong pick-me-up and some light, nourishing food of which he stands much in need. After he has had it, he should be taken home at once, and put to bed as soon as possible." "Very well," agreed Gilbert; and the doctor went on his way down the stairs. Gilbert returned to his father's room. Father and son, now left alone for the first time since the discovery of Morris Thornton's body, looked at each other strangely. Gilbert's gaze seemed to ask the question, "What is the meaning of all this?" His father understood him but darkly, for he was suffering from a frightful obsession which numbed his brain. He was powerless to think coherently; all that he could fix his mind upon was merely what was nearest him, or what was immediately happening. It was this which explained his next words. "What was the doctor saying to you, Gilbert?" he asked. "Well, he said you were run down, and wanted bracing up," replied Gilbert. "Was that it?"
- 66. "Yes; and Imust say that it is not surprising you're ill, after two such shocks as you have received to-day." Then there was silence between them. Strange thoughts, half- formed suspicions crowded upon Gilbert in that pause. He glanced at his father, uncertain whether to speak to him or not. "Father," he said at last, "I do not like to press the subject on you when you are so far from strong; but how do you account for Morris Thornton's body being found in Mr. Silwood's chambers—have you formed any theory?" "I know no more about it than you," cried Francis Eversleigh, wildly; "and I do not know what to think.... I cannot think about it at all ... my brain refuses to act.... I have no idea ... it is all a terrible and horrible mystery to me!" And then he flung up his hands, as if he were throwing off some weight which oppressed him. "Oh, it is dreadful, dreadful, dreadful!" he cried; then burst into a passion of sobs, the sound and sight of which moved and distressed Gilbert exceedingly. "Father! Father!" said the son, soothingly, in accents of deepest sympathy. In a few moments Eversleigh grew calmer, and became a little more like his usual self. "There is just one thing I'd like to ask you, father," said Gilbert; "that is, if it is not too painful for you." "What is it, my son?" "You uttered one word in that room over there," returned Gilbert, nodding in the direction of Stone Buildings. "What?"
- 67. "The one wordwas 'Murder!' Do you think Mr. Thornton was murdered?" Francis Eversleigh stared about him with dilated eyes, as might some being who was persecuted and hunted. "I don't know what to think," he said at length. "But you did exclaim 'Murder!' That was the idea in your mind, was it not?" "Ah, Gilbert, my mind was utterly confused.... I had suffered a tremendous blow.... Surely I can't be held responsible for what I said in my condition at the time." "True, father. Still, there was the idea of murder in your mind," persisted Gilbert. "I tell you that I know nothing—nothing." "Of course, you know nothing, father; but your thought on seeing the body—your suspicion—was that there had been murder. Was it not so?" "I can't say anything about it," replied Eversleigh, fretfully. "I know as much and as little as you do how it was that Thornton came to be in Silwood's chambers. Pray do not tease me—do not worry me—I cannot stand it; it is cruel of you to torture me in this fashion." Gilbert stared at his father, wondering what was meant by the expression "torture"—he could not understand it. He was glad that the doctor returned at this moment, bringing with him wine and a light lunch for the invalid. Leaving his father to the doctor's care, he went down to the next floor, where he saw his brother Ernest, who was all agog to hear the story. When Ernest had listened to Gilbert's narrative, his sole commentary upon it was— "Of course, everybody will say that Morris Thornton was murdered by Silwood; what other conclusion can there be?"
- 68. "But why?" urgedGilbert. "What motive could Silwood have? No, I don't think that can be the explanation. I confess, however, the thing baffles me completely." "Still," said Ernest, "you may be quite sure that it's what the world will say. In any case, it can't fail to do us a lot of mischief." "Oh, that will depend on circumstances when the mystery is cleared up, as I imagine it soon must be." Then Gilbert spoke of their father's condition, and suggested that Ernest should take Francis Eversleigh to Surbiton as soon as the doctor gave permission. As for himself, he was going on to Scotland Yard to see Inspector Gale. "What am I tell Kitty?" asked Ernest. "I'll write her a note, which you will give her. Of course, I should have liked to have broken the sad news to her myself; but from what I know of her, I am sure that she would prefer me to lose no opportunity of unravelling the mystery of her father's death. Besides, she has always believed, since she knew of Mr. Thornton's disappearance, that he was dead." And Gilbert sat down and wrote his love a letter, full of the tenderest feeling, in which he told her of the discovery which had been made that day, and of which his brother Ernest would give her more complete details. Then he went on to say that he would not spare himself in trying to elucidate the whole strange business, nor would he lose any time; therefore, he would see Inspector Gale that very afternoon; he would go to Scotland Yard, in fact, immediately after sealing the letter to her. But he would be at Surbiton in the evening. When Gilbert did reach Scotland Yard, he found Gale expecting him. "I was waiting for you, Mr. Gilbert," said the inspector. "Yes?"
- 69. "One of theconstables told me you asked when I would be in, and he replied at half-past two; it is a quarter-past three now. By the way, how is your father? I hear he was so shocked that he fainted twice." "He is better now, but still very much shaken. I left him in the doctor's charge, and when he is able to go my brother Ernest will take him home." "I think his home is in Surbiton?" "Yes; I told you that when we were discussing the disappearance of Mr. Thornton." "Quite so. A day or two's rest will pull your father round. Of course, I must see him. Do you think he will be fit to see me to-morrow?" "I should think so. And he must be as anxious as anybody—indeed, more anxious than anybody—to have this extraordinary affair cleared up." "Certainly. Now, Mr. Gilbert, let me hear everything from the beginning. Take your own time about it, and try not to forget anything. Don't leave out the slightest touch that may have any bearing on the subject." "I will do my best," said Gilbert. "My father, on learning of the death of Mr. Silwood, sent for me this morning." "Excuse me," interrupted the inspector, "but I must ask you questions as you go along. Was it this morning your father heard of Mr. Silwood's death, and how did he hear of it?" "By letter this morning. The letter was from Ugo Ucelli, the Syndic of Camajore, with the usual certificate of death. The letter gave the particulars of Mr. Silwood's death. Cholera is epidemic along the Gulf of Genoa, and Mr. Silwood fell a victim to it. The body was buried twenty-four hours after death. Of course, the news affected my father very much—it was totally unexpected."
- 70. "What was Mr.Silwood doing in Italy?" asked Gale. "He was on a holiday." "Had he been long away from the office, from Lincoln's Inn?" "A week or two only, I think." "You cannot say exactly?" "No, but you will easily find out at the office." "I thought you might know, but, as you say, I can ascertain the date at the office. You see, of course, that it is necessary to get to know Mr. Silwood's movements?" The last sentence was put interrogatively. "This means, I imagine, that you connect Mr. Silwood with the death of Mr. Thornton?" asked Gilbert. "That is the obvious thing," replied the inspector; "but it is so obvious that I distrust it. I always doubt the obvious in these cases. Here, however, it is my duty to neglect nothing. And I must make it my business to find out everything I can about Mr. Silwood, and with regard to that I count with confidence on your father's assistance. Well, to go back, your father, on learning of Mr. Silwood's death, sent for you; what came next?" "He showed me the certificate signed by the Syndic; it was in Italian, a language neither my father nor I understand, but a large part of the certificate was printed, and from our Latin we made out pretty well what it said. The letter, however, we could make nothing of, so I went and got a man to translate it." Gilbert broke off suddenly with a sharp ejaculation. "You have thought of something, Mr. Gilbert?" suggested the inspector, giving him a keen look of inquiry.
- 71. "Yes, I have,and a very important thing it may prove too. It has been completely driven out of my mind by the dreadful discovery in Stone Buildings. Now I remember it, and I believe it may give us the key to the mystery." "What is it?" asked Gale, as Gilbert paused, his face aglow with excitement. "Before I went out to bring the interpreter something happened," said Gilbert. "Strange that I should have forgotten it so utterly! While my father and I were talking about Mr. Silwood's death, we were interrupted by a man, who had come in answer to the advertisement in the hope of getting the reward of a thousand pounds. The man was as hopeless-looking a waster and vagabond as any I ever saw, but he spoke like a man of education. And he told us that late on the night of the disappearance of Morris Thornton he was in Chancery Lane, and saw a workman coming out of the iron gate at the north- east corner of Lincoln's Inn." "That is just where Mr. Silwood's chambers are, are they not?" asked Gale. "Precisely; his rooms are on the top floor of the house at that very corner. Well, this workman behaved in a suspicious manner, and then disappeared. But he returned in about half an hour, and let himself into the Inn again by the iron gate." "Wait a minute," said Gale. "You said a workman. What was a workman doing in the Inn at that time of night? And with a key which unlocked that gate?" "These are puzzles, are they not?" "You have certainly given me something to think over. Have you anything more to tell me about this workman?" "No; our informant did not see him again."
- 72. Gilbert now resumedthe thread of his narrative, telling the inspector all that took place when he and his father went to Silwood's chambers. The inspector, as Gilbert proceeded, compared his statement with the report made by the policeman who had been summoned by the porter. "What you tell me," said Gale, when Gilbert had finished, "bears out exactly what my subordinate has set forth. The coroner has been sent for, and we must wait till we hear from him. I shall accompany him when he makes his examination of the body, and I expect a message from him every minute." "Will you let me go with you?" asked Gilbert. "You must remember that I am engaged to Mr. Thornton's daughter, and so am, therefore, in a measure her representative." "I have not forgotten that, and I do not know that there is any objection. If you will tell me where I can find you, I'll let you know. I must send you away just now, for I wish to be alone to think—and there is a great deal to think of." "Very well. I'll stay in the waiting-room outside," and Gilbert left the inspector to his thoughts.
- 73. CHAPTER XV "As strangea case as any I ever heard of," said Inspector Gale to himself, after Gilbert had withdrawn. "Now, what do I know about it exactly? Let me see." Gale was a shrewd man, with an abundance of sound common sense and an extensive experience in criminal matters. He also had a certain degree of imagination, which is the quality the ordinary detective lacks. From a cabinet he took some sheets of blue paper which were fastened together; they were the memoranda he had made of the facts connected with the disappearance of Morris Thornton. Gale read them over rapidly but carefully. Putting them down on his desk, he reflected. "Morris Thornton, a rich colonial," he thought, "came to London on July 29th, and put up at the Law Courts Hotel in Holborn. Late in the evening of the next day, July 30th, he left the hotel for a walk in Holborn or perhaps in Chancery Lane—so he said to the porter. To- day, August 14th, his body is found in a room at the top of a house in Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn, that is, on the Chancery Lane side of the Inn. That looks as if he had carried out his intention of taking a stroll in Chancery Lane. This fits in well enough. What next? "How did he get up to the room at that time of night? The Inn would be closed; the night porter of the Inn must have let him in. I must make a note of that. And what took him there? He must have had some object in view. And the room was in the set of chambers occupied by Mr. Cooper Silwood, one of the most respectable solicitors in London, and a member of the very firm of solicitors with whom Mr. Thornton transacted his business. Could it be that Mr. Thornton had gone to see Mr. Silwood about some matter? But
- 74. surely not atthat hour—it hardly seems possible. Still I must not neglect that phase of the case. "As regards Mr. Silwood. As he is now dead, the thing looks like leading up to a blind wall. He had been for some time away on a holiday. I must get the date when he left London. If he was in London on July 30th, or on the next day, the case would appear pretty black for him. Then there is the locked door. The door of the room in which the body was found had a special lock, and of course a special key, which Mr. Silwood carried. Some one locked the door on the dead man; the only one, presumably, who had the key to lock it was Mr. Silwood. This also looks pretty black for him. "But the motive? Suppose Silwood did kill Morris Thornton, what would be his reason? It must have been some very strong reason indeed that would make a respectable solicitor murder an important client. Most improbable—impossible, one would have said; but nothing is impossible, nothing in the world. Yet everything points to the deed having been done by Silwood. The conclusion is obvious." At this point in his reflections Gale took a turn up and down the floor. He was saying to himself, as he had said to Gilbert, that when a conclusion was obvious, then it was necessary to beware of it. His long experience had taught him that obvious conclusions rarely turned out to be correct. "Well, where are we?" Gale mused, sitting down again. "Let us say Silwood had a motive for murdering Thornton, and did actually kill him, and having committed the murder, fled the country on the pretence of taking a holiday—suppose all this; where does it land us?" Here a curious idea came into Gale's mind. He considered it doubtfully for two or three minutes; then, reminding himself of his favourite theory that nothing was impossible, he gave it tentatively a place in his thoughts.
- 75. "Suppose," he saidto himself, "that Silwood is not dead, and that all this palaver about the certificate of death from the Italian magistrate is a skilfully manufactured affair, a mere pretence, in fact, with the object of defeating justice? If this were so, it would complete the case with a vengeance. Still, why shouldn't Silwood be dead? Well, I must look into it, though the idea that he is alive seems rather far- fetched." Far-fetched or not, the idea fascinated the inspector as it appealed to his imagination; it haunted him so that he could not drive it out of his mind. "Suppose," he kept saying to himself over and over again, "Silwood is not dead. If he is not dead, what does that imply? Does it mean that there is some conspiracy, a conspiracy in which the Eversleighs are involved?" Gale pondered deeply. He had the feeling that somehow he was on the verge of a great discovery; but, as he thought still further, he was not so sure. It seemed absurd to connect the Eversleighs with anything of the sort. Finally, he came to a decision. Rising from his chair, he pressed an electric bell, and told a man who instantly appeared in answer to his call to ask Mr. Gilbert Eversleigh to step into the room. Gilbert, expecting that the coroner had been heard from, came in eagerly. "The coroner?" he asked. "No, Mr. Gilbert. I wished you to tell me again the name of the place in Italy where Mr. Silwood died." "Camajore, in the province of Tuscany—it is in the north of Italy, on the west coast or a few miles inland." "Camajore?" repeated Gale. "How is it spelt?" Gilbert spelt the word.
- 76. "Do you knowthe place?" asked the officer. "Not at all." "Do you happen to know the best and quickest way of getting to it?" "You would take the train for Genoa, I fancy. Camajore is only a short distance from Genoa. But why do you ask me this?" "It will be necessary, I think, for us to have the death of Mr. Silwood confirmed." "I understand," said Gilbert, but he had only a glimmering of the inspector's meaning. "It will be as well—as a matter of form." "Quite so," said Gale. "All sorts of inquiries will be made, and we must be in a position to answer them. By the way, Mr. Gilbert, would you mind telling me if Mr. Silwood was on terms of intimacy with Mr. Thornton—would you say that Mr. Silwood was as much of a friend of Mr. Thornton as your father was?" "Mr. Thornton certainly knew Mr. Silwood very well, though perhaps he was hardly on the same terms of intimate friendship as my father was." "Still there was a considerable acquaintance?" "Undoubtedly." "Do you think Mr. Thornton knew Mr. Silwood well enough to go to the latter's rooms at midnight or thereabouts?" "I should scarcely have thought so. It's rather an extreme thing to go to a man's rooms at that time of night." "But if there was some pressing reason?" "Of course, necessity knows no law, but I can't suppose for one instant there was such a necessity. I believe that Mr. Thornton's relations with both Mr. Silwood and my father were of the most
- 77. cordial character; indeed,I am certain they were. There was absolutely no hint of anything else. I know that for many years past Mr. Thornton reposed the greatest confidence in my father's firm." "So I understand," assented Gale. "Now, Mr. Gilbert, I must ask you to leave me. I shall tell you the instant I hear from the coroner." And Gilbert went out once more. As soon as he had gone, Gale rang his bell again. "I cannot go myself," he mused; "I must be present at the inquest— that is necessary. I must send Brydges." Brydges was the detective who ranked next to himself in Scotland Yard. In a moment or two more Brydges was in the presence of the chief. "You have heard about the Lincoln's Inn case?" asked Gale. "Yes, something, but not accurately—just what they are saying in the Yard." "And that is?" "That the body of the missing millionaire has been found in a room at the top of a house in Stone Buildings, the said room being the sitting-room of a Mr. Cooper Silwood, a solicitor, a member, in fact, of the firm of solicitors who did the dead man's legal business. A very curious position, is it not?" commented Brydges. "Very curious indeed. All the more so because Mr. Silwood too is dead." "Yes, I heard that also." "It is with reference to Silwood's death that I want you just now. I wish you to go to Italy, to a place called Camajore, some miles from Genoa, and find out everything you can about his death."
- 78. "Ah!" exclaimed Brydges;"I see. You think his death may be a fake; is that it?" "Well, it occurred to me that it might be so; at any rate, I think it well worth inquiring further into. You can leave to-night for Genoa?" "Yes, certainly." "And you will wire the results of your mission in cipher to me as soon as possible," said Gale. "Am I to consult the local authorities?" "Yes; I'll have a letter of credentials prepared for you. You will present it to the police at Genoa, and I do not imagine you will find any difficulty. Now, go and make your preparations." Left alone once again, Gale took up the thread of his musings. "There is one other point," he thought, "and that is the presence in Chancery Lane, on the night when Thornton disappeared, of that mysterious workman, who possessed the key to the iron gates of the small footway communicating with the court of Stone Buildings and Chancery Lane itself. "What was it I was told? A workman, or a man dressed as a workman, let himself out of the iron gate late at night; the man appeared to be flurried, to act in a suspicious manner. In about half an hour he returned, and let himself in again. He was seen no more that night. And it was the night—the night presumably of the murder. "This assuredly must be followed up; it looks like a clue. I must get hold of the waster who told the story, and hear for myself what he has to say. I wonder if he spoke the truth, or if he invented the whole thing. And if this story is true, and if this workman had something to do with Thornton's death, how is he to be connected with Cooper Silwood? If this workman committed the murder, how did he get possession of the key to Silwood's chambers? Perhaps,
- 79. during Silwood's absence,he got into the room. Well, it comes back to getting the date on which Silwood left London for his holiday— that's what I must ascertain." The inspector had reached this conclusion when there was a knock at his door, and a constable entered and informed him that the coroner had sent a message to the effect that he was waiting for him in Silwood's chambers. Gale called Gilbert, who had been sitting outside wearily and impatiently, and the two men got into a cab and drove to the scene of the discovery of the body. On their way thither Gale put a question. "I am very anxious to get to know the day on which Mr. Silwood left London," said the officer; "do you think you could find that out for me this afternoon?" "I think the office will be closed, but I'll go and see, if you like." "I wish you would. Suppose you go round to New Square while I go on to Mr. Silwood's chambers?" Gilbert agreed, and presently was in the office of Eversleigh, Silwood and Eversleigh, where, to his great surprise, he found Williamson still on the premises, apparently hard at work. "What a day this has been, Mr. Gilbert!" cried Williamson. "I thought I'd wait to see if there was any more news. Your father and Mr. Ernest have just gone home. I'm afraid your father, Mr. Gilbert, is very poorly—not that that is strange, after what has happened." "No, indeed," said Gilbert. "Can you tell me, Mr. Williamson," he went on, "the day on which Mr. Silwood left for his holiday?" "A fortnight ago, exactly, to-day I had a note from him, saying he was off to Italy. I don't know whether he went by the night mail on the evening of the Friday or by the continental express on the Saturday morning; he did not mention which train he was going by."
- 80. "A fortnight agoto-day? That was July 31st. And Friday was the 30th." "Precisely," said Williamson, with a touch of malice, "and that is the very day—that Friday—on which Mr. Thornton disappeared. It has a strange look, Mr. Gilbert; I can make nothing of it—nothing at all." "You are sure of the date?" asked Gilbert, sharply. "As I said, it was either on the Friday night or on the Saturday morning that Mr. Silwood left." Gilbert, as he went to tell Inspector Gale what he had learned, could not but confess to himself that the matter did wear a very strange look indeed. When he got to Stone Buildings, he saw the inspector, the coroner, an assistant, and two constables. It was Gale who spoke. "The coroner," he remarked, "is having the body taken to the nearest mortuary, Mr. Gilbert, and he will report later. Meanwhile, I have made an examination of these apartments, and I am bound to say that everything in them appears to be in good order. I see no sign of disorder, no indication of a struggle. And I have looked into the bedroom, and there also I can see nothing to take hold of. Mr. Silwood, I should say, prepared in the most leisurely fashion for his trip; not a thing betokens hurry or flurry—this is all satisfactory enough, so far as it goes." Gale addressed a few words to the coroner, and then the body was removed. As Gilbert turned to leave the room, Gale put his arm on his sleeve. "What about the date?" he asked. "Mr. Silwood left either that Friday night or next morning—which, is not certain."
- 81. Gale looked atGilbert, earnestly, but he did not speak; his silence was eloquent enough. "You think," said Gilbert, slowly, "that Silwood murdered——?" He did not complete the sentence. "I say nothing definite, Mr. Gilbert; but don't you think it looks that way?" "It is impossible—impossible!" said Gilbert. But Gale shook his head. When Gilbert got to Waterloo, on his way to see Kitty, he heard at the bookstall people eagerly asking for the latest editions of the evening papers. On the placards he saw in big black letters— "The Body of the Missing Millionaire discovered." "Is it Murder?" How was he to tell Kitty, his darling? What could he say to her? But when he arrived at Surbiton, he was surprised to find that Kitty showed considerable calmness in the circumstances. "I was sure my father was dead," she said to him, as they talked over the discovery of the body. "I was certain that if he had been alive he would have come to me. I never had any hope. And, Gilbert, I do not believe that Mr. Silwood killed him. Why should he have done so? I wonder if the darkness which surrounds my father's death will ever be cleared away?" "It is shrouded in mystery at present, my darling," said Gilbert, immensely relieved that Kitty was bearing up so well; "but perhaps some evidence will be forthcoming at the inquest. It is to take place on Tuesday." "I think I should like to be present," said Kitty, after a long pause.
- 82. "It may bevery painful for you, and I do not believe you will be called on." "It is my duty, I suppose, and I must not shrink from it." "My own brave little girl," said Gilbert, kissing her fondly.
- 83. CHAPTER XVI All thenewspapers had published as full accounts as they could compile of the Lincoln's Inn Mystery, dwelling on and emphasizing the extraordinary features of the case. Determined now to give it the utmost publicity, Inspector Gale had supplied them with most of the information at his command, but he took good care to say not a word about the mission on which he had despatched Brydges. What he did communicate to the Press was sufficient, however, to arouse the public to a still higher pitch of excitement regarding the whole strange story of Morris Thornton. As a natural consequence, the room in which the inquest was held was packed as densely as it could be. In the mean time Gale had been exceedingly active. He had not yet received any message from Brydges; he did not, in fact, expect to hear from him for a day or two, if so soon. But he had interviewed Miss Kitty Thornton and Francis Eversleigh. From the former he had obtained her father's letter announcing his coming to England, but he saw the missive was of no particular importance in itself. From the latter person he had been able to learn nothing fresh, but he had a feeling that Francis Eversleigh's state of collapse was much more complete than the occasion, sad and painful as it was, quite accounted for, and he asked himself if it were possible that the solicitor was holding back something from him. Both Miss Kitty and Eversleigh had somewhat puzzled the detective, but for entirely different reasons. Both of them were present in the room at the inquest—indeed, they sat side by side; and Gale, secretly watching them, found himself puzzled again by what had puzzled him before.
- 84. What puzzled himwas, on the one hand, the quiet strength shown by the girl; and on the other, the superlative weakness exhibited by the man. He was astounded by the firm, composed demeanour of Miss Thornton, but he was even more astounded by the nervous, perturbed, and almost hysterical condition of Eversleigh. Gale thought that if the positions of the two had been reversed, he would have understood it better. The truth was, so far as Kitty was concerned, that having concluded some time before that her father was dead, and also, after hearing the details of the finding of the body in Stone Buildings, that it was in the highest degree improbable that he had been murdered by Cooper Silwood, she had made up her mind, in spite of her grief, to take a certain stand. For she saw that, as the case stood, Francis Eversleigh, her lover Gilbert, and the rest of the Eversleighs, to all of whom she occupied almost the relation of a member of their family, must rest under a heavy cloud until such time as the darkness should be lifted. Therefore, she nerved herself to face this crisis in her and their affairs with all the courage and determination she possessed, and to demonstrate by her attitude that she, the daughter of Morris Thornton, had every confidence in them. Gilbert, who knew what was in her mind, thanked and blessed her, and admired and loved her more than ever. Highly intelligent, she did not fail to know that popular opinion pronounced Cooper Silwood, the partner of Francis Eversleigh, the murderer of her father, and she was set on making it plain to all the world that she did not take that view. As she sat by the side of Francis Eversleigh she took his hand, and tried to assure him of her sympathy and support. As for Francis Eversleigh, his lamentable state was so evident that no one could behold him without pity. His face was full of suffering, his eyes were heavy and dull, his frame was bent and bowed. He tried to concentrate his thoughts, to fix his wandering wits on some definite idea, but the slightest effort exhausted him. All that he was really conscious of was that he was the victim of an incredibly cruel
- 85. and malicious destinythat was slowly grinding the life out of him. In a blurr of emotions he hazily wondered how he was to get through the ordeal of the day. And further, he had a faint suspicion—he was not able to formulate it clearly—that, when Gale had spoken to him about the date on which Cooper Silwood had left for his Italian holiday, he had said something unguardedly—he could not remember exactly what—to the inspector, which that officer had regarded as peculiar. He was trying, with such strength as was left him, to recall it when the coroner took his seat. When the jury had been impanelled and sworn, they, according to custom, went to view the remains—now hardly recognizable, but in the dead man's clothes had been found letters which further identified him, had there been any doubt. But there was no doubt whatever that the remains were the remains of Morris Thornton. Thereafter evidence was given. Inspector Gale, between whom and the coroner there chanced to be a tacit feud, on account of former differences—a circumstance which later was to have its effect on the inquest—followed every word with the closest attention. First came the tale of the finding of the body. The locksmith was called, and he recounted his share in the discovery in Stone Buildings, as already set forth in this narrative. But he was particularly questioned about the difficulty he had experienced in opening the door of Silwood's chambers. In reply, he described the Yale lock which he had forced to gain admission to the rooms; it was a lock of a special kind, and could only be opened and locked by a special key. The lock was now produced and identified by the locksmith. A clerk from the makers was then put in the box. He stated that the lock bore a number in addition to the name of the firm to which he belonged, and by tracing the number in their books, they were able
- 86. to state thatthe lock had been supplied to Mr. Cooper Silwood some four years before, and he mentioned the precise date. And with the lock they had supplied two keys; they had not retained a triplicate. One of their men, he said, had fixed the lock on the door of Mr. Silwood's chambers. Asked by the coroner if the lock was of the kind that would shut of itself on the swinging-to of the door, he answered that it was not; it could neither be opened nor locked without the proper key being used. The door was locked, witness volunteered, after Mr. Thornton was dead. "I don't know that you can say that!" exclaimed the coroner, sharply. "The door was certainly locked by some one on Mr. Thornton, alive or dead; a key was used, it is plain, but you do not know that Mr. Thornton was dead at the time; you have no right to say that." "Perhaps not," said the clerk, humbly; "but it occurred to me, sir, that if Mr. Thornton had been alive when he was locked in, he would have tried to get out. When he found he could not get out by the door, would he not have broken one of the windows? Or maybe he would not have had more to do than lift a window and cry for help to some one without." The coroner agreed that there was something in what the clerk had said, but he did not pursue this branch of inquiry further. "You said," remarked the coroner, "that your firm supplied Mr. Silwood with two keys?" "Yes." "He never told you that he had lost one of the keys?" "I am positive he never did. If he had lost one, he would have sent to us for another, surely; and then I must have heard of it, for it is my duty to keep the record of the keys. We have a regular registry." "On the other hand, he might lose a key and say nothing about it; is that not so?"
- 87. "Certainly, sir." Inspector Galewondered not a little at the unusual line the coroner was taking in his questions. The clerk was now dismissed, and the Lincoln's Inn porter summoned. The porter corroborated in the main the evidence of the locksmith, the only new point he made being to state that he had been sent for by Mr. Francis Eversleigh to open Silwood's door. He was aware that this particular door had a special lock, and he had informed Mr. Eversleigh of the fact. Then Francis Eversleigh was called, and as he was plainly very ill, he was given a chair. The coroner, who knew him perfectly, invited him to make a statement, and in a weak, halting, hesitating manner he did so. When it was finished he was asked a few questions. "You were aware that Mr. Thornton intended coming to London?" "He wrote to us to that effect, but he specified no date on which we might look for him." "You did not know of his arrival in London—until when?" "Until my son, Gilbert, who had been making inquiries, told me of Mr. Thornton's coming to the Law Courts Hotel, and of the subsequent disappearance. Thereafter my firm offered a reward for any information which might lead us to know what had become of him." "Your son Gilbert had been making inquiries—why?" Francis Eversleigh, stumbling at every second or third word, gave an account of the circumstances which had resulted in the discovery that Morris Thornton had come to London, and had thereafter disappeared.
- 88. "I was naturallyvery anxious," said Eversleigh. "Mr. Thornton was an old and dear friend, and his only child, a daughter, had lived with us for some years." "Was Mr. Silwood also a friend of the deceased?" "Almost as much as I was." "There was no ill feeling between them?" "I am quite sure there was not." "Have you any explanation to offer, or any suggestion to make, regarding the finding of Mr. Thornton's body in your partner's private apartments?" "I can account for it in no way. It is a profound mystery to me. No one was more surprised than I was when the body was discovered in Mr. Silwood's sitting-room. The shock was so great, indeed, that I fainted away." "What was the date on which Mr. Silwood departed for his holiday—I understand he went to Italy?" "He went on the very night that Mr. Thornton disappeared, or the following morning. A note was received from him on the Saturday morning saying he was off—that was the day after Mr. Thornton's disappearance." Here Inspector Gale interposed, and said it would be proved that Mr. Silwood left on the Saturday morning. The words caused an immense sensation in the room; the feeling was general that this had an important bearing on the case; in the breast of almost every one present there was the impression that the dead man had been murdered by Silwood. Black despair clutched at Francis Eversleigh's heart-strings. Gilbert was next called, and said what he had to say in a manly, straightforward manner.
- 89. Inspector Gale nowcame upon the stand, and put before the jury the facts as he knew them. In brief, he said the facts were that Mr. Thornton, on the Friday night in question, left his hotel with the declared intention of going for a walk in Holborn or in Chancery Lane; that he did not return; and that his body, fifteen days later, was found in Stone Buildings, which was a part of Lincoln's Inn, practically in Chancery Lane. Also, that the room in which the body was discovered belonged to Mr. Silwood, who had left London the morning next after the disappearance of Mr. Thornton. The conclusion was obvious; yet, on the other hand, there were two considerations to which importance must be attached: one was the absence of motive on the part of Silwood, the other was that on the very night of the disappearance, a man, dressed as a workman, had been seen to issue from Lincoln's Inn, from the Stone Buildings end of the Inn, and that he had not been able to find out anything about this workman. In these circumstances he suggested that the jury should return an open verdict. Gale's reference to the mysterious workman was the first intimation the public had received of that person; it had the effect somewhat of casting doubt on the certainty of Silwood's guilt. "An open verdict," said the coroner, with a curious inflection of voice. "Wait till we have heard the medical evidence." Dr. Gilson, an eminent man, called and sworn, said that he had made an autopsy on the body, according to instructions from the coroner. "With what result?" asked the coroner. "I found no trace of violence on the body; there was absolutely nothing to indicate Mr. Thornton came by his death by foul means. On the contrary, my examination showed conclusively that death came from the bursting of an aneurism. Mr. Thornton undoubtedly died of heart-disease. In other words, he died from natural causes." "From natural causes!"
- 90. The thing seemedbeyond belief. The coroner, who had been prepared for what was coming, glanced at Gale, and on his face was the ghost of a smile. Every one in the room looked at every one else with blank amazement. "From natural causes!" they repeated to each other. Then Morris Thornton had not been murdered after all. But on reflection they saw that the mystery was not solved, and now they inquired, how had he come to die "from natural causes" in Cooper Silwood's rooms? When Francis Eversleigh heard the doctor's words, a light of gladness came upon his face. For the first time for days he seemed to breathe more like a man; but like the rest he was astonished and asked the same question all were asking. A second doctor, of equal eminence with the other expert, confirmed the statement of his colleague. "There is not the faintest shadow of doubt," said he, "that Mr. Thornton died from the bursting of an aneurism. He was not murdered, he died from natural causes—so much is absolutely certain." After this there was very little to be done. The jury brought in a verdict that Morris Thornton died from natural causes. But the Lincoln's Inn Mystery was as great as ever.
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