PD Dr. Jan-Hinrik Schmidt is a guest on the science podcast Soundtrack Knowledge, produced by Rheinische Post and the Leibniz Association. In this episode, he discusses the findings of the recently published study entitled “What Social Cohesion Is and How Public Media Contribute to This” with host Ursula Weidenfeld.
Click here to listen to the podcast episode of Tonspur Wissen [Soundtrack Knowledge] about the study “Was die Gesellschaft zusammenhält und was öffentlich-rechtliche Medien dazu beitragen” [What Social Cohesion Is and How Public Media Contribute to This] in German.
Key Findings
The majority of the population views ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio as institutions that should contribute significantly to social cohesion. “Over 80 per cent expect public media to cover topics and events that are currently important to society,” says Jan-Hinrik Schmidt.
83% of respondents expect public media to promote understanding, and 73% expect them to facilitate dialogue. It is interesting that while 80 percent of people want to see social diversity in public media, only just under half of them expect their own way of life to be represented.
When it comes to perceptions of actual performance, a clear majority confirm that public broadcasters report on key social, cultural and political events. Between 60 and 70 per cent consider this information service to be adequate. The situation is different with dialogue-oriented formats, however: “For example, only 44 percent say that public media in Germany offer opportunities for dialogue themselves,” says Jan-Hinrik Schmidt.
It is noteworthy that the use of public service offerings remains very high, with 95 percent of Germans using public service media offerings at least occasionally.
Those who use them regularly tend to be more socially integrated. Jan-Hinrik Schmidt adds: “Among people who rarely or never use public service media — that is to say, those who are not part of the regular audience — there is a profound concern about social cohesion and the threat to it.”
Almost half of those surveyed stated that they would hardly use public media at all if entertainment programmes were discontinued. Jan-Hinrik Schmidt emphasises that entertaining elements can foster a sense of community by providing people with topics of conversation and helping them to exchange ideas.
Click here to read more about the study and the individual findings.