Impact or content? Ratings vs quality in public broadcasting

Should public broadcasters pay more attention to ratings, even if this will inevitably entail a lowering of quality? Or should they remain loyal to what they have been doing all along, focusing on their core business of quality programming, even if this means that their audience is likely to become smaller in the years ahead? The issue of ratings versus quality continues to haunt public broadcasting as an unresolved dilemma. This article explores the available exit options. Contrary to the view of most involved - those in the industry, academics and literary critics - the article describes how public broadcasters can better achieve their three main objectives (making quality programmes, supplying good information and involving people in a democratic culture), if they pay more attention to their audiences and also consider 'impact' as a hallmark of public quality programming. The 'enjoyer', should be taken just as seriously as the familiar 'citizen' and 'consumer'. The argument is based on the careful analysis of policy documents and in-depth interviews with 48 professionals that leads to a breakdown of professional TV quality discourse into five different, often contradictory, repertoires - a taxonomy that is more productive than those commonly used.