The EBU’s Media Intelligence Service (MIS) has created a framework to help public service media (PSM) measure organizational transparency and build a more trusting relationship with audiences.

The self-assessment tool developed by the research unit of the EBU enables Members to analyze how they disclose online-information ranging from financial data to details of their remit, their achievements and social actions.

Senior Media Analyst Dr David Fernández Quijada says the project was informed by governance principles recently published by the EBU’s legal department. ‘Transparency’ is one of the four fundamental pillars identified for healthy PSM and meets the growing expectations of audiences and stakeholders such as governments, regulatory authorities and civil society organizations for accountability.

“PSM are often seen as big, unwieldy organizations that are difficult to track,” said Dr Fernández. “This can become a barrier to public understanding of what PSM are and the value they deliver to society and individuals. By being open to public scrutiny, we believe our Members will become closer to their audiences, who in turn can assess how public money and resources are used. This tool helps identify transparency indicators for PSM, it develops an ad hoc methodology for assessing transparency and builds the case for transparency among EBU Members.”

Dr Fernández said one of the project’s first challenges was to determine a series of minimum indicators and categories to examine internal standards, leading to the creation of four key indices:  

• Corporate – descriptive information as well as two media-related indicators (right of reply and complaint, and regulatory or supervisory body)
• Financial – relating to performance
• Remit – delivery of mission and goals
• Social  – the organization’s impact on society

“There are no standardized systems for reporting transparency,” Dr Fernández said. “This tool has been designed specifically for public service media, to enable each EBU Member to assess itself, to provide insights into which areas require greater communication or transparency. By repeating the exercise over time, the organization can monitor its progress and accountability.”

The self-assessment tool is available for download through the MIS Portal