Are Public Service Media Innovative? Developing a Tool for Assessing Innovation in Production Processes

Abstract

In the current media ecosystem, innovation has become an incipient but key element of public service media (PSM) value. However, what is often alluded to yet not consistently comprehended is that its application is predominantly observed in the technological realm. Thus, based on the Spanish case study, this article presents a tool for assessing the state of innovation in PSM production processes. A qualitative methodology is applied. First, we analyze prior innovation indicator models and both the regulation and gray literature about the 14 Spanish PSM organizations. Second, we conduct structured interviews with 45 managers of these PSM. Once designed, the instrument was validated by applying the Fuzzy Delphi method. The results allow for the development of a tool structured in nine dimensions that contain 68 indicators whose application will make it possible to know the state of internal, external, and cross-cutting innovation in the production processes of PSM.