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In Germany, the public broadcasting organizations (Rundfunkrat) financed by the GEZ tax are controlled by "trade unions, women's associations, churches, and parliamentary groups" (translated by Google):

The Broadcasting Council consists of members from various associations, which are listed in the respective State Broadcasting Treaty (RStV). These include, for example, trade unions, women's associations, churches, and parliamentary groups. These associations independently appoint their representatives. The Broadcasting Council is intended to represent a cross-section of the population. Depending on the broadcaster, the members of the Broadcasting Councils are appointed by the associations mentioned in the RStV for a term of four (e.g., ZDF), five (SWR), or six (MDR) years. The respective associations are free to determine their representatives internally through election or appointment.

Are there countries where the governing bodies of public media are instead directly elected by the general public?

JonathanReez
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  • Not in Canada – Italian Philosophers 4 Monica Mar 13 '24 at 18:32
  • @ItalianPhilosophers4Monica Claude 3 and GPT-4 also claim the answer is 'no' but they've been wrong about some of my other questions. – JonathanReez Mar 13 '24 at 18:36
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    I'm not sure that 'governing' is a good description of what the Rundfunkrat actually does. Its job is mostly controlling that the public broadcasters are neutral, independent and not directed by the current government. They have very little to do with managing the broadcasters. – quarague Mar 13 '24 at 20:35
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    @quarague it's kind of similar to how any corporate board is structured? Day-to-day it's all managed by the CEO but the board can provide guidance or fire the CEO as a worst case scenario. – JonathanReez Mar 13 '24 at 21:19
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    There is a difference between "include, for example" (google translate) and "being controlled by" (your words). If that was an oversight, perhaps adjust your choice of words? For Bavaria, one finds among other examples two farmers' representatives and one from industry. Listing just those would be equally biased. – o.m. Mar 14 '24 at 05:40
  • It seems unlikely. Directly elected local executives are not common outside of the USA's school system. Trusts and Governance boards are typically appointed, perhaps by elected representatives. The main criteria for being on a governance board is not normally membership of a political party. – James K Mar 14 '24 at 07:29

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