Article:

Public Service Television as Education: Factual Programmes and The Media and Information Literacy (Mil) Policy Discourse

This article examines factual programmes in public service television as a specific means of education, exploring and underscoring its educational function within the framework of media and information literacy (MIL) policy discourse. Factual programming forms a multi-stakeholder genre category that has gained relevance in times of democratic insecurities. It traditionally presents a source for cultivating cultural citizenship crucial to democracy but has been less explicitly examined as a source for advancing media education and literacy. in the context of Finland, which has been considered a forerunner both in its educational and media educational system, we inquire into the MIL dimensions of some of the newest multi-platform productions conducted in factual television. The results cast more light on the genre of factual programming and its underlying educational objectives, which paves way for further research on the MIL governance. The analysis also raises questions about their strategic relevance and future development in public broadcasters’ programming content.