Replacing Media Policies with (Media) Entrepreneurship Policies (2015)
Estonia is often praised for its eGovernance and optimism with regard to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). The country is recognised for its groundbreaking public online services, and the number of start-ups per inhabitant is among the highest in the world. In this general context also the online activities of Estonia’s Public Broadcaster (ERR) are comparatively advanced. There is a portfolio of thematic portals and award-winning mobile apps, all the radio and TV channels are available for live viewing online, with unprecedentedly rich options for catch-up viewing, and almost all of ERR’s digitised archive content is available for viewing too. Similarly to several other European countries, in Estonia it is the public broadcaster that drives innovation and experimentation with crossmedia strategies or trans-media story-telling. Because of the very small size of the market there has been little such investment into more experimental and innovative content from private media. Without ERR there would be no commissioning of such “convergent content” from independent content providers. So how can a small European country like Estonia achieve diversity in the media, and encourage new forms and new actors in the industry?