Accountability

Abstract

The study found no single definition of accountability for organisations within the broadcasting and communications fields but many variables which constituted elements of accountability that depended on other components such as the range of stakeholders involved, funding and so on. There is a definition of accountability that comes from another field (that of humanitarian aid) which says it goes beyond reporting on decisions and actions but looks to take

account of the needs, concerns, capacities and dispositions of affected parties, and explaining the meaning and implications of, and the reasons for, actions and decisions. Accountability is thus a measure of the quality of the relationship between an agent (a body offering a service or product) and a principal (the person or group for whom the service or product is intended).¹

While coming from another area, this relationship between parties involved as agent and principal can well be applied to broadcasting.