Reading: Media Regulation, Public Interest and the Law

Tuesday 10th August, 2010 - 12:05am with 1 comment

Subject: Regulating Communication
Reading: Feintuck, M and Varney, M. (2006). Regulating the Revolution. In: Media Regulation, Public Interest and the Law. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p1-39.

• new broadcasting technology – rapid and large expansion in number of channels available, both in mainstream and niche markets
  • contributed to a fundamental shift in the dominant philosophy underlying British broadcasting
• growing presence for new media developing via information technology (eg RSS feeds and podcasting), however they have not challenged the dominance of television
• technologically driven convergence of media and digitalisation led to blurring/breakdown of divides between media and its industries
• mirrored by changing ownership patterns
• national boundaries are now irrelevant because of the cross-media empires spanning these boundaries
• media regulation: technological convergence, globalisation, horizontal and vertical integration
• range of regulatory techniques can be considered in passing
• Communication and Power: Freedom of communication
• historical progression in relationship between restriction and freedom of media:
  • suppression and selective prohibition
  • limited permission
  • prescription in pursuit of educational objectives
  • libertarianism
• different contexts in which media regulation debates take place, allowing claims for freedom of expression to be subverted to the interests and purposes of the corporate giants who control the modern media
• prior restraint: formal prevention of publication, most severe of restrictions on communication
• wide range of limits on what can be communicated by media or individuals
• Barendt:
  • defense of freedom helps ensure that no single set of values can dominate society
  • restrictions on expression inhibit individual growth (arguments from self fulfilment) – individuals cannot develop unless free to formulate beliefs through discussion/criticism
  • purpose of freedom of expression is to enable individuals to understand political issues, empowering them to participate effectively (arguments from citizen participation)
  • belief in the value of allowing individuals to have access to information
• The Power of the Media
• communication media can facilitate the objectives identified in arguments from truth, self-fulfilment and citizen participation
• central purpose of commercial media is not to deliver products to audiences but to deliver the audience (as a product) to advertisers
• Blumler and Madge (1967) suggest four aspects of the media’s political impact on citizens:
  • time of elections
  • providing a picture of the political system
  • establishing and serving group relationships/interests
  • source of knowledge leading to civic action

Posted on: Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 12:05 am
Categories: University
Tags: readings · regulating communication
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