Media policy for MA and PDMM

We’ll address

• What is policy & what’s its purpose?

1.INTERNAL, EXTERNAL

Typical internal policy areas

• Editorial issues:–Independence, plagiarism, ethics.

• Business issues:–Smoking, leave.

Typical internal policy gaps

• Editorial issues:–Covering poverty, environment,

human rights.

• Business issues:–training, BEE

Typical external policy

• Broadcasting:– sectors– local content– elections– psb

• Convergence gap.• Qtn: how external is external?

(Bridges, Panos, Reader 1).

Some key external issues

Adapted from Steyn: • Deregulation or re-regulation• Liberalisation• Corporatisation/commercialisation• Privatisation• Concentration laws

More external issues in media policy

• Public broadcaster• Freedom of expression• Diversity• Social/cultural issues: language,

nationhood• Convergence

Policy overflow & overlap

• Crede and Mansell (p76), WEF: sectoral

policies – + health, education, etc.

media policy

technology policy

telecoms policy

industrial policy

ICT policy

Berger: one policy or one philosophy?James: vertical, horizontal, macro …

2. DEFINITIONS

What is policy, what’s it for?

• How does policy differ from regulation, codes, laws?

• Key assumptions & distinctions:– a framework, or a plan, or a law?– to guide, or direct, or govern?– informal or semiformal, or formal?– based on values/principles, norms or standards?

• Is yr take weak or medium or strong?

Think points

• Your definition sheds light on the question: What’s the point of policy?

• It locates policy in the sequence of:– Vision (& values, assumptions/givens)– Mission (and broad strategy)– POLICY (making choices in context)– Law– Regulations & codes– Practice

2. ANALYSIS BY QUESTIONS

Classic journalists’ qtns applied to policy

• What is it?• Who is involved in policy?• Where are they?• When are they involved?• How are they involved? • Why policy?• So what?

What is it about?

• Role of state in comms?• Media, broadcast, telecoms?• Standards – technical, cultural• Carriers, integration, connections• Control and ownerships• Content and language• Access: complaints, services• Degree of independence

What is it in character?

• Formal, or informal?

• Legal or not?

• Effective?

• Measurable?

• Reviewable?

Who is involved in policy?

• Who makes it?– govt, regulators, judges,

consultants, owners, international organisations, directors, editors, managers, staff, civil soc, global professionals, men . .. (see Lichem)

• Who is affected?– media, investors, sports groups,

telecoms companies, citizens …

Where is it?

• Govt, presidency, parliament, party caucusses, hearings & enquiries, regulator, civil service, courts, media, golf courses, London, NY, Geneva.

• Is it in the public sphere or not?

When policy?

• When made?– law-making, crises, social and

technological changes, political pressures, court cases, global fashions, conferences …

– political will and capacity– retrospective vs forward looking

• When effected?– when power & bureaucracy active

How policy?• Ad hoc, or planned process?• Role of values, vision, philosophy• Interests: articulated, aggregated• Role of info and research,• Participation or not?• Accountability & public opinion.• Budget and costs factor• How it is supposed to work:

– “policy as hypothesis”

Why policy?

• Ans: framing power– to avoid or pre-empt problems.

(Note: problems for who? How ID’d?)– to enable and empower for solutions– to prioritise & allocate resources– structure & promote economic life– balance conflicting interests – citizenship, education, nationalism.

So what about policy?

• Ans: to engineer– knowledge-gap: media-tool assumptions

– media-scape, but “leakage”.

– relates to law, regulation, practice.

– implementation gap: issues of budgets, resources, capacity.

– visionary stretch vs realistic trim?

– policy overload problems.

Golding: Policy focus

INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

MEDIA

CONTENTS

Golding: Policy ethos

interventionist

inte

rventio

ni

st

liberal

liber

al

INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

MEDIA

CONTENTS

Golding: Policy systems

Authoritarian Free market + strong

state

Regulatory Libertarian

interventionist

inte

rventio

ni

st

liberal

liber

al

INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

MEDIA

CONTENTS

Golding: Policy systems

Authoritarian Free market + strong

state

Regulatory Libertarian

interventionist

inte

rventio

ni

st

liberal

liber

al

INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

MEDIA

CONTENTS Note: label

Summing up• Internal – external• Definitions• Proper place of policy• What, who, where, when, how, why

and so-what? • Policy on content, on industry structure• Interventionist vs liberal ethos, systems• Reading: Berger, Steyn.