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 liberal INDUSTRY STRUCTURE MEDIA CONTENTS

Golding: Policy systems AuthoritarianFree market + strong state RegulatoryLibertarian interventionist liberal INDUSTRY STRUCTURE MEDIA CONTENTS

Golding: Policy systems AuthoritarianFree market + strong state RegulatoryLibertarian interventionist liberal 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.