SINGLING OUT BROADCAST

Outside of USA … Historically authoritarian policies: – media content – industry structure Manifested as: – state monopoly – public must pay licence fees – universal service notion – content controls, timing controls.

Why broadcast & not print? Rationale: – uses public frequency spectrum – nation-building (or corrupting) power Exceptions are the rule! – Policy in many countries is to regulated print as well (even if less so). – Rationale: also seen as powerful

Regulatory rationales Pure free market would be chaos policy, so even broadcast liberalisation is regulated: – Spectrum and order argument – Social factors arguments = Licenses needed for commercial broadcasters. Thus policy covers all broadcasters: Eg. Local content, morals, elections, news, language, univ service, tariffs, etc. All highly contestable.

Interventionist policy for whom? Policy to regulate broadcasting in whose interests? – the society – government/ruling class – business (elite private interests) – consumers – communities – nobody, random or status quo?

Interventionist policy for whom? Broadcast policy in whose interests? – the society (What paradigm highlights this?) – government/ruling class (What paradigm?) – business elite private interests (What paradigm?) – consumers & communities (What paradigm?) – nobody, random or status quo (What paradigm?)

Paradigm spectacles: Broadcast policy in whose interests? – the society (functionalist view, paternalistic model) – government/ruling class (power, statist model) – elite private interests (pluralist, private sector) – consumers & communities (participative, community) – nobody, random or status quo (chaos)

Convergence confuses Digital broadcasting: – Policy when “scarce” frequency not at stake? Different channels: – When broadcast goes via Net? Other frequency use: – When Net goes via 3G or WiFi? So who needs a licence then, what kind, and why? Cf. Convergence bill: (4 kinds of licencing: Network, apps, content, spectrum) Successful bdcasting reqs all 4 licences – but not nec in the hands of one player, thus shifting from a vertical to horizontal licensing policy.)

Summing up Broadcast policy issues: – Historically more susceptible to policy and regulation – Frequency and social issues – Convergence issues Likely that structure and content policy will impact in a major way on internal policy.