Media policy for J3 and PGDiP

We’ll address

• What is policy & what’s its purpose?

1.INTERNAL, EXTERNAL

Typical internal policy areas

• Editorial issues:– Independence, plagiarism, ethics, ICT

use, digital manipulation, freebies

• Business issues:– Smoking, leave.

• Note gaps: eg. training policy, coverage of poverty

Typical external policy

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

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

Internet governance).

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

• “Information Society” = overarching concept

print policy

broadcast policy

telecoms policy

industrial policy

Info Soc

Berger: one policy or one philosophy?

Free expression

Access to info

edu & train policy

transformtn policy

2. DEFINITIONS

What is policy, what’s it for?

• How does policy differ from regulation, codes, laws, even style guides?

• 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

3. 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 . ..

• 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– media=power-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 focuses on:

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.

4. PARADIGMS

Paradigm spectacles:

1. Functionalism

2. Liberal Pluralism

3. Power view

4. Participative

5. Chaos theory

Paradigms 1: Functionalism

• Policy = systems to harmonise for the reproduction of the whole entity.

• Relevance to policy on media:– Plays integrative role – eg. get agreement

that political parties will not be allowed to have radio station licences.

– Gives predictability, avoids ad hoc decisions: there are agreed rules & procedures for getting licences.

– Should go through clear stages/steps

Paradigms 2: Lib pluralism • Policy reflects interests: competition and

contest among those who can.• Highlights elite politics of policy.• Policy “sales” seen to = the most rational

outcome for the whole.• Relevance to policy on media:

– Fair & open competition for licences. – Recognise diff interests amongst power-holders

who need to be satisfied by policy process if result = legit.

Paradigms 3: Power view• Policy reflects the rulers .

– Highlights final power in policy– Focus on class and gender.

• Relevance to policy on media:– Policy decisions (& ambiguity) reflect not just

compromise but control.– Do govt, international orgs, owners or advertisers

call the final shots?– Sometimes “policy as political theatre”– Discourse of policy coverage is nb.

Paradigm 4: Participative

• Policy as consultative and empowering of powerless.

• Relevance to policy on media:– Are there provisions for media

workers, and audiences, to make input or register complaints?

– Are there provisions for access to public service media by all voices?

– Grassroots ownership – community media possibilities.

Paradigm 5: Chaos theory

• Policy as piecemeal muddle.– Disorderly, ad hoc.

• Media relevance:– Policy arises from poor info, poor

process, false perceptions, flawed cause-effect views, inconsistencies, irrational humans.

Summing up

• Paradigm insight:– policy as integrative– policy as politically contested– policy as power of the dominant– policy as empowering– policy as patchy

Exercise

• Apply the paradigms to an internal policy issue: a policy on smoking in the newsroom.

5. KEY ISSUES

Key issues:

A. Role of state

B. Philosophies

C. Scope of policy

D. No policy & failure

A. Role of the state

–The most NB site of policy?

– Role of independent regulators?

– Role of foreign influences?

– Role of international orgs?

– Role of the media?

B: Philosophies & values

• Libertarian/commercial values:• Light touch - abstentionist

• Democratic values:• Consultative, self-regulatory

• Social democratic values:• Directive

• Statist/control-freak values:• Heavy touch

C: Scope of policy

• Policing policy, or “regulate the regulatable”:

• Selection of gender sources?

• Defining field:• Training? Freebies? Plagiarism?

• Also: Capacity, monitoring, review.

D: Impact issues

• Formal vs informal policies.

• Living vs dead-letter policies:

• “No policy” can be a policy position– de facto, it is status quo friendly.

D: Impact issues cntd

• Assessing policy success:• Measurable indicators needed• Evaluation must be done

• When policy fails:– Impractical & unrealistic– Inflexible re: changing conditions

• Policy vs practice: – Where does fault lie?

Re-cap

• Definition & purpose of policy.• Who, what, where, when, how, why, so

what?• Issues in policy, structure-content-

systems• 4 paradigms: functionalist, liberal,

power, participative• Key issues: philosophy, scope, impact

Conclusion

• Policy is a major factor for media

• It matters!

Thank you