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[ecrea] cfp: Communication and Media Policy in the Era of the Internet and Digitization (ECREA CLP section)

Thu Sep 08 15:27:27 GMT 2011


Workshop of ECREA?'s Communication Law and Policy Section (March 16?]17, 2012)

Communication and Media Policy in the Era of the Internet and Digitization

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Communication Law and Policy Section of ECREA hereby invites abstracts for presentations on the topic of ?gCommunication and Media Policy in the Era of the Internet and Digitization?h. The section?fs 2012 workshop will be hosted and organized by the Department of Communication Science and Media Research of Munich?fs Ludwig Maximilians University (Dr. Maria Loblich, Dr. Senta Pfaff?]Rudiger). It is supported by the Munich Center on Governance, Communication, Public Policy and Law (Prof. Dr. Carsten Reinemann).

The workshop will be dedicated to the challenges faced by communication and media policy due to digitization and, in particular, due to the internet, which can be seen as the most important platform for convergence developments and as a driver of numerous changes in the communication and media industries. The transition from the analog to the digital age and the interrelations between the technological evolution and sociocultural, economic and political processes have been discussed for many years. However, it is necessary to continue to reflect on the demanding situation media policy currently finds itself in because digital information and communication technologies have become critical resources in Europe and beyond. Economy, health, public administration, to name but a few areas of society, are increasingly dependent on the internet, and everyday life can no longer be imagined without this medium. The permanent evolution of digital technologies and user behavior has led to a wide range of controversial issues, for instance the future of public service broadcasting, net neutrality, online business models, copyright or data protection. These debates reflect the societal search for a regulatory framework for societal communication under the conditions of digitization and the internet.

The main aim of the conference is to continue the academic discourse about changing communication and media structures and their impact on communication and media policy. In addition to discussing media policy from the perspective of change . change of policy issues, of regulatory approaches or of actors constellations . there will be a focus on trying to find out how far guiding principles, institutions and regulatory arrangements have shown either resilience or adaptability to new technological possibilities.

The Munich workshop invites analyses of media and internet regulation in individual European countries, on the European level and in international arenas. Theoretical as well as empirical contributions and prospects of the future of communication and media policy are very welcome. Papers may address all dimensions of analysis such as political processes and actors, guiding principles, regulatory structures and instruments, regulatory bodies and legal frameworks (policy, politics and polity). For the purpose of setting up a consistent conference program submitters are asked to address one of the topics listed below.

. Content Providers: Traditional Media and new Media Organizations
This topic addresses policy issues related to content providers including traditional media such as broadcasting and the press, as well as new media (non?]linear audiovisual platforms, user?]generated content etc.). Papers are invited that deal with the regulation of media organizations and their financing, along with competition and concentration policies in the digital age. Some of these issues are listed exemplarily here. Over the few last years special emphasis has been placed on public service broadcasting and its remit in the digital age. What is the outcome of these discussions? Have expectations been met by the public value tests established in several national contexts? Another core concern has been the economic development in the private media sector. The traditional business models of the press and of private television are being challenged by the internet. There is fierce competition for advertising, and national media companies are facing global enterprises such as Facebook and Google, which are becoming increasingly involved in content providing. How can existing rules of competition be assessed? What are their shortcomings? The guiding principle of media pluralism is closely related to market concentration. Among other issues, media pluralism debates have dealt with search engine market concentration and the consequences it has concerning access to information and opinions.

. Content Regulation
On the one hand, as far as content regulation is concerned, the same issues are still pertinent: the protection of minors and the control of forbidden content. On the other hand, intellectual property rights, censorship and other communication and media policy issues that used to only play a minor role in former decades (at least in western liberal systems) have now come to the fore. Traditional copyright law is being challenged through the digital possibilities of distribution and copying, thereby leading to an upheaval in various sectors of the media industry. Both access restriction in authoritarian states and the use of filtering tools across Europe have given rise to protests against censorship of the internet.

. Infrastructure and Distribution
Due to the increased number of distribution channels in the digital age, distribution and platform policy is currently one of the key issues on the table. Among other topics, this includes network neutrality, access to communication networks for media content providers . and indeed for competitors in the infrastructure market . and spectrum policy. What is the distribution of power in the field of infrastructure? What importance do the gatekeepers of communication networks have in terms of media pluralism? Will the market or will state intervention be the appropriate policy measure? What are the regulatory bodies in this field and how effective are their instruments? This topic also invites papers addressing mobile communication, interoperability, frequency management and digital dividend.

. User?]centered Regulation
With the spread of the internet, issues involving the user have become of increasing importance. Data protection, media literacy and consumer protection are the keywords in the debates about privacy, user profiles, the explosion of content and essential selection skills, and the marketing of user data for advertising purposes. What concerns are there regarding search engines, other services and data protection in social media? Which forms of regulation (self?], co?] or state regulation) have been discussed or applied in these areas and with what outcome? To what extent have users been taken into account by communication and media policy to date, and to what degree do users actually view these topics as problems?

. The Identity of Communication and Media Policy as a Research Field
There are differences in Europe with regard to the prevailing perspective in communication and media studies. Whereas scholars in some countries have been focusing on mass media related communication, scholars in other countries have often been more concerned with social communication in a more encompassing sense including individual communication. According to their respective orientations on ?gmedia policy?h or ?gcommunication policy?h, research has been conducted with a stronger focus on the regulation either of mass media or telecommunication. However, the internet and digitization are challenging this distinction. What are the consequences for the research field as a whole? To what extent do these changes in subject matter require a redefinition of core interests, concepts, goals and values of the research field? What do these changes mean for the relations between policy research and society in general and for the cooperation with media politicians and media companies in particular?

. Theories and Methods for Communication and Media Policy Analysis
This topic invites presentations dedicated to reflection on research tools. What are the implications of the internet and digitization on the way communication policy research should be conducted in the future in terms of theories, models, databases and methods? What are the opportunities and limits of national, comparative and transnational analysis levels? How much has the governance debate contributed to a better understanding of communication policy? Which other theoretical approaches should be considered or reconsidered in these internet times? Besides theoretical contributions, the organizers particularly welcome presentations on methods suited to getting to grips with the ongoing dynamics in the area of communication and media policy, as well as papers discussing problems that may occur when working with international databases.

Submissions
Abstracts of no more than 400 words should be submitted in Word document format directly to the organizers of the conference by October 1, 2011 (Maria Loblich: (loeblich /at/ ifkw.lmu.de), Senta Pfaff?]Rudiger: (pfaff /at/ ifkw.lmu.de)). Each abstract should address one of the topics mentioned above and have a separate cover sheet providing the name(s), institutional affiliation(s) and e?]mail address(es) of the author(s). Colleagues will be notified of acceptance by November 1, 2011. Full papers are due no later than February 26, 2012.

We are planning to assemble a printed volume of the contributions.
More information will be available in due time on the conference website:
http://www.ifkw.uni?]muenchen.de/aktuelles/veranstaltungen/ecrea2012/index.html

Organizers
Dr. Maria Loblich & Dr. Senta Pfaff?]Rudiger
Department of Communication Science and Media Research / Ludwig Maximilians University Munich
Schellingstr. 3, 80799 Munich, Germany
(loeblich /at/ ifkw.lmu.de), (pfaff /at/ ifkw.lmu.de)
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