[ecrea] Global Communications and National Policies - ICA pre-conference 16 June 2013

Global Communications andNational Policies: The Return of the State?



2013 International Communication Association (ICA) Pre-Conference

London - Sunday 16th June, 2013

University of Westminster Regent Street Campus



Hosted and sponsored by the Communication and Media Research Institute 
(CAMRI), University of Westminster, with the Australian Research Council 
Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation.



Sponsored by the Global Communication & Social Change Division; 
Communication Law & Policy Division; and the Communication & Technology 
Division.





Organizers: Professor Terry Flew (ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative 
Industries and Innovation, Queensland University of Technology), and 
Professor Jeanette Steemers (CAMRI, University of Westminster).



Conference Outline:



There has been much discussion as to whether forces associated with 
globalization(economic, political, cultural) weaken the capacity of 
nation-states to regulate media institutions and media content. These 
debates intersect with the shift towards convergent digital media, with 
the associated rise of user-created content, multi-platform content 
distribution, and moves from the mass communications paradigm that 
dominated 20th century media policy.



At the same time, arguments have been made that the scalar shift towards 
media globalization has been overstated, and national governments remain 
key players in shaping the media environment, with media corporations 
responding to the legal and policy frameworks they deal with at a 
national level.



Discussion of the relationship between global communications media and 
nation-states has often oscillated uneasily between two poles. On the 
one hand, comparative national studies of communications law and policy 
areopen to the criticism that their objects of analysis – media 
technologies, platforms, content and audiences – are increasingly 
transnational. On the other, arguments that the nation-state is in 
decline as a political-economic entity, as part of a scalar shift of 
global power to empires and networked multitudes, are not well supported 
by empirical evidence. While some aspects of media and communication law 
and policy are being addressed by transnationalentities (both 
governmental, corporate and NGOs), much policy activity remains at the 
level of the nation-state.



The Leveson Inquiry into phone hacking by journalists in the U.K. and 
the political influence of News International is a reminder that even 
the most global of media corporations can face concentrated national 
scrutiny into their operations, There is also a significant recent 
history of ‘developmental states’ in Asia and Latin America marshaling 
national resources in order to become lead players in the global 
communications economy. Moreover, countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, 
Singapore and Australia, as well as China, have chosen to focus upon 
public investment rather than market competition as the primary means of 
developing national broadband infrastructure. There has also been 
reconsideration of claims that the Internet cannot be regulated, and the 
rise of apps as a primary vehicle for accessing media content may be 
challenging earlier assumptions about the World Wide Web.



This one-day pre-conference event will consider the relationship between 
global communications and national policies from a multidisciplinary 
perspective, incorporating global media studies, political economy, 
technology studies, and law and policy studies.

This proposed pre-conference event themes to be considered include:

• Nation-states and global media: does media globalization weaken the 
power of nation-states, or do nation-states actively foster the 
engagement of ‘national champions’ in the global communications economy?
• Transformations in national laws and policies in light of media 
globalization: is there a “return of the state” in managing the 
consequences of media convergence, in areas such as ownership and 
content policies, and copyright and intellectual property laws?
• Public media and globalization: how is the role of public media being 
reconfigured in the context of global media convergence (e.g. soft power 
and cultural diplomacy, cross-platform operations, public value tests)?
• Legal globalization: what pressures are there to harmonize national 
laws and regulations across national boundaries, and what distinctive 
elements can communications research bring to bear upon such questions? 
How are civil society organizations and NGOs engaging with such questions?
• Internet governance, global media platforms and nation-states: are 
Google and Apple now global media companies? How are communication 
scholars and policy-makers engaging with such questions?



Speakers: A range of prominent speakers from throughout the world have 
been confirmed for this event, including: Professor Sandra Braman (U. 
Wisconsin, US); Professor Anthony Fung (Chinese University of Hong 
Kong); Professor Colin Sparks (Hong Kong Baptist University); Professor 
Silvio Waisbord (George Washington University, US); and Professor Dwayne 
Winseck (Carleton University, Canada). Other leading speakers will be 
confirmed shortly.



Venue and Cost:

The event will be held at the University of Westminster Regent Street 
Campus, which is a 30 minute walk from the London Metropole Hotel. This 
is the host hotel for the 2013 ICA Conference, from 17-21 June, 2013.



The cost will be £40, inclusive of morning tea, lunch, and afternoon 
tea. Drinks and dinner at a nearby venue will be confirmed for after the 
all-day event.



Paper proposals need to be submitted no later than Friday 16 November. 
They must include a title, author affiliation details, and an abstract 
of not more than 350 words.



Enquiries about the pre-conference event should be directed to Professor 
Terry Flew at (t.flew /at/ qut.edu.au).


Professor Terry Flew
Professor of Media and Communication
Creative Industries Faculty
Queensland University of Technology

Building z6 – Room 503
Creative Industries Precinct
Musk Avenue
Kelvin Grove QLD  AUSTRALIA 4059

Ph:  (61) 7 3138 8188
Fax: (61) 7 3138 8105
Mobile:  0405 070 980
Email: (t.flew /at/ qut.edu.au)

Author of The Creative Industries, Culture and Policy (Sage, 2012)
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/books/Book233058?siteId=sage-uk&prodTypes=Books&q=Flew&pageTitle=productsSearch

Lead Commissioner, Australian Law Reform Commission, May 2011-February 
2012. Final report, Classification – Content Regulation and Convergent Media
http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/classification-content-regulation-and-convergent-media-alrc-report-118.




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