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

Wed Oct 31 20:11:46 GMT 2012



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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