[Commlist] Call for Papers: Journal of Digital Media & Policy (Special Issue: ‘Media Policies in South Asia: State of the Field’)

*Call for Papers: Journal of Digital Media & Policy *


ISSN 2516-3523 | Online ISSN 2516-3531

3 issues per volume | First published in 2010

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*Special Issue: ‘Media Policies in South Asia: State of the Field’*

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_Guest Editors_


*Preeti Raghunath* - Symbiosis International University (SIU), India, 
(preetimalaraghunath /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(preetimalaraghunath /at/ gmail.com)>


*Susan Koshy* - Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

(sude37 /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(sude37 /at/ gmail.com)>

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_Deadlines_


Abstracts of 400 words to be received by *20 November 2020*.


Full manuscripts of 6–8,000 words, including references, by 30 June 2021.

Final papers to be sent to the publisher by 1 December 2021.


The diverse and rapidly expanding media systems of the South Asian 
region accentuate its vast cultural diversity and various stages of 
democracy. The interaction between these structures presents interesting 
examples of how they impact the corresponding national media policies. 
It becomes pertinent to understand how these policies are influenced by 
the hyper-nationalistic and protectionist rhetoric currently sweeping 
different parts of the world, further exacerbated by the ongoing 
pandemic. At the same time, the rapidly growing presence and consequent 
influence of global digital media networks further confound this 
relationship, as they are greatly interested in the expansion of media 
infrastructure in the region to tap into the potential of new markets. 
Additionally, the changing geopolitics of the region with an increasing 
presence of the Chinese state and private investments in all sectors 
including digital media, present a new stakeholder in the media policies 
of the region.


We identify South Asia not just as a geographic region, but one with 
cultural and socio-economic continuities. Thus, we also focus on the 
pressures and pulls of the countries on each other. While initiatives 
like the People’s South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation 
(SAARC) are useful in delineating the region as a separate block, 
various issues have repeatedly highlighted the limits of these strategic 
regional markers. This was witnessed in the Rohingya refugee crisis of 
Myanmar, which is officially not a part of SAARC, but one that 
inevitably involves both India and Bangladesh. The Indian media’s 
hyper-nationalist response to this crisis reflected the heightening 
protectionist rhetoric that has become commonplace, while also seeing an 
increasing amount of foreign investments flowing into its media sectors. 
Meanwhile, the influence of Indian broadcast media in Nepalese media 
markets seek to problematize its conceptions of sovereignty (Raghunath, 
2020). Bangladesh’s politicocommercial nexus has brought to the fore the 
practice of informal networks (Rahman, 2020). Sri Lanka has been a 
pioneer in communitybased broadcasting and internet-based community 
experiments, even as neoliberal policies and the end of the civil war 
have transformed the media landscape. Pakistan’s trysts with military 
rule and now, a civilian government has shaped the media in the country. 
Afghanistan’s war has meant that international media development 
agencies have been involved in media training and development in the 
country.


Myanmar’s tryst with authoritarian majoritarianism and Bhutan’s monarchy 
have their own influences on the media landscape in the countries.


What are the effects of these ongoing political and economic shifts on 
media policy in South Asia? Will these changes reflect differently on 
the media content and infrastructure markets? Given that the nature of 
relationships between South Asian countries have been rapidly changing 
due to the influence of China, how does this reflect on the media 
policies? In this special issue, we seek to explore empirical and 
theoretical aspects of media policies in South Asia. We seek to engage 
with works that analyze media policies in the region, or contribute to 
pedagogy pertaining to the study of media policy with a focus on South 
Asia. The scholarship on media policy in South Asia currently draws 
primarily on ideas and methodologies from the Global North, especially 
in terms of regulatory systems. We especially look forward to decolonial 
approaches and theoretical perspectives to the study of media policies 
in the region. We welcome submissions that go beyond the study of India 
as synonymous with the idea of South Asia, for adequate regional rumination.


*Therefore, contributors are invited to address issues such as: *


• socio-economic and cultural aspects of broadcasting in the region;

• platform and gig economies in the region;

• digital media economy in South Asia;

• datafication of South Asia;

• community-centric broadcasting in the region;

• telecommunication policies and foreign direct investment;

• international engagement and cooperation in multilateral forums;

• urbanism and smart cities as practices of media policies;

• public interest and normative ideals;

• decolonial approaches to the study of media policies in South Asia.


<https://www.intellectbooks.com/asset/49731/1/CfP_JDMP_July_2020.pdf>

To download the full Call for Papers, click here >>

https://www.intellectbooks.com/asset/49731/1/CfP_JDMP_July_2020.pdf


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