News
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New Book: Trends in Communication Policy Research
8th March 12The newest addition to the ECREA Book Series «Trends in Communication Policy Research» has been released.
This book, edited by Natascha Just and Manuel Puppis (IPMZ), University of Zurich, brings together international experts in communication policy research to tackle ongoing changes and challenges. It gives insights into new theories, methods and subjects and thereby provides important contributions to pressing communication policy issues. «Trends in Communication Policy Research» is an ideal source of information for scholars, professionals, students and anyone interested in communication policy and regulation.
Praise for «Trends in Communication Policy Research»:
«Communication policy research is a notoriously under-theorized field. This book puts that right. The contributors draw on older and newer theoretical approaches to institutions, interests and ideas showing very convincingly why policy in this area is so crucial in shaping the mediated world we inhabit and why innovative methods are needed in the analysis of constant pressures brought by changing markets, technologies and practices.» // Prof. Robin Mansell, London School of Economics and Political Science
«The authors gather a chorus of provocative voices to explore and explain new tendencies in communications research and their implications for communications policy. A real service to the field and a pioneering way to organize innovative thought.» // Prof. Monroe E. Price, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
«As a result of on-going transformations in law-state-society relations, communication policy is neither what it was, nor what is depicted through the relatively limited range of habitual research methods, theories, and conceptualizations of the research subject. This literate, sophisticated, and stimulating collection valuably opens the conversation about where European communication policy research might go in the 21st century.» // Prof. Sandra Braman, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Just, Natascha/Puppis, Manuel (eds) (2012): Trends in Communication Policy Research. New Theories, Methods & Subjects. (ECREA Book Series, Vol. 7). Bristol/Chicago: Intellect. ISBN: 978-1-84150-4674
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SRG Online Beobachtung 2010: Bericht veröffentlicht
1st March 11Die von der IPMZ-Abteilung Medienwandel & Innovation durchgeführte Studie "SRG Online Beobachtung 2010" wurde heute vom Auftraggeber Bakom veröffentlicht. Wie schon im Jahr 2009 wurde die Konzessionskonformität von Webseiten und elektronischen Verbindungen der Webauftritte von SF, DRS, TSR, RSR und RSI überprüft.
Die Internet-Auftritte der SRG sind weitgehend konzessionskonform gestaltet. Der Anteil unproblematischer Seiten umfasst über 90 Prozent. Für knapp jede zwölfte Webseite im SRG-Online Angebot konnte die Konzessionskonformität jedoch nicht abschliessend belegt werden. Der Umfang der Grauzone beträgt im SRG-Schnitt 8.4 Prozent und hat sich im Jahresvergleich unternehmensübergreifend nicht signifikant verändert.
Latzer, Michael / Braendle, Andreas / Just, Natascha / Saurwein, Florian (2010): SRG Online Beobachtung 2010. Konzessionskonformität von Webseiten und elektronischen Verbindungen. Forschungsprojekt im Auftrag des BAKOM – Bundesamt für Kommunikation. Zürich: IPMZ.
Mehr
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Neue Publikation: Medienpolitik durch europäische Wettbewerbspolitik
24th February 11Im Halem Verlag ist der Band Public Value in der Digital- und Internetökonomie erschienen. Er stellt in zahlreichen Beiträgen Forschungsperspektiven und Thesen zum Kern von Public Value vor. Im Band enthalten ist folgender Beitrag von Natascha Just und Michael Latzer:
Just, Natascha / Latzer, Michael (2011): Medienpolitik durch Europäische Wettbewerbspolitik: Druck auf öffentlichen Rundfunk durch Beihilfenpolitik - Public-Value-Konzepte als Lösungsansatz. In: Gundlach, Hardy (Hg.): Public Value in der Digital- und Internetökonomie. Köln: Halem, 79-100Mehr:
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Further findings from the assessment of the Swiss public-service broadcaster’s (SRG) Internet offer have been published in the International Telecommunications Policy Review and in Medialex. Find more information in the publications section:
- Latzer, Michael / Braendle, Andreas / Just, Natascha / Saurwein, Florian (2010): Public-Service Broadcasting Online: Assessing Compliance with Regulatory Requirements. In: International Telecommunications Policy Review, 17(2), 1-25 [more]
- Latzer, Michael / Braendle, Andreas / Just, Natascha / Saurwein, Florian (2010): SRG Online Beobachtung: Konzessionskonformität von Webseiten und elektronischen Verbindungen. In: medialex, 15(2), 77-83 [more]
Further findings from the assessment of the Swiss public-service broadcaster’s (SRG) Internet offer have been published in the International Telecommunications Policy Review and in Medialex. Find more information in the publications section:
Latzer, Michael / Braendle, Andreas / Just, Natascha / Saurwein, Florian (2010): Public-Service Broadcasting Online: Assessing Compliance with Regulatory Requirements. In: International Telecommunications Policy Review, 17(2), 1-25 [more]
Latzer, Michael / Braendle, Andreas / Just, Natascha / Saurwein, Florian (2010): SRG Online Beobachtung: Konzessionskonformität von Webseiten und elektronischen Verbindungen. In: medialex, 15(2), 77-83 [more]
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The Division on Media Change & Innovation of the IPMZ continues the monitoring and assessment of the SRG Internet offer in 2010. The project SRG Online Assessment 2010 is commissioned by the Swiss regulator BAKOM as part of its Media Research 2010 special focus on the continuous program analysis of television, radio and online offers of the SRG. The study’s focus is–in replication of its 2009 analysis–on the extent of compliance of the SRG online services with the regulatory requirements of the charter (e.g., relation of online offers to broadcasts, no commercial links). It builds on a methodological approach, which has been developed and applied for the SRG Online Assessment 2009 and conducts a content analysis to give insights into the structure and functioning of the websites of five SRG enterprise units, and a link analysis to capture the intensity of electronic linking and the pattern of interconnection with other websites. The replication of the analysis will show first trends of development and change.
For more information see the project website. Results will be available by the end of 2010.
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The research report on the utilization of the Digital Dividend in Austria, conducted by Michael Latzer together with Arne Boernsen (AB Consulting), Tim Braulke (Infront Consulting & Management) and Joern Kruse (Helmut-Schmidt University, Hamburg), has been published by the Austrian regulator RTR. The responsible Austrian minister has already announced that she will follow the study’s recommendations and award the available spectrum for broadband mobile communication.
The Digital Dividend, a product of digitalisation and convergence in the communications sector, denotes those frequencies that are freed up as a result of the switchover from analogue TV to more spectrally efficient digital TV. The digital dividend spectrum is suitable for a wide range of potential uses. The political decision how this valuable freed up spectrum is used for mobile communication (e.g. broadband internet) and/or for broadcasting (e.g. HDTV) is heavily debated worldwide.More:
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The Division on Media Change & Innovation participates as country expert in a study that analyzes the independence and efficiency of European regulatory authorities for audiovisual media. The study was contracted by the European Commission to an international research consortium under the direction of the Hans-Bredow-Institut für Medienforschung. Further consortium partners are: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Central European University, Cullen International, and Perspective Associates.
A network of country experts cooperates with the consortium and provides the data from 43 countries covered by the study (EU member states, candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU, EFTA countries as well as selected other countries).
The overall aim of the study is the development of indicators that allow the measurement of independence of regulatory bodies in the field of audiovisual media as well as the assessment of these bodies’ functioning to ensure an effective application of the AVMS Directive.
The Division on Media Change & Innovation of the IPMZ contributes to the study with the analyses of independent regulatory authorities in Switzerland and Austria.Find more information on the Project Page
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ECREA "Communication Law and Policy" Workshop 2009
30th September 09The Division on Media Change & Innovation hosts the 2009 workshop of the European Communication Research and Education Association's (ECREA) "Communication Law and Policy" section. It takes place in Zurich, Switzerland, on November 6-7, 2009. The workshop is jointly organized with the division "Media & Politics” of the University of Zurich's Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ).
The theme of the workshop is "New Directions for Communication Policy Research". The state of the art of communication policy research is well documented, but where do we go from here? How do we theoretically and methodologically approach new policy issues? What policy challenges are emerging and what insights can we gain from the application of theories and methods of cognate areas? The workshop focuses on new theories, new methods, new subjects as well as new regulatory structures and instruments. It is our aim to stimulate reflection and discussion. Thus, the sessions will leave room for discussion and exchange.
Please visit the official Website of ECREA-CLP Workshop 2009
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SRG Online Assessment for BAKOM
15th September 09Online services of public service broadcasters in Europe are disputed because they are in direct competition with online activities of private broadcaster and publishers. While the discussions are similar across European countries, the regulatory responses by national governments differ. In Switzerland a charter lays down the conditions for the online activities of the Swiss public broadcaster (SRG) and clarifies what kind of content is permissible. The Division on Media Change & Innovation conducted a research project commissioned by the Swiss regulator BAKOM to assess the SRG’s compliance with these regulatory requirements. For this endeavor we have (1) developed an analytical approach for the external assessment, and conducted (2) a content analysis to give insights into the structure and functioning of the websites of five SRG enterprise units, and (3) a link analysis to capture the intensity of electronic linking and the pattern of interconnection with other websites (link structure). The paper shows the potential of the developed analytical tools and the extent to which the SRG websites comply with regulatory requirements.
Get the full research report here
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Measuring Media Concentration and Diversity: New Approaches and Instruments in Europe and the US
15th August 09Media, Culture & Society published an article by Natascha Just. The article describes and discusses new methods and instruments for measuring media concentration.
Abstract: Debates on media concentration and the appropriate way to handle it are not coming to an end. This article stresses the dual character of media goods, the underlying ideological ideals, and the attendant institutional setting as sources of value conflict in communications policy making. It discusses this value conflict and gives examples of where it surfaces and how it is confronted. It is particularly evident in cases of media concentration. Newly introduced communications laws and policies within Europe and the US aim to reduce (ownership) regulation, promote competition and cope with the challenges posed by convergence. This quest is coupled in part with protections of media pluralism through custom-developed indices for measuring concentration in media markets and tests for assessing media plurality in merger cases. The article describes and discusses these new methods and instruments as novel but imperfect attempts by policy makers to respond to the various challenges in communications such as value conflict, convergence, the need for empirical proof and claims for non-economic ways of assessing media diversity. It concludes by stressing the need to re-emphasize normative claims as essential guiding elements of communications policy making. Keywords: communications policy, Europe, measurement, media concentration, value conflict, US