This volume takes a fresh look at media and communications policy and provides a comprehensive account of issues that are central to the study of the field. It moves beyond the 'specifics' of regulation, by examining policy areas that have proved to be of common concern for societies across different socio-economic realities. It also seeks to address profound gaps in the study of policy by demonstrating the centrality of historical, social and political context in debates that may appear solely technical or economistic. Media Policy and Globalization covers the institutional changes in the communications policy arena by examining the changing role of the state, technology and the market and the role of civil society. It discusses actual policy areas in broadcasting, telecommunications and the information society, and examines the often-overlooked normative dimensions of communications policy.

This book takes a fresh look at media and communications policy and provides a comprehensive account of issues that are central to the study of the field. It moves beyond the "specifics" of regulation, by examining policy areas that have proved to be of common concern for societies across different socioeconomic realities. It also seeks to address profound gaps in the study of policy by demonstrating the centrality of historical, social, and political context in debates that may appear solely technical or economic. Media Policy and Globalization covers the institutional changes in the communications policy arena by examining the changing role of the state, technology and the market, and the role of civil society. It discusses actual policy areas in broadcasting, telecommunications and the information society and examines the often-overlooked normative dimensions of communications policy. Features*Provides a cross-disciplinary critical perspective of the politics of communications policy-making in a global context*Explores new issues in communications policy such as ethical concerns and the "internationality of policy"*Useful for upper-level undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars of communications and media studies, and international and global studies

Conventional wisdom views globalization as a process that heralds the diminishing role or even 'death' of the state and the rise of transnational media and transnational consumption. Global Media and National Policies questions those assumptions and shows not only that the nation-state never left but that it is still a force to be reckoned with. With contributions that look at global developments and developments in specific parts of the world, it demonstrates how nation-states have adapted to globalization and how they still retain key policy instruments to achieve many of their policy objectives. This book argues that the phenomenon of media globalization has been overstated, and that 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.

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This study examines the converging culture, telecommunications and new media industries in North America. With a broadly political-economic perspective, this work the goes on to provide an account of changes in the aftermath of trade agreements, and sets these changes in a global context.

Petros Iosifidis addresses an increasingly prominent subject area in the field of media and communications, and one that has attracted increased attention in areas such as sociology, economics, political science and law: global media policy and regulation. Specifically, he considers the wider social, political, economic and technological changes arising from the globalization of the communications industries and assesses their impact on matters of regulation and policy. By focusing on the convergence of the communication and media industries, he makes reference to the paradigmatic shift from a system based on the traditions of public service in broadcast and telecommunications delivery to one that is demarcated by commercialization, privatization and competition. In doing so, Iosifidis tackles a key question in the field: to what extent do new media developments require changes in regulatory philosophy and objectives. It considers the various possible meanings of the public interest concept in exploring the different regulatory modes and the interplay between the local and the global in policy-making.

The global village, however, is not the blissful utopia that McLuhan predicted.