ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

 

MC403      Half Unit
Contemporary Issues in Media and Communications Policy

This information is for the 2023/24 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Asif Akhtar 

Availability

This course is available on the MSc in Marketing, MSc in Media and Communications, MSc in Media and Communications (Media and Communications Governance) and MSc in Politics and Communication. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course will be particularly beneficial to students with some background knowledge of media policy, regulation and governance. You are advised to consult the course teacher if you have not taken MC424, or if you do not have relevant professional experience.

This course is 'controlled access', meaning that there is a limit to the number of students who can be accepted. If the course is oversubscribed, offers will be made via a random ballot process, with priority given to students with the course listed on their Programme Regulations. Whilst we do our best to accommodate all requests, we cannot guarantee you a place on this course.

Pre-requisites

There are no pre-requisites for this course. Students should apply via ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ for You without submitting a statement.

Please do not email the teacher with personal expressions of interest as these are not required and do not influence who is accepted onto the course.

Preparation for this course could include reviewing the indicative reading, and auditing MC424 course materials and lectures on Moodle.

Course content

This course examines live issues in internet, broadcasting, press and telecommunications policy with a focus on current debates and an innovative format including practical exercises in policy engagement and guest speakers who are active in media policy. The aim will be to develop a practical approach to current debates at the same time referring to the longer term normative and theoretical background to intervention in this sector. After the first session, discussion will focus on a current issue each week, and the reading contains items relating to that issue. There may be some changes to the order of the sessions depending on availability of guest speakers, and supplementary readings may be advised during seminars or by email. Students will be encouraged to debate current policy issues including those that regulators and the government are currently consulting on, and develop a critical understanding of policy intervention, the policy process and strategy.

Teaching

30 hours of seminars in the WT.

This course includes a reading week in Week 6 of term.

Formative coursework

All students are expected to complete advanced reading, prepare seminar presentations and submit one essay of 1500 words.

Indicative reading

A reading list will be provided for each topic. General works relevant to the course include:

  • Baker, C.E. (2006). Democracy at a crossroads: Why ownership matters. In Media concentration and democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 5-53.
  • Gangadharan, S. P. (2013). Toward a deliberative standard: Rethinking participation in policymaking. Communication, Culture & Critique, 6(1), 1-19.
  • Mansell, R. & Raboy, M. (Eds.) (2011). The handbook of global media and communication policy. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Moore, M. and Tambini, D. (Eds). (2018). Digital Dominance: The Power of Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
  • Papathanassopoulos, S., & Negrine, R. M. (2011). Europeanizing the Media of Europe. In European media: Structures, policies and identity (pp. 63–83). Cambridge: Polity Press.
  • Pasquale, F., & Citron, D.K. (2014). Promoting innovation while preventing discrimination: Policy goals for the scored society. Washington Law Review, 89(4), 1413-1424.
  • Raymond, M., & DeNardis, L. (2015, November). Multistakeholderism: anatomy of an inchoate global institution. International Theory, 7(3), 572-616.
  • Shtern, J., Landry, N., & Raboy, M. (2012). The least imperfect form of global governance yet? Multi-stakeholder governance of communication. In D. Frau-Meigs (Ed.), From NWICO to WSIS 30 years of communication geopolitics: actors and flows, structures and divides (pp. 187–198). Bristol, UK: Intellect Books.
  • Tambini, D. (2015). Five theses on public media and digitalization: From a 56-country study. International Journal of Communication, 5, 1400-1424.
  • Tambini, D. (2021). Media Freedom. Cambridge, Polity.
  • van Schewick, B. (2015). Network neutrality and quality of service: What a non-discrimination rule should look like. Stanford Law Review, 67(1), 1–26.
  • Wu, Tim. The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Guilded Age. Columbia Global Reports, New York, 2018.
  • Journals such as Media, Culture, and Society, New Media and Society, Journal of Digital Media and Policy, , Telecommunications Policy, and  Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance.
  • The European Information Society portal http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/index_en.htm as well as the websites of OECD, OfCOM, the FCC and other communications regulators see BEREC https://berec.europa.eu/

Assessment

Essay (100%, 3000 words) in the ST.

Key facts

Department: Media and Communications

Total students 2022/23: 28

Average class size 2022/23: 28

Controlled access 2022/23: Yes

Value: Half Unit

Course selection videos

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.

Personal development skills

  • Leadership
  • Self-management
  • Team working
  • Problem solving
  • Communication
  • Specialist skills