IAMCR - International Association for Media and Communication Research

There is growing interest in the international and global governance of media and communication amongst scholars and policy makers, as well as civil society organizations and trans-national issue networks. 

At the same time Global Media Policy (GMP) as a field of research appears to be under-theorized, not well defined in its boundaries and open to controversial interpretations regarding the main processes and actors involved as well as the approaches and methods through which research is being conducted.

In order to address the challenge to further develop GMP as a meaningful space for academic reflection, the idea of a collaborative effort in mapping the global landscape of global media policy and  governance processes emerged during a business meeting of the Global Media Policy working group during the IAMCR Cairo conference (July 2006). 

Mapping actors, processes and research activities can be considered as a first step in the identification, investigation and critical reflection on the major trends and challenges that characterize contemporary media and communication governance processes in the global context. This exercise would contribute in strengthening the interaction among interested scholars and in producing a relevant policy-oriented resource in the form of a database: an open ended collection of information to be organized and managed within the IAMCR Global Media Policy working group. 

Why mapping (and how)?

Mapping is not just a matter of "listing who does what to whom" in the global system of media and technological transformations and related policy domains: it is a step towards understanding the relations, interactions, competing interests and alternative perspectives involved in global media and communication governance in order to clarify where decisions concerning the global dimension of communication come from, on which principles and interests they are grounded, what are their social, economic and cultural consequences. 

This proposal for a collaborative exercise aims to develop an articulated framework for Global Media and Communication Policy as a field while creating an archive of relevant materials, information and resources for future research and policy-oriented action.

Expected outcomes of the mapping exercise are:

• A working definition of global media and communication policy as a field of research;

• An open ended collaborative platform/knowledge base to describe, monitor and critically assess relevant policy fora and processes;

• The identification of major problematic trends and challenges that characterize the contemporary global media policy environment;

• A stock taking exercise on available knowledge resources and areas of competence.

This platform on the IAMCR website will offer a space for discussion and interaction among interested IAMCR members, thus allowing for on-going exchanges within the GMP working group. It will also provide the opportunity to identify specific initiatives, such as monitoring concrete processes, collecting materials and/or fostering the emergence of global knowledge networks on specific issues. In this respect, we see the mapping exercise as directly related to, and a potential resource for the work of the IAMCR Task Force on Media and Communication Policy.

Given the complexity of the reality under investigation, this exercise will certainly benefit from the contribution of scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds, as well as activists and policy experts. Though originated within the IAMCR working group on Global Media Policy, the exercise is open to dialogue with similar efforts and interested individuals. The contribution of university students and young scholars is very welcome. 

The proposed framework for mapping Global Media and Communication Policy

The framework presented here is a draft version we shall present and discuss during the Paris IAMCR Conference (July 2007). It is grounded in a comprehensive approach to understanding the issues, processes, actors and institutions that compose the global media and communication governance landscape. Building on relevant literature and after discussion within the Global Media Policy working group, the idea has developed into a two-dimensional framework based on:

a) A set of basic themes and issues (WHAT are the objects of policy)

We opted to start from broad thematic categories (columns in the framework): mass communication, telecommunication, development issues, cultural issues, trade issues, ICTs  (broadly speaking information society and ICT applications...) and Internet governance. Each broad theme can be articulated in several sub-themes or issues (examples are offered in the framework, but others could emerge from cooperation in the mapping exercise). In addition to these sectoral themes a number of transversal issues can be envisaged, such as human rights and gender. For each broad theme and/or specific issue, as well as for transversal themes, the final goal of the mapping exercise would be to aggregate basic information in order to develop issue maps, identifying politically meaningful connections among policy fora, actors and processes (columns in the framework).

b) A typology of levels of governance (WHERE policy is “made”, by WHOM and HOW)

Looking at policy fora, actors and processes we are interested in the different "levels" of governance involved and in the nature of governance modes (governmental, non-governmental, "multi-stakeholder"). We have therefore identified a first layer of intergovernmental actors and processes (international/worldwide, multilateral, regional, national) and a second layer of transnational non-governmental ones (multi-stakeholder, corporate sector, civil society organizations) (rows in the framework). 

For each policy forum, actor or process, relevant information and materials could be collected and organized in terms of:

• Basic information (who, what, where, when + mission and/or mandate … we are also interested in a specific  focus on participatory dynamics)

• Official texts, articles, studies, critical analyses, historical reviews …

• Bibliographical references and resources …

• “Who is working on this”: activist groups, people with specific competence, ongoing research projects and relevant research institutions…

Next steps

As mentioned above, this text and the accompanying framework will serve as the basis for discussion at the GMP Working Group sessions in Paris.

We invite anyone interested to contribute, as of now, by sending comments to policymapping@iamcr.org.