Academic Research for Media Reform
Posted on January 10.2008 by Amit Schejter
The National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR) has become the
meeting place for media reform advocates, activists, media makers,
educators, journalists and other citizens concerned about the state of
American media. In recent years, there has been growing interest in how
academics can tie their research to a reform agenda.
The Academic Symposium for Scholars, co-hosted by Pennsylvania
State University, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), and Free
Press, will be held the day before the NCMR. The Symposium will be a
forum for presenting new research about reform movement issues and for
promoting dialogue between academics and media
reform proponents. It will be held at a hotel adjacent to the
convention center where the NCMR will be held. Academics and media
reform activists are encouraged to attend and pre-registration for both
events is required.
unique event. To
ensure high quality of papers, two committees of both established
scholars and graduate students were created under the auspices of the
Institute for Information Policy at Penn State University. The
conference will include no more than four paper sessions, solicited
from both graduate students and faculty.
inclusion in a special issue on "media reform and public policy" of the
Journal of Communication Inquiry. The papers should focus on
the following issues of concern to the media advocacy community
(international and comparative studies of these issues are highly
encouraged):
The relationship between
research and policymaking has been highlighted in this debate. This
track will concentrate on
research pertaining to and surrounding the Federal Communications
Commission's (FCC) media ownership policies and their formulation
since the 2003 Prometheus decision. Presentations can focus on the use
(or abuse) of academic
research by the FCC, the decision making process, the new rules
eventually crafted by the
FCC, with reference to (or neglect of) issues of localism, minority and
women ownership or any
other pertinent matters of interest.
media outlets and their means of distribution. Presentations can
address the role of community radio, television or Web sites, as well
as the debates regarding independent programming over cable networks,
and other issues pertaining to the sustenance of independent media
outlets, rather than to ownership patterns.
Neutrality debate. While more academic work on this issue has come out
over the past year, some fresh challenges created by new
technological realities have surfaced. Topics of discussion may
include, in addition to Net
Neutrality: creator and employee rights in these new digital
environments, copyright, statewide
franchising for IPTV, the DTV transition, broadband deployment and
more.
character of programming, on the other, raise questions regarding the
need to create policies ensuring diversity in access so that
alternative voices may be heard. Other questions relate to the
diminishing role of public and noncommercial
broadcasting in our national landscape. In light of the upcoming
national elections, this track can also
offer an opportunity to discuss issues of candidate access to the media
and vice versa.
Authors will be notified of the status of their submission by March 31,
2008, and will be expected to make their full studies available by May
23, 2008.
limited scholarship funds available from SSRC to graduate students for
travel, contact Amit Schejter, Ph.D, at mediareformconference@psu.edu or by phone at 814-865-3717.
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