Broadcasting Pluralism and Diversity: A Comparative Study of Policy and Regulation

(Hardback)

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Broadcasting Pluralism and Diversity is a study of the policy and regulatory measures relating to the promotion of media diversity in three jurisdictions: the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. A central focus of the book is regulation of media ownership and control, and, taking an historical approach, the book argues that early policy and regulatory decisions continue to have a significant influence on current reforms. Whilst policy and reform debates focus on ownership and control measures, the book also argues that such measures can not be considered in isolation from other regulatory instruments, and that a holistic regulatory approach is required. As such, content regulation and competition regulation are also considered. Underlying the study is the contention that much of the policy informing pluralism and diversity regulation, although making reference to the importance of the media's role in the democratic process, has also been skewed by a futile focus on the different regulatory treatment of the press and broadcasting, which is adversely influencing current policy debates. The book argues that a different approach, using the public sphere concept, needs to be adopted and used as a measure against which regulatory reform in the changing media environment can be assessed.

Reviews

There has been relatively little communication between the fields of critical media policy studies and comparative media law...Lesley Hitchens' impressively researched and highly detailed study of the UK, US and Australian cases/jurisdictions corrects this lacuna from the comparative media law side in what is plainly also a major contribution to comparative media policy study. -- Paul Jones * Media, Culture and Society *
...a timely analysis for a phase of significant transformations in media industries and 'audiencing' relations. In writing the book [Lesley Hitchens] has provided a detailed comparative study of the policy and regulatory measures used for the promotion of media diversity in three jurisdictions: the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Her study represents an important contribution to a tradition of comparative media law, regulation and policy that includes rich empirical studies -- Tim Dwyer * Media and Arts Law Review, 12 *

Author Bio

Lesley Hitchens is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law, University of New South Wales, Australia.