Originally published in 1983. This book presents a description and critical analysis of the communication systems and policy at the time in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. It examines the technological and cultural forces shaping policy and communications development, and begins with a chapter presenting a review of the international context and of the conceptual frameworks suggested by scholars concerned with communication policy. Other chapters highlight the common trends among countries, and analyses the unique nature of policy and communications development in each country based on its cultural foundation. All the contributions reflect a common theme which relates to the two distinct sources from which a nation’s communication policy can be studied - official statements about goals and means, and observable results of communication decisions and practices.

The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy offers insights into the boundaries of this field of study, assesses why it is important, who is affected, and with what political, economic, social and cultural consequences. Provides the most up to date and comprehensive collection of essays from top scholars in the field Includes contributions from western and eastern Europe, North and Central America, Africa and Asia Offers new conceptual frameworks and new methodologies for mapping the contours of emergent global media and communication policy Draws on theory and empirical research to offer multiple perspectives on the local, national, regional and global forums in which policy debate occurs

Originally published in 1977. Covering a wide international field and with the emphasis on communications in developing countries, this book contains chapters by eminent contributors looking at questions of policy, governance and planning in the field of mass communications. It also considers the role of the media in national development, multi-media education and critical theoretical issues bearing on the impact of modernization on traditional cultures. A few selected countries are discussed in detail – Iran, Brazil, India and the People’s Republic of Benin (then Dahomey) as well as the results of an international survey on the future of broadcasting. The book made recommendations for administrative reorganizations, network expansions and research requirements, some of which were implemented shortly afterwards.

In 2003 and again in 2005, the international community was called by the United Nations to take part in a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). This two-phased summit placed an unprecedented global spotlight on information and communication issues. At the same time, the WSIS represented a grand experiment in global governance: the active participation of non-governmental stakeholders in the development of public policies at the international level. Digital Solidarities, Communication Policy and Multi-stakeholder Global Governance examines the actors, structures and themes that shaped the WSIS with a particular focus on the role played by civil society. The book investigates how civil society self-organization has continued post-WSIS through the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and other policymaking venues, and reflects on what the WSIS experience reveals about the challenges and opportunities embedded in the notion of multi-stakeholder governance and its implications for understanding global communication.

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.

This study of communication policy and planning the 1st of its kind in Singapore is an attempt to explore and analyze the following areas: communication systems; communication policy; national level policy planning; institutional level communication planning; and project level communication planning. Following an introductory chapter the chapters of this report sketch the sociodemographic characteristics of Singapore society and the history politics government and economy; describe the component systems of the communication network in Singapore today; present an analysis of the use of major types of mass media by the population broken down by demographic characteristics such as ethnicity age and sex; examine the guiding communication policies on which the present communication systems are built and operated; focuse on the structure of general policymaking and planning at the national level in Singapore; consider communication planning at the institutional level using Radio Television Singapore (RTS) as a case study; discuss project level planning; and make some generalizations on communication policy and planning in Singapore.