Media Regulation
Governance and the Interests of Citizens and Consumers
- Peter Lunt - University of Leicester, UK
- Sonia Livingstone - London School of Economics and Political Science, London School of Economics, UK, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
In Media Regulation, two leading scholars of the media examine the challenges of regulation in the global mediated sphere. This book explores the way that regulation affects the relations between government, the media and communications market, civil society, citizens and consumers. Drawing on theories of governance and the public sphere, the book critically analyzes issues at the heart of today's media, from the future of public service broadcasting to burdens on individuals to develop their media literacy.
Peter Lunt and Sonia Livingstone incisively lay bare shifts in governance and the new role of the public sphere which implicate self-regulation, the public interest, the role of civil society and the changing risks and opportunities for citizens and consumers. It is essential reading to understand the forces that are reshaping the media landscape.
An exemplary study of how media regulation works (and, by implication, how it could work better) set within a wider discussion of democratic theory and political values. It will be of interest not only to students and scholars but to people around the world grappling with the same problem: the need to regulate markets, and the difficulty of doing this well.
Separately and jointly, Lunt and Livingstone have authored many fine writings, but this is arguably the best of the bunch! What makes this research special - even timeless for regulatory 'theory' - is its positioning amidst a set of well-defined philosophical and political tensions, especially between the interests of consumers and those of citizens.
In the 1970s, media regulation began to be analyzed as a political development; in the 1980s, as a facet of and contributor to globalization; in the 1990s, as a discourse; and in the first decade of the 20th century, as exemplars and evidence of changes in the nature of the state itself. In this book, Lunt and Livingstone rely upon their deep knowledge of audiences to treat British media regulator Ofcom as an agent within the public sphere, adding to the interdisciplinary toolkit of those involved in policy analysis and providing a model that could usefully be applied to other types and loci of regulatory processes.
Media Regulation’s strength lies, first of all, in its multifaceted and extremely convincing analysis of Ofcom as a regulatory institution in the UK context. The variety of case studies adds to the richness and balance of the arguments provided. Secondly, the book provides a more general analysis of modern-day media governance per se. It shows a sensitivity to how changing paradigms in media regulation have an effect on how media institutions and regulatory authorities interact to constitute modern-day media as both a consumer good and as a democratic tool in the public sphere.