Christopher Ali
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040726
- eISBN:
- 9780252099168
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040726.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
Local media is at a turning point. Legacy outlets – television and newspapers – are declining while emerging platforms are failing to take their place. When it comes to the policies and regulations ...
More
Local media is at a turning point. Legacy outlets – television and newspapers – are declining while emerging platforms are failing to take their place. When it comes to the policies and regulations governing local television, regulators are struggling to address audience gravitation and fragmentation, the declining commercial viability of broadcasting, and the ongoing crisis of journalism. In an era of digital platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, regulators are also grappling with a question they had never anticipated: What does it mean to be local in the digital age? The lack of an answer has left them unsure of how to define a locality, what counts as local news, if the information needs of communities are being met, and the larger role of local media in a democracy. Through comparative analysis, Media Localism explains, assesses, and critiques these issues and asks how communication regulators in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom defined, mobilized and regulated “the local” in broadcasting from 2000 to 2012. Using critical theories of space and place, critical regionalism and critical political economy, and based on document analysis and interviews, Ali offers a fresh approach to localism in media policy. Through policy critique and intervention Ali argues that it is only through redefining the scope of localism that regulators can properly understand and encourage local media in the 21st century.Less
Local media is at a turning point. Legacy outlets – television and newspapers – are declining while emerging platforms are failing to take their place. When it comes to the policies and regulations governing local television, regulators are struggling to address audience gravitation and fragmentation, the declining commercial viability of broadcasting, and the ongoing crisis of journalism. In an era of digital platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, regulators are also grappling with a question they had never anticipated: What does it mean to be local in the digital age? The lack of an answer has left them unsure of how to define a locality, what counts as local news, if the information needs of communities are being met, and the larger role of local media in a democracy. Through comparative analysis, Media Localism explains, assesses, and critiques these issues and asks how communication regulators in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom defined, mobilized and regulated “the local” in broadcasting from 2000 to 2012. Using critical theories of space and place, critical regionalism and critical political economy, and based on document analysis and interviews, Ali offers a fresh approach to localism in media policy. Through policy critique and intervention Ali argues that it is only through redefining the scope of localism that regulators can properly understand and encourage local media in the 21st century.
Paula Chakravartty and Katharine Sarikakis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748618491
- eISBN:
- 9780748670970
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748618491.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This chapter situates the theoretical framing of the book in literature on media policy, political economy and cultural studies. The chapter positions policy analysis within the study of political ...
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This chapter situates the theoretical framing of the book in literature on media policy, political economy and cultural studies. The chapter positions policy analysis within the study of political institutions as well as the critical approach to media as economic actors. It discusses the context of communication policy within the triangle of market, changing notions and practices of the state towards media and the individual, and the communication technologies. To that, it adds a further layer, the symbolic politics and myth production around media and communication technologies, highlighting the historical specificity of communications policy studies. It also charts out the logic and organization of the remainder of the book.Less
This chapter situates the theoretical framing of the book in literature on media policy, political economy and cultural studies. The chapter positions policy analysis within the study of political institutions as well as the critical approach to media as economic actors. It discusses the context of communication policy within the triangle of market, changing notions and practices of the state towards media and the individual, and the communication technologies. To that, it adds a further layer, the symbolic politics and myth production around media and communication technologies, highlighting the historical specificity of communications policy studies. It also charts out the logic and organization of the remainder of the book.
Christopher Ali
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040726
- eISBN:
- 9780252099168
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040726.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
The introductory chapter introduces the reader to the concept of localism in both broadcast policy and critical theory. It also provides a brief historical overview of local broadcast policy in the ...
More
The introductory chapter introduces the reader to the concept of localism in both broadcast policy and critical theory. It also provides a brief historical overview of local broadcast policy in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, and unpacks the methods and methodologies employed in the research. More specifically, it discusses the value of document analysis and interviews to critical media policy studies, explains critical discourse analysis, and introduces the concept of critical regionalism which will be further explicated in chapter 1. Additionally, the chapter introduces the reader to two terms coined in the book: “the political economy of localism” and “default localism.” The chapter concludes with an outline of the chapters to follow.Less
The introductory chapter introduces the reader to the concept of localism in both broadcast policy and critical theory. It also provides a brief historical overview of local broadcast policy in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, and unpacks the methods and methodologies employed in the research. More specifically, it discusses the value of document analysis and interviews to critical media policy studies, explains critical discourse analysis, and introduces the concept of critical regionalism which will be further explicated in chapter 1. Additionally, the chapter introduces the reader to two terms coined in the book: “the political economy of localism” and “default localism.” The chapter concludes with an outline of the chapters to follow.
Christopher Ali
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040726
- eISBN:
- 9780252099168
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040726.003.0007
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
In Chapter 6, the case studies are analyzed through the frameworks of critical regionalism and critical political economy. The first section describes how a political economy of localism has come to ...
More
In Chapter 6, the case studies are analyzed through the frameworks of critical regionalism and critical political economy. The first section describes how a political economy of localism has come to exist within media policy discourse. This system favors the status quo over alternatives, tethers local media exclusively to specific places, and impedes our ability to think through ways to bridge the spatial and social divides of localism. The second section reintroduces critical regionalism as an approach that tempers this political economy. The chapter argues that while the political economy of localism works to stifle policy alternatives, there are policy windows – “moments of critical regionalism” – that require our attention. The chapter offers a definition of media localism based on critical regionalism and the case studies.Less
In Chapter 6, the case studies are analyzed through the frameworks of critical regionalism and critical political economy. The first section describes how a political economy of localism has come to exist within media policy discourse. This system favors the status quo over alternatives, tethers local media exclusively to specific places, and impedes our ability to think through ways to bridge the spatial and social divides of localism. The second section reintroduces critical regionalism as an approach that tempers this political economy. The chapter argues that while the political economy of localism works to stifle policy alternatives, there are policy windows – “moments of critical regionalism” – that require our attention. The chapter offers a definition of media localism based on critical regionalism and the case studies.
