Normative Foundations and Principles for Communication Policy

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Policy principles are founded on underlying values and normative assumptions that guide policymakers, organizations, and citizens in legislative and regulatory activities. These principles are often more implicit than explicit, but they set discursive parameters for how members of society think and talk about important policy issues and problems. Such principles are more fundamental than policy objectives and specific policy tools; they are grounded in philosophical beliefs that can then be transferred into policy and practice by providing the fundamental criteria used in decision-making processes. Although their interpretations and executions are inherently contentious, principles play a key role in informing how policy objectives and potential policy tools are articulated. They also provide the basis for regulatory interventions into media markets and communication systems, and they can provide various social groups the framework through which claims are made on the state. As key sites of contestation, policy principles differ across historical moments, cultural contexts, and political regimes. For example, seminal research by Napoli (2001) shows how communication policy principles related to localism, access, and competition, among other ideals, are constantly being challenged by technological changes and competing ideologies around the proper role of markets, publics, and governments.

Reflecting on both particular nuances and universal values that cut across boundaries, the presenters on this panel will discuss different aspects of the principles and normative foundations underlying communication policies in a variety of contexts. Presenters will draw from case studies across different geographical regions and conceptual frameworks. Geographically, we will consider debates around normative foundations for media and information policy in India, the European Union, and the United States. Conceptually, we will consider how these principles are molded by shifting ideologies and technologies over time, and how specific attributes unique to media products and processes make them intrinsically challenging for regulatory policy and for market-driven forces. Together, we will all reflect on why normative principles matter for media policy, how they can be designed to better serve democratic objectives, and how they can set the stage for various kinds of policy interventions.

Works Cited
Philip M. Napoli (2001). Foundations of Communications Policy: Principles and Process in the Regulation of Electronic Media. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, Inc.

Sub Unit

• Communication Law & Policy

Chair

• Katharine Sarikakis, U of Vienna

Individual Presentations

• Issues, Technology, and Time: Why Policy Principles are Crucial for Effective and Enduring Policy - Robert Georges Picard

• Normative Visions of Information Policy - Laura Stein, University of California, Berkeley

• Democratic and Economic Justifications for Media Policy Interventions - Victor W. Pickard

• The Place of Policy Principles in Legitimacy and Contestation in Europe - Katharine Sarikakis, U of Vienna

• Advocating for Children Rights in the Digital Age: Why is the Figure of the Child Controversial? - Sonia Livingstone, LSE; Amanda Third

Respondent

• Philip M. Napoli, Duke U