[Mediaresearchhub-News] SAVE THE DATE: Media Policy Research Pre-conference Jan 11, '07 in Memphis

[Rik Panganiban]

SAVE THE DATE 
NOTICE

 

SSRC and Free Press Announce Media 
Policy Research

Pre-conference on January 11, 2007 in 
Memphis, Tennessee

 

 

 

The Media Policy Research Pre-conference is a one-day 
event leading into the National 
Media Reform Conference on January 12-14th, 2007.  
The Pre-Conference is intended to facilitate stronger academic research 
engagement with policy processes, advocacy needs, and other aspects of media 
reform.  Scholars and researchers from a wide range of disciplines will gather 
on January 11 to discuss ways of coordinating research efforts on policy 
opportunities and reform agendas in 2007.

 

The program will include

 

A keynote address on 
expected policy battles in 2007; 
A poster session for 
researchers to present and discuss their work; 
Working group / 
roundtable sessions on specific research areas; 
A closing strategy 
session as we look toward 2007 and 2008. 
 

About the Poster 
Session

 

Researchers will have opportunities to present new work 
on media policy and changes in the media environment during a morning poster 
session.  Short presentations will be followed by an interactive session for 
smaller conversations and sharing of work.  Papers can be on any topic related 
to media policy or reform.  Presentation time and travel awards may be allocated 
to papers based on the working group topics listed 
below.

 

Researchers interested in submitting papers should send 
an abstract and researcher biography to mediahub at ssrc.org by October 15, 2006.  Preference will be 
given to early drafts of papers submitted along with the abstracts.  Completed 
papers will be due on December 1. Accepted papers will be circulated publicly at 
the poster session and online prior to the session.

 

Submission of a paper to the poster session is 
not a condition of participation in the 
conference.

 

Travel Funds: Matching 
Support

 

Matching travel support of $300 will be available for up 
to 20 graduate students and junior faculty participants in the poster session.   
These funds must complement equal or greater travel support from home 
departments or institutions.  Please request such support in your email to us.  
Individuals selected to receive travel support will be informed by November 5.

 

About the 
Roundtables

 

The roundtable sessions will involve discussions of 
current media issues and policy windows of opportunity.  They will also explore 
opportunities to coordinate efforts on media policy and reform topics as these 
opportunities develop in 2007.  Two afternoon sessions will provide time for 
parallel meetings on:

 

Media Ownership: 
The Media Ownership Group formed after the 2005 NMRC event to prepare for 
renewed battles over the regulation on media ownership.  The group has worked 
since then to bring a collection of studies to bear on FCC deliberations.   The 
group will continue into 2007 as the ownership debates proceed. 

 

Local Newspaper Ownership: 
What are policy measures that could be put in place that would 
foster local ownership of local newspapers, i.e. legal and tax code measures?  
This working group will study different models for creating and sustaining 
viable journalism at the local level into the digital era, from community-owned 
to journalist-owned papers.  
 

Digital Inclusion / Universal 
Service: In the 21st century, broadband contributes to the 
vision of the information society as a democratic society. Now that a generation 
of new information technologies has precipitated a transformation in social, 
economic, and political life, a new concept of universal service is necessary if 
democracy is to deliver its promise in a new century. The Benton Universal 
Service Project has pursued a vision of an evolved universal service grounded in 
a ubiquitous, globally competitive, broadband infrastructure available to all. 
Papers from this project reflect the array of problems facing any new 
conceptualization of this hundred year old policy discourse. 

 

Radio Spectrum and Community 
Media : How do we secure space in the radio spectrum for 
alternative and community media applications?  How spectrum be allocated to best 
serve the communications and information needs of rural communities?   
 

Media Representations and Media 
Justice:  Media content and media representations have been 
key points of entry for public interest in media policy, and a longstanding 
subject of concern for media research.  This roundtable will explore the 
relationship between contemporary justice concerns—including racial and gender 
inequalities—and the ‘content’ of the media. 
 

Public Access TV and New 
Media: This roundtable would discuss how public access 
television (“access TV”) can pursue its existing mission using new media, 
especially as changes to the franchise system for public access TV are debated 
in 2007.  We begin with the recognition that access TV possesses an invaluable 
infrastructure of organizations and funding, and we then consider how that could 
be better connected to media like municipal wi-fi, Internet video, and content 
management systems. 
 

Network Neutrality and Internet 
Regulation: ‘Network neutrality’ is one of a handful of 
regulatory issues with the potential to reshape the Internet.  The network 
neutrality debate in 2006 was heated and marked by many conflicting accounts of 
what was at stake.  As this debate continues in 2007, this working group will 
seek to clarify the stakes and coordinate research that can support the 
participatory, democratic characteristics of the Internet. 
 

Children’s Media: 
The media environment for children has become increasingly 
complex in recent years, as have the issues and debates surrounding digital 
media and the increased interactivity they provide. New norms of media use 
behavior are currently evolving among the generation that is the first to come 
of age in the digital era. Media policies that address the specific needs of the 
young as audiences, citizens, creators, and consumers are required. 

 

Expressions of interest in particular working groups and 
round tables are very welcome.  We may also be able to support groups on other 
topics if there is sufficient interest.

 

Attendance

 

Registration for the Pre-conference on Media Policy 
Research will be available free of charge through SSRC via email to 
mediahub at sscr.org.  With the 
exception of a limited number of travel support recipients, participants are 
expected to pay their own costs of travel and lodging.  Participants in the 
pre-conference are encouraged to attend the subsequent National Conference for 
Media Reform January 12-14 and to register at www.freepress.net/conference.

 

For all communication: mediahub at ssrc.org or call Rik 
Panganiban at 1-212-377-2700 x644. 

 



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