This subfield studies the impact of government regulations and policies on media markets, including areas such as copyright law, antitrust regulation, and media ownership laws.
The role of government in media regulation: This refers to the extent to which a government can intervene in regulating media practices, including its impact on media freedom and public interest.
Market structure and competition: This entails analyzing the structure of media markets, media ownership patterns, and competition within media sectors, which can have a significant impact on media policies and regulations.
Media ownership and concentration: This includes studying the impact of ownership patterns and concentration of media ownership, on media plurality, diversity, and editorial independence.
Regulation of media content: This involves analyzing the role of various regulatory bodies in monitoring and controlling the content of media, including the use of censorship, classification, and codes of conduct.
Media ethics: This topic relates to the ethical standards and codes of practice governing media behavior, including editorial independence, accuracy, and fairness, and how these standards are translated into regulatory actions.
Public service broadcasting: This refers to the provision of media that serves the public interest, including education, news, and entertainment, and the regulation of public service broadcasters to ensure their impartiality and independence.
Intellectual property rights: This involves studying the legal frameworks for protecting the rights of creators, producers, and distributors of media content, including copyright law and issues related to digital media.
International frameworks for media regulation: This entails studying the various international agreements, conventions, and frameworks that govern the regulation of media practices, including issues such as cross-border broadcasting and content distribution.
Advertising and marketing practices: This includes studying the regulation and control of advertising and marketing practices that affect media content, including issues such as product placement, branded content, and celebrity endorsements.
New media and emerging technologies: This topic encompasses the regulation of new media and emerging technologies such as social media, online content, and mobile devices, including issues related to privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity.
Ownership regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with the ownership of media. It focuses on who owns and controls the media and the implications of this for the democratic and diverse media landscape.
Content regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with the content of media. It focuses on what can and cannot be shown or broadcasted, such as adult-oriented content, hate speech, and content that promotes terrorism.
Advertising regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with advertisements in the media. It focuses on the amount, type, and content of advertisements, such as whether they are truthful, deceptive, or misleading.
Access regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with access to the media. It focuses on ensuring that everyone has equal access to media such as broadcasting or the internet regardless of their geographic location, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics.
Competition regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with competition in the media industry. It focuses on promoting market competition and limiting monopolies to reduce barriers to entry and promote innovation in the industry.
Intellectual property regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with intellectual property in media. It focuses on protecting the rights of creators, such as copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
Privacy regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with privacy in the media. It focuses on protecting the privacy of individuals from invasion by the media, such as stalking or media-printed personal information.
Network neutrality regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with network neutrality in the media. It focuses on ensuring that internet service providers do not discriminate against certain websites, users, or types of data.
Spectrum allocation regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with the allocation of spectrum in the media. It focuses on regulating the use of radio frequencies by various media such as television, radio, and mobile services.
Foreign ownership regulation: It is a policy or regulation that deals with foreign ownership in the media. It focuses on regulating the amount and type of foreign ownership in national media, with the aim of protecting national sovereignty and national security.