Human Rights, Peace, Conflicts, and Media in India

Colloquium with Dr. Padma Rani, Associate Professor at Manipal Institute of Communication, Manipal University,  Manipal, India, on Mai 30, 2013, 6-8 p.m., in the library of the Hans Bredow Institute, Heimhuder Straße 21, 20148 Hamburg, free entrance,  registration required by Mail info@hans-bredow-institut.de

Abstract of the lecture

Freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right in India. It is given by the constitution of India in Article 19(1) (a) to its citizens. The scope of freedom of speech is very wide, it includes freedom of press, freedom of silence, propagation of ideas, their publication and circulation etc. Freedom of speech and expression is not absolute as there are reasonable restrictions mentioned in the constitution itself. The Indian judiciary is an independent organ of the State and has the right to instruct the government i.e. executive and the legislature to make appropriate laws where ever required.

With the advancement of technology, Press no longer includes only the print media, it has the broadcast and internet also under its ambit. The Indian government has brought about certain changes in the laws to suit the requirements of the new technology. With the fast penetration of Internet in India certain constitutional implications have arisen like right to privacy, right to information, obscenity etc.

With the help of case studies the position of freedom of speech in India would be discussed and also how the government and courts have read into cases in USA to set standards for the Indian media.

The speaker

Dr. Padma Rani, Associate Professor at Manipal Institute of Communication, Manipal University, Manipal, India since 2010, has a post-graduate and doctorate in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She also holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication and Journalism and diploma in Human Rights law from National Law School of India University, Bangalore. She was Head of the communication department at M. O .P. Vaishnav College for women, Chennai for a period of three years. She has taught post-graduate students for four years at Ethiraj College for women, Chennai.

Padma Rani has presented over twenty-five research papers in national and international conferences. Her special areas of interest are media laws, ICT, gender and Human Rights. She has Ph.d students enrolled under her working in the areas of new media, health communication and gender. At present, she is also a principal investigator for a University Grants Commission project on partnership between a local newspaper and hospital to create awareness about health issues.

Repeat! Remix! Remediate! The New Arts of Documentary

Guest Lecture by William Uricchio (MIT, Cambridge/USA) on tuesday, April 9th, 2013, 6-8 pm at the university of Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 6, Hörsaal D, admission free, registration requiered by email

At the invitation of the Research Center for Media and Communication (RCMC) and the Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research, Professor William Uricchio (MIT, Cambridge/USA), one of the most prestigious academics in media and communication science, will give a guest lecture about "The New Arts of Documentary". As director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and professor of Comparative Media History at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, William Uricchio belongs to the masterminds ot the global digital media revolution (for further informationen see http://opendoclab.mit.edu and http://momentsofinnovation.mit.edu).

New thematic priority of the RCMC "Repeat, Remix, Remediate. 
Modes and Norms of Digital Media Repurposing"

The lecture by William Uricchios will start the new thematic priority of the RCMC "Repeat, Remix, Remediate. 
Modes and Norms of Digital Media Repurposing". This thematic priority is picking up upon a crucial issue for current media development – a topic relevant to academia, media practice and media policy: in the age of digitisation, the landscape of media and communications is being increasingly influenced by phenomena that can be viewed as reappropriations of previously published media communications. This raises central questions about the kinds of reappropriated media communications that are being developed and the relationship between ‘old’ and ‘new’ shaping them. This repurposing will be analysed from four different perspectives: repurposing as recombination, as reactualisation, as piracy and as plagiarism.

An internationale Summer School in Media and Communications in Hamburg/Germany, July 29 – August 2, 2013, will deal with this questions.

Sascha Hölig Senior Researcher at the Hans Bredow Institute

In January 2013, Sascha Hölig PhD joined the team of the Hans Bredow Institute. Sascha studied Media Studies (Communications), Sociology and Philosophy at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena as well as at the International School of Social Science of the University of Tampere (Finland). In his Master’s thesis he examined the journalistic selection criteria in determining topics and in presenting molecular medicine in TV science magazines. From May 2007 to April 2011, he worked for the Chair in Empirical Communication Studies (Prof. Dr. Uwe Hasebrink) at the Institute for Media and Communication at the University of Hamburg.From April 2011 until the end of 2012 he had been a researcher at the Institute for Communication Studies and Media Culture at the Leuphana University Lüneburg. Sascha's research interests lie in the fields of media use in new media environments, empirical research methods and science communications.

Coming in April: M&K 2/2013

with articles about journalists’ ideas of media effects, about information-seeking behavior between energy policy and energy saving, about the significance of group processes to reception enjoyment, with a critique of system theory approaches to advertising, and an outline of media change through innovation, co-evolution and complexity ... contents

Published: M&K 1/2013

with an integrative model about emotional framing effects on Attitudes, articles about media use and issue perception in political milieus, about the relationship between the referendum on “Stuttgart 21” and indirect media effects, Internet policy activism in Germany, and the truth of Public Relations  ... Contents

New Project for Children and (online) Advertising

Federal Ministry for Family Affairs and Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia awarded joint research contract to the Hans Bredow Institute

Nowadays, children use the Internet at an increasingly young age - especially as new virtual playground. There, they come upon a variety of forms of advertising and other commercial communications, as - in the end- all commercial websites want to be financed somehow.

What are the specific forms and types of online advertising that  primary pupils face? To what extent and at what age are they able to recognize internet advertising as such and can distinguish this from non-commercial communications? Do they notice forms of hidden advertising, e.g. product advertising in form of editorial content? What requirements regarding the interpretation and reflection of commercial content do the children face? These are some of the key research questions of a newly started, interdisciplinary research project, jointly commissioned  by the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM) and the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research will conduct the study.

The research project will focus on websites that are most widely  used by children. In addition to internet-specific forms of online advertising, the project will also cover cross-media marketing strategies - including television in particular.

Lutz Stroppe, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth: "Our 'Internet Dialogue' has shown that children need to learn how to deal with  online advertising step by step as an important part of their media literacy. The research results will provide insight into whether and how children currently deal with online advertising. We will use these scientific results to promote an online landscape of age-appropriate children's pages by reminding both content providers and advertisers of their duty. I am pleased that we work together with the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia regarding this important issue."

Dr. Jürgen Brautmeier, Director of the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, said regarding the project grant: "For the LfM, research results are part of our mission to assess current developments in the media market. We hope to obtain important conclusions for the media regulators as well as our media literacy activities. I am very pleased that with the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, we have a partner in this project who can set more particular accents out of his competencies. "

The research results, expected for mid-2014, will also be used for accompanying information material aimed at content providers of children-targeted websites.

GMaC-Lunch: Media in Chile

"Uses of Elements of Personalization and Strategic Frames in Newspaper Coverage of two Chilean Presidential Campaigns (1989-2009)”, English lecture & discussion by Prof. Porath from the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Santiago de Chile, January 29, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m., Graduate School Media and Communication, speakersroom, ground floor, Mittelweg 177, 20148 Hamburg, Participation is free, registration required, invitation (pdf-file)

Prof. Porath is guest researcher at the Institut für Journalistik und Kommunikationswissenschaft / Erasmus Mundus Master programme. The discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Kathrin Voss, communication consultant. 

Prof. Porath has researched two political campaigns in Chile. He compared two national reference newspapers and two tabloids, in two periods: the first election after Pinochet's authoritarian regime in 1989, and the most recent one, 20 years later (2009), to confirm whether the use of elements of personalization and strategic frame has increased in the Chilean press. In the session Prof. Porath will discuss his findings.

Participation is free, please register by sending an email to: anke.timmann@uni-hamburg.de, latest Friday January 25.

Bagels and soft drinks will be provided for a small charge.

HIIG: Why is there no Nyungar Wikipedia?

Challenges and opportunities for user-created knowledge networks in minority languages, lecture by John Hartley, Professor of Cultural Science and Director of the Centre for Culture and Technology, Curtin University (Western Australia), on Monday, 28th of January, 2013, starting at 6 p.m. at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Building of the "Juristische Fakultät", Bebelplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, http://www.hiig.de/

Prof. Hartley is a member of the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts, and a Fellow of the International Communication Association. He co-founded the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation at QUT, Brisbane. Formerly Head of the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University, he is now engaged on a part-time basis there, in addition to his substantive position at Curtin University, Perth. Currently Prof. Hartley is a visiting fellow at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialsforschung (WZB).

The lecture – ranging from Aboriginal-language uses of the Internet to more general issues of user-created content in the creative economy – will be followed by a short talk with Dr. Jeanette Hofmann. Subsequently the floor will be open for questions, as well as to share thoughts and to reflect on the lecture together with Prof. Hartley.

Hint: How to Cope and Build Online Resilience?

Findings from the project EU Kids Online, edited by L. d'Haenens, S. Vandoninck and V. Donoso, V., report for download (pdf-file)

Published: M&K 4/2012

with articles about news media‘s contribution to democracy in an international comparison, about role conflicts of Freelance Journalists with secondary employment in the field of PR, about the role of Digital Media in transcultural  / transnational discourses, the state and significance of music research of German radio stations, and a specific form of institutionalization of science in Germany, the so called "An-Institute" ... Contents

Available for Download: English Research Report 2011/2012

The English version of the Institute's Research Report is now available for download here [pdf-file, 706 KB].

Hint: Children, Risk and Safety on the Internet

Research and Policy Challenges in Comparative Perspective, edited by Sonia Livingstone, Leslie Haddon

and Anke Görzig. With contributions from members of the EU Kids Online network from a broad range of European countries, this book captures the diverse, topical and timely expertise generated by the network, reflecting the different aspects of the EU Kids Online project.

Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., & Görzig, A. (eds) (forthcoming). Children, risk and safety on the internet: Kids online in comparative perspective. Bristol: The Policy Press. July 2012, PB £23.99, ISBN 978 1 84742 882 0 . 256 pages Flyer and purchase information (pdf-file)

With a particular focus on risk and safety, each chapter includes up to date and previously unpublished comparative findings from across Europe, developing a critical approach to the research domain, its findings and possible conclusions.

The book will be of interest to academics, researchers and students in sociology, childhood studies, social policy and media studies, as well as policy makers and those involved with corporate social responsibility in the internet industry.

Contents

Theoretical framework for children’s internet use ~ Sonia Livingstone and Leslie Haddon; Methodological framework: the EU Kids Online project ~ Anke Görzig; Cognitive interviewing and responses to EU Kids Online survey questions ~ Christine Ogan, Turkan Karakus, Engin Kursun, Kursat Cagiltay and Duygu Kasikci; Which children are fully online? ~ Ellen Helsper;Varieties of access and use ~ Giovanna Mascheroni, Maria Francesca Murru and Anke Görzig; Online opportunities ~ Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt and Pille Runnel; Digital skills in the context of media literacy ~ Nathalie Sonck, Els Kuiper and Jos de Haan; Between public and private: privacy in social networking sites ~ Reijo Kupiainen, Annikka Suoninen and Kaarina Nikunen; Experimenting with the self: a risky opportunity ~ Lucyna Kirwil and Yiannis Laouris;Young Europeans’ online environments: a typology of user practices ~ Uwe Hasebrink; Bullying ~ Claudia Lampert and Verónica Donoso; ‘Sexting’ – the exchange of sexual messages online among European youth ~ Sonia Livingstone and Anke Görzig; Pornography ~ Antonis Rovolis and Liza Tsaliki; Meeting new contacts online ~ Monica Barbovschi,Valentina Marinescu,Anca Velicu and Eva Laszlo; Excessive internet use among European children ~ David Smahel and Lukas Blinka; Coping and resilience: children’s responses to online risks ~ Sofie Vandoninck, Leen d’Haenens and Katia Segers; Agents of mediation and sources of safety awareness: a comparative overview ~ Dominique Pasquier, José Alberto Simões and Elodie Kredens; The effectiveness of prental mediation ~ Maialen Garmendia, Carmelo Garitaonandia, Gemma Martínez and Miguel Ángel Casado; Effectiveness of teachers’ and peer’s mediation in supporting opportunities and reducing risks online ~ Veronika Kalmus, Cecilia von Feilitzen and Andra Siibak; Understanding digital inequality: the interplay between parental socialisation and children’s development ~ Ingrid Paus-Hasebrink, Cristina Ponte, Andrea Dürager and Joke Bauwens; Similarities and differences across Europe ~ Bojana Lobe and Kjartan Ólafsson; Mobile access – different users, different risks, different consequences? ~ Gitte Stald and Kjartan Ólafsson; Explaining vulnerability to risk and harm ~ Alfredas Laurinavicius, Rita Žukauskiene and Laura Ustinaviciute; Relating online practices, negative experiences and coping strategies ~ Bence Ságvári and Anna Galácz; Towards a general model of determinants of risk and safety ~ Sonia Livingstone, Uwe Hasebrink and Anke Görzig; Policy implications and recommendations: now what? ~ Brian O’Neill and Elisabeth Staksrud.

The Nature and Scope of Editorial Autonomy in Israel and Germany

Workhop in English language with a lecture by Prof. Dr. Shulamit Almog, guest researcher at the Hans Bredow Institute from Israel, and David Witzthum, Chief Editor and well-known moderator of the public television in Israel, on Wednesday, August 8th, 2012, 18-20 h in the library of the institute, Attendance is free but registration required. Seats are limited, so early registration is strongly recommended.

Currently, a case about editorial autonomy inflames passions in Israel. An investigative report broadcasted in Israeli television suggested that an officer had shot a young girl, he was found not guilty later. The report had used digital techniques to emphasize the critical view of the journalist in charge. The lecture will analyse this case which has been adjucated by the Israeli Supreme Court now. The legal and ethical consequences for constructing reality through news media will be discussed then.

More informationen about the lecture and the guests

The case of Captain R. v. Ilana Dayan concerned a suit for defamation (injury to reputation) with respect to an investigative report broadcasted in Israeli television. The plaintiff contended that the report was misleading in various aspects due to the reporter's omission of relevant details, due to the reporter's use of illustration pictures which could be mistaken to be pictures taken during the actual event reported on, and in light of new information discovered within subsequent legal proceedings.

The Israeli Supreme Court dismissed the claim while making principled determinations regarding the defenses available to the media against defamation claims. Of particular interest is the Supreme Court's emphasis on the value of editorial autonomy, derived from the principle of the freedom of the press. According to the Court, the media should be afforded wide discretion to identify the facts and aspects of the issue reported on that are most important or interesting while disregarding other facts and aspects, as well as to employ artistic measures in order to convey the report's message in an attractive or pleasing manner, as long as their choices do not generate a distorted depiction of reality.

The case brings to the fore the question of how people perceive media messages in the digital age. Assessing the divergent implications of the digital age and their interrelations is crucial for the adjustment of defamation law and of other branches of media law to contemporary reality.       

Shulamit Almog

Shulamit Almog, guest researcher at the Hans Bredow Institute from July 16th to September 16th 2012 is a Professor of Law at the University of Haifa and director of the PhD Program of the faculty.

During her career, she has been integrating an active involvement both in academia and in practice. Her academic research is on law and literature, law and film, law and digital culture, and on children's and women's rights.

She has published numerous books and articles in US, Canadian, European and Israeli law reviews.

Among her public activities are appearing before the Israeli Parliament, drafting sections of Israel's report to the UN on the International Convention on Children's Rights, and participating on committees for reforming Israel's Adoption Law and combating trafficking in person. She is also a member of the Israeli Press Council Executive Board.

David Witzthum

David Witzthum war born in Petah-Tikva, Israel and studied Political Science and International Relations at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, at the College d’Europe, in Bruges, Belgium, (European Integration) and at the Oxford University, England (political philosophy). He is now doing research towards Ph.D. at the Hebrew University (2nd and final stage – of actual writing the dissertation on “the image of Germany in Israeli television, 1970–1995”).

David was Chief Foreign Editor, Israel Radio since 1972. 1982-1985: Bureau Chief and Correspondent in Europe for I.B.A. Television and Radio, stationed in Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany. 1985-1987: Editor and Moderator, the News Dept., Israel Radio. 1987-1991: Chief Foreign Editor, Israel Television (Channel 1). Moderator and Editor of the weekly foreign newsmagazine, "Roim Olam". 1991-1994: Commentator on Foreign Affairs for “Yedioth Aharonoth”, Israel’s largest daily newspaper, and as of 1994 - Chief Editor, commentator on foreign affairs and Moderator of news and culture programs at the News division, Israeli Television (Channel 1). He was awarded the "Sokolov Award" of Journalism for Life's Achievement, 2009.

Since 1995 he teaches at the Hebrew university, Jerusalem (depts. German History and Communications) and he was also Guest Research fellow and teached at Tel Aviv University (dept.: Political Science) and (2011) at the Haifa University (Communication dept.).

David is Member of the Board of directors in Leo Baeck Institute (Jerusalem), at the Israel Music institute and (until dec, 2011) at the "Stiftung ZukunftForum", the German/Israeli Joint commitee for furthering the bilateral relations of the two countries, as well as the Magazine "MB Yakinton" of the German speaking Jews in Israel. 

Prof. Shulamit Almog as Guest Researcher at the Institute

From mid-July until mid-September 2012 Prof. Shulamit Almog, Professor of Law at the University of Haifa and director of the PhD Program of the faculty, has worked as guest researcher at the Hans Bredow Institute. Her academic research is on law and literature, law and film, law and digital culture, and on children's and women's rights.

Public event with Shulamit Almog on August, 8th 2012

Shulamit has published numerous books and articles in US, Canadian, European and Israeli law reviews. Among her public activities are appearing before the Israeli Parliament, drafting sections of Israel's report to the UN on the International Convention on Children's Rights, and participating on committees for reforming Israel's Adoption Law and combating trafficking in person. She is also a member of the Israeli Press Council Executive Board.

Children rarely get help from online services

Existing reporting tools do not work – only one in ten (13%) of children who were upset on the Internet reported this through an online reporting mechanism, highlighting the fact that the industry needs to do much better. This is one of the strong conclusions of a new report from the EU Kids Online project. On July 11th the Internet industry presentes their efforts to keep children safe online in a meeting hosted by the European Commission.  In a new report looking at industry strategies compared to what children actually do online, researchers around Europe recommend that industry focus more on child-friendly communication and accessible tools.

The report also reveals that one in five children have seen potentially dangerous internet content such as websites which promote anorexia and suicide techniques.

• the full report ,Towards a better internet for children'
• more information about the project www.eukidsonline.net
• Coalition to make the Internet a better place for kids

Parents more worried about online risk than alcohol, sex and drugs

When asked about what worried them a lot about their children, parents’ top five concerns school achievement, road accidents, bullying (on or offline) and crime. Online risks – being contacted by strangers or seeing inappropriate content – come fourth and fifth in the list of nine worries: one in three parents say they worry about these risks a lot. Fewer worry about alcohol, drugs, getting into trouble with the police and sexual activities.

At the same time, children reporting problems resulting from contacts met online were generally dissatisfied with the help received from online services. Only two thirds of children who reported content or conduct risks found the response helpful, though one third did not. Those reporting sexual images were a little more positive about the help received than those reporting conduct risks (sexting, cyberbullying).

Those less experienced in internet use should be specifically encouraged and enabled to use online tools, and these tools should be designed for ease of use by inexperienced internet users.

Commenting on the results Sonia Livingstone said:  ’Given the relatively low take-up of online reporting mechanisms, there is considerable scope for further promoting their availability, age-appropriateness and use.’

Parental mediation also important

Parental active mediation of use – for example, doing shared activities online together or encouraging a child to learn things on their own while remaining available if needed - reduces the probability of children’s exposure to online risks at all ages, and it is also linked to decreased experiences of harm among 9 to 12 year olds without reducing their exposure to the positives of online activity. 

Other findings 

• 14% of 9-16 year olds have seen sexual images on websites. This included 8% of 11-16 year olds who saw images of people having sex and/or genitals, and 2% who saw violent sexual images. 32% of all 9-16 year olds who had seen sexual images said they were upset by them.
• Among 11-16 year olds upset by seeing online sexual images, 26% hoped the problem would just go away, 22% tried to fix it, 19% deleted unwelcome messages and 15% blocked the sender. Only 13% reported the problem online, though most of those found the result helpful.
• 21% of 11-16 year olds have seen potentially harmful user-generated content such as hate sites (12%), proanorexia sites (10%, rising to 19% of 14-16 year old girls) and self-harm sites (7%). 
• Those with more digital skills are more likely to encounter these content-related risks.

For more information

The report “Towards a better internet for children” surveys the strategies used by industry to protect young users from online risk and examines whether there is evidence that these strategies work and reduce the online risks and harm experienced by children based on interviews with 25,000 children and parents across 25 European countries.

For the full report,Towards a better internet for children? by Sonia Livingstone, Kjartan Ólafsson, Brian O’Neill and
Verónica Donoso, see the EU Kids Online project.

Information about the project and survey

• The EU Kids Online project aims to enhance knowledge of European children’s and parents’ experiences and practices regarding risky and safer use of the internet and new online technologies, and thereby to inform the promotion of a safer online environment for children. The project is funded by the EC Safer Internet Programme (SI-2010-TN-4201001).
• EU Kids Online conducted a face-to-face, in home survey of 25,000 9-16 year old internet users and their parents in 25 countries, using a stratified random sample and self-completion methods for sensitive questions. 
• Countries included in the survey are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the UK. In addition the project includes research teams from Croatia, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Russia, Slovakia and Switzerland. 
• For more findings, see Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Görzig, A., and Ólafsson, K. (2011). Risks and safety on the internet: The perspective of European children. Full findings. LSE, London: EU Kids Online. Other reports and technical survey details are at www.eukidsonline.net 
• The Coalition to make the Internet a better place for kids is a cooperative voluntary intervention launched December 2011, supported by the European Commission. Read more about the coalition here.

For Download: Adapting Public Service to the Multiplatform Scenario: Challenges, Opportunities and Risks

The Final Report of the Project „Redefining and Repositioning Public Service Broadcasting in the Digital and Multiplatform Scenario: Agents and Strategies“, written by Roberto Suárez Candel, has now been published in the series "Working Papers of the Hans Bredow Institute" (Arbeitspapiere des Hans-Bredow-Instituts) and can be downloaded as pdf-file (2.2 MB).

Adapting Public Service to the Multiplatform Scenario

Seminar with lecture by Alison Harcourt, Jean Monnet Chair in the Information Society at the University of Exeter (UK), and presentation of the Final Report of the PSB Digital Project by Roberto Suárez Candel, on Monday, July 9th 2012, 18.00-20.00 hrs, Library of the Hans Bredow Institute, Heimhuderstr. 21, 20148 Hamburg, free attendance, registration required

• Programme

• Speakers
• Registration

From 2010 to 2012, the Hans Bredow Institute has carried out the PSB-Digital project, which analysed the adaptation of Public Service Broadcasting to the digital and multiplatform scenario. Among its main goals, the most relevant ones were:

• Drawing a detailed picture of the current transformation processes affecting the media system.
• Carrying out a reflection on how those transformations influence Public Service at three levels: remit, organization and performance.
• Designing a theoretical model of the challenges, opportunities and risks for Public Service in the multiplatform media scenario.
• Gathering information and opinions from practitioners concerning the strategies implemented by public operators to carry out such an adaptation.
• Comparing the experiences of public broadcasters in Germany, Poland and Spain in order to identify best practices.
• Providing recommendations to foster the development of Public Service, to protect its autonomy, to improve its service to society and to ensure its visibility, relevance and social support in the new media scenario.

The seminar will be opened by Prof. Dr. Uwe Hasebrink, director of the Hans Bredow Institute. He will review the reasons and the relevance of analysing the evolution of Public Service and how an international approach can provide valuable results.

Next, Dr. Alison Harcourt, from the Department of Politics at the University of Exeter, will give the invited lecture “Defining Public Service Broadcasting under European Union Competition Law”. Dr. Harcourt will examine how the European Commission’s definitions of public service broadcasting has developed historically and resulted in the current ex-ante evaluation procedures framed within the European competition law. In her presentation, by means of presenting several national cases, Dr. Harcourt will also discuss how Member States are responding to Commission’s policy.

Finally, Dr. Roberto Suárez, Marie Curie Fellow at the Hans Bredow Institute, will present the final report of the PSB-Digital project. He will highlight some of the most interesting findings related to the goals detailed above.

The PSB-Digital project was funded by a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship for Career Development awarded by the European Commission (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008 / PIEF-2009-237599)

Detailed Programme

18:00 – 18:10 Welcome & Presentation
“Researching Public Service Media at European Level and with the Support of the European Commission’s Marie Curie Programme”
Prof. Dr. Uwe Hasebrink, Director of the Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research (Hamburg, Germany)

18:10 – 18:45 Invited Lecture

“Defining Public Service Broadcasting under European Union Competition Law”
Dr. Alison Harcourt, Jean Monnet Chair in the Information Society, Deparment of Politics at the College of Social Sciences and International Studies, University of Exeter (United Kingdom)

18:45 – 19:00 Questions & debate

19:00 – 19:30 PSB-Digital Project: Presentation of the Final Report
Dr. Roberto Suárez Candel, Marie Curie Fellow – Researcher in charge of the PSB-Digital Project, Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research (Hamburg, Germany)

19:30 – 19:45 Questions & debate

19:45  End of the event – Networking Drink

Speakers

Prof. Dr. Uwe Hasebrink – Hans Bredow Institute (Germany)

Uwe Hasebrink joined the Hans Bredow Institute in 1986 as a researcher; from 1988 he also acted as the executive manager. In 1998, he was elected to the Institute’s directorate. In 1999, he was Acting Professor of Communications at the College of Music and Theatre in Hanover. In spring 2001, he received a chair in “Empirical Communications Studies” from the University of Hamburg and the Hans Bredow Institute jointly. Since 2009, he is a member of the board of directors of the Research Center for Media and Communication (RCMC), which brings together university and non-university media and communication research in Hamburg, and at the same time one of the spokespersons of the Graduate School Media and Communication, which is being supported within the context of the Hamburg initiative of excellence. Dr. Hasebrink’s research interests are focused on the areas of media use and media contents, as well as media politics, European media and European audiences.

Dr. Alison Harcourt – University of Exeter (United Kingdom)

Alison Harcourt is Jean Monnet Chair in the information society at the Deparment of Politics of the College of Social Sciences and International Studies of the University of Exeter. She is a specialist in European integration and public policy. Her primary focus of research is regulatory change in communications markets. She has written on the regulation of traditional and new media markets at European and EU Member State levels contributing to the literature on regulatory competition, committee governance, Europeanisation, policy transfer and policy convergence in the Journal of Public Policy, Journal of European Public Policy, European Journal of Political Research, European Law Journal, the Journal of Consumer Policy, and the Journal of Common Market Studies and her book on the European Union Institutions and the Regulation of Media Markets with Manchester University Press.

Dr. Roberto Suárez Candel – Hans Bredow Institute (Germany)

Roberto Suárez Candel (Ph.D. 2009 Pompeu Fabra University – Barcelona, Spain) joined the Hans Bredow Institute as a Marie Curie Research Fellow in 2010. Since then, he has been in charge of the project PSB-Digital, which analyses the redefinition and reposition of public service broadcasting in the multiplatform media scenario and is funded by the EU. Dr. Suarez’s research interests include media policy and regulation, media ecology and the technological transformations of the communication system. In his PhD dissertation, Roberto Suárez compared public policy for digital terrestrial television in Sweden and Spain. As a result, he was awarded with two prizes (2010 – Catalan Audiovisual Council; 2006 – Fundación Autor SGAE). From 2002 to 2009, he worked as a researcher and associated lecturer at the Department of Communication of the Pompeu Fabra University.

Registration

Attendance is free but registration is necessary. Seats are limited, so early registration is strongly recommended.

Additional Information

Here you can find additional information about the PSB-Digital project: http://www.psb-digital.eu and hbi.to/3537

Help & Contact

For any further information concerning the seminar organization/programme or any questions regarding the registration, please, contact Dr. Roberto Suárez at the Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research (Hamburg), Telf.: (+49 40) 45 02 17 43, E-Mail: r.suarez@hans-bredow-institut.de

Tipp: Risk-taking Online Behaviour – Young People, Harm and Resilience

Final conference of the 2-year long international project ROBERT, co-funded by the European Commission through the Safer Internet Plus programme, which has brought new insights and extended our knowledge of risk, harm and resilience factors influencing young people’s interaction online, the nature of their online behaviour and their strategies to stay safe, Wednesday 23rd of May, 13.30 - Thursday 24th of May 16.30, Ameron Abion Hotel Spreebogen, Berlin, more details and programme

Comparing Media Policy and Regulation

GMaC-Lunch with an English lecture by Dr. Manuel Puppis, guest researcher at the Hans Bredow Institute and at the Graduate School Media and Communication (GMaC), and discussion on 15 May 2012, 12-14 h, 1st floor of the Hans Bredow Institute, Heimhuder Straße 21, 20148 Hamburg, participation is free, please register by email and bring your own lunch!
As scholars are expected, among other things, to deliver fresh ideas to policy-makers, comparative research can play a crucial role in finding adequate ways to reform media regulation and governance mechanisms. Despite its undeniable merits for research and policy-makers, comparing media policy and regulation is subject to various pitfalls and limitations. Hence, this presentation aims at clarifying how exactly comparing media policy and regulation works in practice. It suggests four different steps of comparing media policy and regulation (selecting cases; identifying dimensions; collecting data; performing the actual comparison), arguing that future research should move beyond geographical boundaries (e.g., the nation-state) and media systems. Furthermore, the most influential handbooks and key comparative studies are presented, emphasizing that past research has mainly been interested in instruments of broadcasting regulation in primarily Western countries, and that causal comparisons using macro-qualitative methods are virtually non-existent.

Radio Interview with Roberto Suarez Candel: Public broadcasters in the digital age

In an increasingly complicated and confusing media landscape, public broadcasters are under pressure to rise to the challenge of new technologies and new markets. Dr Roberto Suarez Candel from the Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research at the University of Hamburg explains how public broadcasters could and should respond to the demands and opportunities of the digital age.