SSRC Media Policy Research Pre-Conf
In Memphis TN at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Media Research Policy Pre-Conference designed to bring together academic working on media policy activism.
Is media reform the civil rights issue of the 21st century?
Keynote by Craig Calhoun, President of SSRC. He remarks that the challenge is engaging academic work into broader public interets and policy venues. A two way street; better knowledge to academics from the policy wonks, academics needing to work on (re) and (in)forming policy. What are effective means of dissemmination to a variety of publics? Within academic constraints (’reward system’), the culture of collaboration is hard to achieve but necessary…
Another keynote by Bob McChesney - remarks on the increasing numbers of academics attending Media Reform conf’s (this will be the third). We are at a critical juncture … policies enacted now will set up the future telecom/media system….a critical role for researchers to play now and a great opportunity for communication scholars.
Three levels of research, McCh says:
1) comm policy research/applied - ex, Cooper’s work for Consumer’s Federation; Free Press research - able to respond to current polict issues
2) basic research - provides the foundation for applied policy, historical and theoretical work; makrkets and advertising, media & democracy, etc
3) relating what happens in US politics to the rest of the world…the good and the bad, and learning from other countries in terms of common interests and a more global media reform movement
Then one of the good guy FCC Commissioners, Jonathan Adelstein spoke…gosh, there are lobbyists in Gucci shoes in the hallways of DC….he told some war stories re a fractured and dysfunctional agency…about the politicization of research (not unique to the FCC). “The legitimacy of studies is correlated to the transparency of the process” (not sure a direct quote), but here’s a new one: faith-based decisionmaking.
Wow. I don’t live in Kansas anymore!
Then there’s our poster session where we gave 2 minute spiels about our posters. Graham remarked that this was like speed dating. Ours was on the Alt.Telecom.Policy.Forum .
Despite the markets ahoy! mantra of the TPRP report, a guy named Michael Weisman who lives in Seattle reminded me that, while we in Canada might whine about lack of meaningful policy consultation, in the US they’d be very happy to have that sort of consultation.
1
mir
Sunday, January 14th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Reading between your post and Alison’s there is this interesting “religion” theme that keeps coming back in various ways. Alison describes the addresses by Jesse Jackson and Bill Moyers as akin to being in church and then you’re talking about faith-based decision making, is this the region you are presently visiting coming through in your writing? Or perhaps media is gaining in importance, but not necessarily as a primarily secular vehicle?
Anyways, just thought I’d point it out - Amen and pass the pickles.