Communication Law and Policy: The State of Research and Theory

Abstract

This essay describes the domain of research in communication law and policy. It is based on a content analysis of research published in the journal Communication Law and Policy (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004), papers presented to the Communication Law and Policy Division at annual conferences of the International Communication Association (1997Association ( -2004, as well as consideration of other resources. The most frequent areas for research were media regulation, Internet policy, and freedom of expression issues. After reviewing recent literature on the first two topics, we identified and showcased two emergent categories deserving future attention: communication and the law (particularly fair trial-free press issues) and implications of the burgeoning consolidation of media ownership.

Mass Communication Law and Policy Research and the Values of Free Expression

“…Scholars apply existing legal concepts to technological developments (Collins, 1987;Hightower, 1975;O'Neill, 1994). Reinard and Ortiz (2005) concluded the overwhelming majority of Communication Law and Policy articles, and Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Law and Policy Division conference papers adopted qualitative methodological approaches, specifically "conceptual pieces, historical studies, or legal interpretations" (p. 601). The lack of empirical research in mass communication law scholarship prompted Reinard and Ortiz to suggest the field may suffer from "methodological parochialism" (p. 621).…”

Isolated and Particularised: The State of Contemporary Media and Communications Policy Research

“…Indeed, many of the leading books on media policy focus primarily on regulation (Napoli 2001;Feintuck and Varney 2006;Robinson and Nachbar 2008;Lunt and Livingstone 2011), and media regulation is the primary topic of journal articles and papers presented at media and communications conferences (Reinhard and Ortiz 2005). Many media scholars exhibit an unwavering adherence to regulatory approaches even when policy drift produces diminishing desirable outcomes and the ineffectuality of the policy is apparent.…”

“…Much of media policy literature is polemical and argumentative, asserting a preferred policy position, but without even conducting a semblance of optimal policy analysis: defining and substantiating the problem, establishing evaluation criteria, identifying policy options and evaluating alternatives and their probable outcomes CONTEMPORARY MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS POLICY RESEARCH (Weimer and Vining 2010; Kraft and Furlong 2012). The greatest bulk of media and communications policy literature is historical in nature or interpreted critically through lenses such as political economy (Reinhard and Ortiz 2005).…”