The Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) at the University of
Westminster is currently offering scholarships for doctoral study. One of
the topics specified is 'Children's Media Policy and Regulation' (see
summary below). To find out more about this and other topics please go to
http://www.wmin.ac.uk/page-17651. CLOSING DATE 3 MARCH 2009. Details of the
applications process can be found at http://www.wmin.ac.uk/page-17527.
University of Westminster Research Studentships 2009
Project Code: CAMRI 7
CHILDREN'S MEDIA POLICY AND REGULATION
School Of Media, Arts and Design
Supervisors: Jeanette Steemers, Peter Goodwin, Alessandro D'Arma
The continued rise of the internet, social networking sites, interactive
experiences and the overall abundance of todayšs digital world raises
important questions about how electronic media should be regulated with
regard to children. Traditionally North American and European practice with
respect to broadcast media in particular, operated under the premise that
children are a special and vulnerable group who require protection from
commercial exploitation and harmful material. This approach underpinned
positiveš content policies, particularly in childrenšs television, designed
to ensure a diverse range of content. It also underpinned negativeš content
policies designed to protect children from exposure to harmful material
(such as violence, bad language) and harmful advertising. This stands in
stark contrast to the more liberalised self-regulatory approach adopted for
online media, where more emphasis is placed on parental responsibility and
media literacy among children. Increasingly, however, policymakers and
regulators are having to address regulatory and child protection issues
associated with a multiplatform environment and digital media in response to
public concern and anxiety about the impact of these new forms of
communication on children. In regulatory and policy terms this requires a
balance between the demands of the market, free speech and creativity on the
one hand and the desire to protect children and provide them with quality
content and experiences on the other.
Applicants are invited to put forward suitable projects connected with any
aspect of the changing dynamics of childrenšs media policy and regulation.
Projects can be related to changing regulatory procedures, methodologies and
the policy- making process; regulatory convergence across platforms and
markets; or the different strategies employed to achieve regulatory goals
and their effectiveness. Projects can be focused on one country or on a
comparison of regulatory experiences in different national contexts.
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