Debating ICT policy first principles for the global South : the case of South Africa

This article builds on the work of Robin Mansell and civil society inputs to the World Summit on the Information Society, to propose a set of first principles for ICT policy making for the global South. It draws on the case of South Africa, which has experienced a troubled path towards convergence of its media and telecommunications sectors into one ICT sector. Shying away from the realities of convergence will not help countries in the global South, such as South Africa, to confront challenges of ICT adoption and usage, such as the very real and present danger of ICTs reproducing or even reinforcing existing informational and communications inequalities. In fact, this article argues that policy is needed to ensure that the benefits of ICTs are generalised across society. However, in the absence of radical approaches to ICT policy-making, these developments risk becoming under-regulated or even unregulated, leaving them to the vagaries of the market. If policies are developed, they may be laundered from other contexts that do not speak to the informational and communications challenges of countries like South Africa..

Remodelling media: The urgent search for new media business models

One of the most contentious and pressing issues concerning media in the early twenty-first century is identifying viable business models, with widespread reports that twentieth-century business models underpinning press, radio and television are collapsing because of 'audience fragmentation' driven by an ever-widening range of choice in media content and sources on the internet. Some scholars, media proprietors and content producers see announcements by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and the New York Times that they will increasingly charge for news and other content as a harbinger of the new mediascape and a resolution to media decline. However, a number of reader surveys and industry analyses warn that many contemporary media users will not pay for content and will further abandon traditional media if 'paywalls' are erected. A number of other potential business models are being touted in business and industry circles, but remain under-researched and under-explored in scholarly literature. This article reviews scholarly studies that do exist, as well as business and industry studies and media data, to identify the range of options available for funding journalism and other media content in future. Identification of sustainable media business models is an urgent priority, as continuing decline in audiences and collapse of media organisations pose a major threat to journalism and society, with scholars agreeing that further erosion of quality journalism threatens democracy. Future media business models also have major implications for the advertising industry and a wide range of content producers

Wine Magic: Consumer Culture, Tourism, and Terroir

International audienc

The origins of marketing practice in Britain: from the ancient to the early twentieth century

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of marketing practice in Britain from the ancient to the early twentieth century. It builds upon the author’s chapter in the 2016 Routledge Companion to the History of Marketing. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a review of secondary history and archaeology literature supplemented by digitised historic newspaper and magazine advertising. The literature is frameworked using a modified version of Fullerton’s 1988 periodization which has been extended to include the medieval and Roman eras. Findings One of the significant findings of this paper is the key role the state has played in the development of marketing practice in Britain, the construction of pavements being a good example. Originality/value Apart from Nevett’s 1982 history of British advertising and the author’s Routledge Companion to the History of Marketing chapter, this is the first survey of the historical development of British marketing practice. It assembles and presents in a useful way important information. This paper will be of interest to marketing historians, especially students and researchers new to the subject

The Power of Wine Language - Critics, Labels and Sexism

Within the accepted daily language used to describe wine is a type of social exclusion, an absence of meaning for those lacking the cultural capital to engage with it and Watson (2013, p.16) underpins this by stating that “the language of wine has its own rhetoric”. Today’s wine writers and critics have become “powerful actors…involved in the public discourse about wine” (Rössel et al., 2016. p.16; Hommerberg, 2011) and often assume the role of quality assessor. Wine language too has evolved from a more technical and economic format to one which focuses on authenticity and cultural capital. To Rössel et al. (2016, p.2) the modern wine journalist is part of the agenda-setting media whose weekly columns inform the public with powerful cultural analysis which classifies and legitimatises. Decanter magazine, publishing since 1975, is one of the world’s foremost specialist wine magazines. The first twenty years of its publications were tinged with sexist writing in its articles, on front covers and in the advertising, ranging from subtle to overt in nature. This paper will discuss the rise in power of the wine writer, including the embellishment of sexism within its culture and publishing while coming full circle to note the curious emergence and uneasy coalescence of gender roles in certain areas of wine and wine culture today

Messages of Individualism in French, Spanish, and American Television Advertising

Individualism is a central value in French, Spanish, and American cultures. However, what it means to be an individual and how this is expressed varies among cultures. This study explores the ways that television advertising reflects individualism in French, Spanish, and American cultures and uses a qualitative approach that allows coding categories to emerge from the three countries\u27 samples rather than imposing previously defined categories from a single culture. The study identifies six main advertising message strategies across the three cultures: the Efficient Individual, the Sensual Individual, the Attractive/Healthy Individual, the Esteemed Individual, the Performant(e) Individual, and the Intellectual Individual. The six strategies vary in frequency with some claims used more than others. Differences within cultures are also identified and implications for the issues of standardization and specialization are discussed