New Research: Media, the Internet, and Security Post-Snowden

PEN American Center’s report this week, “Chilling Effects” shows that growing surveillance has driven some American writers to censor their work. The findings from the survey of over 500 PEN writers, conducted in October 2013, demonstrate that writers are increasingly worried about surveillance. As a result, some are already engaging in self-censorship and altering their research methods

Media Policy and the Party Manifestos – Some Ideas

Now is the time in the political cycle when the main parties are writing their manifestos. So what could go in the media policy sections? The Media Policy Project does not have a partisan position. I here offer my personal view of some of the potential policy commitments that parties should consider

Change in number of physicians providing abortion care in Texas after HB2

Population Research Cente

Density of abortion facilities in the four largest US cities

Population Research Cente

EC and UK Communication Reviews – Where are We Going?

The current paradigm of electronic communication governance in the UK consists mainly in promoting competition to ensure that consumers can choose the services they prefer. In areas – such as public service media – where markets fail, or where an agreed public interest is thereby served, public provision or specific regulations protect key interests

Ofcom’s Consultation Triplet on Broadband Markets

The DCMS Strategy Paper declares that, “[f]ast, reliable, competitively-priced digital connectivity is crucial to economic growth”. The section of the paper that discusses broadband reflects two main policies already set out by DCMS in February 2013: “making it easier for the communications and telecoms industries to grow, while protecting the interests of citizens”, and “stimulating private sector investment to achieve a transformation in broadband in the UK by 2015”

PCC Complaints in the Year of Leveson: 2012 Complaints Data and Trends

The hacking scandal and Leveson Inquiry have stimulated public scrutiny of the practices and activities of the British press. In the midst of this scrutiny, the UK Press Complaints Commission has released its overall press complaints statistics for 2012. LSE’s Jacopo Genovese analyses the numbers, and asks whether the greater public attention has had a significant effect on press behaviour

Not to Miss: EU Consultation on Freedom of Expression

By the end of this year the European Commission intends to publish guidelines on freedom of expression online and offline. This is one of the actions planned as part of the EU’s Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Democracy. The consultation designed to lead to this draft closes on 15 July. The timing is bad with many of us in a rush to finish all those things that we have to do before summer holidays, but here are a few reasons why this consultation deadline should not be missed

It’s Here! A Comms Review Paper, Plus a Media Pluralism Consultation

Those of you who are not on holiday at the moment might have noticed that there has suddenly been some movement in the Communications Review process that started over two years ago. On 30 July DCMS released a “strategy paper” called Connectivity, Content and Consumers: Britain’s digital platform for growth as a response to this long period of consultation. This is not exactly a white paper, but among the descriptions of initiatives already under way and planned investments and other activities there are a number of intended legislative changes mentioned

Global Domination of HBO: Will the EC have an Answer?

September 30 is the deadline for the European Commission’s consultation on preparing for a fully converged audiovisual world. The EC wants to revise the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), which was last updated in 2010, in the light of the rapid proliferation of connected TVs, video on demand, and internet enabled games consoles. In its green paper the Commission reminds us what EU policy in this area is mainly about: countering competition from the US