The International Media Advocacy and Communications specialization at Columbia University’sSchool of International and Public Affairs is pleased to announce an upcoming one-dayconference about “Media Capture” to be held at Columbia University on 1 April 2015.
“Media capture” is the cooption of a country’s media outlets by public figures, business elites,or special interest groups. A perennial phenomenon, this has taken a new and disturbing formas global media has evolved with the deregulation of legacy media outlets and the accelerationthe Internet has had on the erosion of media business models. In certain countries, the deregulation of government owned media outlets has created new opportunities for businesselites to manipulate public opinion. In others, the collapse of traditional business models that the commercialization of the Internet has hastened has weakened the authority of legacy
This one-day conference will explore media capture from a variety of perspectives.
Possible topics include
The character and significance of media consolidation in countries in which theownership and control of media outlets has been rapidly changing—e. g.Thailand, China, Australia, India, Brazil, or the United States.
The influence of digital media on journalistic independence. Have the recentdisruptions in the media ecology fostered media independence?
Oralternatively, might the new digital tools (e.g. twitter’s news feed) renderjournalists even more vulnerable to pressure from advertisers and owners?
Promising regulatory options. How can lawmakers help foster the perpetuationof independent journalism? What economic models can make media outletsWe welcome proposals from media development practitioners and journalists as well as fromacademics in fields ranging from journalism and media studies to economics, communications,anthropology, sociology, history, and political science.
Following editorial revisions, it is ourintention to publish the conference papers in a conference volume or online.
Requirements: Potential presenters should submit a 300-word abstract and a two-page CV toAnya Schiffrin at acs76@columbia.edu