[FoME] Guidelines for Broadcasting Regulation

[Christoph Dietz]

Eve Salomon
Guidelines for Broadcasting Regulation
Paris, London: UNESCO; Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, 2006, 76 p.
Download: http://www.cba.org.uk/documents/guidelines.pdf 

>From the preface:

Amidst the fast-changing broadcast media landscape, the present book examined many 'balancing acts' which stake-holders both in government and private sector have to undertake to establish and maintain an effective and credible broadcast regulation mechanism. For example, it requires a balancing act to determine which aspects of brtoadcasting can be regulated to protect citizens rights but at the same time not to provide an opportunity for 'powers that be' to curtail freedom. One needs to strike a balance between the independence of the regulator and the government's own purpose to pursue public policy objectives; and as determining where the balance lies between the potentially conflicting rights of broadcaster, society, and the individual.

Another important contribution of this book is the discussion on new or emerging issues which may create some confusion in the regulatory system, such as jursidiction issues for cable and telecommunication as carriers of broadcast programmes, issues on spectrum management; issues on broadcasting-related intellectual propoerty rights and the role of government in the digital switchover.

Of special interest to UNESCO is the discussion on licensing community radio stations. UNESCO has always encouraged for allocating frequencies for community radios which serve the needs of marginalized groups.

Table of Contents:
1. Background
2. Why Regulate Broadcasting?
* Democratic Purposes
* Cultural and Consumer Protection Reasons
* Economic Purposes
3. Setting up an Independent Regulator
* Creation and remit
* Appointments and termination
* Funding
* Key regulatory processes
4. Jurisdiction Issues
* Terrestrial Spectrum
* Cable
* Satellite
5. Licensing
* Starting a licensing process
* License conditions
* Pace of licensing
* Application process
* Local versus national services
* Television and radio
* Digital broadcasting
6. Ownership and plurality
* Ownership
* Plurality
* Control
* Role of the regulator
7. Content Regulation
* Programming (Protection of democratic principles, protection of minors, offence to human dignity, protection of the individual, protection against crime and disorder, protection against racial or ethnic hatred, religious programmes, sanctions)
* Advertising
* Where programmes and advertising meet
* The process of content regulation
8. Other policy objectives
* Disability access issues
*Supporting domestic industries
9. Convergence
Appendix 1: Outline Law