Introduction

Abstract

Lately there has been much discussion about media policy and regulation. Technological convergence, the changes it has brought to the media ecosystem and the challenges it has raised for media policy and regulation have received significant attention in scholarly analysis. The main issues discussed in the existing literature are the fundamental restructuring of media policies in the face of rapid technological developments and the goals and rationales that underpin regulation in such a changing landscape. Changes in regulatory practices and architecture, particularly the diversification of regulatory processes within the state and the intensification of regulatory processes beyond the state, have also formed the object of considerable analysis. Less consideration has been given, however, to whether or not evolving media policies contribute to the development of free and independent media and the extent to which contemporary and largely changing media are free and independent.