Media Policy in the Public Interest

Abstract

Media and communications policy is framed by various theoretical constructs, which provide the basis for the formulation of criteria for assessing the performance of media systems and designing policies that might enhance such performance (McQuail, 1992a). These criteria may vary across different national contexts, but there are some core principles that underpin effective media policies. Serving the public interest is a normative principle that presents the standard that most media policymakers are expected to adhere to in their decision-making process. The concept of the public interest is embedded within normative criteria ranging from pluralism and diversity, to freedom and access, to objectivity and competition (ibid.). Although the specific criteria vary across nations and over time according to regulatory philosophies and structural/technological circumstances, the idea of the public interest has traditionally served as a ‘normative guidepost’ for media policymakers (Napoli, 2001). It is a direct mechanism through which regulators examine the performance of media systems and propose policy changes in the light of new technological, sociopolitical and market developments. These developments reflect a broad tension that has characterized media policymaking — the tension between sociocultural objectives such as ensuring political pluralism and a diversity of viewpoints, and fostering economic goals like competition and market efficiency.