What on Earth is:
Cultural and Media Policy?
'Cultural and media policy' sounds obscure,
doesn't it? So what does it mean? Well, it is related to cultural
and media studies, so it concerns itself with things like
film and television, the internet, the arts and all the other
things that make up our culture. But the focus on 'policy'
means that it looks at how governments, agencies and corporations
make decisions about culture and the media, and how communities
might interact with such decision-making.
 These
might include decisions about what we can and cannot watch
on television, how to support artists and writers to produce
their work, what laws should apply to owners of media companies,
and how, for example, to protect the work of Indigenous Australian
artists from being 'ripped-off'.
Decision-making bodies are also increasingly having to deal
with the fact that different media forms are converging -
television and radio are going digital, print media outlets
also maintain websites, computers are changing form, library
collections are online as well as in print. Governments must
grapple with how to regulate these new forms of media.
The Australian Key Centre for Cultural and Media Policy (CMP)
undertakes research and teaching in cultural and media policy.
The Centre's mission is to provide research, teaching and
training programs 'to assist in developing informed and innovative
cultural and media policies that are appropriate to Australia's
changing needs and circumstances'. This mission necessarily
involves a sustained and crucial engagement with global and
regional media issues and institutions.
The Centre analyses policy developments, explores the impact
of policies on the industry environment and makes recommendations
for future policy directions. The Centre also collaborates
with industry and government bodies to ensure that its research
is relevant to the agencies that formulate policy and implement
policy decisions.
Some of the topics CMP researchers
have explored include:
Into the New Millennium: Indigenous Media in Australia
This project has produced an extensive review of Indigenous
Media in Australia, and has contributed policy papers to a
national inquiry into broadcasting held during 1999. The research
was undertaken in collaboration with the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and the National Indigenous
Media Association of Australia (NIMAA).
Broadcasting Regulation Policy in the Peoples' Republic
of China
Despite its influence over the hearts and minds of the Chinese
people, television and radio has attracted scant attention
in comparison with print journalism. This project addresses
changes in broadcasting regulatory policies in the PRC during
the past decade, a time during which market reforms have driven
policy agendas.
Art and Citizenship: A History of Australian Art Programs
This project is exploring and comparing the key rationales
for the conjunction of art, citizenship and government in
Australia from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day.
It is hoped that this project will be developed into a broader
comparative study of art programs in the US, the UK and Australia.
The Future of Australian Screen Cultural Policy
This project is being undertaken with the Australian Film
Commission, and has produced three publications to date: 'Crossing
the Digital Threshold', 'Maximum Vision: Large-Format and
Special-Venue Cinema' and 'More Long Shots: Australian Cinema
Successes in the 90s'. Additional publications on a variety
of other film-related topics are planned.
Cultural Diversity and Children's Television Industry Development
In conjunction with the Australian Broadcasting Authority,
the Federal Department of Communications, Information Technology
and the Arts, and Channel 7, this project will assist in the
development of a comprehensive set of policy parameters for
developing markets for quality, age-specific and culturally
sensitive children's television programs.
Legal and Cultural Protocols for the Development of Indigenous
Arts and Cultural Industries
Outcomes from this project include practical videos: 'Our
Culture Our Law', which deals with issues relating to breaches
of Indigenous intellectual property, and 'You'll Find Out
When You Make That Call', which examines protocols for film
crews visiting the Torres Strait Islands.
Public journalism, public participation and Australian public
policy: Connecting to community attitudes about race relations
and republicanism
This is a prize-winning project undertaken with a number
of newspaper publishers and community groups. Public journalism
is a new approach to journalism in which media organisations
work closely with community groups and other stakeholders,
with the aim of re-engaging the public in setting priorities
about what is covered in the news, as well as in wider political
processes.
Mapping cultural change in rural and remote communities
and planning for cultural development
This project involves a cultural mapping exercise in selected
micro-communities in order to identify what element of cultural
'uniqueness' might be located in these communities; what socio-historic
events and factors might shape a sense of place, of community
and of self; and to evaluate the implications for rural culture
of urban and global cultural influences.
Online Services Regulation in Australia
This research is being undertaken in collaboration with the
Australian Broadcasting Authority to determine what effect
online services have on our social and cultural thinking,
as well as on our institutions. The project will also investigate
what schemes may be appropriate to regulate the Internet.
Developing Arts Audiences
This project, being undertaken in collaboration with the
Australia Council for the Arts, is researching the current
and future trends in the consumption of arts and culture by
youth in Australia. It is hoped that this will assist policy-makers
and arts industry managers to develop audiences in order to
sustain the future growth of Australia's arts industries.
For those who wish to learn more about cultural and media
policy, the CMP also offers teaching programs, including a
Master of Arts in Cultural and Media Policy, as well as research
masters and doctoral supervisions.
The CMP publishes a quarterly journal, 'Media International
Australia incorporating Culture and Policy', and a newsletter,
'Media & Culture Review', which comes out three times
per year. The newsletter can be found online at www.gu.edu.au/centre/cmp/Newsletter.html
and details of the contents of the journal at www.gu.edu.au/centre/cmp/MIACP.html
The Centre holds regular workshops, seminars and conferences
to provide forums for the discussion of cultural and media
policy issues. It maintains strong connections with various
industry and government bodies, and often undertakes research
on their behalf. The CMP also maintains an international network
of researchers with interests in cultural and media policy.
The Australian Key Centre for Cultural and Media Policy is
a Commonwealth key centre for teaching and research that was
established by the Australian Research Council in 1995 as
part of its research centres program. The Centre is located
at Griffith University in Brisbane, and is jointly managed
with the Queensland University of Technology and the University
of Queensland.
Author
Karen Perkins
Manager, Australian Key Centre for Cultural and Media Policy
Griffith University, Queensland |
