Media Freedom and Pluralism: Media Policy Challenges in the Enlarged Europe

Chapter 1: Towards Democratic Regulation of European Media and Communication

CHaPTer 1 Towards democratic regulation of european Media and Communication Hannu nieminen since the mid-1990s the media and communication landscape in europe has experienced profound changes. Previously, the traditional commercial logic of the print media was contrasted with other functional logics, such as the universal service principle of telephony and the public service principle of broadcasting. as a result of the digitalization and computerization of information, the situation has dramatically changed. Today, different regulatory regimes are converging. Commercial logic, promoting a neo-liberal regulatory framework, now appears to be victorious (see, e.g. Kaitatzi-Whitlock, 2005). at the same time the ambitious project of european integration started after World War ii appears to have run into a state of bewilderment . even the european union itself, in its own documents, speaks of its legitimacy crisis. one of the proposed remedies is the improvement of european media and communication policies and the development of the european public sphere. it is hoped that increasing public input and ways for citizens to participate in public debate in european issues will translate into support for the eu and the european integration process. The basic argument in this paper is that the commercial logic followed in the european media and communication regulatory policies contradicts the aim of opening up and strengthening the european public sphere. The basis of the eu media and communication policies should be redefined, and for this purpose an approach to european media and communications regulation is proposed that is based on the concept of citizens’ communication rights. it is normative in character and is grounded on the belief that ideas of deliberative democracy are not only theoretical but can also be applied in more policy-oriented ways. initially, this approach is called a proposal for a democratic regulatory framework for european media and communication. i4 Beata book.indb 3 2010.05.09. 10:22 4 Media Freedom and Pluralism The arguments are developed in three stages. First, the twofold crisis of the european union—in both politics and legitimacy—will be briefly explored. second, the ways that the european Commission tries to use the media and communication policies to solve the crisis are discussed, including the Commission’s attempts to employ the notion of the european public sphere. Third, and as the main outcome, a proposal for a new democratic regulatory framework for european media and communication will be outlined. 1.1. The twofold crisis of the european union To start, it might be good to clarify the basic normative engagements behind this chapter. The basic question is, why does europe matter, or why should it matter? The answer is simply that there are an increasing number of issues that concern all of us living in europe. although the problems concerning environment, energy, security, and immigration are not exclusively european in character, their global solution depends greatly on what we europeans decide to do about them. From this follows that, although the european union is not the same as europe, the eu nevertheless influences our lives in a major way. and because the eu is central to how we address the problems described above, we should be concerned how and for what purposes power is used by the eu. another question is connected to the characterization above: if the european union is in crisis, what is the problem with it? This will be discussed in more detail below, but basically the problem is that europe in general and the eu in particular are and have always been elite projects. They have concerned mostly relatively small groups of educated and influential people, and they have always had a problem connecting with wider popular sentiments. To say that europe and the eu are elite projects is not, however, the same as to call them elitist. There are many competing projects on europe and the eu, some of them more elitist and some less elitist. nevertheless, they can all be characterized as elite projects. despite many achievements and continuing enlargement, the european integration project started after World War ii is today in troubled waters. on the one hand, the problems are political: The eu is i4 Beata book.indb 4 2010.05.09. 10:22 5 Towards Democratic Regulation of European Media and Communication suffering political malaise, as is shown, for example, by the blocked process of the european Constitution. on the other hand, the eu suffers from a lack of popular...