Media independence is vital for media democracies, and so is the independence of the regulatory bodies governing it. The Independence of the Media and its Regulatory Agencies explores the complex relationship between media governance and independence of media regulatory authorities within media systems within Europe, which form part of the wider framework in which media’s independence may flourish or fade. Based on research in more than forty countries, the contributions analyse the independence of regulators from different perspectives and draw links between social, financial and legal traditions and frameworks.
Table of Content
Preface – Karol Jakubowicz
Introduction: Structural interconnection of free media and independent regulators
Chapter 1: Approaches to independence – Wolfgang Schulz
Part I: Assessing the independence of regulatory bodies within the audiovisual media sector
Chapter 2: Delegation to independent regulatory authorities in the media sector: A paradigm shift through the lens of regulatory theory – Kristina Irion and Roxana Radu
Chapter 3: Independent media regulators: Condition sine qua non for freedom of expression? – Peggy Valcke, Dirk Voorhoof and Eva Lievens
Chapter 4: Media regulatory authorities in the EU context: Comparing sector-specific notions and requirements of independence – David Stevens
Chapter 5: Locating a regulator in the governance structure: A theoretical framework for the operationalization of independence – Stephan Dreyer
Chapter 6: Measuring independence: Approaches, limitations, and a new ranking tool – Kristina Irion and Michele Ledger
Part II: Media systems and the culture of independence
Chapter 7: Independence or balance of dependencies? Critical remarks on studying conditions of media regulators and public service media in Poland – Beata Klimkiewicz
Chapter 8: The independence of media regulatory authorities and the impact of the socio-political context: A comparative analysis of Greece and Italy – Evangelia Psychogiopoulou, Federica Casarosa and Anna Kandyla
Chapter 9: Does the complexity of institutional structures in federal states influence the independence of AVM regulatory authorities? A review of the cases of Germany and Belgium – Pierre-François Docquir, Sebastian Müller and Christoph Gusy
Chapter 10: The independence of media regulatory authorities in Finland and the UK: An assessment – Rachael Craufurd Smith, Epp Lauk, Yolande Stolte and Heikki Kuutti
Chapter 11: Independence through intervention? International intervention and the independence of the Communications Regulatory Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Tarik Jusić
Chapter 12: Concluding chapter: Independence in context – Wolfgang Schulz
About the author
Kristina Irion is an associate professor at the Institute for Information Law (IVi R) at the University of Amsterdam. Kristina’s research focuses on how transnational digital technology transforms and shapes European values. She has published on EU competences and independent supervision in the media sector and small European media systems in democratic transition countries of the Western Balkans. In terms of societal relevance, much of the commissioned research she has led or contributed to did generate a significant impact on public policy, e.g. the INDIREG study.
Contact: Institute for Information Law, Faculty of Law, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018 WV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.