BackWhat 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