Convergent Media Policy

This chapter shows that laws, policies and regulations lag behind the technological, economic and socio-cultural changes associated with the Internet and media convergence. In multiple national and regional contexts, the Internet and media convergence have been key drivers of the need to rethink media regulation. The chapter considers the Australian case, with particular reference to a series of reports undertaken for the Australian government between 2011 and 2012, to identify possible insights of relevance to policy makers in Europe and elsewhere. It provides the qualified defence of the ongoing significance of public interest principles as they apply to media regulation and media policy reform. The chapter examines the challenge to media policy arising out of changes in the global media environment associated with convergence. The media industry is going through fundamental change in technology, in business models and in corporate structures.