Chinese media law conference at Oxford

I have received the following announcement:

Chinese Media Legislation and Regulation: Trends, Issues and Questions.  

The Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP) at the University of Oxford is organizing a conference on Chinese media legislation and regulation, in Oxford, on 15 and 16 June 2012, on emerging issues in Chinese media legislation and regulation. China’s media landscape has undergone tremendous change over the last few years. Technological innovation and the explosion of Internet use have changed the landscape for the dissemination of entertainment and information. Provincial television channels have boomed. Privatization and foreign investment and influence have become important questions for consideration. The cultural industries have become a priority area for further economic development. At the international level, media trade is one of the most prominent issues between China and the United States. Electronic media have also become a channel for bottom-up political activity: increasingly microblogs are used to bring specific incidents into the public sphere, or for satirical expressions.  

Programme 

Friday 15 June 

Session 1: The structure of Chinese media governance

This session will provide a general overview of the way in which the Chinese media are organized. Topics to be addressed include the development of content regulation in China, the structure of the media control regime and the theoretical background of media governance.  

Session 2: The market and the mediaChinese media have become increasingly marketized, as they have become an increasingly important locus of economic activity, as well as fulfilling a political role. However, commercial interests often clash with political and social objectives. This session will look at the regulation of advertising as an example of this, as well as the burgeoning animation sector. 

Session 3: The development of defamation in ChinaThe expansion of China’s online population has fundamentally changed the public communication sphere. For perhaps the first time in history, Chinese individuals have easy access to tools of public communication. One of the consequences of this, is that the number of disputes between private parties concerning expressions on social media has risen sharply. This session will provide more insight into the different aspects of defamation cases, and will aim to theorize the emerging legal doctrines in this field.  

Saturday 16 June 

Session 4: Press regulationThe traditional press remains an important channel for public communication. Traditionally, it was considered to be the mouthpiece of the Party, but as China’s society and political structure has grown more complex, fragmentation has rendered this characterization obsolete. Nonetheless, the Party-State aims to adapt its control over journalism to better suit changed circumstances. This session will address which measures are being taken, for which purposes and what their effect is.  

Session 5: Copyright, telecom and economic regulationFollowing technological development, media require an increasingly complex technological support structure. Questions of network access, telecommunications and network integration are crucial as a framework for the content industries to develop. Similarly, the role of intellectual property rights as a governing mechanism is important in explaining the particular setup of the information order. This session will address a number of these questions, in particular in relation to industrial policy, innovation and their effect on media markets. 

Venue: Manor Road Building, Seminar Room A. 

Participation in this conference is free of charge, but participants are kindly requested to register with Rogier Creemers ([email protected]). Sandwich lunch will be provided on both days. 

For further information about PCMLP, please see: http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk