ABSTRACT
This chapter is about media policy research. It starts by establishing the fundamental significance of media policy in any society. It explains that media policy matters because the media matter in that they have power. One cannot study the media industries without taking into account media policy. The chapter moves on to define media policy, its main elements, forms, and levels. It notes how in recent years in response to the dominance of neoliberal economic policies, the rise of surveillance capitalism, the concertation of formidable power in a handful of global platforms, and evidence of mis- and dis-information, there is renewed attention to communication rights and a wider conceptualization of media policy as social policy. The concept of power (visible, invisible, and structural) is central to policy analyses. This is relevant to all aspects of the policymaking process, not simply decisions but also agenda setting, policy formulation, and implementation. The chapter then discusses the key elements in policy research: institutions, actors’ preferences and networks, individuals, the wider context of political and socioeconomic conditions, and ideas. It calls for research that tries to capture as many of these elements as possible with the aim to offer an explanatory, not simply descriptive, account of policy by placing it within existing technological, socioeconomic, and institutional power relations with a view to advancing policies that promote the public interest.
