Regulating Convergence

Traditionally, the technologies of telecommunications, broadcasting, satellite, and computing operated independently while the industries associated with each were regulated independently along the same lines. Technological convergence challenges the vertical regulatory models of broadcasting, telecommunications, and computer services while simultaneously challenging the traditional approach to regulation by nation-states. It is time for a critical examination of regulations which support convergence while addressing the realities of the current media environment. This edited volume provides a heuristic analysis of the challenges facing regulators and media institutions. Chapters explore the nature of the laws and regulations straining under the new technological realities, consider the changes already made to accommodate the new media landscape, and examine new directions and approaches to the regulation of convergent media technologies and media institutions.

Susan J. Drucker is Professor of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations in the School of Communication at Hofstra University. She is the treasurer of the Urban Communication Foundation and a partner in Communication Landscapers, a consulting firm. She is an attorney, and Series Editor of the Communication Law series for Peter Lang Publishing. She is author and co-editor of over 9 books including The Urban Communication Reader I and II, Voices in the Street: Gender, Media and Public Space, and two editions of Real Law @ Virtual Space: The Regulation of Cyberspace (1999, 2005) with Gary Gumpert. Her work examines the relationship between media technology and human factors, particularly as viewed from a legal perspective.
Gary Gumpert is Emeritus Professor of Communication at Queens College of the City University of New York and President of the Urban Communication Foundation. He is co-founder of Communication Landscapers, a consulting firm. His publications include Talking Tombstones and Other Tales of the Media Age and three edited volumes of Inter/Media: Interpersonal Communication in a Media Age. He is Series Editor of the Urban Communication book series at Peter Lang Publishing. His primary research focuses on the nexus of communication technology and social relationships, particularly looking at urban and suburban development, the alteration of public space, and the changing nature of community.