Directory of Research and Expertise

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Research Summary and Profile

Research interests:

Colonies & Colonization, emigration & immigration, Contemporary History, Human rights, International Relations, Modern History

Regions:

Asia

Summary of research interests and expertise:

Media policy and law in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; the media in South Asia

Project summary relevant to Fellowship:

Media law and Policy in Sri Lanka

Publication Details

Related publications/articles:

Date	Details
01-Jan-2011	Asian Affairs Review Book Reviews 2009 -2011 and earlier
01-Jan-2010	Bangladesh 1971 Perceptions of a conflict Journal articles Journal: South Asian Diaspora Volume 2, Issue 1, March 2010, pages 73-93
01-Jan-2005	Transnational Television Worldwide ed JK Chalaby IB Tauris 2005

Additional Publications

Publications available in Senate House Libraries

Relevant Events

Related events:

Date	Details
01-Jan-2011	Westminster University India Media Centre conference ‘The changing face of Indian journalism’ Scoops and Scandals; Cross currents in the Indian print and electronic media 12 September 2011
01-Jan-2011	ATINER Athens Research Unit of Mass Media & Communications: 9th Annual International CONFERENCE 16-19 May 2011 Athens Negotiating the media; Regulatory and Policy issues in south Asia William Crawley Abstract: - This paper examines issues of media policy and regulation in the countries of south Asia with special reference to the electronic media in India and the media environment of Sri Lanka. Issues of media law and policy are at the heart of any government’s communication strategies with its own public and internationally. The rapid spread of new media and communications technologies has tested the ability of governments to respond effectively to challenges to aspects of their own historical mandate and regulatory authority. Global liberalisation in south Asia has raised questions of legitimacy of regulation as well as its effectiveness. For governments which had been used to a degree of exclusivity in representing the public domain, new technologies have favoured commercial media interests. They have also provided new platforms for political and environmental lobby groups and other elements of civil society, and have been an influence in extending the sphere of operations of a newly activist judiciary. This paper describes the scope of an ongoing research project on media policy in India and Sri Lanka and with reference to other parts of south Asia. In showing the distinctiveness of different national media policies and their responses to their particular national and international circumstances, the paper proposes the continuing role of the media is supporting a public domain , and the value of a comparative dimension in media education, and research and analysis of media dynamics within the region.
01-Jan-2011	BASAS-25 Conference Bodies of Power, Forms of Power: South Asia through History and Across Disciplines Fairness and objectivity: How is Amartya Sen’s ‘Idea of Justice’ relevant to India’s media environment? Abstract: Amartya Sen’s reputation as one of the world’s leading public intellectuals has developed from his work as an analyst of developing economies and economic historian of India, to a universalist influence and range which encompasses democratic political theory, ethical philosophy, national and individual identities, and key issues of public policy. His latest work The ‘Idea of Justice’ incorporates his thinking over many years. The contested role and influence of the media in public communication forms a part of his construction. This paper aims to examine critically the relevance of his ideas to his home country, and the implications for India’s own media and regulatory institutions.
01-Jan-2011	INDIA AS A SOFT POWER Westminster University India Media centre with Indian High Commission London Westminster University India Media centre with Indian High Commission London INDIA AS A SOFT POWER 18 February 2011 Software for Soft Power – India as a communication giant Panel discussion INDIA’S PUBLIC COMMUNICATION William Crawley In this presentation I address two principal questions: - the first, how does Britain view India’s communication prowess and the second how can it be deployed for developmental purposes?
01-Jan-2009	The 59th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association PANEL TWO: Media, Technology & Governance (paper submitted in absentia) Diversity and convergence: Indian and south Asian approaches to media regulation David Page and William Crawley Institute of Commonwealth Studies London University Abstract This paper focusses on the ways in which India’s media regulatory systems have changed in response to new broadcasting and communications technologies. The paper examines the means by which new laws and regulations have been devised to address innovation and diversity in media institutions, the collapse or abandonment of older systems of funding, and an accompanying change of perspective of public service broadcasting objectives in a commercial environment. Strategies of media regulation have been influenced by changing public attitudes, by national and international formulation of human rights law, and both academic and civil society interest in the social dimensions of public policy. Comparable developments in other south Asian countries, control systems derived from colonial priorities, have been giving way to new laws and organisational structures in response to the particular political circumstances of these countries. Media freedoms have been both protected and in some cases undermined by changes in law and judicial interpretation. Throughout the region emergency legislation affecting the broadcast media has reflected old and new security concerns. Security measures comparable in kind but derived from very different circumstances, have been adopted in India Pakistan Bangladesh Nepal and Sri Lanka. The paper reviews sources of research, policy expertise, and civil society involvement in media issues in India and in neighbouring countries. It suggests new areas of research and collaboration of potential value to India and its south Asian neighbours.

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