The independence of media regulatory authorities ‘on the books’ and ‘on the ground’

Handbook of Media and Communication Governance, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024, Cheltenham, UK

Abstract

Independent regulatory authorities are the default choice for regulatory governance in European countries’ audiovisual media sector. Pursuant to European Union law and the standard setting of the Council of Europe, Member States should create conditions for the effective functioning of independent regulatory authorities. The 2018 revision of the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive contains an obligation to designate independent regulatory authorities. Research on independent regulatory authorities suggests that the relationship between higher levels of formal independence (‘on the books’) and actual independence (‘on the ground’) is not linear. Put differently, there are limits to institutional engineering via prescriptive legislation because other factors external to the law play out decisively for regulators’ actual independence. This chapter will explore the research and the practice of independent regulatory authorities in European countries’ audiovisual media sector. The empirical basis is country-level and comparative surveys on independent media supervisory authorities in European countries.

Audiovisual Media Services Directive, Council of Europe, European regulation, Independent Regulatory Authorities, media governance

Bibtex

Chapter{nokey, title = {The independence of media regulatory authorities ‘on the books’ and ‘on the ground’}, author = {Irion, K.}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800887206.00019}, year = {2024}, date = {2024-07-29}, abstract = {Independent regulatory authorities are the default choice for regulatory governance in European countries’ audiovisual media sector. Pursuant to European Union law and the standard setting of the Council of Europe, Member States should create conditions for the effective functioning of independent regulatory authorities. The 2018 revision of the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive contains an obligation to designate independent regulatory authorities. Research on independent regulatory authorities suggests that the relationship between higher levels of formal independence (‘on the books’) and actual independence (‘on the ground’) is not linear. Put differently, there are limits to institutional engineering via prescriptive legislation because other factors external to the law play out decisively for regulators’ actual independence. This chapter will explore the research and the practice of independent regulatory authorities in European countries’ audiovisual media sector. The empirical basis is country-level and comparative surveys on independent media supervisory authorities in European countries.}, keywords = {Audiovisual Media Services Directive, Council of Europe, European regulation, Independent Regulatory Authorities, media governance}, }

Germany: Disregarded Diversity external link

Fengler, S., Bastian, M., Brinkmann, J. & Eberwein, T.
In: Eberwein, T. and Fengler, S. and Karmasin, M. (eds): The European Handbook of Media Accountability. Routledge, 1212

Germany, media accountability, media governance, self-regulation

Bibtex

Chapter{Fengler2017, title = {Germany: Disregarded Diversity}, author = {Fengler, S. and Bastian, M. and Brinkmann, J. and Eberwein, T.}, year = {1212}, date = {2017-12-12}, keywords = {Germany, media accountability, media governance, self-regulation}, }