Universität Zürich

IPMZ - Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research

Division on Media Change & Innovation

Andreasstrasse 15
CH-8050 Zurich
Phone +41 (0)44 635 20 92
Fax +41 (0)44 634 49 34
Contact

News

  • The Division on Media Change & Innovation of the IPMZ continues the monitoring and assessment of the SRG Internet offer in 2010. The project SRG Online Assessment 2010 is commissioned by the Swiss regulator BAKOM as part of its Media Research 2010 special focus on the continuous program analysis of television, radio and online offers of the SRG. The study’s focus is–in replication of its 2009 analysis–on the extent of compliance of the SRG online services with the regulatory requirements of the charter (e.g., relation of online offers to broadcasts, no commercial links). It builds on a methodological approach, which has been developed and applied for the SRG Online Assessment 2009 and conducts a content analysis to give insights into the structure and functioning of the websites of five SRG enterprise units, and a link analysis to capture the intensity of electronic linking and the pattern of interconnection with other websites. The replication of the analysis will show first trends of development and change.

     

    For more information see the project website. Results will be available by the end of 2010.

     

  • The Division on Media Change & Innovation participates as country expert in a study that analyzes the independence and efficiency of European regulatory authorities for audiovisual media. The study was contracted by the European Commission to an international research consortium under the direction of the Hans-Bredow-Institut für Medienforschung. Further consortium partners are: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Central European University, Cullen International, and Perspective Associates.
     
    A network of country experts cooperates with the consortium and provides the data from 43 countries covered by the study (EU member states, candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU, EFTA countries as well as selected other countries).
     
    The overall aim of the study is the development of indicators that allow the measurement of independence of regulatory bodies in the field of audiovisual media as well as the assessment of these bodies’ functioning to ensure an effective application of the AVMS Directive.
     
    The Division on Media Change & Innovation of the IPMZ contributes to the study with the analyses of independent regulatory authorities in Switzerland and Austria.

    Find more information on the Project Page

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    Michael Latzer is part of an international research group that investigates the options for using the Digital Dividend in Austria. Other members are Arne Boernsen (AB Consulting), Tim Braulke (Infront Consulting & Management) and Joern Kruse (Helmut-Schmidt University, Hamburg). The study is commissioned by the Austrian regulator RTR and will assess different usage scenarios and develop policy recommendations for this highly contended issue.

     

    The Digital Dividend, a product of digitalisation and convergence in the communications sector, denotes those frequencies that are freed up as a result of the switchover from analogue TV to more spectrally efficient digital TV. The digital dividend spectrum is suitable for a wide range of potential uses. The political decision of if and how this valuable freed up spectrum is used for mobile communication (e.g. broadband internet) and/or for broadcasting (e.g. HDTV) is heavily debated worldwide.

     

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  • Online services of public service broadcasters in Europe are disputed because they are in direct competition with online activities of private broadcaster and publishers. While the discussions are similar across European countries, the regulatory responses by national governments differ. In Switzerland a charter lays down the conditions for the online activities of the Swiss public broadcaster (SRG) and clarifies what kind of content is permissible. The Division on Media Change & Innovation conducted a research project commissioned by the Swiss regulator BAKOM to assess the SRG’s compliance with these regulatory requirements. For this endeavor we have (1) developed an analytical approach for the external assessment, and conducted (2) a content analysis to give insights into the structure and functioning of the websites of five SRG enterprise units, and (3) a link analysis to capture the intensity of electronic linking and the pattern of interconnection with other websites (link structure). The paper shows the potential of the developed analytical tools and the extent to which the SRG websites comply with regulatory requirements.

    Get the full research report here

    BAKOM – Official Website