Media Policy and Globalization - Blogs Unpad

BROADCASTING POLICY 105
because of the specificities of each country, the overall policy aims to
remove trade barriers that may be harmful to the US motion pictures industry
(Bernier 2004). Moreover, the consequences of such policies will be
made more visible once the proposed plans find their application through
trade in the very near future. The hype of the symbolic economy continues
to provide a powerful argumentative edge in international agreements,
especially since the plethora of digital outlets points to a theoretically
unlimited choice for consumers. Therefore the arguments in favour
of protection of national industries vis-à-vis Hollywood appear obsolete.
In other words, according to the US audiovisual industry and government
policy preferences, there is enough space for all cultures on the screens
of our hypermedia. The insistence of the US in ensuring that digital media
services are included, without exceptions, in the liberalized agenda is
based on the definition of audiovisual content as ‘digital content’.
The digital trade agenda is thus tailored to the free trade of so-called
digital products like music, software or movies that derive their value
from “content” produced by the information technology (IT) and entertainment
industries, and that were previously – in the offline world –
delivered on physical carrier media like CDs. (Wunsch-Vincent 2003:
8–9)
This coordinated action of the US is enabled by the introduction of a
new law that gives authority to concluding major trade agreements with
other parties through a simplified congressional vote on the agreement
(and no parts of it). Enacted in 2002, it was the US government’s response
to the representations made on behalf of the most powerful IT
and content industries, by their respective associations, such as the Information
Technology Industry Council and Motion Picture Association of
America (Wunsch-Vincent 2003). In a way, the recent revision process
of the European TVWF seems to present an oxymoron, with its drive
to extend regulation to the digital and online services, such as the forthcoming
Internet Protocol Television, while at the same time the USA
is pulling digital services towards complete deregulation. It is possible
that EU policy-makers, anticipating a further deregulation of the (online/digital
or multi-) media, are attempting to take a proactive step to
maintain minimum principles in the converged media environment, such
as minimum, albeit rhetorical, protection of cultural content. Despite the
strongest of reactions from industry and PSBs alike the European Commission
targeted the regulation of the Internet, even with a rather light
touch, as part of the provision for non-linear services. The proposed new
directive, however, largely aims to ensure a pan-European legal framework
rather than facilitating decisive changes in the Internet and media