| Summary: |
This book explores the conditions and ideas behind global communications
policies; our writing travels back and forth, across continents and
socioeconomic realities to identify and analyze common policy concerns,
conflicting interests, and the place and voice of publics. Throughout
the writing process, we relied heavily on electronic communications to
update information, track down electronic archives and conduct basic
literature searches. We conceived and discussed the ideas in this book
first online and then by telephone and continued developing the book
in the same way, with only one brief off-line meeting. We have used six
different computers between us (two of which crashed) and have been dependent
on Internet access with speedy connections (broadband). These
tools were available to us as researchers based in academic institutions, in
our homes and hotels and Internet cafes located in the connected parts
of the world where we wrote this book – Amherst, Athens, Coventry,
Kolkata, London, Montreal, Pittsburgh and Salvador – enabling us to
communicate with colleagues across the world instantly. Access to technology
and skills are important material and cultural capital not fairly we wrote. We recognize our privileged position as observers and critics
and hope that we have been responsible in our use of these means to
bring attention to some of the most urgent questions surrounding global
communications and media policy.
|