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Media and Digital Convergence: Policy and Development Trends in Europe and Croatia

International Round Table

Media and Digital Convergence: Policy and Development Trends in Europe and Croatia
Zagreb, Croatia, 19 October 2005, Great Hall, Croatian Journalists' Association, Perkovčeva 2, Zagreb

Organized by the Council of Europe - Media Division and the Institute for International Relations (IMO), Zagreb

Announcement

Organized by the Institute for International Relations (IMO), Zagreb and the Council of Europe - Media Division, a Round Table entitled Media and Digital Convergence: Policy and Development Trends in Europe and Croatia will be held on 19 October 2005 at the Great Hall of the Croatian Journalists' Association. With this Round Table the organizers aim to stimulate a professional public discussion about digital convergence trends, especially as regards the changes resulting in the field of broadcasting (affecting the adaptation of contents, production and distribution, new platforms, and the use of the Internet), and about the activities to be carried out at the public policy level in Croatia.

The trend of a vanishing division between the information and the communication industries has been apparent for the past few decades. Through the advances of digitalization, the formerly separate sectors of telecommunications, media and computing are no longer clearly distinguishable, but rather form complementary parts of a whole on the global market. The multimedia market, stimulated by just these convergence processes, has become the strategic field of activity for all three sectors – radio and television, telecommunications and the ICT industry.

This convergence is not simply a one-dimensional technological question. It includes structural changes in the economic field, in which information services play an increasingly important part, and the successful convergence of the industries and the market are based on the logic of demand, not supply. From the perspective of the field of electronic media, the digital convergence brings new business opportunities. The term 'digital television' refers to television based on digital technology, which makes possible the development of new interactive communications channels with the users. As far as digital production is concerned (which is already widely spread in Croatia), it is possible to develop new 'hybrid' services such as special thematic services on the Internet, WebTV (allowing the viewer to access specific web pages from the TV programme), interactive television, video-on-demand, video conferencing, etc. The question arises whether these services constitute just new platforms for existing, old technologies (or content), or whether they represent the development of new media functions.

A special issue is DTT - digital terrestrial television – and the transition to digital broadcasting of terrestrial TV stations which use the frequency spectrum (in contrast to the distribution of signals via cable and telephone systems). Most European countries have already passed public policies on the modes of transition to digital broadcasting, while Croatia still needs to prepare such a policy. This public policy will have to decide whether analogue and digital signals will be broadcast in parallel during a period of transition (which burdens the frequency spectrum and does not use it at its optimum), whether the state will stimulate its citizens to move to digital reception (for example by subsidizing signal decoders which would allow the viewers to keep using their analogue TV sets), and how the state might secure that all citizens may continue to receive all radio and television signals broadcast locally.

The digital convergence also has serious implications for legislation and public policy measures, which need to secure, in the new environment of information society, a continued positive social role of the converged and digitalized media, and find a way to fulfill and protect the freedom of speech, the freedom and diversity of the media and media content, but also the privacy and inviolability of personal data. In 2003 the Council of Europe has passed a recommendation to member states on measures to promote the democratic and social contribution of digital broadcasting (Recommendation Rec(2003)9 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on Measures To Promote the Democratic and Social Contribution of Digital Broadcasting, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 28 May 2003 at the 840th Meeting of the Ministers' Deputies).

Digital convergence thus requires the convergence of public policies. On the regulatory level we face problems of a sectorial approach, which repeatedly regulates only a narrow field, lacking a broader understanding of how this field may relate to other fields. On the other hand, regulations need to be based upon numerous standards enforced on an international level (because only this makes them meaningful). In spite of their political declarations in support of the development of information society, most governments do not seem to have fully solved the emerging issues in the field of public policies which regulate the convergence of content, communication and information industries. The new strategic framework named i2010 – European Information Society 2010 – proposed by the European Commission on 1 June 2005, aims to build an integral approach to public policies for the information society and audiovisual media in the European Union.

The Round Table will discuss digital convergence trends and experiences at the Croatian and the European level. It will gather those responsible for media policy in Croatia, representatives of media companies, editors and technical directors, as well as Croatian and international media and media policy professionals.

The working languages of the Round Table will be Croatian and English with simultaneous interpretation.

Agenda
Wednesday, 19 October 2005

9:30 Opening of the Round Table

Zrinjka Peruško, Department for Culture and Communication, IMO
Lejla Dervišagić, Media Division, Council of Europe
Željka Antunović, President, Committee on Information, Computerization and the Media, Croatian Parliament

10:00 Digital Convergence Trends and Democratic and Social Aspects of Digital Broadcasting

Zrinjka Peruško, Department for Culture and Communication, IMO
Digital Convergence Trends: Issues and Developments

Catherine Smadja, Digital and Commercial Broadcasting, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Democratic and Social Aspects of Digital Broadcasting

Discussion

10:45 Policy Developments in the Area of Digitalization: National Examples

Moderator: Lejla Dervišagić, Media Division, Council of Europe

Catherine Smadja, Digital and Commercial Broadcasting, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
British Policies and Experiences in the Field in Digital Convergence
Croatian Developments and Policy Plans

Darko Dvornik, Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development
Dijana Šimić, Central State Bureau for e-Croatia
Ivo Majerski, Croatian Telecommunications Agency
Tonko Obuljen, Transmitters and Communications Ltd.
Denis Peričić, Council for Electronic Media

Discussion

12:45 Coffee Break

13:00 Broadcasters' Experiences in Digitalization

Moderator: Zrinjka Peruško, Department for Culture and Communication, IMO

Rolf Brandrud, Norwegian Television Ltd.
Norwegian Experience in Digital Broadcasting in the European Context

Tena Perišin, Croatian Television (HTV)
The Project: Digitalization of News Programmes on Croatian Public Television (HTV)

Nada Zgrabljić Rotar, Media Research
Presentation of the Research Project: Digital Radio Culture - DRACE

Josip Ćurković, Radio DeeJay
The Reorganization of the Croatian Radio Space

Discussion

Closing Remarks and Conclusions of the Round Table

15:00 Lunch

Background Information

PowerPoint Presentations

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