City Research Online

Abstract

This thesis examined media convergence in terms of its concept, discourse, and influence. Based on the examination of Korean case, it was argued that media convergence was an ambiguous concept. And as the concept was not clarified enough, the term seemed to be easily manipulated with liberal ideology to form ‘convergence discourse’. The discourse accelerated the spread of media convergence, and in particular, it justified deregulation and the reform of media policy system. However, despite a rather exaggerated expectation for the development of media convergence, the actual impact of media convergence on Korean broadcasting and telecommunication markets was restricted. More specifically, the change was limited to happen in network and device levels in media value chain. Furthermore, the overall changes in legal and jurisdictional systems in broadcasting and telecommunication were also limited. Interestingly, the development of media convergence caused divergence as well as convergence, in relevant markets and policy fields. Furthermore, the newly integrated broadcasting telecommunication agency in Korea, KCC, brought some side effects. First, it introduced competition-oriented style and the marginalisation of sector-specific policies. Second, it prompted the concentration of power and the deterioration of political independence in media governance. Third, it brought about organisational conflicts between broadcasting and telecommunication agencies. However, notwithstanding the prevalence of competition-centred approach of KCC, the sector-specific regulations in Korean newspaper, telecommunication and broadcasting were generally maintained. More precisely, despite of the overall deregulation trends in the fields, broadcasting was still a more complicated and tightly regulated area, compared to newspapers and telecommunications. All those examinations of Korean media in the last decade show that there can be a strong inertia in the markets and the policy fields of media, even when the expectation of new technology is high.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Departments:	Doctoral Theses School of Policy & Global Affairs > Sociology & Criminology School of Policy & Global Affairs > School of Policy & Global Affairs Doctoral Theses

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