THE GLOBAL media landscape is constantly changing, creating a moving target for policy-making and regulation. Over the last few years, however, several key trends have emerged to form the context for media operation and communication decision-making in the sector:(1) Shift from predominantly mass media to more personalised media and greater individual choice for those with access. This is reflected in the shift of major segments of the media audience from traditional broadcast TV to addressable cable; from mass radio to niche radio; from pre-programmed music stations to personal cassette players, recordable CDs and Internet music sites.
(2) Increase in the 'information deficit' or 'digital divide' between those who have access to the skills and the latest technologies for almost unlimited information, and those without even basic literacy and little or no access to information or interactive media.
(3) Convergence or coming together of different forms of media and communication technologies. This is expressed most graphically in the multi-form World Wide Web (WWW) of the Internet (not print, radio or TV but all, depending on users choice).
(4) Greater presence of global media, owned by converging conglomerates, operating in competition with local media, particularly in the electronic sphere. I have termed this Globalisation from Above, involving the actions of transnational corporations, other major companies locally and the supporting activities of governments and major multilateral organisations.
(5) Increase in the range and importance of community media: community radio, community cable, Internet-based communities of interest, Internet kiosks. These community level media and the grassroots networking they create, is leading to what we may conversely describe as Globalisation from Below.
(6) Changing role of government:
State ownership diminishing in commercial media
Becoming concentrated around public service outputs and education
Regulatory role of government strengthening in some areas and weakening in others
Against that background, we may consider some of the central issues of policy and governance relevant to the Jamaican portfolio of the Minister of Information. I simply set out some issues, comments and questions, in the hope that dialogue and further research will help to provide more definitive answers.
The information portfolio
The appointment of a Minister of Information of full Cabinet rank, elevates this sector to a new level of importance. Yet the portfolio is not endowed, to the best of my knowledge, with an adequate supporting infrastructure, such as additional staffing and departments, a permanent secretary or director general, and a programme budget. Its infrastructure is based on the resources of a small division in the Office of the Prime Minister. In an era of public demand for the reduction in the size of government and the bureaucracy, such a 'ministry' would need to justify and articulate the basis for its establishment. In this regard, a basic question must be posed: what is the purpose and mission of a Minister of Information and the Information Division itself? Are they primarily concerned with effectively communicating government decisions and information to the public? What then is the role of JIS? Are they mainly concerned with planning and supervising the development of relevant information and communication policies; or maybe they are about both of these and other objectives?
A clearly stated rationale for the portfolio is needed now in order to remove any ambiguity about whether its main function is government information flow or the wider issue of communication and policy-making. This should take the form of a clear mission statement and political rationale for the portfolio, as a basis for a more secure place in the system of governance. This may be a task to be refined over time. In the short term, however, there is a need for measures to strengthen the effectiveness of the portfolio even as it presently stands. These include:
Provision of a budget to enable the establishment of a policy research and development planning capability.
A media liaison and monitoring unit, to help government understand citizen viewpoint and assist in a two way flow of information
A department for the promotion and co-ordination of public service broadcasting objectives.
The appointment of a Director General, to co-ordinate the functions of the portfolio and lend additional administrative authority to the division. A similar position already exists in the Tourism and Technology portfolios.
Information
and the OPM
There is a long history of portfolio responsibility for information and media residing in the office of the head of government. From as early as 1949, when Jamaica got its first broadcasting law (the Commercial Broadcasting and Radio Rediffusion Law), the Broadcasting Authority thus created was administered from the Office of the Governor. Information and communication being conventionally seen as crucial tools of public security, contact and control, they have almost always remained within the portfolio responsibility of the head of government. It is thus not surprising that the portfolio has remained attached to the Prime Minister's Office.
A 'cultural
economy'
However, in an era of a far more dynamic role for information and communication, maybe it is time that many of the fragments of government's information, communication and cultural institutions be re-examined to see how they can best contribute to what is emerging as essentially a 'cultural economy' in Jamaica. Many theorists have upgraded their classification of the present era from an 'information society' to a 'knowledge-based' society, linked to culture. In this context, information is regarded as simply a raw material for knowledge and ultimately for economic and cultural development. The real social need may well be to seek out and establish real synergies where they exist in a cluster of related government agencies and departments.
We could start by evaluating the effectiveness of roles associated with communication, culture and information technology, under the present structure of government. Currently: Culture is in the Ministry of Education and Culture; Festival via Jamaica Cultural Development Commission is in Local Government; Entertainment and Sports are in Tourism; Technology, including Inform-ation Technology is in Industry and Commerce, and Information is in the Office of the Prime Minister.
I am not suggesting an immediate merger of these related agencies and functions. I am also aware that there is an existing inter-ministerial Cabinet committee at which certain common issues are discussed. However, I am recommending an evaluation of ways to avoid duplication and to best exploit possible synergies. In the future, this may well result in the emergence of a more sustainable portfolio such as 'Culture, Communication and Social Development', linking information, knowledge and appropriate technology to cultural context, as one basis for improved personal, economic and social development.
Dr. Hopeton Dunn is a communications policy analyst and senior lecturer, CARIMAC, UWI, Mona. He is also Deputy Chairman of the CPTC and a member of the Broadcasting Commission. This article is a revised version of his presentation as a guest speaker at the Policy and Planning Retreat hosted recently by Minister of Information, Senator Maxine Henry Wilson.
