Papers by Marko Ala-Fossi
Traditionally, the Nordic countries have demonstrated a specifically Nordic model of media and co... more Traditionally, the Nordic countries have demonstrated a specifically Nordic model of media and communications policies and communication rights. However, in the last decades, these countries' related developments have started to differ and they have displayed varying practices not only in responses to digital challenges but also in other media policy areas.
tisaari & Hannu Nieminen (2015). Kenen media? Johdatus viestintäpolitiikan tutkimukseen. Tam-pere... more tisaari & Hannu Nieminen (2015). Kenen media? Johdatus viestintäpolitiikan tutkimukseen. Tam-pere: Vastapaino, 311 s. Kenen media? Johdatus viestintäpolitiikan tutkimukseen menee historiaan ensimmäi-senä suomenkielisenä oppikirjana viestintäpolitiikasta. Tutkijat saattoi yhteen Suomen Akatemian hanke median ja viestinnän sääntelystä (2011-2015), ja kaiken takana on vaatimattomasti viimeiseksi itsensä listannut Hannu Nieminen. Maan ainoa viestintäpo-litiikan professori saa tästä hattuunsa hyvin ansaitun sulan. Viestintäpolitiikka on ollut enemmän tai vähemmän läsnä alallamme 60-luvulta läh-tien, mutta sen systemaattinen selittäminen tai opettaminen on jäänyt vähälle, aina mil-loin minkäkin muotiaallon alle. Tekstuaalisen käänteen hurmoksessa viestintäpolitiikkaa rasitti rakenteiden ja normatiivisuuden kirous, mutta nyt digitalisoitumisen ja globaalis-tumisen oloissa se pukkaa esille joka puolelta. Kirjalle on ilmeinen tilaus-oli korkea aika tehdä se. Kirjan 12 lukua jakaantuvat kolme...
Julkaisun nimi Media-ja viestintäpolitiikan nykytila ja mittaaminen Loppuraportti Julkaisusarjan ... more Julkaisun nimi Media-ja viestintäpolitiikan nykytila ja mittaaminen Loppuraportti Julkaisusarjan nimi ja numero Liikenne-ja viestintäministeriön julkaisuja 4/2018
Studia Europejskie, 2023
Ever since the launch of the World Press Freedom Index almost 20 years ago, Finland has always be... more Ever since the launch of the World Press Freedom Index almost 20 years ago, Finland has always been among the top fi ve countries of that index. According to the annual Reuters Digital News reports, Finnish people also have the highest level of trust in the news media and one of the highest levels of press readership in the EU. Most of the media companies are doing quite well, while Google and Facebook have a much less dominant role in the advertising market than elsewhere in Europe. In this context, you might expect Finland to have a comprehensive and visionary media and communications policy to support democracy. However, our meta-study of Finnish media and communications policy based on two recent reports
Julkaisun nimi Media-ja viestintäpolitiikan nykytila ja mittaaminen Loppuraportti Julkaisusarjan ... more Julkaisun nimi Media-ja viestintäpolitiikan nykytila ja mittaaminen Loppuraportti Julkaisusarjan nimi ja numero Liikenne-ja viestintäministeriön julkaisuja 4/2018
A large part of the public services and mass communication in Finland has been digitalized and mo... more A large part of the public services and mass communication in Finland has been digitalized and moved online, which makes Finland one of the digital leaders within the EU. The focus of the Finnish broadband strategy is exceptional because it is based on wireless mobile networks. This strategy has also been taken further than elsewhere in Europe by demolishing fixed telephone networks almost entirely. So far, there has been some technological and economic critique on favouring mobile networks and slow investments in building new fixed networks. Although the usability of public services and journalistic media content like news online is a growing part of the everyday life of the Finns, the citizen perspective has been not been heard so far. The purpose of the project we are planning for is to find out whether the Finnish broadband strategy based on mobile networks results in growing inequality between different population groups-and is it possible that the strategy could even endanger the citizen rights and their security. Based on the results, we will create a proposal of policies for securing equality of the citizens as well as universal availability of public services and journalistic media content also in the digital environment.
Sidantal 118 Språk finska Nyckelord mediebranschen, media, mediepolitik, tidningspress, radio (ma... more Sidantal 118 Språk finska Nyckelord mediebranschen, media, mediepolitik, tidningspress, radio (massmedier), television (massmedier), internet Referat Denna forskningsrapport undersöker utvecklingen av finsk medie-och kommunikationspolitik och mediebranschen ur tre perspektiv. Dessa perspektiv fokuserar på mediernas ekonomi och affärsverksamheter, medborgarnas tillgång till medietjänster och mediernas mångfald. Analyserna är baserade på indikatorer som beskrivits i en tidigare utredning (Ala-Fossi et al. 2018). Rapportens fokus är på journalistiska medier. Digitala distributionsplattformar har vunnit popularitet medan traditionella distributionskanaler har tappat mark. Förändringen i konsumenternas medieanvändning har förändrat annonsörernas investeringar och följaktligen medielandskapet. Som ett resultat av detta koncentreras branschen ytterligare. Antalet företag och personal inom mediebranschens centrala näringsgrenar minskar också. Även om tillgången till inspelade medier verkar vara ganska stabil hotar den minskande volymen brevpost också distributionen av tryckta tidningar. Inom telekommunikation är utvecklingen av tillgång långsammare än i andra nordiska länder men trots det positiv och fokus har legat på mobilkommunikation. Trots att tv-sändningarnas storhetstid är över köper hushållen fortfarande ivrigt nya HD-mottagare. Press, radio och tv är alla mycket koncentrerade mediesektorer. Den högsta koncentrationen är inom radiobranschen som domineras av tre viktiga aktörer, medan den lägsta koncentrationen är i pressen. Även om användningen av traditionella medier minskar på bekostnad av internet använder medborgarna fortfarande många mediekanaler på en vecka.
Yleisradio ansaitsee parempaa keskustelua tehtävistään Yleisradiosta käyty julkinen keskustelu on... more Yleisradio ansaitsee parempaa keskustelua tehtävistään Yleisradiosta käyty julkinen keskustelu on viime vuosina jäänyt lähinnä yhtiön rahoituksen ym-pärillä pyöriväksi poliittiseksi teatteriksi, jolla lepytellään talouden ja politiikan äänekkäimpiä intressipiirejä. Sen sijaan aito pohdinta julkisen palvelun median muuttuvasta roolista ja merki-tyksestä suomalaisen yhteiskunnan ja kulttuurin kehitykselle on onnistuttu sivuuttamaan lähes kokonaan. Osaltaan tästä voi syyttää estoitta omassa asiassaan kampanjoivia mediayrityksiä ja toi-saalta poliitikkoja, joille kiista Yleisradion rahoituksen tasosta on tarjonnut keinon edistää omia, usein varsin populistisia päämääriään. Oman vastuunsa kantavat myös tutkijat, sillä heil-lä olisi edellytykset paitsi oikoa virheellisiä väitteitä, myös tuoda julkiseen keskusteluun vaihto-ehtoisia näkökulmia ja esimerkiksi tutkimukseen perustuvia vertailuja muihin maihin. Yle-keskustelussa tutkijoilla on kuitenkin ollut vaikeuksia saada äänensä kuuluviin. Ylen asemaan ja rahoitukseen liittyvässä väittelyssä ja lobbauksessa ovat toistuneet edel-leen monet samat teemat ja argumentit kuin Yle-veroon siirtymistä edeltävässä keskustelussa (ks. esim. Ala-Fossi & Hujanen 2010; Herzog & Karppinen 2014). Monien vaiheiden jälkeen Ylen rahoituksesta saavutettu poliittinen kompromissi ei silloin saanut tyylipisteitä, mutta sen arvel-tiin ainakin tuovan Ylelle työrauhaa useita vuosia kestäneen epävarmuuden jälkeen. Vaikka kaupallinen media joutui pettymään Ylen tehtävien supistamista ja valvontaa kos-kevissa vaatimuksissaan, se ei kuitenkaan hellittänyt. Vuoden 2015 eduskuntavaalit ja tulevien hallituspuolueiden ennen vaaleja antamat lupaukset tarjosivat uuden mahdollisuuden nostaa Ylen tehtävät ja rahoitus taas arvioitaviksi. Tilaisuuteen tarrasivat myös yksittäiset poliitikot ja vaikuttajat. Viestinnän keskusliiton ja lehdistön kampanjointiin on jo totutusti kuulunut valtiol-lisen ja "vapaan" median vastakkainasettelu sekä puhe liian suuren Ylen aiheuttamista markki-nahäiriöistä ja uhasta median monimuotoisuudelle (esim. Tapaninen 2015). Sipilän hallituksen Yle-linjauksissa taas yhdistyivät monenlaiset taustamotiivit, puhdasoppisesta markkinalibera-lismista perussuomalaisten monikulttuurisuuskritiikkiin. Hallituksen asettamista kahdesta mediatyöryhmästä ensin raporttinsa jätti Anssi Vanjoen työryhmä. 1 Vaikka ryhmän tehtävänä oli pohtia nimenomaan kaupallisten mediamarkkinoiden toimintaedellytyksiä, sen esityksistä huomattavan moni koski Yleä. Sen pohjalta Ylen tehtäviä ja rahoitusta linjasi tarkemmin Arto Satosen (kok) johtama parlamentaarinen työryhmä, joka jätti ehdotuksensa kesäkuussa 2016. 2 Mitä näistä selvityksistä sitten on jäänyt käteen? Satosen työryhmää voi tulostensa perusteella pitää korkean profiilin poliittisena teatteri-na, jonka esitykset tänä syksynä tehtäviksi muutoksiksi Yleisradion tehtäviin olivat merkityksel-tään lähinnä symbolisia. Kaupallisen median vaatimuksiin pyrittiin vastaamaan ehdottamalla brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk
Does low VAT on legacy media dwarf digital media? : An overview of VAT policy and the press in Fi... more Does low VAT on legacy media dwarf digital media? : An overview of VAT policy and the press in Finland, Norway and Sweden
Nordicom Review, Aug 1, 2004
International Communication Gazette, Feb 16, 2016
This is a repository copy of The short future of public broadcasting: Replacing digital terrestri... more This is a repository copy of The short future of public broadcasting: Replacing digital terrestrial television with internet protocol?.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication, Jan 25, 2017
In the European Union, “television-like” is a legal concept, introduced in 2007 as a part of a po... more In the European Union, “television-like” is a legal concept, introduced in 2007 as a part of a political compromise over the scope of the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). The European Commission had originally intended to expand the new rules on linear television programming to cover also all new nonlinear audiovisual content services intended for the same audiences online. This approach was objected to by the U.K. government, which saw it as potentially harmful for the growth of the new online media. Although left practically alone in the opposition in the EU decision-making process, the U.K. government managed with the support of the U.K. regulator Ofcom and the U.K. industry alliance to limit the new directive to cover only “television-like” online services. According to AVMSD Recital 24, these services should “compete for the same audience as television broadcasts” while “the concept of ‘programme’ should be interpreted in a dynamic way taking into account developments in television broadcasting.” The vagueness of this concept has left room for very different and even opposing interpretations. A number of national regulatory authorities in Europe as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union argue that parts of some newspaper’s websites can also be classified as video-on-demand services, while Ofcom has systematically excluded all the audiovisual services on the websites of British newspapers from regulation.Creating a clear definition of “TV-like” content or services is difficult not just because of the vague wording of the EU directive or digital media convergence, but because the whole concept is based on another set of concepts, which definitions are highly dependent on time and context: television, program, and channel as a practice of packaging content into a linear transmission schedule. Early TV was indeed showing radio programming in production, or radio with pictures. From a contemporary perspective, full-length films may seem to be typical content for television, but most of them have originally been made for theatrical distribution. Over the years, audiovisual media formerly known as television has expanded on multiple platforms and its content has also been available in different on demand-type formats for several decades. So depending on your perspective, there is either a plentitude of “TV-like” content services besides the genuine TV or a wide variety of different flavors of television. Currently, it can be argued whether TV is in terminal decline or just integrating with mobile and online media, but it is obvious that any efforts to define “TV-like” content could make sense only as long the traditional, linear type of (broadcast) TV continues to have an important role in our societies and media cultures.
International Communication Gazette, Feb 13, 2016
Digital radio reached its tenth birthday in 2005. However, anniversary celebrations have been rat... more Digital radio reached its tenth birthday in 2005. However, anniversary celebrations have been rather muted. In contrast with digital television, where audience awareness levels are high and adoption rates similar, digital radio's penetration into the marketplace has been minimal. Even when people have heard of digital radio, survey data shows that very few feel knowledgeable about it. Nevertheless, most broadcasters and most governments believe that, just as most other consumer electronics is migrating from analogue to digital technology, radio too will eventually become all-digital. But development of digital radio is very variable, with some countries having a large number of digital radio services available across the whole nation, while others have very few services. The picture is confused by there being a number of interpretations of the term 'digital radio'. Almost all households that receive digital TV, whether by satellite, cable or over-the-air terrestrial transmissions, will also receive a number of radio stations with that service. So listening to a radio station through the TV is one form of digital radio service. A second form is listening to streamed radio stations on the internet-this too can be regarded as
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Papers by Marko Ala-Fossi
This article studies how 43 people in key positions related to the radio industry in four European countries and Canada view the future of radio and which delivery technologies they consider will be most successful. In addition, it analyzes the motives and reasons why certain technologies are seen as more promising. Finally, it presents different future scenarios for radio media."
However, instead of having abandoned TV for new media, people are actually using their traditional TV sets even more like before. Rather than being a victim of technological obsolescence, the problem of the TV fee is its diluting social acceptance due to a growing dominance of a neoliberal media paradigm. "
A evolução do rádio depende em grande parte não apenas dos contextos culturais de um país mas também do desenvolvimento social, político e econômico geral das sociedades. Somado a isso, ela acontece no intercâmbio com todas as outras formas de mídia, e esse é o motivo pelo qual não há uma evolução do rádio que seja ou isolada ou universal. A importância crescente da internet e o aumento da popularidade da banda larga móvel, em conjunto com mudanças econômicas e demográficas em curso numa escala global, continuam a ter efeito polarizador: possivelmente o rádio já teve seu auge no mundo ocidental, enquanto na Ásia e África ele ainda tem um potencial enorme de crescimento.
[The evolution of radio is highly dependent not only on the national cultural contexts but also on the overall social, political and economic development of the societies. In addition, it happens in interplay with all the other forms of media and this is why there is no universal or separate evolution of radio. The growing importance of the Internet and increasing popularity of mobile broadband together with the ongoing economic and demographic changes on a global scale continue to have a polarized effect: in the Western world, broadcast radio may have already had its all-time high, while in Asia and Africa, broadcast radio has still a huge potential for growth. ]"
ownership concentration after the Telecom Act of 1996 and the new digital technology. This view is very common among radio scholars and industry professionals – as well as journalists who write about radio media in the US. Some critics argue that this new form of corporate radio, owned by enormous, publicly traded companies, has changed radio’s economic power structure so that these giants may now – using the latest in digital technology – transform what had been lively and local commercial radio into a sheer generic commodity. Local productions have been replaced with syndicated content and in the smaller markets many stations are programmed
with pseudo-local and pseudo-live pre-recorded content, using the method of computerized, remote voice tracking also known as “cyber-jocking”.
Desde la primera línea, el lector se dará cuenta de la enorme complejidad que rodea todo lo que se refiere al espectro, desde ámbitos distintos como la ingeniería, la política, la economía o la comunicación. Por sí solo, el espectro sería un magnífico estudio de caso para ejemplificar la multiplicidad, diversidad y complicación presentes cada vez que hay que que ponerse de acuerdo sobre algún aspecto relacionado con él.