NYU Steinhardt
Department of Media, Culture, and Communication
MCC-UE 1304 Global Media and International Law
Course Description
This course examines the legal and regulatory instruments designed to manage the flow of media and cultural
products across international borders. It provides an historical overview of the various institutions and actors
involved in global media regulation and administration, and assesses the various principles and practices that
might be said to constitute regimes of global media governance. The course pays special attention to the early
regulation of the post, telegraph, and radio as precursors of the current regulatory regimes for broadcasting,
telecommunications, satellites, trade in media products, and Internet protocols.
Student Learning Objectives
Basic understanding of the history of global media governance, from postal systems in the 19th century to
the Internet;
Knowledge of the rules and regulations underpinning media networks, as well as the application of those
rules;
Analytical and critical skills to assess the various legal and political principles and practices of global
media administration and regulation;
Research techniques focusing on legal texts, as well as international regulatory instruments and
governance institutions.
Readings: Required Texts
Readings, both secondary and primary, as assigned in syllabus and available via NYU Classes
Consult Global and Transcultural Communication Research Guide, Bobst Library at
http://nyu.libguides.com/content.php?pid=30915&search_terms=global
Evaluation
% Final Grade
10
Participation (attendance, participation in class discussion and on-line)
10
Summary / Review Essay (due: Feb 12)
15
Special Exhibits: Background Research Project
05
Research Proposal (due: March 14)
15
Midterm Test March 13
20
Research Report on current legal and regulatory issue (due: April 24, by 8:00am)
10
Class Presentation of Research Report
15
Final Take-Home Test May 13
Grading Rubric
A
Excellent. Student exhibits exemplary creativity through historical research and analysis. Writing and data
presentation is lucid, engaging, and nearly error free.
B
Good. References to the course material are well chosen and topical. Analysis is present, but largely
rehearsed from class lecture and discussion. Writing and data presentation is clear and has very few mistakes.
C
Satisfactory. References to the course material are well chosen and topical, but work is primarily
descriptive, with little or no analysis. Work consists mostly of underdeveloped ideas, off-topic sources or
examples, inappropriate research, or anecdotes.
D
Unsatisfactory. Student does not engage with the material according to course expectations. Substantial
problems exist in student's work.
F
Fail. Student does not submit work, or work is below unsatisfactory level.
School and Course Policies
Students with Disabilities
Students with special needs, either with physical and/or learning disabilities, should register with the
Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212-998=4980, 240 Greene Street, www.nyu.edu/csd.
Religious Observances
Students with religious observances that may interfere with the class schedule should to see me at the
beginning of the semester to talk about alternative arrangements.
Late Submission
Deadlines are set to coincide with the flow of the semester, and your research projects are designed to
provide us with course material. The deadlines are sacrosanct. Please notify the instructor as soon as you think
you will miss a deadline for submitting assigned work. Late assignments may be downgraded by up to 5% a day.
Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism
“Academic integrity is the guiding principle for all that you do […] you violate the principle when you:
cheat on an exam; submit the same work for two different courses without prior permission from your professors;
receive help on a take home courses without prior permission from your professors; or plagiarize. You plagiarize
when, without proper attribution, you do any of the following: copy verbatim from a book, article, or others media,
download documents from the Internet; purchase documents; paraphrase or restate someone else’s facts, analysis,
and/or conclusions” (See School of Education Bulletin, 2004-6, p. 174). Cheating or plagiarism will not be
tolerated under any circumstance and will result in a failure of the assignment and possible failure of this class.
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Detailed Class Schedule
Jan 28
Introduction: Global Media and International Law
Jan 30
Internet Filtering & Global Media Flows: Some Current Issues
Wu, Tim. World Trade Law of Censorship and Internet Filtering. 7 Chicago Journal of International Law. 263
(Summer 2006)
Google. “Enabling Trade in the Era of Information Technologies: Breaking Down Barriers to the Free Flow of
Information.” Available at Google Public Policy Blog (posted 15 November 2010).
Feb 4 & 6
International Law: an Introduction
Oppenheim, L. International Law: A Treatise: Vol 1 Peace. 1905 edition. Introduction, Chap 1: Foundation of
Law of Nations (3-43) & Part 1, Chap. 1: International Persons
Koskenniemi, Martti. The Politics of International Law. 1 European Journal of International Law. 4 - 32 (1990)
Feb 11
International Law and International Politics
Keohane, Robert. International Relations and International Law: Two Optics. 38 Harvard International Law
Journal. 487 – 502 (Spring 1997)
Summary & Review Essay of Keohane and Koskenniemi: due Feb 12 at 12 noon
Feb 13
Global Media and International Law: Setting the Stage
Magder, Ted. “International Agreements and the Principles of World Communication,” in Curran, J. and Morley,
D. eds. Media and Cultural Theory. 2006, 164-76
Krasner, Stephen. Global Communications and National Power. Life on the Pareto Frontier. World Politics. April
1991, 336-66
Feb 18
Guest:
Research Project
Bobst Research Librarian
Feb 20, 25, 27 Postal and Telegraph Networks: Historical Foundations
Williamson, F.H. The International Postal Service and the Universal Postal Union. Journal of the Royal Institute
of International Affairs. 68 – 78. Vol. 9 (1), Jan 1930
Winseck, Dwayne and Pike, Robert. “The Global Media and the Empire of Liberal Internationalism, Circa 191030.” Media History, 15:1, 2009, 31-54
Treaty Concerning the Formation of a General Postal Union, Berne (1874) International Telegraph Convention, St Petersburg (1875) Convention for Protection of Submarine Cables, (1884) Mar 04, 06, 11 Radio: National Sovereignty and “Innocent” Passage
Hershey, Amos. The International Law of Aerial Space. 6 American Journal of International Law, 1912, 381
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LeRoy, Howard. Treaty Regulation of International Radio and Short Wave Broadcasting. The American Journal
of International Law. 32 (4) 1938, 719-37.
Aitken, Hugh. Allocating the Spectrum: The Origins of Radio Regulation. Technology and Culture. 35(4), 1994,
686-716
International Wireless Telegraph Convention, Berlin 1906
International Radio Convention, Washington 1927
Mar 13
Mid-Term Test
Mar 25, 27
Propaganda: and Freedom of Information: fighting words and human rights
Downey, Elizabeth. A Historical Survey of International Regulation of Propaganda. 5 Mich. YBI Legal Stud.
1984, 341-60.
Whitton, John. Radio after the War. Foreign Affairs, Vol. 22 (2), 309-17, 1944
Uttaro, R. The Voice of America in International Radio Propaganda. International Telecommunications. Winter
1982, 103-22
Metzl, J. Rwandan Genocide and the International Law of Radio Jamming. The American Journal of
International Law. 91(4), 1997. 628-51
International Convention Concerning The Use Of Broadcasting In The Cause Of Peace, Geneva, 1936 April 1, 3
Satellites and UNESCO
Slotten, Hugh. Satellite Communications, Globalization and the Cold War. Technology and Culture. 43 (2), 2002,
315-50
M. J. Peterson. “Diverging Orbits: Situation Definitions in Creation of Regimes for Broadcast and Remote
Sensing Satellites,” American Journal of Political Science, 98: 2, May 2004, 277-91
Carlsson, Ulla. “The Rise and Fall of NWICO: From a Vision of International Regulation to a Reality of
Multilevel Governance,” EURICOM Colloquium, Information Society: Visions and Governance, Venice 5-7
May, 2003
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (1967) April 8
Trade in Cultural Products: Elgin Marbles and other National Treasures
Merryman, John H. Cultural Property, International Law, and Human Rights. Cardozo Arts and Entertainment
Law Journal 19, 2001, 51 – 67
April 10
Trade in Media: the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the World Trade
Organization & UNESCO
Bruner, C. UNESCO, the WTO, and Trade in Cultural Products. In Chaisse, J. and Balmelli, T. eds. Essays on the
Future of World Trade Organization: Policies & Legal Issues. 385 – 424, 2008
Magder, T. Gambling, the WTO and Public Morals: a short review of Antigua vs. the US.” Television and New
Media. 7(1), 2006, 52-67
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General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1947
General Agreement on Trade in Services, 1994
April 15, 17
Internet and Governance
Van Eeten, Michel and Mueller, Milton. “Where is the governance in Internet Governance?” New Media &
Society, 15 (5), 720-736, 2012
Benklar, Yochai A Free Irresponsible Press: Wikileaks and the Battle over the Soul of the Networked Fourth
Estate. Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review, 24, 312 – 397, 2013
April 22
No Class
April 24, 29
Student Research Reports
April 01, 06
Student Research Reports
May 08
Review
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