Master Class in Broadcast Regulation for Elections,
28-30 July 2009, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

The Master Class in Broadcast Regulation for Elections is the perfect event for regulators, broadcast policymakers, members of public and private broadcasting companies, as well as for those who study broadcast media and media regulation.

Whilst taking into account understood methodologies in the traditional issues of broadcast regulation, this course will focus on emerging issues specific to the African region, including broadcasting standards in election period, the role of the broadcasting regulator, media monitoring, best practice broadcasting and political advertising.

The course will cover:

• Balanced and equitable election reporting: general issues, internet, broadcast and print media
• Use of media in elections
• Broadcasting standards in election periods: Incitement to hatred and violence
• The Public Service Broadcaster in the election period
• Application of media rules in election periods
• Case study: Broadcasting and the 1994 elections in South Africa-lessons learned

In addition, delegates will have the opportunity to discuss individual cases with Albany Associates’ experts and course tutors.

The Master Class will take place in the Dar Es Salaam Conference Centre in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and the language for the course will be English.

• Members and staff of broadcasting regulatory authorities
• Members and staff of converged communications regulatory authorities with specific responsibility for the regulation of the broadcasting sector
• Staff working in ministries and government departments associated with broadcasting and broadcast regulatory policy
• Staff working in public and private broadcasting organisations
• Students and academics studying broadcasting or media regulation

Albany Associates’ training programmes draw upon all of the company’s core competencies: strategic communications, broadcast regulation and media development, blending traditional teaching methods and innovative approaches to learning. Albany provides instruction, for example, in public information and advocacy work, crisis communications and legal and regulatory frameworks in telecommunications and broadcasting. Albany’s wide range of teaching programmes, which include classroom-based instruction, masterclasses, workshop training and case study work, are always led by experts with extensive experience working in the field, who can draw upon real-life examples throughout each course.

Post-comflict countries, understandably keen to embrace new communications ideas and methodologies, have provided some of Albany’s greatest challenges and successes. Albany offers extensive trai8ning for those working in such environments. Albany also delivers courses of interest to those working in more stable circumstances, providing instruction on new advancements in the communications sector. Albany can plan and deliver courses anywhere in the world, tailored to meet a client’s particular needs, addressing subjects and issues uniquely critical to each client’s operations.

The training and development sector of Albany Associates strives to share established principles as well as explore emergent themes across its areas of expertise. In continuing to deliver timely solutions to a wide range of international stakeholders, while embracing cultural sensitivities, Albany Associates has created a credible track record in training and development. This flexibility, combined with an inherent understanding of clients’ needs, closely aligned with a strong sense of purpose, allows the company to deliver what it promises.

For more information on Albany Associates' Training Programmes please click here…

Day 1

Introduction to the Master Class
Introduction of staff and delegates. Agreeing the outcomes of the course.
Balanced and equitable election reporting

• General issues
• Broadcast media
• Print media
• Internet

Specific issues:
Equitable time for political candidates,rules in law, regulations or guidelines and editorial decisions of the broadcasters. How to determine how to treat political parties/candidates regarding media coverage (should all political parties be treated the same regardless of how big or small they are? If there is to be made a distinction, what should it be based on?) Should there be rules for election reporting in print media and/or on the internet? If there are such rules, should the broadcast regulator have any role in this context? How should foreign media be treated?

Use of media in elections

• Political advertisements: Paid political advertisements on different types of media          (public and private media, different kinds of media)
• News reporting in election periods
• Social networking technologies and the use of new media in elections

Day 2

Broadcasting standards in election periods: Incitement to hatred and violence

• Can and should regular broadcast Codes of Content and similar apply?
• Special rules for election periods.
• Discussion about cases and examples

The Public Service Broadcaster in the election period

• Application of media rules in election periods
• Monitoring in election periods
• Discussion about cases and examples

The cooperation between the media (broadcast) regulator and the election commission

Day 3

Broadcasting regulation and elections - the South African experience

• History of the first democratic elections in South Africa as the context for broadcasting regulation during elections
• Broadcasting and the 1994 elections
• Current regulatory framework - broadcasting regulation during elections
• Lessons learned

Conclusions, remaining issues and discussion
Discussion on whether such things like equity and fairness in the election period should be prescribed by laws? Is it not something that rather requires political will and political maturity of both media and political parties? 

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Dar Es Salaam offers a sophisticated setting for this Masterclass. For the first time visitor, there is the magic of picturesque Harbour, exotic beaches, and historical buildings such as state house, Ocean Road hospital and churches, as well as the most famous sculpture of Askari Monument.

Dar Es Salaam Conference Centre

The Masterclass is held at the Dar Es Salaam Conference Centre. Situated in the in the heart of the Central Business District, the conference centre is close to many of the city’s famous attractions. Dar-es-Salaam Conference Centre boosts 6 meeting rooms of varying sizes and capacities, complimented by an in-house 150-seater restaurant, as well as a 40ft by 50ft roof-top cock-tail verandah and an 80-car parking dedicated to the facility.

Katrin Nyman-Metcalf is Professor of International and Comparative Law at Audentes International University in Tallinn, Estonia and a regular visiting professor at universities in Georgia, Latvia and Sweden lecturing in public international, EU and comparative law with a special emphasis on communications law. Her PhD from Uppsala University, Sweden (1999) deals with the law of outer space including legal issues related to the use of space for communications. Apart from her academic work, Professor Nyman-Metcalf is active as an international consultant in the area of communications law (telecommunications and media) as well as infrastructure and general institution building. Projects include regular legal analysis of media and communications legislation for the OSCE and Council of Europe, EU legislative projects and various professional training projects.  In 1998-1999 Dr. Nyman-Metcalf was Head of the Legal Department of the Independent Media Commission (later Communications Regulatory Agency) in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina and later (until 2004) active as legal advisor to the Agency. She was also involved as advisor and as member of the first Council of the broadcast regulator in Kosovo (until 2007) and is currently involved in training the Iraqi communications regulator. Dr. Nyman-Metcalf has published extensively on international and EU law, including on media issues. She is an Estonian national, resident in Tallinn and speaks seven languages.

Douglas Griffin is an attorney specialising in media and communications issues.  He has worked in the United Arab Emirates providing advice on regulatory issues, in Sudan on a public information campaign related to the peace process in Darfur, and in Iraq on capacity building projects with the media and telecommunications regulator.  He is also advising Jordanian institutions on the establishment of a media law curriculum, the development of an annual media law and policy institute, and other law and policy issues. 

Doug was the lawyer for the Media Development and Regulatory Advisory Team that Albany Associates deployed in Iraq.  In that capacity, he drafted codes and regulations applying to Iraqi media, drafted legal opinions designed to protect the media and public service broadcaster from government influence, drafted procedural rules for administering complaints against media, drafted media legislation for presentation to the Iraqi legislature, and advised the Iraqi interim and transitional governments on the role of independent regulators of media and telecommunications. 

Prior to his position in Iraq, Doug worked with Internews Europe where he assisted media rights advocates in developing countries and was in private practice for five years with the international law firm of Latham & Watkins in New York, Moscow and Paris representing clients on a variety of media and communications matters.

Dunja Mijatovic is Director of Broadcasting at the Communications Regulatory Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She joined the Independent Media Commission IMC, a predecessor of the CRA, on its establishment in 1998, and since then she has been involved in media regulation in BiH and abroad.

Dunja Mijatovic was elected as EPRA Chairperson at the 25th EPRA Meeting in Prague on 18 May 2007. Ms. Mijatovic is the first EPRA Chair from a non-EU Member State and the first woman at the head of this European network of media regulators created in 1995. Up to now, 51 regulatory authorities from 42 countries in Europe have become members of the EPRA. The European Commission and the Council of Europe are standing observers of the Platform.

Dunja holds a Master's Degree in European Studies after studies at the Universities of Sarajevo, Sussex, Bologna and the London School of Economics, which she completed with a thesis on the "Internet and Freedom of Expression". In the period from 2005-2007 she preformed duties as the Chairperson of the Council of Europe’s Group of Specialists on freedom of expression and information in times of crisis.

She is a member of several professional associations and has written numerous articles on topics such as the Digital Divide, media regulation in post conflict zones, use of hate speech and incitement to religious and national hatred in media etc.

Lisa Thornton is a lawyer by vocation.  She has practiced law in the USA as well as in South Africa.  She has worked in telecommunications, broadcasting, land, housing, elections and local government.  She currently works with ICT entities in the areas of commercial, administrative and constitutional law, specialising in regulatory and policy advice.   She represents both large and small commercial concerns, associations and government entities.  She also teaches and writes from time to time.  Lisa has a BA/Political Science from Georgetown College, a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center and a LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand.

To book online click here.

To download a printable version of our booking form click here.

Please post or fax your completed form to:

The Administrator
Broadcast Regulatory Master Class
Albany Associates Ltd
Fox House
10 Whimple Street
Plymouth, PL1 2DH
Devon, UK

Fax: +44 (0) 1752 604 200

For more information please contact Dieter Loraine or Anna Staevska on:
Tel: +44 (0) 1752 604 211
Email: masterclass@albanyassociates.com