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The mission of the Donald McGannon Communication Research Center is to conduct, support, reward, and disseminate research that informs the communications policymaking process and ethical decision-making in the management of media institutions. The Center seeks to contribute to the development of a tradition of rigorous research into media performance and media policy, with a particular emphasis on the interaction between the economic and the public service dimensions of media performance. In pursuit of these objectives, the Center will serve as a resource and forum for scholars, policymakers, industry groups, and public interest organizations with an interest in understanding the factors that affect media performance and the appropriate policies to promote and sustain a media system that functions effectively from both an economic and a public service standpoint.
The media environment is undergoing dramatic technological and institutional change. However, the principles that define a media system that best serves the needs of our democracy and culture remain constant. Principles such as diversity, localism, and competition are vital components of a media system that best serves the public interest. As media industries grow and respond to the changing technological environment, taking advantage of new revenue streams and expanding into new markets, attention must continue to be paid to the ethical and public interest dimensions of media performance. Only then can we be confident that the technological and institutional changes affecting the media and communications industries will have a positive impact on how the media contribute to our democracy and culture. It is vital that media and communications policy and ethics research focus on the inherent tensions between the economic dimensions and the political and cultural dimensions of our media institutions in order to guarantee that economic growth and opportunity do not come at the expense of a vibrant and robust marketplace of ideas.
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