Structure refers to all matters relating to the media system, including its form of

organization and finance, ownership, form of regulation, infrastructure, distribution

facilities, and so on.

Conduct refers to the manner of operation at the organizational level, including the
methods of selecting and producing content, editorial decision-making, market
policy, relations established with other agencies, procedures for accountability, and
so on.
Performance essentially refers to content: to what is actually transmitted to an
audience. The main values outlined have a different reference at each level, and for
the most part we concentrate on structure and performance rather than conduct.

Freedom has an obvious claim to be considered as the basic principle of any theory
of public communication, from which other benefits should flow.

Freedom is a condition, rather than a criterion, of performance, and thus applies

primarily to media structure. Once a right to freedom exists, we cannot easily
distinguish between one freely chosen use of freedom of expression and another,
within limits set by law, although we evaluate these uses according to other values.

We have to make a distinction between freedom of the media (or the press, as it is
sometimes called) and freedom of expression, although sometimes the same thing is
meant. Freedom of expression is a much wider right. It refers to the substance or
content of what is communicated (opinion, ideas, information, art, etc.) while the
press refers to one main ‘container’, vehicle or means for enabling publication.

Freedom of communication has a dual aspect: offering a wide range of voices and
responding to a wide-ranging demand or need.

 absence of censorship, licensing or other controls by government so that there is

an unhindered right to publish and disseminate news and opinions and no
obligation to publish what one does not wish to;
 the equal right and possibility for citizens to have access to channels of
expression and
 publication as well as access as receivers (‘right to communicate’);
 real independence from excessive control and interference by owners and
outside political or economic interests;
 competitiveness of the system, with limits to media concentration and cross-
ownership;
 freedom for news media to obtain information from relevant sources
 Media Structure

Media Structures and Media Policy

Within the research area of "Media Structures and Media Policy" which is directed by
Prof. Dr. Manuel Puppis, researchers deal with two interrelated subjects. On the one
hand, we are interested in influences of media systems and media organizations on the
media’s performance. The production of media content is not coincidental but depends on
characteristics of the media system, ownership structures or the organizational design of
media corporations, among other factors.
On the other hand, we focus on how media policy and regulation shape media structures.
Media systems do not emerge naturally but are politically created. Various actors are
involved in such policy-making processes and are trying to realize their interests and
values. To analyze the regulation and governance of legacy media and new
intermediaries we often perform international comparisons.

Media Conduct

Media Content