You can download the volume of Forum papers
Please click here to download the Record of the Communications Policy & Research Forum 2008.  It is a 434-page volume containing the published papers.  It is a 3.6MB PDF.

Keynote speakers
These were the 2008 keynote speakers, both of whose papers you will find in the Record of the Forum.

Jonathan Levy, Deputy Chief Economist, Federal Communications Commission, USA
Topic: Binary benefits: better broadcasting & the digital dividend in the USA
Australia is five years from digital switchover, and the United States is fewer than five months away.  In Australia, decisions regarding the magnitude and disposition of the so-called “digital dividend” have yet to be finalized but are under intense discussion and debate.  It is therefore timely to examine how the United States has found its way to the brink of switchover, how it is educating the public about the transition, how it is allocating its digital dividend, and how the transition is affecting the quality and quantity of free-to-air television.  What were the results of the US spectrum auctions?  What remains to be done?  What combination of HDTV, multicasting, and other services will be available to the US free-to-air viewer?  And, most importantly but also most tentatively, taking due account of differences as well as similarities between the US and Australia, what productive use can Australian policy analysts make of the US experience?

Jonathan D. Levy is the Deputy Chief Economist at the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, DC. In addition to advising the Chief Economist, principally on media policy issues, Dr. Levy serves as a liaison between the Chief Economist and economists in the Commission’s bureaus and offices more...

Kim Anderson, Media Executive, Founder and Director of thereadingroom.com
Topic: Lost in translation:  what are the prospects for real media innovation?
Convergence in practice may have reduced our ability to think creatively and innovate. As distribution of content has broadened to a wide variety of platforms, the ability to provide a richer and deeper experience may have been diminished. Has the economic pie grown or are there simply more mouths to feed? Are content budgets being stretched too far in order to accommodate more platforms? Which platforms will make the investment? What role do advertisers play? Have organisations changed sufficiently to take account of these changes?  Is the key to success to think global and act local?  Where do we go from here?

Kim Anderson's career spans book, magazine and newspaper publishing, as well as online media, mobile and free to air television in digital and interactive formats. She was General Manager of Southern Cross View until 2007. Before joining Southern Star, she was Director of Strategy and Technology at the Nine Network, where she was responsible for the strategic and wireless development of existing and new television formats, including viewer engagement strategies using wireless and premium services, and the first fully interactive sporting applications on digital television more...

Downloads of the program and information
Click here to download the 2008 program. 
Click here to download information about the 2008 program.

What the Forum does
With around 70 contributors, this is the largest annual gathering of communications knowledge in Australia.  It gives a springboard to serious thinking and data about the state of media, telecommunications and the Internet.

It is also a national meeting-place for researchers and communications practitioners.  One strength of the Forum is the depth  of analysis, criticism and research offered by professional researchers and practitioners.

The Forum is open to all viewpoints; a co-operative effort by policy and research centres around the country.  The sessions are based on proposals submitted by experts from many different areas, and selected by an eminent review panel.

Custodians of the Forum
A group of seven people from different places and backgrounds act as Custodians of the Forum, to underwrite its independence and diversity: 
Mark Armstrong, Director, Network Insight Institute;
Professor Trevor Barr, Media and Communications, Swinburne University;
Emeritus Professor Reg Coutts, Electrical and Electronic Eng., University of Adelaide;
Lesley Osborne, Manager, Strategic Research Section, ACMA;
Professor Franco Papandrea, Director, Communication and Media Policy Institute, University of Canberra;
Debra Richards, CEO, ASTRA;
Dr Christina Spurgeon, Senior Lecturer, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology.

Sponsors in 2008
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Smart Services CRC; the Australian Computer Society Telecommunications Board; Gilbert + Tobin and IIC Australian Chapter for their financial support.
           

Centres and Institutes Supporting the Forum
ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation
Centre for Media and Communications Law, University of Melbourne
Communication and Media Policy Institute, University of Canberra
Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University
Network Insight Institute

     
                          

Note
The Network Insight Institute provides this Forum web page, and management support for the Forum.  The Institute's own sponsors shown on the right-hand sidebar of this site should not be confused with the separate sponsors of the Forum.