Communication Planning and Policy

Characteristics, Definitions and Ideas of

Communication Policy

Shameem Reza, PhD

Department of Mass Communication and Journalism

Defining policy

’Policy’ refers to a set of explanations and intentions, to the

realization of intentions (Hall & McGinty, 1997), to a series of
actions and their consequences, or to all of these together. As for
policy analysis, Wildavsky (1979) reminds us that there can be
no single definitions; instead there are many approaches (as
quoted in Papathanassopoulos & Negrine, 2010).
Defining policy
A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions
and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of
intent, and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies
are generally adopted by a government body, but the term
may also apply to private sector organizations and groups, as
well as individuals. Policy differs from rules or law. While law
can compel or prohibit behaviors (e.g. a law requiring the
payment of taxes on income), policy merely guides actions
toward those that are most likely to achieve a desired outcome
(Wikipedia).
Communication policies
•Communication policies exist in every society, though they be latent
and disjointed rather than clearly articulated and harmonized.

•The policies may be very general (in the nature of goals and principles),
or they may be more specific and particularly binding.

•They may be incorporated in the constitution or legislation of a country.

•They may be incorporated in overall national policies, in the guidelines

for individual administrations, in professional codes of ethics, as well as
in the operational rules of particular communication institutions.
The idea of communication policy

Society has certain basic needs if it is to operate normally –

needs for information, for control, for continuity of norms and
values. Thus, communication is co-extensive with society: as
essential condition of social living is the sharing of
information and values with others. Indeed society as a whole
might be viewed as a network of channels of information and
institutions for communicating ideas, demands and decisions
(Stapleton, 1974).
‘Defining’ communication policies

Communication policies are set of principles and norms

established to guide the behavour of communication systems.
They are shaped over time in the context of society’s general
approaches to communication and to the media. Emanating
from political ideologies, the social and economic conditions of
the country and the values on which they are based, they strive
to relate these to the real needs for and prospective opportunities
of communication (Communication Policies, UNESCO, 1977).
‘Defining’ communications policy
Communications policy seeks to examine the ways in which policies
in the field of communications are generated and implemented and
their repercussions for the field of communications as a whole. This is
admittedly a broad definition. Few decades ago, ‘communications
policy’ was not widely used (Halloran, 1986) and there was little
discussion about the need to develop policies for the field of
communication as a whole. Although, in practice, there were often
specific policies relating to particular media, there was no real
attempt to seek to coordinate activities for the entire media
landscape, either within one country or across a group of countries
(Papathanassopoulos & Negrine, 2010).