Transmitting and Receiving Europe. The European broadcasting space as a legal regime

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Christian Franke
• Subject Area: Economic and Social History
• Term: from 2007 to 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 41591011

The individual project ‘The European broadcasting space as a legal regime’ is an integral part of a European network project within the Eurocores program ‚Inventing Europe: Technology and the Making of Europe, 1850 up to present’ entitled ‘Transmitting and Receiving Europe’ which aims at writing a history of Europe centred on the idea of broadcast communication being the most powerful and influential means for both national and transnational communication in the 20th century. Such a history of Europe emphasizes the role of broadcasting technology and broadcasting infrastructures in the invention and building of Europe as an integrated and/or fragmented political, cultural and economic entity. This individual project contributes to the overall intention by focusing on the link between the transmission and the reception of Europe, namely the broadcasting frequencies which serve as a vehicle for broadcast communication. It analyzes in how far legal rules and commitments for the usage of broadcasting frequencies influenced the medial construction of European communication spaces in constantly changing political and cultural environments. In addition to a shared methodological approach which reflects the dynamics of different forms of European representation, emerging on the material level, on the institutional level and on the discursive level, this individual project will make use of property rights theory. By doing so it tries to explain the common goods problems inherent in transmitting and receiving broadcasting programmes in Europe.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria, Netherlands, Sweden
• Participating Persons: Professorin Dr. Karin Bijsterveld; Professor Dr. Andreas Fickers; Professor Dr. Fritz Hausjell; Dr. Nina Wormbs