One of the huge creative success stories of the last few decade has been the video games industry. There are now three billion players worldwide, an increasing number of whom are women. (This in spite of the fact that women experience disproportionate levels of abuse.) Games are spawning films and television series, while esports has become a global phenomenon. In his article Jean Paul Simon describes how two countries – Canada and South Korea – adopted industrial policies that enabled them to achieve success far ahead of their economic status.
The disruption of traditional news models and the impact on journalism arising from digitalisation is a continual subject of debates at IIC events. Last year the IIC Australia Chapter, along with the Centre for Media Transition, commissioned a report to look at comparable policy approaches around the world. The author of the report, Julie Eisenberg, explains her findings in her article, ‘Finding a way forward for the news in Australia and beyond’. Solutions aren’t simple, and include a combination of levies and obligations. Over it all hangs the brooding presence of the AI-powered algorithm. As Julie concludes, ‘not acting expeditiously carries serious consequences’.
As always we have a busy programme of events planned – more, in fact , than ever before. I’m especially excited by the prospect of our Annual Conference which, this year, will be held in Bogota, Colombia – the first time the IIC has ever held an event there.
This quarter’s Q&A is with Robert Mourik, the current chair of BEREC, (and a successor of mine at Ireland’s Commission for Communications Regulation) whose unparalleled experience in telecommunications on both sides of the debate means that his opinions are always worth listening to.
and then