Regulation (Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt): there is a tension in regulation between the need to protect the interests of citizens and the need to serve the interests of consumers; the rise of global, convergent and digital media puts traditional, nationally based regulation under strain.

What this dot point is asking

Media industries asks how ownership, funding, production, distribution and regulation shape what audiences receive. Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt's theory of regulation is a set theory for this area. Its core claim is that regulation is pulled between protecting the interests of citizens and serving the interests of consumers, and that global, convergent and digital media put traditional, nationally based regulation under strain. The exam skill is to read how the rules governing an industry shape a set product.

The answer

What regulation is

• Rules and restrictions. Regulation constrains what producers may make and circulate.
• Industry-specific. Each form has its own regulator and code.

Citizens versus consumers

This citizen and consumer tension is the analytical core. Reading a set product through it means asking which interest a rule serves: an age certificate or watershed protects citizens; a light-touch, pro-competition approach serves consumers by widening choice. The marks lie in identifying the balance struck and its effect on the product.

Convergence and the strain on regulation

For the higher bands this is the up-to-date, evaluative edge of the theory. National regulators were built for broadcast-era media; global platforms and user-generated content strain that model. Bringing this in lets you judge how far regulation still governs a product's industry, and links Livingstone and Lunt to Shirky on audiences and Hesmondhalgh on global conglomerates.

Strengths, limits and evaluation

Using the theory in the exam

1. Name Livingstone and Lunt and the citizen and consumer tension.
2. Identify the regulator and rules for the set product's industry.
3. Read the balance: where the rules protect citizens, where they serve consumers.
4. Bring in convergence: how global, digital and online media strain that regulation.
5. Judge, weighing the reach of regulation against the strain, and conclude on how far it shapes the product.

Examples in context

Reading an industry through regulation. Suppose a set product belongs to an industry with a clear regulator, such as film or broadcasting. Using Livingstone and Lunt, the first move is to name the rules: the certification or code the product must meet, and what it permits or restricts. The second move is to read the citizen and consumer balance: an age rating or content warning protects citizens, especially vulnerable audiences, while a competitive, choice-driven market serves consumers; which interest does the regulation here prioritise, and how does that shape the product's content, scheduling or distribution? The third move, decisive for the top bands, is convergence: global corporations, convergent technologies and online distribution strain national regulation, so similar content might circulate unregulated online. Judge how far regulation still governs this product's industry, keeping the analysis tied to the specific regulator and rules rather than general claims about censorship.

Try this

Q1. What are the two competing interests Livingstone and Lunt say regulation must balance? [2 marks]

• Cue. The interests of citizens (protection from harm and offence) and of consumers (choice, value and competition).

Q2. Why do Livingstone and Lunt argue traditional regulation is under strain? [3 marks]

• Cue. Global media corporations, convergent technologies and digital and online distribution put nationally based regulation at risk, as online content can bypass national rules.

Q3. Using Livingstone and Lunt, assess how far regulation shapes the industry behind one set product. [15 marks]

• What the marker wants. The regulator and rules identified, the citizen and consumer balance read, the strain of convergence weighed, and a supported judgement on how far regulation shapes the product.