RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

Slavko Splichal,

Univerza Edvarda Kardelja v Ljubljani;

FaKulteta za sociologijo , potiticne vede in novinarstvo

RADIO AS A HEANS OF COMMUNICATION

Introduction to the Second Collopuium on Communication and Culture

ТНЕ IDEA OF THE COLLOOUIA ON COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE The idea of organizing international col'oquia on communication and culture goes back to 1986 when Hanno Hardt from the University of lowa was a Fulbright Professor at the Faculty of Sociology , Political Science and Journalism in Ljubljana . We discussed the possibi!ity anđ meaningfulness of organizing a small-group meeting for the development of an annual course on aspects of emerging theory and research in communication anđ culture for faculty and građuate students in order to builđ an international dialogue on these issues . The idea of the Colloguia on Communication and Culture was a the result of a need to address probtems of communication practice anđ media research on an international level, to identify differences and commonalities among various national approaches and to establish a basis for a collaborative search for solutions. The development of new communication technologies, particularly the introduction of satellite communication , cable television systems and telematic media , have emphasized again the importance of media as social and cultural as well as economic institutions . The rapidly increasing participation, particularly by industrial societies , in the development and deployment of communication harđware and the production of software have led to a highly competitive situation and have raised considerable issues in trans-border communication and its effects upon the cultural and social conditions of societies through the application of the latest media technologies . Although journals and national meetings of scientific and professional organizations certainly provide a certain type of information sharing among experts , the colloguia we had in mind suggested a đifferent academic milieu which would encourage inđividuals to present and explain contemporary developments in their respective fields under the most favorable conditions of a seminar format and stimulate the development of theory and research through an intensive involvement in presentations and discussions of ideas , Thus , the rationale for the colloguia was