Volume 9 of the Irish Communications Review presents a series of papers originally presented at Digital Landscapes – a symposium hosted in 2001 by Dublin City University and Dublin Institute of Technology on the challenges of the digital media revolution and its consequences for Ireland’s media and cultural industries.

The symposium represented the first attempt by the two institutions to jointly explore the diffusion of digital technologies in Ireland, the rapid growth of Internet access and the imminent impact of digital television on the media landscape. The symposium recognised that the digitisation of media has far reaching consequences beyond the issues of technological change and has already had significant demonstrable effects on the production, regulation and consumption of media culture in Ireland.

The articles in this issue explore the challenges and changes faced by Ireland’s media and the implications of a digital future on the technological, economic, occupational, spatial and cultural features of the Irish media landscape. While there have been some significant developments, notably in the broadcast sector, since the Digital Landscapes symposium, it was felt worthwhile to publish the following contributions without major revision but including necessary updating where appropriate.

Volume 9 of Irish Communications Review appears electronically and continues the tradition of providing a forum for academic research on Irish media and institutions.

The Issue Editors for Volume 9 were:

  Brian O'Neill, School of Media, DIT
  Brian Trench, School of Communications, DCU