The creation of cultural policy in the media: a field research of cultural discourses in Germany

Abstract

In Germany, cultural policy is formally made on the level of municipalities, the Länder (federal states) and the federal government. With approximately eight billion Euros per year, they finance a large percentage of cultural and arts activities: music, theater, dance, museums, libraries, film and the preservation of sites of historic interest. The federal government sets the legal framework in which art can be produced and distributed, and finances it indirectly through tax reductions (VAT reduction), copy right laws, and special health insurance and retirement arrangements for artists (Künstlersozialkasse). Within this institutionalized legal and governmental setting, the discursive dimension of politics is often forgotten, particularly when policy creation is being discussed. This article focuses on the discursive dimensions of politics within the field of classical and contemporary music and offers a discourse analysis of mass media coverage to investigate policy-making.

Artists and policy: a case study of the creative industries in north-eastern Australia

“…Mulcahy (2006, p. 322) argues that the broad area of cultural policy itself involves 'immense complexity', let alone when considered in direct relation to artists. Definitions are also an issue, for example Tröndle and Rhomberg (2011) refer to the different interpretations of the term 'cultural policy', while Galloway and Dunlop (2007) highlight the fact that the terms cultural industries and creative industries, which frequently occur in policy documents, are often used interchangeably and in 'most people's eyes … are basically the same thing' (p. 18). While the history and emergence of these two terms have been examined in-depth elsewhere (e.g.…”

Struggles of Governance and Autonomy in the Field of KulturskoleStruggles of Governance and Autonomy in the Field of Kulturskole

“…For example, in examination music teachers practices and negotiations of professional identity and expertise (Angelo et al, 2019(Angelo et al, , 2021Jordhus-Lier, 2018;Karlsen & Nielsen, 2021;Nerland, 2003;Schei, 2007), in examining collaborations between kulturskole and compulsory school (Ellefsen, 2017;Ellefsen & Karlsen, 2019;Emstad & Angelo, 2017;Westby, 2017;Øyen & Ulrichsen, 2021), and in examining the admission test in higher music education (Lindgren et al, 2021;Sandberg-Jurström et al, 2021). In addition, discourse analysis is widely used in studies of general cultural policy and governance (Bjørnsen, 2009(Bjørnsen, , 2012bPyykkönen, 2012;Pyykkönen & Stavrum, 2018;Røyseng, 2007;Tröndle & Rhomberg, 2011). Despite this, a noticeable research gap is identifiable, both in terms of researchbased knowledge about governance within the kulturskole field, and the use of Foucauldian theory to analyze governance here.…”