Amit Schejter

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Amit Schejter
AmitSchejter2.jpg
Born1961
Philadelphia, PA, United States
CitizenshipU.S., Israeli
Scientific career
Fields Communication Studies
Institutions Oranim Academic College, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Pennsylvania State University
Doctoral advisor Jorge Reina Schement
Website BGU

Amit Schejter (Amit Meshulam Schejter) is Professor of Communication Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel and Visiting Professor of Communications and co-director of the Institute for Information Policy at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications of the Pennsylvania State University. He is the former President of Oranim College.

Contents

Academic career

Schejter received his LL.B. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1986, his M.S. in mass communications from Boston University in 1991 and his Ph.D. in communication and information policy from Rutgers in 1995. Between 1997 and 2000 he was on the faculty at  Tel Aviv University. Since 2004 he has been at Penn State [1] and since 2012 at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev [2] where he previously (2014-2018) served as Head of the Department of Communication Studies and as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (2018-2020).

His research focuses on the relationship between media and justice. [3] [4] It analyzes how media policies have an effect on the public interest; [5] minority rights; the unequal distribution of communication resources, [6]  and the silencing of the public's voice, [7] in particular that of members of marginalized communities. [8] Central among the theoretical approaches to justice he currently investigates is the capabilities approach. [9]

He has also written extensively about media regulation, critiquing policies regarding broadcasting, [10] cable television, [11] [12] public broadcasting, [13] mobile services, [14] and audiovisual services [15]  in Israel as well as low power FM, [16] network neutrality [17]  and universal service [18]  policies in the U.S. As a member of the International Media Concentration Group, he analyzed (with Moran Yemini) media concentration in Israel between 1984-2013. [19]

He is the author or editor of 8 books and more than 80 journal articles, law reviews and book chapters in five languages and has been cited in congressional and Knesset hearings. Critics have described his books as deserving of "high praise for their energetic and creative investigation", [20]   as "must-read for policy makers, educators, industry leaders and others interested in bringing U.S. communications into the 21st century," [21] and as "display[ing] enviable intellectual courage". [22] In 2017 he received (with Noam Tirosh) the Israel Communication Association's Outstanding Book of the Year Award. [23]  He serves as the founding editor of the Journal of Information Policy [24]  and was a member of the scientific management of the Israeli Center of Research Excellence (ICORE) "Learning in a NetworKed Society" (LINKS) (2013-2019). [25]

Public service

Between 1988-1989 and 1992-1993 Schejter served as bureau chief and senior advisor to Israeli ministers of education and culture Yitzhak Navon and Shulamit Aloni. Between 1993 and 1997 he was director of legal affairs and international relations at the Israel Broadcasting Authority [26] where he co-authored the Nakdi Report. In 2000 he was appointed vice president for regulatory affairs [27] at Cellcom (Israel), where he attracted public attention when attacking the government's caving in to pressures of Bezeq, [28] the national telco, and refusing to undergo a polygraph test enforced on the corporation's senior management. [29]

In 2007-2008 he headed the Future of American Telecommunications Working Group, which proposed a telecommunications and media policy agenda for the incoming Obama administration, [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] and he has addressed regulators, [36] [37]  and academic audiences worldwide. Most recently, in 2015 he headed a government panel that proposed sweeping changes to the Israeli media industry. [38]

He currently sits on the board of directors of the Jaffa Theatre – The Stage for Arab-Hebrew Culture, [39] and is Chairperson of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel [40]  . He is the founding co-director of the Shulamit Aloni Prize. [41] As an avid fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv he for a few years wrote a popular column on the fans' website. [42]

Books

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ "Amit Schejter / Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State". bellisario.psu.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  2. ↑ "The Department of Communication Studies - Amit Schejter". in.bgu.ac.il. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  3. ↑ M., Schejter, Amit; Moran, Yemini (2007). "Justice, and Only Justice, You Shall Pursue: Network Neutrality, the First Amendment and John Rawls's Theory of Justice". Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review. 14 (1). ISSN   1528-8625.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Schejter, Amit M.; Tirosh, Noam (2015-10-01). ""Seek the meek, seek the just": Social media and social justice". Telecommunications Policy. SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE GOVERNANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA. 39 (9): 796–803. doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2015.08.002.
  5. ↑ Schejter, Amit M.; Obar, Jonathan A. (2009-10-01). "Tell It Not in Harrisburg, Publish It Not in the Streets of Tampa". Journalism Studies. 10 (5): 577–593. doi:10.1080/14616700902920240. ISSN   1461-670X. S2CID   145131902.
  6. ↑ Schejter, Amit M.; Tirosh, Noam (2012-10-01). "Social Media New and Old in the Al-'Arakeeb Conflict: A Case Study". The Information Society. 28 (5): 304–315. doi:10.1080/01972243.2012.708711. ISSN   0197-2243. S2CID   30111621.
  7. ↑ Schejter, Amit M. "UI Press | Amit M. Schejter | Muting Israeli Democracy: How Media and Cultural Policy Undermine Free Expression". www.press.uillinois.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  8. ↑ Schejter, Amit M. (2008-10-01). "'The Stranger That Dwelleth with You Shall Be unto You as One Born among You'—Israeli Media Law and the Cultural Rights of the 'Palestinian-Israeli' Minority". Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication. 1 (2): 156–179. doi:10.1163/187398608X335810. ISSN   1873-9865.
  9. ↑ A Justice-Based Approach for New Media Policy - In | Amit M. Schejter | Palgrave Macmillan.
  10. ↑ Schejter, Amit (1996-12-01). "The cultural obligations of broadcast television in Israel". Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands). 56 (3): 183–200. doi:10.1177/001654929605600302. ISSN   0016-5492. S2CID   145317824.
  11. ↑ Schejter, Amit M. "From a Tool for National Cohesion, to a Manifestation of National Conflict: The Evolution of Cable Television Policy in Israel, 1986-1998". ScholarSphere.
  12. ↑ Schejter, Amit; Lee, Sahangshik (2007-03-01). "The Evolution of Cable Regulatory Policies and Their Impact: A Comparison of South Korea and Israel". Journal of Media Economics. 20 (1): 1–28. doi:10.1080/08997760709337017. ISSN   0899-7764. S2CID   62811353.
  13. ↑ Schejter, Amit M. (2018). "Israel: A Critical-Legal History of Public Broadcasting Financing". Transparency and Funding of Public Service Media – die deutsche Debatte im internationalen Kontext (in German). Springer VS, Wiesbaden. pp. 119–132. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-17997-7_10. ISBN   9783658179960.
  14. ↑ Schejter, Amit M. (2006). "Israeli cellular telecommunications policy". Telecommunications Policy. 30 (1): 14–28. doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2005.11.001.
  15. ↑ Schejter, Amit M.; Tirosh, Noam (2016-03-01). "Audio-visual regulation transition in Israel: A view from within". International Journal of Digital Television. 7 (1): 39–63. doi:10.1386/jdtv.7.1.39_1.
  16. ↑ Connolly-Ahern, Colleen; Schejter, Amit; Obar, Jonathan A. (2012-02-29). "The Poor Man's Lamb Revisited? Assessing the State of LPFM at its 10th Anniversary". The Communication Review. 15 (1): 21–44. doi:10.1080/10714421.2012.647286. ISSN   1071-4421. S2CID   144084364.
  17. ↑ M., Schejter, Amit; Moran, Yemini (2007). "Justice, and Only Justice, You Shall Pursue: Network Neutrality, the First Amendment and John Rawls's Theory of Justice". Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review. 14 (1). ISSN   1528-8625.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Schejter, Amit M. (2009-08-01). "'From All My Teachers I Have Grown Wise, and From My Students More Than Anyone Else': What Lessons Can the US Learn from Broadband Policies in Europe?". International Communication Gazette. 71 (5): 429–446. doi:10.1177/1748048509104990. ISSN   1748-0485. S2CID   145062416.
  19. ↑ Schejter, Amit M.; Yemini, Moran (2016). Who Owns the World's Media?. pp. 942–985. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199987238.003.0030. ISBN   9780199987238.
  20. ↑ Katz, James E. (2009-06-01). "Wonder Phone in the Land of Miracles: Mobile Telephony in Israel - by Akiba Cohen, Dafna Lemish & Amit Schejter". Journal of Communication. 59 (2): E7–E10. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01427.x. ISSN   1460-2466.
  21. ↑ ".. And Communications for All, Amit M Schejter (Edited ) Marvin Ammori (Contributions). Review was written in Choicereviews website".
  22. ↑ Stone, Kirk (Spring 2010). "Book Reviews". International Communication Research Journal. 45 (1–2): 55–57.
  23. ↑ "פרס הספר המצטיין מטעם האגודה הישראלית לתקשורת לשנת תשע״ז לספרם של פרופ' עמית שכטר וד"ר נעם תירוש מאוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב – חדשות באר שבע". newsb7.co.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  24. ↑ "Journal of Information Policy". www.psupress.org. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  25. ↑ "Scientific Management". The Israeli Center Of Research Excellence. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  26. ↑ "News1 עמית שכטר מונה לתפקיד סמנכ"ל רגולציה בחברת סלקום". www.news1.co.il. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  27. ↑ Efi Landau (18 February 2003). "4 Cellcom executives refusing polygraph test". Globes. Archived from the original on 2 November 2004. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  28. ↑ "הבעיה של בזק היא סלקום, לא חברות הכבלים". הארץ (in Hebrew). 2002-09-15. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  29. ↑ לנדאו, אפי. "הפוליגרף בסלקום: סמנכ"ל הרגולציה והיועצת המשפטית מסרבים להיבדק". Globes. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  30. ↑ "Research team to propose communication policy in Washington, D.C. | Penn State University" . Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  31. ↑ "Penn State-led research team offers counsel for new administration | Penn State University" . Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  32. ↑ "Tech wonks embrace government activism in telecom policy". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  33. ↑ "Academics Skewer U.S. Broadband Record - InternetNews". www.internetnews.com. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  34. ↑ "Better communications for all -- GCN". GCN. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  35. ↑ "Telecommunications Policy Part 1, Jan 26 2009 | Video | C-SPAN.org". C-SPAN.org. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  36. ↑ "Faculty members to address foreign regulatory bodies | Penn State University" . Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  37. ↑ "IIP leads program about broadband access, policy in D.C. | Penn State University" . Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  38. ↑ Tucker, Nati (2015-09-18). "Panel Recommends Independent Media Regulator for Israel". Haaretz. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  39. ↑ "Jaffa Theater A stage for Arab Hebrew Culture Repertuar 2015 תיאטרון יפו במה לתרבות עברית ערבית חוברת הצגות 2015 .pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  40. ↑ "האגודה לזכויות האזרח בישראל | האנשים: נשיא, הנהלה, צוות". www.acri.org.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  41. ↑ "Shulamit Aloni Prize". shulamitaloni. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  42. ↑ "אדום עולה". אדום עולה (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  43. ↑ "The Wonder Phone in the Land of Miracles: Mobile Telephony in Israel (Cohen, Lemish, Schejter)". Hampton Press.
  44. ↑ "Amit M. Schejter | Muting Israeli Democracy: How Media and Cultural Policy Undermine Free Expression". University of Illinois Press.
  45. ↑ Ammori, Marvin; Baynes, Leonard M.; Frieden, Robert M.; Goodman, Ellen P.; Hudson, Heather E.; Jayakar, Krishna; Struggle, Robert W. McChesney author Blowing the Roof Off the Twenty-First Century: Media Politics and the; Montgomery, Kathryn; Napoli, Philip M. (2009-02-16). Schejter, Amit M. (ed.). . . . And Communications for All: A Policy Agenda for a New Administration. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. ISBN   9780739129203.{{cite book}}: |first7= has generic name (help)
  46. ↑ "Beyond Broadband Access". Fordham University Press. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  47. ↑ "חדש על המדף". www3.openu.ac.il. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  48. ↑ A Justice-Based Approach for New Media Policy - In | Amit M. Schejter | Palgrave Macmillan.
  49. ↑ Kali, Yael; Baram-Tsabari, Ayelet; Schejter, Amit M., eds. (2019). Learning In a Networked Society. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-14610-8. ISBN   978-3-030-14609-2. S2CID   107744800.
  50. ↑ Digital Capabilities. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-22930-5.
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