Dwayne Winseck
Professor, Director of the Global Media & Internet Concentration Project
- B.A., M.A. (Windsor), Ph.D. (University of Oregon)
- Email Dwayne Winseck
Dwayne Winseck is Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, with a cross appointment at the Institute of Political Economy, 杏吧原创 University. His research interests include the political economy of telecommunications, the Internet and media as well as communications and media history, theory, policy and regulation. He is also the Director of the Global Media and Internet Concentration Project, a project funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant.
Dwayne鈥檚 research, data and views on media concentration and communication, media and Internet industry and policy issues are well known and have been solicited or cited widely in the scholarly literature and by the Parliament of Canada, Canadian Senate, Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Committee, World Trade Organization, the International Telecommunications Union, amongst others. Dwayne also writes regular op-eds on these topics for the press and other outlets, including as a regular columnist for the Globe and Mail.
His co-authored book with Robert Pike Communication and Empire: Media, Markets and Globalization, 1860-1930 won the Canadian Communication Association鈥檚 book-of-the-year prize in 2008.
ORCID: ORCID: 0000-0002-8122-9223
Areas of Interest
- Communication and media history
- Political economy of communication, Internet and media
- Communications, media and Internet history
- Communications, media and Internet regulation
Current Research Projects
Global Media and Internet Concentration Project (SSHRC Partnership Grant)
The Global Media and Internet Concentration (GMIC) Project was launched in 2021 after winning a $2.5 million grant from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The project brings together fifty or so scholars from around the world to address a deceptively simple but profoundly important question: have the communication, Internet and media industries鈥攊ndividually and collectively鈥攂ecome more or less concentrated over the period covered by this study, i.e. 1984-2027? We use this question, in turn, as a springboard to a far-reaching, yet clearly-bounded and richly detailed analysis of some two dozen sectors of the communications, Internet and media industries in the nearly 40 countries we cover.
The project鈥檚 scope covers both the traditional communications and media industries as well as the rise of new actors like the digital platforms (e.g. Google, Apple, Amazon, Baidu, Bytedance, Facebook, Microsoft, Netlfix, Tencent, etc.) A dozen external partners also serve as advisors and contributors to the project, including, for example, the Department of Canadian Heritage, UNESCO, Statistics Canada, the Internet Society, OBSERVACOM, and the International Institute of Communication, amongst others.
The was recently launched. While still in its early stages, our intention is for the site to be a wide-ranging and authoritative resource for students and scholars, policymakers, activists journalists, and anyone else interested in media market data. This website picks up where the one for a earlier iteration of this project, the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project, left off. Last year鈥檚 (2021) 10th anniversary editions of two-part annual series of reports for that project marked the start of this new initiative. Those reports are now available on the new GMIC Project website. Other country reports and data will be available soon.
This research will inform independent academic research and policy developments, especially in relation to the fast evolving, new generation of Internet services regulation now taking shape in Canada and around the world.
Student Supervisions
Supervision of PhD Students
- Ben Klass (current)
- Xiaofei Han (current)
- Peter Garland (current)
- Miaoran Dong (current)
- Marc-Andre Pigeon (2008)
- Valerie Steeves (2005)
Supervision of MA Students
- Miaoran Dong (2021)
- Madeleine Lajeune (2021)
- Meagan Bell (2019)
- Sabrina Wilkinson (2017)
- Henry Guardado (2015)
- Lianrui Jia (2014)
- Shayna Gershner (2014)
- Jasmine Mosielski (2012)
- Dabrine Desroches (2009)
- Rhiana Chinapen (2009)
- Sheehan Carter (2006)
Select Publications
Books
2007 Winseck, D. & Pike, R. Communication and Empire: Media Power and Globalization, 1860-1930. Durnham, N.C.: Duke Univ. Press. (Winner of the Canadian Communication Association鈥檚 G. J. Robinson book of the year award)
1998 ReConvergence: A political economy of telecommunications in Canada. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.
Edited Volumes
2012 Winseck, D. & Jin, D. Y. (eds.). Political Economies of Media: the Transformation of the Global Media Industries. London: Bloomsbury.
1997 Bailie, M. & Winseck, D. (eds.). Democratizing communication?: Comparative perspectives on information and power. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.
1997 Sreberny-Mohammadi, A., Winseck, D., McKenna, J. & Boyd-Barrett, O. (eds.). Media in Global Context. London, UK: Edward Arnold.
Selected Peer Reviewed Articles & Book Chapters
2022 Winseck, D. & Bester, K. (2022/forthcoming). . In T. Flew, J. Thomas & J. Holt (eds.). Sage Handbook of the Digital Media Economy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2022 Winseck, D. (2022/forthcoming). . In T. Flew, F. Martin & R. Gillett (eds.). Digital Platform Regulation: Global Perspectives on Internet Governance. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
2022 Winseck D. (2022/forthcoming). Curran & Seaton鈥檚 Power without Responsibility: Legacy and lessons. In M. Klontzas (ed.). James Curran & Jean Seaton鈥檚 Power without Responsibility: Critical Reflections. London: Routledge.
2020 鈥淰ampire Squids鈥, the Broken Internet and Platform Regulation. Journal of Digital Media and Policy, 11(3), 241-282.
2020 Schafer, V., Fickers, A., Howarth, D., Musiani, F., Pohle, J. & Winseck, D. (2020) The internet and the European market from a multidisciplinary perspective: a 鈥渞ound-doc鈥 discussion, Internet Histories, DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2020.173960.
2019 Wilkinson, S. & Winseck, D. Whither Journalism? Crisis or Wrenching Change in Journalistic Work in Canada? Canadian Journal of Communication (forthcoming) (author split 70/30).
2018 Fitzgerald, S. & Winseck, D. Media Economics: Missed Opportunities, Mischaracterizations, Review Essay on Stuart Cunningham, Terry Flew and Adam Swift鈥檚 (2015) Media Economics (Palgrave: London). The Political Economy of Communication, 6(1), 83-97.
2018 Jia, LR & Winseck, D. The political economy of Chinese internet companies: Financialization, concentration and capitalization. The International Communication Gazette, 80(1), 30-59.
2017 Winseck, D. & Pooley, J. A Curious Tale of Economics and Common
Carriage (Net Neutrality) at the FCC: A Reply to Faulhaber, Singer, and Urschel. International Journal of Communication, 11, 2702-2733.
2017 The Geopolitical Economy of the Global Internet Infrastructure. Journal of Information Policy, 7, 228-267.
2016 Reconstructing the Political Economy of Communication for the Digital Media Age. The Political Economy of Communication, 4(2), 73-114.
2011 Submarine Telegraphs, Telegraph News, and the Global Financial Crisis of 1873. Journal of Cultural Economy: Special Issue on Financial Crises edited by M. Poovey, 5(2), 197-212.
2010 Winseck, D. Financialization and the 鈥淐risis of the Media鈥: The Rise and Fall of (Some) Media Conglomerates in Canada. Canadian Journal of Communication, 35(3), 1-28.
2009 Winseck, D. & Pike, R. The Global Media and the Empire of Liberal Internationalism, circa 1910-1930. Media History, 2009, 15(1), 31-54. (70/30 contribution)
2008 Information Operations 鈥楤lowback鈥: Communication, Propaganda and Surveillance in the Global War on Terrorism. International Communication Gazette, 70(6), 419-441.
2008 Media Ownership and the Consolidation of Media Markets. Sociology Compass, 2(1), 34-47.
2002 Illusions of perfect information and fantasies of control in the information society. New Media and Society, 4(1), 89-118.
2002 Netscapes of power: Convergence, consolidation and power in the Canadian mediascape. Media, Culture & Society, 24(6), 795-819.
Select Awards
2021 The Global Media and Internet Concentration Project. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Partnership Grant ($2,500,000).
2017 Faculty Graduate Mentoring Award, Faculty of Public Affairs, 杏吧原创 University.
2015 Nominated for Capital Educators Award
2014 Public Commentary Award, Faculty of Public Affairs, 杏吧原创 University.
2012 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant for 鈥淐anadian Media Concentration Research Project鈥 ($234,523).
2000 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for the project: Electronic empires and wired worlds: Electronic media and the foundations of globalization, circa 1860-1920 (Co-researcher: Dr. Robert Pike) ($78,500).
Recent Media & News Coverage
Op-eds
- Winseck, D. (April 19, 2022).听. Centre for International Governance Innovation, CIGIOnline.
- Winseck, D. (April 19, 2022).听. TVO Today.
- Winseck, D. (Feb. 25, 2022).听. Centre for International Governance Innovation, CIGIOnline.
- Winseck, D. & Klass, K. (March 19, 2021). Rogers鈥 bid for Shaw is bad news for competition in several media markets, and should be blocked.听.
- Winseck, D. (June 6, 2021). Bill C-10 and the Future of Internet Regulation in Canada: Is there a more democratic and accountable alternative?聽.
- Winseck, D. (Feb. 17, 2021). Why Canada should take a critical look at Australia鈥檚 internet regulations.听.
- Winseck, D. (July 1, 2016). Modular media: A radical communication and cultural policy for Canada. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:聽.
- Winseck, D. & Klass, M. (May 18, 2016). MTS deal would set a harmful precedent for wireless competition.听.
- Winseck, D. (April 19, 2016). Guilty pleasures and proper needs: Who gets what kind of Internet, and who decides?聽.
- Winseck, Dwayne.听.听Globe & Mail, February 4, 2013.
- Winseck, D. (March 28, 2015). At Bell Media, editorial meddling by execs appears to be a recurring problem.听.
- Winseck, Dwayne.听.听Huffington Post,聽October 15, 2012.
Audio
- Darts and Letters (Nov. 5, 2021).听聽(FT: Matt Stoller & Dwayne Winseck).
- Jespersen, R. (May 11, 2021). Bill C-10 with Dwayne Winseck (17 min, 21 second mark).听.
- Geist, M. (April 19, 2021).听.听Michael Geist LawBytes Podcast.
- Hanomansing, I. (March 21, 2021). Cross Country Checkup with Ian Hanomansing: What鈥檚 your reaction to the Rogers-Shaw deal? Are you satisfied with the price and speed of your internet and cell phone service?聽.
- George, P. J. (Feb. 25, 2021). Should governments regulate online platforms?聽.
Video
- Canada, Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) (April 6, 2021).听.
- CBC (March 15, 2021).听聽(starts @ 2 minute mark).
- BNN聽(April 20, 2017).听
- CTV News (December 22, 2016).听.
- CBC聽(August 17, 2012).听.
- Thanthong-Knight, R. & Decloet, D. (April 13, 2022). Rogers keeps rising as Shaw deal nears key antitrust ruling.听.
- Gilmore, R. (April 5, 2022). Feds to force tech giants like Facebook, Google to pay for news with new bill.听.
- Patel, R. (March 31, 2022). Canada鈥檚 legislation compelling big tech to pay news outlines is on the way. Here鈥檚 how we got here.听.
- Saba, R. (August 14, 2021).听Media industry cautiously optimistic the government will soon force digital giants to pay for their content.听.
- George, P. J. (Feb. 26, 2021). Should governments regulate online platforms?聽.
- Corcoran, T. (Feb. 24, 2021). What is the market price for news? The Facebook-Aussie deal is not the answer.听.
Contributions to Public Policy Proceedings
2021 Winseck, D. & Klass, B. Submission to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology of the House of Commons (Canada) regarding the Competitiveness of the Canadian Economy (April 15, 2021).
2021 Winseck, D. & Klass, B. The Great Reversal: Why the Rogers-Shaw Merger is a Raw Deal and Regulators Should Deny It. Submission to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology of the House of Commons (Canada) regarding the proposed acquisition of Shaw by Rogers (April 2021).
2021 Canada, Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) (April 6, 2021). .
2021 Canada, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (March 29, 2021).
2019 Klass, B. & Winseck, D. Competition in Canadian mobile wireless markets: Pricing problems and wholesale solutions. Expert report prepared for the Consumers鈥 Association of Canada (Manitoba Branch), Winnipeg Harvest and the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg. Submitted to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2019-57, 鈥淣otice of hearing鈥擱eview of mobile wireless services鈥 (75pp).
2019 Winseck, D. & Klass, B. Submission to the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel. [].
2018 Winseck, D. Common Carriage and Cultural Policy for the Internet Age. SenVu of hearings before the Senate Transportation and Communication Committee鈥檚 Review of the Telecommunications, Broadcasting and RadioCommunication Acts. (September 18, 2018).
2018 Klass, B. & Winseck, D. (2018). Poor internet for poor people? Why Canada needs better and more affordable mobile services for everyone. Expert report prepared for the Consumers Association of Canada (Manitoba Branch) and the Public Interest Law Centre in consideration of: Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2018-98, 鈥淐all for comments鈥擫ower-cost data-only plans for mobile wireless services鈥 (101pp).
2018 Winseck, D. & Klass, B. Website Blocking, Clogging the Pipes, and Crippling Citizens鈥 Fundamental Communication Rights. . Submitted before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Application 8663-A182-201800467 to disable on-line access to piracy sites (March 29, 2018)(76pp).
2017 Shattered Mirror, Stunted Vision and Squandered Opportunities: A reply to the Public Policy Forum鈥檚 The Shattered Mirror: News, Democracy and Trust in the Digital Age. Canadian Media Concentration Research Project. Ottawa: School of Journalism and Communication, 杏吧原创 University [] (February 9, 2017) (28pp).
2016 Klass, B., Winseck, D., Nanni, M. & Mckelvey, F. (2016). There ain鈥檛 no such thing as a free lunch: Historical and international perspectives on why common carriage should be a cornerstone of communications policy in the Internet age. CMCR Project鈥檚 to the CRTC鈥檚 Review of Differential Pricing (CRTC 2016-192). Plus responses to interrogatories and oral presentation)(88pp) (author split: 45/45/5/5)
2016 Rethinking Universal Service for the 21st Century and an All-IP World (September 2015) CMCR鈥檚 first to the CRTC鈥檚 Review of Basic Telecommunications Services (). Available at: (Plus responses to interrogatories and oral presentation) (57pp).
2016 Klass, B. & Winseck, D. Why Bell鈥檚 Bid to Buy MTS is Bad News. Report submitted to the Competition Bureau assessing Bell Canada Enterprises鈥 proposed bid to acquire Manitoba Telecommunications Services. Available at (46pp) (author split 50/50)
2013 Expert Witness. Written brief and testimony for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in the matter of Bell Canada Enterprise鈥檚 Second Bid to Purchase Astral Media Hearings before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Montreal, Quebec, May 2013.