The aim of the Daniel Jones Research Group in Communication Structure and Policies is to contribute to the academic analysis, both critical and comparative, of media systems in the Western European area, with emphasis on the countries of Mediterranean Europe and particularly the Spanish and Catalan media systems. To that end, we study the strategies and behaviours of the economic, political and social actors that coexist within these systems, as well as the interrelations that are forged among them.

We, the group members, subscribe to the focus that theorists place on the Political Economy of Information, Communication and Culture, because we consider that media systems, as they are shaped, contribute to the replication of dominant structures of power and economics. At the same time, our approaches incorporate a historic perspective and have ties with social constructivism, since we are interested in exploring the reasons why media systems have gradually evolved into their current forms.

Concerned by the systematic absence of the most disempowered voices on the media agenda, we call for public communication policies that will help to rectify this situation. In this respect, we consider the existence of strong, independent public media to be an inalienable objective for the articulation of a public opinion free from the constraints that hegemonic discourses represent, and sensitive to the profound inequalities that exist in our societies and even more so on a global scale. Likewise, we believe that social collectives should enjoy a presence on the media landscape, by having access to spaces in public media or benefitting from a legal framework that really enables them to take community media forward.

However, beyond these criteria and common concerns, it should be understood that the points of view expressed by some members of the group in scholarly and other forums are not necessarily shared by other members.​​

The group’s name stems from our sincere intellectual and human respect for professor Daniel Jones (1950-2007), who was connected with the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) for 25 years. The rigour of his academic production, his flawless integrity and his altruism in teaching and research are, for us, an admirable model of conduct that serves to guide us as a team and in many of our individual endeavours.

The group is essentially made up of former researchers from the Communication Policies Observatory at the UAB’s Institute of Communication, and is currently affiliated to the Department of Media, Communication and Culture at the same university.

Maria Isabel Fernández Alonso