Media policy studies is under-theorised and is now coming up as a distinct sub-field in the larger canvas of communication and media studies. In such a scenario, theoretical impetus to this growing sub-field is but warranted. In an effort to fill this gap, my paper seeks to present a theoretical framework to the study of media policy, called the Deliberative Policy Ecology Approach. The Approach draws on literature from studies in deliberation as a praxis of communication in politics and policymaking, and on the idea of ecology as a heuristic device to house the policy continuum that we experience as a process. The Approach has been subject to practical applicability to study media policymaking, and extends itself as useful to the critical study of such a process. This paper seeks to outline this practical utility of such an Approach, seeking to bridge the gap between media policy theory and practice.
Keywords: media policy studies, media theory, ecology, deliberation