At its annual conference, which took place from 20 to 24 June 2024 on the Gold Coast in Australia, the International Communication Association (ICA) awarded Prof. Dr Manuel Puppis the "C. Edwin Baker Award for the Advancement of Scholarship on Media, Markets and Democracy".

As the jury stated in its decision, Puppis's contributions to conceptually disentangling media policy, regulation, and governance opened new paths in communication policy research and shaped current discussions about platform governance. He has significantly influenced the theoretical and methodological broadening of the research field and has played a central role in promoting young academics. He has also attached great importance to linking media policy research and practice.

The ICA is one of the two major global professional societies in the field of communication science. The Baker Prize was established in 2010 from the estate of C. Edwin Baker (1947-2009), Professor of Law and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

Full statement of the jury:

"Manuel Puppis’s widely cited scholarship has significantly influenced the theoretical and methodological breadth of the communication law and policy field. His contributions to conceptually disentangling media policy, regulation, and governance opened new paths in communication policy research, set the agenda for its study, and prefigured pressing, contemporary discussions about platform governance. With a focus on European public service media but spanning both English- and German-speaking countries, his work has broadened and democratized the study of media policy and revitalized comparative policy analysis across different policy regimes. His attention to questions of methodology—often neglected in media policy scholarship—contributed to a co-edited, foundational book on media policy research methods. Puppis has played a pivotal role in supporting and nurturing junior scholars through his mentorship, leadership in scholarly associations such as ECREA, and the many academic forums he convened and collections he edited. A distinguished record of consultation with policy organizations underscores Puppis’s commitment to bridging media policy research and practice, impacting public policy and debate outside the scholarly community."