This book proposes a framework for comparative analysis of the relation between the media and the political system Building on a survey of media institutions in eighteen West European and North American democracies, Hallin and Mancini identify the principal dimensions of variation in media systems and the political variables that have shaped their evolution They go on to identify three major models of media system development, the Polarized Pluralist, Democratic Corporatist, and Liberal models; to explain why the media have played a different role in politics in each of these systems; and to explore the force of change that are currently transforming them It provides a key theoretical statement about the relation between media and political systems, a key statement about the methodology of comparative analysis in political communication, and a clear overview of the variety of media institutions that have developed in the West, understood within their political and historical context

Comparing Media Systems: three models of media and politics

With the radical changes in information production that the Internet has introduced, we stand at an important moment of transition, says Yochai Benkler in this thought-provoking book. The phenomenon he describes as social production is reshaping markets, while at the same time offering new opportunities to enhance individual freedom, cultural diversity, political discourse, and justice. But these results are by no means inevitable: a systematic campaign to protect the entrenched industrial information economy of the last century threatens the promise of today's emerging networked information environment. In this comprehensive social theory of the Internet and the networked information economy, Benkler describes how patterns of information, knowledge, and cultural production are changing--and shows that the way information and knowledge are made available can either limit or enlarge the ways people can create and express themselves. He describes the range of legal and policy choices that confront us and maintains that there is much to be gained--or lost--by the decisions we make today.

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The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom

The wealth of networks : how social production transformsmarkets and freedom

https://www.bond.org.uk/sites/default/files/resource-documents/using_icts_to_create_a_culture_of_transparency.pdf

Using ICTs to create a culture of transparency: E-government and social media as openness and anti-corruption tools for societies

The Internet is a critically important research site for sociologists testing theories of technology diffusion and media effects, particularly because it is a medium uniquely capable of integrating modes of communication and forms of content. Current research tends to focus on the Internet's implications in five domains: 1) inequality (the “digital divide”); 2) community and social capital; 3) political participation; 4) organizations and other economic institutions; and 5) cultural participation and cultural diversity. A recurrent theme across domains is that the Internet tends to complement rather than displace existing media and patterns of behavior. Thus in each domain, utopian claims and dystopic warnings based on extrapolations from technical possibilities have given way to more nuanced and circumscribed understandings of how Internet use adapts to existing patterns, permits certain innovations, and reinforces particular kinds of change. Moreover, in each domain the ultimate social implications of t...

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Social Implications of the Internet

Robert McChesney argues that the media, far from providing a bedrock for freedom and democracy, have become a significant antidemocratic force in the United States and, to varying degrees, worldwide. "Rich Media, Poor Democracy" addresses the corporate media explosion and the corresponding implosion of public life that characterizes our times. Challenging the assumption that a society drenched in commercial information 'choices' is ipso facto a democratic one, McChesney argues that the major beneficiaries of the so-called Information Age are wealthy investors, advertisers, and a handful of enormous media, computer, and telecommunications corporations.This concentrated corporate control, McChesney maintains, is disastrous for any notion of participatory democracy. Combining unprecedented detail on current events with historical sweep, McChesney chronicles the waves of media mergers and acquisitions in the late 1990s. He reviews the corrupt and secretive enactment of public policies surrounding the Internet, digital television, and public broadcasting. He also addresses the gradual and ominous adaptation of the First Amendment ('freedom of the press') as a means of shielding corporate media power and the wealthy. "Rich Media, Poor Democracy" exposes several myths about the media-in particular, that the market compels media firms to 'give the people what they want'- that limit the ability of citizens to grasp the real nature and logic of the media system. If we value our democracy, McChesney warns, we must organize politically to restructure the media in order to affirm their connection to democracy.

Rich media, poor democracy : communication politics in dubious times

"The Global Media" describes in detail the recent rapid growth and crossborder activities and linkages of an industry largely composed of international conglomerates. It assesses the significance of the ongoing deregulation and convergence of global media and telecommunications systems and the rise of the internet. The authors argue that the most important features of this globalization process are the implantation, consolidation and concentration of advertisement-based commercial media and the parallel weakening of the 'public sphere'. It is contended that the United States provides the evolutionary model toward which the global media system is moving, and the history and characteristics of the U.S. System are described, along with developments in seven other countries around the world. Finally, the authors evaluate the defenses of the ongoing globalization process and discuss the forms of local, national and global resistance that have emerged. Written by two of the leading media scholars in America, this book provides the most up-to-date, concise survey of the global media industry available and has become essential reading for all those interested in media studies. "

The global media : the new missionaries of corporate capitalism

The influence of media on society is unquestioned. Its reach penetrates nearly every corner of the world and every aspect of life. But it has also been a contested realm, embodying class politics and the interests of monopoly capital. In "The Political Economy of Media", one of the foremost media critics of our time, Robert W. McChesney, provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic and political powers that are being mobilized to consolidate private control of media with increasing profit - all at the expense of democracy.In this elegant and lucid collection, McChesney examines the monopolistic competition that has created a global media that is ever more concentrated and centralized. McChesney reveals why questions about the ownership of commercial U.S. media remain off limits within the political culture; how private ownership of media leads to the degradation of journalism and suppression of genuine debate; and why corporate rule threatens democracy by failing to provide the means for an educated and informed citizenry. "The Political Economy of Media" also highlights resistance to corporate media over the last century, including the battle between broadcasters and the public in the 1920s and 1930s and the ongoing media reform movement today. "The Political Economy of Media" makes it clear that the struggle over the ownership and the role of media is of utmost importance to everyone.

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The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas

Researchers interested in the intersections between media systems, journalism, communications policy and democracy are likely to already be familiar with the work and perspectives of Robert McChesney. For decades, he has published prolifically, highlighted by books that include Rich Media, Poor Democracy (2000) and The Death and Life of American Journalism (2010, with John Nichols). McChesney has matched this scholarship with activism in the media reform movement, most notably as co-founder of Free Press, today the largest nonprofit media reform organization in the nation. His recent publication, Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy, builds upon this rich tradition of scholar-activism, updating it for the digital age. The masterfully researched and engaging text is a stinging indictment of actually existing capitalism’s influence on press freedom and democratic life in the United States. Blending historiography with critical theory, political economy with media studies, Digital Disconnect argues that American capitalism has leveraged the Internet to undermine and weaken democracy, just as it did with the communication technologies of the 20 century. Yet, McChesney argues, there is still some hope—we are in the midst of a critical juncture, and “battles over the Internet are of central importance for all those seeking to build a better society” (p. 232).

Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy

Written bywell-knownmedia critic RobertW.McChesney, Rich Media, Poor Democracy is a book that world historians may overlook, since many seem to think the study of mass media is less important than the study of market economies or migration. But as the conglomerates which own the media become more global, world historians would be well advised to pay attention to them, since they have the power to influence some of the very policies and attitudes that world historians DO study.

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Robert W. McChesney

Papers

Rich media, poor democracy : communication politics in dubious times

The global media : the new missionaries of corporate capitalism

The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas

Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy

Rich Media, Poor Democracy