Media Power and Plurality: From Hyperlocal to High-Level Policy (Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business) - Softcover

"This is a comprehensive and research-driven collection that makes a huge contribution to how we can both understand and secure media plurality. Leading scholars and campaigners guide us through the murky waters of media ownership and regulation and provide a rigorous analysis of the challenges facing those who want to see a more democratic media. Essential reading in an age of concentrated media power." - Des Freedman, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

"The range of problems besetting media diversity and pluralism in both established western democracies and emerging nations are becoming increasingly acute. Ranging across issues of media concentration, the state and its relationship to public interest and forms of media regulation, the role of global media and communications companies and the use of private information, the contributors to this book offer a comprehensive assessment of both what threatens and what might sustain media pluralism. Combining different theoretical approaches to media pluralism with case studies and legal and regulatory analysis from a range of excellent contributors, this book is genuinely thoughtful and thought provoking and should be read by all concerned with what the media should be and how near or far we are from redressing the current range of problems it faces." - Jacqueline Harrison, University of Sheffield, UK

'This valuable collection of essays from leading academics should stimulate debate and be of continued utility for scholars and policy makers in the field. The collection demonstrates the ongoing need for a plurality of media in a healthy democracy; a need which is not satisfied by the presence alone of the ubiquitous digital media. Especially valuable is the authors' willingness to grapple with how plurality might be designed and measured in the current complex media environment, offering creative approaches that try to move beyond the traditional policy and regulatory measures.' - Lesley Hitchens, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

While policymakers in the world reiterate the importance of protecting voice diversity, traditional media conglomerates and new social media giants make their task increasingly challenging. This book assesses the current state of policy-making on media plurality and explores novel policy ideas for funding, regulatory and structural interventions.