At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Isaac A. Blankson is Associate Professor of Communication and Public Relations and Patrick D. Murphy is Professor of Mass Communications. Murphy is the coeditor (with Marwan M. Kraidy) of Global Media Studies: Ethnographic Perspectives.

"Much of the material here identifies new points of discussion and ongoing lines of further investigation … With the continuing development of technology, people's access to it, and the desire of governments to control that access, the stories of this book linking media and political structures in and across nations and regions in a globalized and globalizing world will continue to be elaborated and enacted for some time." — Russian Journal of Communication"…brings together a varied collection of analyses of ongoing changes in media, politics, and policies." — Political Communication"…[the authors] have assembled an immense amount of data and provided careful sociological interpretations and historical presentations. The fourteen contributors find a disturbing world, while probing human resilience against obscurantism and authoritarianism. The usefulness of this book is unquestionable." — H-Net Reviews"I like the inclusion of the wide and diverse selection of nations, all the more so because most of them aren't 'the usual suspects.' Most of the contributors are relatively new, fresh voices in the field and in a good position to present new perspectives. The topic is highly significant, very important, and as yet has not been addressed in this particular form." — Donald R. Browne, author of Ethnic Minorities, Electronic Media and the Public Sphere: A Comparative Approach"This book provides rich, interesting historical and very useful contemporary descriptive material. The cases illustrated show a nice variety of primary concerns, from private media monopolies in Guatemala and Bulgaria, to media globalization in Bulgaria, to press freedom and media democratization." — Joseph Straubhaar, coauthor of Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology

• List of FiguresList of TablesAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Media and Democracy in the Age of GlobalizationPatrick D.MurphyPART I. REGIONAL TRENDS IN MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY 1. Media Independence and Pluralism in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges of Democratization and LiberalizationIsaac A. Blankson2. Vestiges of Authoritarianism: Monopoly Broadcasting in Central AmericaRick Rockwell3. Emerging Media Transformations in the New Europe: Past and Future ChallengesNoemi Marin and Laura LengelPART II. STATE CONTROL, LIBERALIZATION, AND DEMOCRATIC REFORM 4. An Awakening in Cambodia: From Failed State to a Media-Rich SocietyDrew O. McDaniel5. First Democracy in Chinese History: Media’s Role in the Democratization of TaiwanKuldip R. Rampal6. Nigeria: Equivocating while Opening the Broadcast Liberalization GatesChuka Onwumechili7. Media, the State, and the Prodemocracy Movement in IranMehdi Semati8. Transformations and Development of the Korean Broadcasting MediaDoobo Shim and Dal Yong JinPART III. TELEVISION, RADIO, GLOBALIZATION, AND DEMOCRACY 9. Reality Television, Politics, and Democratization in the Arab WorldMarwan M. Kraidy10. Democracy Sponsored by NAFTA?Mexican Television in the Free Trade EraKenton T. Wilkinson11. First Green Is Always Gold: An Examination of the First Private National Channel in BulgariaElza Ibroscheva and Maria Raicheva-Stover12. Globalization and the Privatization of Radio in Greece: Influences, Issues and ConsequencesJudy Rene SimsNotes on the Editors and ContributorsIndex