Media Power and Plurality

Steven Barnett, University of Westminster, UK Benedetta Brevini, University of Sydney, Australia Thomas Gibbons, University of Manchester, UK Martin Moore, King's College London, UK Alison Harcourt, University of Exeter, UK Peter Humphreys, University of Manchester, UK Beata Klimkiewicz, Jagiellonian University, Poland Raymond Kuhn, Queen Mary University of London, UK Philip M. Napoli, Rutgers University, USA Judith Townend, University of London, UK Josef Trappel, University of Salzburg, Austria Lorna Woods, University of Essex, UK

"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

• Introduction; Steven Barnett and Judith Townend 1. What is 'Sufficient' Plurality?; Thomas Gibbons 2 Diversity, Distribution and Definitions of 'Media'; Lorna Woods 3. Plurality and Public Service Broadcasting: Why and How PSBs Deserve Protection; Steven Barnett 4. Plurality and Local Media; Martin Moore 5. Hyperlocal media and the News Marketplace; Judith Townend 6. Media Ownership and the Political Economy of Research in US Media Policymaking; Philip Napoli 7. From Media Policy to 'Big' Media Policy: the Battle for Pluralism in Australia; Benedetta Brevini 8. Media Plurality: What Can the European Union Do?; Alison Harcourt 9. Transferable Media Pluralism Policies from Europe; Peter Humphreys 10. Media Plurality in France; Raymond Kuhn 11. Media Subsidies – Editorial Independence Compromised?; Josef Trappel 12. Putting Ends and Means in the Right Place: Media Pluralism Policies in Central and Eastern Europe; Beata Klimkiewicz