Description: The history of the communications media is a political history of their centrality to the exercising of citizenship. The traditional liberal concept of freedom of information has underpinned the development of advanced media systems ensuring universal access to knowledge, as well as dissemination of the full range of political opinions facilitating the public pursuit of rights and citizenship. Conversely, the mass media have been viewed as oppressors and perpetuators of state power by critics who have questioned the traditional orthodoxy of state-media-audience relations.

This introduction to the political role of the mass media provides a detailed consideration of the political and philosophical implications of the changing communications landscape -- a global economic landscape fueled by the impact of new technologies (cable, satellite, telecommunications, personal computers and the Internet).

We are entering a world in which technological changes carry with them either the seeds to promote or retard citizen empowerment and the problem remains how to effectively employ this new set of information highways for societal benefit. This book provides comprehensive coverage of this contemporary debate.

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