8Media Institutions

In this chapter we:

  • investigate the ownership of media institutions and consider the role of public service broadcasting in an increasingly commercial and globalised media environment
  • look at how media products are distributed and paid for by audiences
  • consider the ways in which media institutions are controlled and regulated
  • look at globalisation and the way that the internet is changing how we view and access the media.

As we mentioned in the Introduction, wherever you go in the world it is almost impossible to avoid the media. There are few areas in the world that do not have some kind of newspaper (even if it is only a news-sheet). There is barely a country that does not have a television station, and if it does ...

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