Media Ownership: The Economics and Politics of Convergence and Concentration in the UK and European Media

Tracing the development of media ownership policies in the UK and Europe since the early 1990s, Doyle (film and media studies, U. of Stirling, UK) asks whether sufficient safeguards have been put in place to encourage media plurality. Citing political, cultural, and economic reasons for promoting plurality, she examines the winners and losers of shifts in ownership and cross-ownership policies. A significant chunk of the text concentrates on UK regulation, specifically the 1996 Broadcasting Act and the recommendations of the 2000 White Papers on communications. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR