Foreword by Christopher H. Sterling, Associate Dean, George Washington University
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Who owns the media? This thorough
update to Benjamin Compaine's original 1979 benchmark and 1982 revisit of
media ownership tackles this question, providing a detailed examination of
the current state of the media industry. Retaining the wealth of data of
the earlier volumes, Compaine and his coauthor Douglas Gomery chronicle
the myriad changes in the media industry and the factors contributing to
these changes. They also examine how the media industry is being reshaped
by technological forces in all segments as well as by social and cultural
reactions to these forces.
This third edition of WOTM has been reorganized and expanded, reflecting the evolution of the media industry structure. Broadcast television, cable, and satellite are now addressed in a single chapter, the video cassette industry is given consideration as part of the film business, and the Internet is discussed in a new chapter. The text is supplemented by numerous tables and graphs, offering clear overviews of historical developments and current status. Looking beyond conventional wisdom and expectations, Compaine and Gomery examine the characteristics of competition in the media marketplace, present alternative positions on the meanings of concentration, and ultimately urge readers to draw their own conclusions on an issue that is neither black nor white. Appropriate for media practitioners and sociologists, historians, and economists studying mass media, this volume can also be used for advanced courses in broadcasting, journalism, mass communication, telecommunications, and media education. As a new benchmark for the current state of media ownership, it is invaluable to anyone needing to understand who controls the media and thus the information and entertainment messages received by media consumers. ______________________________________________________ Benjamin M. Compaine specializes in the study of media economics, telecommunications policy, and the social and cultural implications of changing information technologies. He is senior research affiliate, Internet & Telecoms Convergence Consortium at MIT. He has also served as executive director of the Program on Information Resources Policy (PIRP) at Harvard University, and as chief executive of Nova Systems, developing software for management information reporting in telecommunications software. He has written numerous books and articles on media, technology, and policy issues for industry, academic, and general readers. Douglas Gomery is professor in the College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. He is the author of ten books and many articles on the economics and history of the mass media. His column on the economics of television is a regular feature of the American Journalism Review.
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