英语论文网

We are confronted today with local and global concentration of media ownership. In 美国留学生媒体学论文 mediamarkets around the world, our members are faced with pressures to relax ownership rules. Thispush spills over into aggressive attacks on public broadcasting structures, with widespread callsfor privatisation. Another dimension is the drive for deregulation in the private sector.Concentration is a threat to creativity, diversity and pluralism. Further, it impedes the protection ofcreators’ rights. Finally, it also impacts negatively on trade union rights undermining orsuppressing labour views in the public sphere.

To be able to participate in community life and make political choices, citizens rely heavily oninformation. They need to know what is going on and what are the options that they should weigh,debate and act upon. Ideally there should be a wide range of media representing the diverseopinions and viewpoints on issues of public interest existent in society, which are independent ofthe state and society's dominant economic forces. Media concentration can occur in a variety ofways and for different reasons.

Companies can integrate horizontally and vertically or through product diversification andinternationalisation. Media concentration has a detrimental effect upon democracy, which vitallydepends on diversity of opinion. Media should reflect the whole variety of ideas, viewpoints andopinions that exist in a society and represent a wide range of political and cultural societal groups.A concentrated media market might not only have a disadvantageous impact upon pluralism andallow media owners a heightened influence on public opinion, but can also enable the largestplayers to close the market to new entrants.

The challenge is to respond to this situation with something more positive: a call to the worldcommunity for real media plurality, creativity and diversity. UNI and trade unions globally point out that the world’s development cannot safely be left for the markets to decide. Media ownershipmust be regulated at local, national and international levels in order to promote media plurality.UNI affiliates are taking actions at national level as this report illustrates.

Endnotes
1 Financial Times Global 500, 28 May 2003. Viacom (market value $66 bn) is in 36th place; AOL Time Warner is in 55th place. (But General Electric is in second position).
2 Fédération Communication et Culture, press releases dated 4 February 2003 and 28 February 2003, see
3 WGAw, testimony to Federal Communications Commission, 2 January 2003
4 Charles Slocum, statement to State of California Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and
International Trade, 19 March 2003. See www.wga.org/pr/0303/slocum.html
5 Karin Wenk, Alternativen in der Krise: Gegen Medienkonzentration, für Pressefreiheit, Transparenz und Angebotsvielfalt, Medien issue 07-08/2003. See
6 MEAA, Media Concentration is Bad for Democracy, see
7 BECTU News, Monopoly and content concerns, 8 February 2001, see www.bectu.org.uk
8 Writers Guild of America, west, FCC Media consolidation vote deals setback to television viewers; Quality programming, media diversity undermined, News release, 2 June 2003
9 CWA criticises FCC decision on media concentration, News release, 2 June 2003
10 Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Appendix to Recommendation No R (99), 1999, quoted in Su本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。