Broadcasting In The 21st Century

This study examines the situation of public broadcasting worldwide, in a number of different contexts, from a variety of thematic perspectives. The result is a global report on the question of public service broadcasting

A geographical focus on the United Kingdom, the United States, and India offers international contrasts and comparisons in this look at the evolution of broadcasting and the impact of technology on media. Broadcast equipment, software, and production techniques are discussed with real examples from radio and television news production. Key figures including Steve Case, Ted Turner, Walt Disney, and Rupert Murdoch are profiled, with a discussion of why broadcasting is dominated by large corporations. Information on the code of ethics that governs this fourth estate highlights different challenges presented to private and international channels.

The 21st century is already seeing fundamental changes in broadcasting. No longer are audiences limited to watching or listening to television and radio at the times and places dictated by the broadcasters, or on radio or TV 'sets'. Broadcasting in the 21st Century demonstrates how 'traditional' television and radio is being both challenged and supported by technological developments, including convergence and social media. Drawing on interviews with industry personnel and featuring case studies and research from many countries, including that from the UK, USA, China, India and South Africa, Richard Rudin explains not only the significance of these changes but also how many of the functions and pleasures of broadcasting that were established in the 20th century are being enhanced by new media. Opening with a substantial account of how broadcasting developed in the 20th century, the author goes on to explore how new media forms are changing audiences' pleasures, expectations and demands. Rudin's illuminating study highlights the changing relationship between audiences and broadcast output to examine a range of subjects including: - The impact of citizens' journalism - Political coverage - International TV formats and news output - The continuing appeal of radio as a distinct medium - Debates over bias, truth and trust in broadcasting and broadcasters In addition, Broadcasting in the 21st Century addresses a range of broadcast forms and genres including the coverage of general elections, Reality TV and pirate radio.

The main objectives of the series correspond to those of the journal Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research, also published by Mouton de Gruyter. The discipline of communication science is concerned with investigation of the structure and function of mass communication processes and their impact on society and social groups. How these processes have an impact on values, knowledge, opinions and behaviour of individuals similarly constitutes an important area of concern for the discipline. The Communications Monograph series emphasizes these concerns of the discipline through publication of books taking a European social science perspective. Inasmuch as mass communication cannot be studied distinct from other modes of communication, the purpose of the Series is to publish material covering other communication forms - intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational - in addition to mass communication. In other words, the Communications Monograph series encompasses the entire field of communication science as its domain of interest. Special attention is addressed to the publication of titles that serve as main texts for academic courses and focus on such topics as communication theory and methodology, mass media and production of mediated messages, media use, reception processes, and media impact, political and marketing communication, advertising, public relations and propaganda, media policy, new media technologies and electronic networks, media history and media development.

Radio is the most widespread electronic medium in the world today. As a form of technology that is both durable and relatively cheap, radio remains central to the everyday lives of billions of people around the globe. It is used as a call for prayer in Argentina and Appalachia, to organize political protest in Mexico and Libya, and for wartime communication in Iraq and Afghanistan. In urban centers it is played constantly in shopping malls, waiting rooms, and classrooms. Yet despite its omnipresence, it remains the media form least studied by anthropologists. Radio Fields employs ethnographic methods to reveal the diverse domains in which radio is imagined, deployed, and understood. Drawing on research from six continents, the volume demonstrates how the particular capacities and practices of radio provide singular insight into diverse social worlds, ranging from aboriginal Australia to urban Zambia. Together, the contributors address how radio creates distinct possibilities for rethinking such fundamental concepts as culture, communication, community, and collective agency.

In the twenty-first century, community radio is fulfilling an increasingly important role in the world's mediascape. This book documents the ways in which community radio broadcasters and activists are using the medium in countries around the world to challenge political corruption, aid the transition to political democracy and broadcast voices that are otherwise unheard. The contributors to the volume are academics and practitioners from five continents, many with first-hand experience of community radio. Each chapter demonstrates the pivotal role that small radio stations can play in developing, sustaining and invigorating communities. The book charts campaigns for the legalisation of community radio and relates them to a theoretical context, while providing illustrations and examples from community radio stations around the world.

Broadcasting is an important indicator of a society's political, economical, social, cultural and geographical context. While currently at a crossroads, European broadcasting remains highly diverse due to the fragmentation of national policies. The book introduces the reader to the topic by providing and explaining facts, figures and techniques of analysis. The contributions to the first section of Western Broadcasting examine the general theoretical framework. The articles in the second section map out European media cases. The book's twofold approach is reflected in the accompanying CD-ROM, which also contains examples and hyperlinks.