Addresses different aspects of the "communication question," bringing out the ways in which communication serves at times as an instrument of repression and domination, and at other times as a support for human emancipation. Essays written by international scholars and activists. "These essays do much to increase reader awareness of the "mediatization" of society."--"Choice"

A little over a century ago, the world went wireless. Cables and all their limiting inefficiencies gave way to a revolutionary means of transmitting news and information almost everywhere, instantaneously. By means of "Hertzian waves," as radio waves were initially known, ships could now make contact with other ships (saving lives, such as on the doomed S.S. Titanic); financial markets could coordinate with other financial markets, establishing the price of commodities and fixing exchange rates; military commanders could connect with the front lines, positioning artillery and directing troop movements. Suddenly and irrevocably, time and space telescoped beyond what had been thought imaginable. Someone had not only imagined this networked world but realized it: Guglielmo Marconi. As Marc Raboy shows us in this enthralling and comprehensive biography, Marconi was the first truly global figure in modern communications. Born to an Italian father and an Irish mother, he was in many ways stateless, working his cosmopolitanism to advantage. Through a combination of skill, tenacity, luck, vision, and timing, Marconi popularized-and, more critically, patented-the use of radio waves. Soon after he burst into public view at the age of 22 with a demonstration of his wireless apparatus in London, 1896, he established his Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company and seemed unstoppable. He was decorated by the Czar of Russia, named an Italian Senator, knighted by King George V of England, and awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics-all before the age of 40. Until his death in 1937, Marconi was at the heart of every major innovation in electronic communication, courted by powerful scientific, political, and financial interests. He established stations and transmitters in every corner of the globe, from Newfoundland to Buenos Aires, Hawaii to Saint Petersburg. Based on original research and unpublished archival materials in four countries and several languages, Raboy's book is the first to connect significant parts of Marconi's story, from his early days in Italy, to his groundbreaking experiments, to his protean role in world affairs. Raboy also explores Marconi's relationshps with his wives, mistresses, and children, and examines in unsparing detail the last ten years of the inventor's life, when he returned to Italy and became a pillar of Benito Mussolini's fascist regime. Raboy's engrossing biography, which will stand as the authoritative work of its subject, proves that we still live in the world Marconi created.

Few will deny that public service broadcasting--broadcasting that is controlled neither by the state nor by private media corporations--is an essential ingredient in modern democracy. But, as a number of initiatives in transition economies have shown, the inception and development of a strong public broadcasting system is a Herculean task that is easily sidetracked by politics or ideology, or stalled by lack of funding. Especially when state budgets are stretched, the expense is hard to justify. This collection of documents, comments, and cases brings all the major issues in public service broadcasting policy into focus and sets the problems to be addressed in sharp relief. It draws on white papers from NGOs and broadcasters, legislation from a wide range of countries (and a model law), accounts of public broadcasting efforts in transition states, analyses of evolving policy in established systems, government regulatory guidelines, and a great deal more. Among the matters touched upon are the following: the principles of public service broadcasting and their cultural and economic justification; limiting state interference; the place of public broadcasting in a multi-channel, "market-driven" world; the appropriate mix of public and private revenues; objectivity and impartiality in broadcasting; how institutional structures can shape programming strategies; the use of competition law to adjust relations between public and private broadcasting; EU accession standards for public service broadcasting; and the impact of digital broadcasting.

"Very useful collection. . . . More thematically coherent than many such volumes. . . . The book is quite topical and readable, considering its depth; most of the authors avoid turgid jargon or intellectual dandyism. . . . The book is not just required reading for academic specialists--it is also accessible to motivated journalists and senior undergraduates. It definitely has a place as a supplementary text in courses on media/ideology, socio-political conflict, and social movements." --Canadian Journal of Communication "Media, Crisis, and Democracy is required reading for anyone with an eye on the future of government. . . . Thought-provoking." --The Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management "Provocative and radical content. . . . George Gerbner's essay on 'Violence and Terror In and By the Media' bears the hallmarks of lucid and engaging analysis which have typified his distinguished scholastic contribution to media studies for so long. . . . It is an interesting and, on occasion, important discussion of the crucial relationship between media and democracy." --Political Studies In modern states, the smooth functioning of democratic politics is inextricably tied to the role of the media in the creation and dissemination of information, images, and ideas. Utilizing a number of different contexts, Media, Crisis, and Democracy explores the ways in which crises serve to highlight the problematic issues of media performance in democratic states. Further, the book examines the relationship between communication and civil society by asking some difficult yet intriguing questions: To what extent do threats to the sovereignty of the nation-state work to subvert the contribution of the media to the democratic political process? Do crises reveal only the existing ideological and hegemonic functions of the mainstream media? Is "crisis" itself a media construct? Media, Crisis, and Democracy explores these theoretical problems through a number of actual cases of media responses to "crises," events ranging from the Gulf War of 1991 to the recent turmoil in Eastern Europe. These examples emphasize the complexities of understanding the role of the media in struggles of identity around nationality, ethnicity, and gender. Graduate and undergraduate students as well as scholars in political communication, mass communication, and media studies will find this book indispensable.

A little over a century ago the world went wireless. Cables and all their limiting inefficiencies gave way to a revolutionary means of transmitting news and information almost everywhere, instantaneously. By means of "Hertzian waves," as radio waves were initially known, ships could now make contact with other ships (saving lives, such as on the doomed R.M.S. Titanic); financial markets could coordinate with other financial markets, establishing the price of commodities and fixing exchange rates; military commanders could connect with the front lines, positioning artillery and directing troop movements. Suddenly and irrevocably, time and space telescoped beyond what had been thought imaginable. Someone had not only imagined this networked world but realized it: Guglielmo Marconi. As Marc Raboy shows us in this enthralling and comprehensive biography, Marconi was the first truly global figure in modern communications. Born to an Italian father and an Irish mother, he was in many ways stateless, working his cosmopolitanism to advantage. Through a combination of skill, tenacity, luck, vision, and timing, Marconi popularized-and, more critically, patented-the use of radio waves. Soon after he burst into public view with a demonstration of his wireless apparatus in London at the age of 22 in 1896, he established his Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company and seemed unstoppable. He was decorated by the Czar of Russia, named an Italian Senator, knighted by King George V of England, and awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics-all before the age of 40. Until his death in 1937, Marconi was at the heart of every major innovation in electronic communication, courted by powerful scientific, political, and financial interests, and trailed by the media, which recorded and published nearly every one of his utterances. He established stations and transmitters in every corner of the globe, from Newfoundland to Buenos Aires, Hawaii to Saint Petersburg. Based on original research and unpublished archival materials in four countries and several languages, Raboy's book is the first to connect significant parts of Marconi's story, from his early days in Italy, to his groundbreaking experiments, to his protean role in world affairs. Raboy also explores Marconi's relationships with his wives, mistresses, and children, and examines in unsparing detail the last ten years of the inventor's life, when he returned to Italy and became a pillar of Benito Mussolini's fascist regime. Raboy's engrossing biography, which will stand as the authoritative work of its subject, proves that we still live in the world Marconi created.

The contributors to this book explore the way in which crises highlight the problematic issues of media performance in democratic states.

They examine the relationship between communication and civil society through a number of actual cases of media responses to crises', ranging from the Gulf War of 1991 to recent events in Eastern Europe. Individual examples of mediated crises emphasize the complexities of understanding the role of the media in struggles of identity around nationality, ethnicity and gender.

Canada is at a critical juncture in the evolution of its communications policy. Will our information and communications technologies continue in a market-oriented, neoliberal direction, or will they preserve and strengthen broader democratic values? Media Divides offers a comprehensive, up-to-date report card, or audit, on communications law and policy. Using the concept of communications rights as a framework for analysis, leading scholars not only reveal the nation's democratic deficits in five key domains - media, access, the Internet, privacy, and copyright - they also formulate recommendations, including the establishment of a Canadian right to communicate, for the future.