Information Society Watch

November 2003, Marc Raboy

This chapter examines the impact of globalisation and the technological and economic advances on the role played by the media in the democratisation of societies. Given these characteristics of the global media environment in the information society, the paper focuses on issues of media governance and regulation. These include: the effects of growing concentration of commercial media ownership; the place of mainstream public media; how to foster and promote independent, alternative media initiatives; how to promote freedom of expression and communication through the media; and the plethora of issues surrounding new technologies and new communication platforms such as the Internet. Particular attention is paid to newly emerging transnational sites of media governance and regulation and their role in the broader project of democratisation of global governance. Access to global media policy making through civil society participation in processes such as the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is crucial to this project, insofar as the fostering of a plurality and diversity of media can be seen as facilitating widespread participation in every aspect of public life (Adapted from author).

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