ABSTRACT
To inform, to discuss, to mirror, to bind, to campaign, to challenge, to entertain, and to judge – these are the important functions of the media in any free country. The purpose of public policy should be to enable the media to perform them more effectively. Yet historically, very different traditions of promoting these ideals or indeed pursuing no ideals at all have developed in public policy towards the press and broadcasting. Newspapers have been seen as part of the market, while broadcasting has been regulated in order to achieve at least some of these goals. Recently, however, there has apparently been a revolution in official thinking about the media. It has been argued that broadcasting ought also to be managed by market rather than official forces. The state is now seen by some as having a dead hand, and regulation as being an impediment to innovation.
