ABSTRACT
Before proceeding to the individual country analyses, it is necessary to delineate a number of key conceptual tools that underwrite any study of the role of media in its impact on democratic values. This chapter first surveys the definitions of concepts such as “democracy” and “media reform” and explicates the conceptual link between them. Second, it examines the impact of such definitions upon the general framework of the study in order to underscore their normative implications. The chapter then sets out a hypothetical model of media reform and democratization that posits a series of “stages of transition” during which different aspects of the media reform come to the fore and are addressed as primary concerns.
