ABSTRACT
There has been a great deal of discussion of the “Americanization” and, more recently, the transnational corporate invasion, or simply the “Westernization” of other societies through the export of media formats, cultural products, and the replacement of public broadcasting systems with deregulated commercial markets (Herman and McChesney 1997, Schiller 1992, Tunstall and Palmer 1991). There are good democratic arguments for preserving and promoting national media systems with diverse contents and public service norms (Keane 1991). However, there equally good, practical reasons to better understand the local political effects of the global trend toward more commercialized media systems. Just as democracies differ, so do media systems. And the interactions among particular cultures, governmental institutions, and media establishments must be understood if comparisons among nations are to be meaningful.
