ABSTRACT
The collapse of communism has had a major impact both on the mass media in the countries involved and on aspects of media theory. Writing on this subject has advantages as well as difficulties. The chief advantage is that there has been a close relation between theories of the media and the practical implementation of policies. In many cases, the marginal oppositionists of 1988 were at the centre of government in 1990. The ideas they espoused in opposition were tested against the real world in a way that has eluded many Western intellectuals.
