ABSTRACT
This chapter commences the discussion about journalism and democracy by elaborating on the observations made by Journalism Asia (see Preface) that pressures caused by liberalization and new communications technologies have led to a proliferation and openness of the media. In particular, the chapter examines the orthodoxies of recent decades about the role of journalism in support of development and Asian cultural values. It questions the degree to which the ‘global twin tides’ of liberalization and new technology have resulted in shifts and schisms in the established order between Asian media and democracy.
