Introduction

This chapter sets up the central issues of this book: how increasingly concentrated media and changing strategies in production and distribution have resulted in challenges for the State, for consumers, for globalization, and for the environment. This book draws on critical political economy of communication to address that we are at a historical moment where capitalist control of media is the default state, and so, defines the default ideological position. The concerns undertaken by critical political economy are detailed and distinguished from other schools of thought that also focus on media industries. Finally, the chapter concludes by outlining the structure of the book and the focus of the individual chapters.