ABSTRACT
One of the key characteristics of the media in Britain is the way that the government is involved in the control or regulation of media organizations, their activities and products. The relationship between the State, which has ultimate control and responsibility for the media, and organizations responsible for media production is a complicated one. As a democracy, Britain supports the idea of freedom of speech and of the press, while also feeling the need to exercise some sort of regulatory control over the media. Much of the British media sector is commercially owned, rather than State owned, meaning that many media organizations are businesses that are run for the profit of directors and shareholders. There is therefore a complicated set of factors at work in the relationship between the government and the media; while the government does not own all media organizations, it is able to impose rules and laws which may contradict the commercial aims of these organizations. This is a particularly British tension; in other parts of the world, the influence of the government on the media is very different. In some countries the media is completely under the control of the State, while in others commercial pressures or market forces govern the media, and State regulation is left to a minimum. Activity
Research two different countries, such as China and USA, and describe the main points in the relationship between the media in these countries and their governments. What are the key differences? Do you think one system is better than the other? Why?
