ABSTRACT
The mass media are gradually changing the operation of the British political system, and rewriting its informal constitution. They provide the raw material out of which subjective identities, a sense of self and of others, are partly constructed. They occupy over three hours of the average person’s day, and are central to the routines and pleasures of modern life. They are seemingly at the threshold of a major internal change and are part of the knowledge-based industries that are increasingly central in Western economies. Yet despite the growing importance of the communications industries, there is no public forum in which to discuss their performance and consider how best they can be developed in the public interest. This is the main reason why a Royal Commission on the communications industries should be appointed.
