ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 explores matters of production. It asks: how do media get made in East Asia? Who communicates, in what contexts, and under what constraints? How are media and communication regulated in different East Asian societies? To explore these issues, this chapter walks readers through important dynamics in East Asian media ecologies, including questions of state ownership, commercial production and dissemination, and regulatory frameworks. The chapter also looks at the relevance of propaganda and censorship, at attempts to engineer or guide strategic communication, and at popular assumptions about media’s role in society. Throughout, readers learn about the political economies of different East Asian societies, as the chapter contextualizes and contrasts various national configurations and introduces transnational dynamics.
