Europe and the Media (Paperback)

The Lisbon Treaty of December 2009 is the latest success of the European Union's drive to restructure itself and expand. Yet questions persist about how democratic this new Europe might be. Will Brussels' promotion of the "European idea" produce a common European culture and society? The authors consider it might, as a culture of everyday shared experience, though old ways are cherished, citizens forever thinking twice about committing to an uncertain future. The book focuses on mass media, as a prime agent of change, sometimes used deliberately to promote a "European project"; sometimes acting more naturally as a medium for new agendas. It looks at proposed models for Europe, ranging from not very successful pan-European television, to the potentials of media systems based on national markets, and new media based on digital formats. It also studies the Brussels media service, the world's largest concentration of journalists; and ways that dominant national media may come to serve the interests of communities now extending across frontiers. Europe and Media notes change especially as encountered by new member countries of Central and Eastern Europe.