Globalization of Mass Media Ownership: Implication and Effects

During the last decade, the United States lost its dominance as the owner and producer of mass communication, both domestically and around the world. The globalization of ownership of mass media content, production, and technology has major implications for audience definitions and theories about who controls these media, for what purposes, and with what effects. The articles in this special issue are the first collection to address the issues raised by these recent developments, not only in film but also for book/magazine publishing, record/television production, advertising, HDTV technology, and public broadcasting. The increasing importance of economic analysis is also explored, for the insights it provides in explaining the decline of American dominance and for the implications of redefining 'news' when it is viewed as an economic product. This article sets out an overview of major research and conceptual issues that these developments raise for the field of mass communication.