Media, Profit, and Politics Competing Priorities in an Open Society

Examines the intersection of journalism, business, and politics Anyone concerned with the condition of democracy today must be familiar with mass communication, for it is almost exclusively through mass media that we have come to know what occurs in the world of politics. Because the performance of the media has become inseparable from the exercise of democracy in our society, it is even more important to understand the multifaceted relationships among politics, the mass media, and the force that increasingly drives both of them: money. A compilation of essays and related commentary delivered at the second annual Kent State University Symposium on Democracy, Media, Profit, and Politics recognizes and considers the fundamental differences that arise when the competitive forces of commerce clash with the demand for the open availability of information in a democratic society. The conflicting roles of advocate-initiator and objective reporter for journalists who cover community politics; the role ofthe news media in forming public attitudes toward things political and their role in affecting voter nonparticipation; the role of financial considerations in the news media's attempt to provide citizens with needed news and perspective on political affairs; and particularly the role of the conglomeration of ownership of news media organizations are a few of the major topics discussed in this timely volume.Harper, Joe is the author of 'Media, Profit, and Politics Competing Priorities in an Open Society' with ISBN 9780873387545 and ISBN 0873387546.