Understanding World Media

Book excerpt: Understanding World Media Understanding World Media sets out to mirror world media and the freedom it enjoyed across the globe in about 200 countries. While media is an important part of academic research, concerns have been raised globally on its content, intent and freedom of expression. To the extent that even as per the data compiled by Reporters Without Borders, democratic India ranks below par at 138 in the World Press Freedom Index 2018 out of the 180 listed nations. Though, it is a question of debate and discussions to what extent media in India is considered free or under censorship. When India is emerging as a global power with over 55 percent of its population is under 35 years of age, interest in the world community and media is growing leaps and bounds. It is in this context that this book magnifies its mirror to bring facts about the status and understanding of media in the world. For any book like this, it will always have its challenges to cover subjects like media in a nutshell, but for today, this book is timely and relevant. It is a balanced and thoughtful effort to present such a comprehensive book in a crisp and concise manner, as it is difficult to get experts on various countries to write on their respective domains. We have put our utmost effort to consolidate all necessary information and analysis required for this collection and we are very hopeful that it will serve its purpose, fulfill the void and information gap about the world media. Understanding World Media is structured around two clear themes, the status of media in various countries and its freedom of expression. It is divided into five parts covering vast geographical areas in Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australia-Oceania.