Media Compass

Book excerpt: An extensive and inclusive account of the media environments of 45 countries worldwide In Media Compass: A Companion to International Media Landscapes, an international team of prominent scholars examines both long-term media systems and fluctuating trends in media usage around the world. Integrating country-specific summaries and cross-cutting studies of geopolitical regions, this interdisciplinary reference work describes key elements in the political, social, demographic, cultural, and economic conditions of media infrastructures and public communication. Enabling the mapping of media landscapes internationally, Media Compass contains up-to-date empirical surveys of individual countries and regions, as well as cross-country comparisons of particular areas of public communication. 45 entries, each guiding readers from a general summary to a more in-depth discussion of a country’s specific media landscape, address formative conditions and circumstances, historical background and development, current issues and challenges, and more. Designed to facilitate quick lookup of individual entries, as well as comparative readings of a country’s position in the wider media environment, Media Compass: A Companion to International Media Landscapes is an invaluable addition to libraries and institutions of higher education, and a must-read volume for students, educators, scholars, and practitioners working in communication and media studies, journalism, and media production.