Columbia University Press Media Capture: How Money, Digital Platforms, and Governments Control the News

Who controls the media today? There are many media systems across the globe that claim to be free yet whose independence has been eroded. As demagogues rise, independent voices have been squeezed out. Corporate-owned media companies that act in the service of power increasingly exercise soft censorship. Tech giants such as Facebook and Google have dramatically changed how people access information, with consequences that are only beginning to be felt. This book features pathbreaking analysis from journalists and academics of the changing nature and peril of media capture―how formerly independent institutions fall under the sway of governments, plutocrats, and corporations. Contributors including Emily Bell, Felix Salmon, Joshua Marshall, Joel Simon, and Nikki Usher analyze diverse cases of media capture worldwide―from the United Kingdom to Turkey to India and beyond―many drawn from firsthand experience. They examine the role played by new media companies and funders, showing how the confluence of the growth of big tech and falling revenues for legacy media has led to new forms of control. Contributions also shed light on how the rise of right-wing populists has catalyzed the crisis of global media. They also chart a way forward, exploring the growing need for a policy response and sustainable models for public-interest investigative journalism. Providing valuable insight into today’s urgent threats to media independence, Media Capture is essential reading for anyone concerned with defending press freedom in the digital age. Review Media capture is one of the most pressing problems facing democracies today. Bringing together the voices of scholars and reporters, this book provides a fascinating overview of the many ways in which this phenomenon is affecting political landscapes around the world. Importantly, it also proposes novel solutions for combating media capture and protecting journalists. A must-read!--Julia Cagé, author of Saving the Media: Capitalism, Crowdfunding, and Democracy This book is a remarkable achievement. For scholars and concerned citizens alike, it is a milestone in the ongoing debates about the uncertain future of news. At a moment when democratic institutions are under assault and journalism is withering away, the essays featured in Schiffrin's wonderful volume are especially timely. Anyone who cares about the future of journalism--and democracy--should read this important book!--Victor Pickard, author of Democracy Without Journalism? Confronting the Misinformation Society This is a highly insightful collection showing how media capture has crept within a range of systems and institutions for the past two decades. It is also an important contribution to the literature on democratic backsliding. It is the great merit of Anya Schiffrin to highlight a major but understudied threat to democracy.--Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, author of The Quest for Good Governance: How Societies Develop Control of Corruption About the Author Anya Schiffrin is the director of the Technology, Media, and Communications specialization at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She is the editor of Global Muckraking: 100 Years of Investigative Reporting from Around the World (2014) and African Muckraking: 75 Years of Investigative Journalism from Africa (2017), among other books.