Free Markets Free Media?

Press systems across Asia have undergone dramatic change in recent decades. The grips of authoritarian governments have been praised open by democratic forces in the Philippines, South Korea and Indonesia. Other regimes, such as China and Vietnam, retain tight political control but have allowed the growth of aggressively market-driven sectors that have transformed the media landscape. This faith in markets forces, though nowhere unconditional, has been strong enough to have tilted decisively the discourse on and practice of press freedom. However, there are also large costs and benefits that fail to be incorporated in the decision-making of producers and consumers operating within markets. From diverse vantage points, the writers in ""Free Markets, Free Media?"" pause to reflect critically on the impact of market forces upon efforts to build and consolidate more democratic media in Asia. Issues addressed include the argument for public funding to support media diversity, the need for grassroots media to better reflect non-elite priorities and concerns, developments in newsroom practices, biases in profit-oriented news media, and challenges to investigative journalism.