Media Ethics and Regulation

The media landscape is changing rapidly. In this new digital age, the mass media is undergoing major structural changes in how it delivers news, information and entertainment in Australia and around the globe. Media organisations are reconfiguring their business models, as newspapers migrate online and television competes directly with online content. The press in particular is now under the spotlight in Australia and abroad with a number of major government inquiries and reviews. This book presents a current overview of the state of Australia’s media and explores a broad range of concerns, including: ethics and accountability; media ownership, control and editorial independence; freedom of the press; the government’s regulatory responses to convergence; and advertising and journalistic standards, classifications and codes of ethics. In a time of increased global competition and free content, is self-regulation by Australia’s financially struggling media organisations providing adequate scrutiny and quality control?