Media Power in Central America (History of Communication) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book summarizes the history and current status of media in Central America and Panama, describes how economic and political realities in developing countries tend to concentrate media power in the hands of a few, and explains why this is a bad thing. The authors contend that 1) economic development depends in large part on the stability that comes from broad-based and informed democratic participation of a country's populace, 2) media control can limit the development of democratic institutions and further oligarchic systems, and 3) increased support for free and open media in the developing world is necessary to sustain economic development and democracy strategies. The book closes by citing the growing importance of wireless internet as one of the ways to break monopolistic media systems. This is an important book that explains why expanded internet access is not just a luxury for the developing world; social and economic stability may depend on the ability of common citizens to communicate in systems that parallel but are not controlled by the established media powers.

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"Media Power in Central America" is the first book in a generation to explore the media landscape in Central America. It captures the political and cultural interplay between the media and those in power in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Nicaragua. Highlighting the subtle strangulation of opposition media voices in the region, the authors show how the years since the guerrilla wars have not yielded the free media systems that some had expected. Country by country, the authors deal with the specific conditions of government-sponsored media repression, economic censorship, corruption, and consumer trends that shape the political landscape. Challenging the notion of the media as a democratizing force, "Media Power in Central America" shows how the media are used to block democratic reforms in the region and outlines the difficulties of playing watchdog to rulers who use the media as a tool of power.