"In these two volumes, readers will find comparative, in-depth essays on the press systems of 232 countries and/or territories. World Press Encyclopedia (WPE) is unique and valuable to users because, in addition to essays on each country’s press system, WPE also contains custommade graphs and stat
...
istical tables, as well as regional maps, useful appendices, and an extensive index. This comprehensive, authoritative source of information allows for easy comparison between essays with a standard format or set of “rubrics” used whenever possible (see section titled “Essay Components”). Each essay also features basic data information—such as official country name, literacy rate, language(s), and number of daily newspapers—clearly marked with headings at the beginning of each entry. Additionally, WPE’s contributors include scholars, professionals, and educators from across the United States and around the world; each essay has a byline. Although this is the second edition, WPE has been completely reconceptualized and 100 percent revised from the first edition, which was published in 1982." (Introduction)
more
"Fox has analysed the patterns of foreign and domestic conflict and accommodation that followed the creation and development of the broadcasting industries in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The book is well organised and Fox's style is compelling. Her work o
...
ffers a fresh perspective for understanding broadcasting in Latin America. She identifies two clear trends in the countries studied. In those under non-democratic regimes, the media developed in a highly monopolistic fashion, while in those under democratic regimes, commerical broadcasting was subject to regulation in the public interest and grew within a more competitive context. Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela are cases where the media developed in a highly monopolisitc fashion because there was domestic authoritarian rule. In the cases of Peru and Argentina, there was no accommodation between the media and the state, therefore the media, although commercially operated, failed to develop a monopolistic structure. Likewise, in Colombia the state parcelled out the media among different forces, while in Chile the television channels were placed under the administration of universities. In Uruguay, there was competition among different media groups, none of which was directly linked to the state. The book is able to present an alternative to theories of international relations - which usually minimise differences among countries and overplay economic interests - and focus on the domestic developments that took place within each individual nation." (Media Development, issue 1998-1)
more