Media ownership and marketplace of idea: Is true democracy possible?

Abstract

The critical position the mass media occupy in democracy has, therefore, attracted a deluge of studies with differing conclusions. While the normative theorists view the granting of freedom of expression and of the press as a sine qua non for effective democratic governance, critical scholars assert that the media, by virtue of allegiances to the ideas and ideals of their owners and regulators, undermine democracy, particularly when examined from the political economy prism.