This book attempts to analyse the development of the mass media in Southern Europe, particularly the media systems of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece, relating their development to the political history and particularities of these countries.

Although this study is not a detailed history of the developments in the filed of mass communication in Southern Europe, it attempts- through a historical oriented comparative analysis- to identify the common characteristics as well as certain constant features of the media systems in these countries. It focuses on the way the social, political and financial conditions as well as the historical background have influenced the growth, the structure and the functioning of the media in Southern Europe.

It also examines the structure of media markets, the relationships between the media and the political parties, the interplay between media owners and political power centres and the battle for control of the public agenda as well as the limited development of journalism as an autonomous profession.