"This new study by Denis McQuail identifies problematic trends and issues, and outlines the principles underlying media regulation and accountability. In a wide-ranging discussion, which demonstrates that freedom and accountability are not incompatible, the book includes: a review of relevant theory of media and society; a statement of basic communication/publication values; an overview of the system of media governance; an assessment of media effects; a clarification of key concepts, especially accountability, responsibility, freedom, and publication; an application of theory to current issues of media policy; and a comparative assessment of the alternative means available for holding media to account."--BOOK JACKET.