The Effects of Political, Economic and Organizational
Factors
On the Performance of Broadcast Media in Developing
Countries
By
C. Ann Hollifield, Lee B. Becker and Tudor Vlad
Abstract
In the past 25 years, changes in technology, policy, and industry
structures have transformed the broadcast industry. Nowhere have the changes
in the broadcast media been more important than in nations such as those in
Eastern and Central Europe and South Asia that have been going through
political and economic transitions. Experiences in these nations have highlighted
the critical roles television and radio play in political and economic transformation
and the development of civil society.
In most of these emerging media markets, government-controlled
broadcast organizations are transforming themselvesCor being transformed--into
independent Public Service Broadcast organizations at the same time that the
market has been opened to commercial broadcasters. As a result, the formerly
state-controlled and the newly emerging commercial stations are experiencing
fierce competition for audience attention and for limited economic resources.
This study uses strategic management and organizational culture theories to examine the issues faced by newly independent broadcasters in nations where political and economic systems are being renegotiated. The project seeks to understand how operating conditions affect the broadcast media=s ability to serve the public interest and support political and economic development.
