One of the world's leading mass communication researchers here presents an accessible guide to the current state of global communication.

He first sets the scene by exploring the notion of the 'global village'. He looks at how the media, globally, define 'newsworthiness' as well as the machinations of the international media marketplace. The book then presents a full history of world communication - from carrier pigeons to the Internet - exploring the factors that have shaped that history, including technological development and international relations, state manipulation, and the interests of trans-national corporations. The third section explores recent communication trends that have had the most profound effect on the world's people - digitalization, consolidation, deregulation and globalization. Finally, the book looks at the idea of empowerment as applied to communication. It shows how global communication in its current manifestation is profoundly disempowering. The book ends with Professor Hamelink's ideas for changing this and a draft 'People's Communication Charter'.