The Democracy Gap ― The Politics of Information and Communication Technologies in the United States and Europe

The political choices that surround telecommunications and broadcasting are the subject of this unique study. Hills examines the distributional possibilities and the political and economic interests that shape these technologies. The book documents how government policy has primarily been concerned with technological leadership, and as a result has lost sight of the informational underpinnings of the democratic process. Among the topics discussed are the politics of cable and satellite transmission, digital networks, and television standards, and the convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications.

JILL HILLS is a Reader in Politics at the Social Science Department, City University, London. Her previous books includeDeregulating Telecoms: Competition and Control in the United States, Japan and Britain (Quorum Books, 1986), and another on information technology and industrial policy.

STYLIANOS PAPATHANASSOPOULOS has been a Visiting Fellow at City University, London, and a Research Fellow at London's Broadcasting Research Unit. He has written extensively on European broadcasting with particular reference to the development and impact of the news media.