The following is taken from  http://www.gold.ac.uk/calendar/?id=8061

Media power is a crucial, although often taken for granted, concept. We assume, for example, that the media are 'powerful'; if they were not, why would there be so many controversies over the regulation, control and impact of communicative institutions and processes? Further, we assume that this 'power' is somehow problematic; audiences are often treated as highly susceptible to media influence and too much 'power' in the hands of one organization or individual is seen as risky and potentially dangerous. These concerns have been at the heart of recent controversies involving the relationships between media moguls and political elites, the consequences of phone hacking in the UK, and the emerging influence of social media as vital gatekeepers.

Yet it is still not clear what we mean by media power or how effective it is. 'The Contradictions of Media Power' evaluates contrasting definitions of media power and looks at the key sites in which power is negotiated, concentrated and resisted - politically, technologically and economically.

Combining an evaluation of both previous literature and new research, the book seeks to establish an understanding of media power which does justice to the complexities and contradictions of the contemporary social world.

Join us to celebrate the launch of Des Freedman's 'The Contradictions of Media Power', with a Q&A with John Pilger on the ABC of Media Power.

John Pilger is an award-winning broadcaster and journalist whose most recent film, Utopia, was screened nationally in cinemas and shown on ITV in 2013.

Des Freedman is Professor of Media and Communications in the Dept of Media and Communications at Goldsmiths and chair of the Media Reform Coalition.

The event is organised by the Centre for the Study of Global Media and Democracy in association with the Media Reform Coalition