This book is about the global broadcasting systems. The Preface says that things are changing so fast that the book will probably be outdated by the time we read it. On the other hand, it does provide a clear picture of television and other media around the world, at the moment in time when the authors did their research. The writers got help from their colleagues, as well as questions and comments by students, in order to put the book together in its final form. It has seven chapters, a Glossary, a list of Further Reading, and an index. Each chapter discusses one aspect of global broadcasting. Chapter One is titled "The World Telecommunications Revolution." The empowerment of consumers is changing the way global telecommunications works, even though this is not the aim of the media distributors. Many professionals in the field "believe that the future is a multimedia retrieval system for everyone" (p. 1). World communications systems can make it possible to get any almost television show in the world, from almost anywhere in the world. Different cultures might require different types of programming around the world. On the other hand, shows like CNN have made the formats of programs uniform around the world. Will we have diversity, or uniformity, in the future? Chapter Two is titled "World Systems Overview." There are hundreds of millions of television sets and radios all over the world. Countries like the US, Canada, and England have sophisticated broadcast systems. Developing countries like those in Central and South America do not. Some countries have private broadcasters, and others have government broadcasters. Some countries have a mix of both private and government ownership. Chapter Three is titled "Control and Regulation of World Systems." The variety of control, from complete government control of broadcasting systems to total privatization of ownership, depends on the form of government in each country.
