How Free Is Media in Your Country, Really?

Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Amman, Jordan: some of the places I mention in my episode

I start my episode by revealing to you how irresponsibly I would go on motorbike rides when I was living in Thailand.

Why do I do that?

To juxtapose it with a certain strict law Thailand has regarding its media.

Media freedom is the topic of this week’s episode.

But in addition to lèse-majesté (laws prohibiting criticism of the Royal family, and something I cannot pronounce correctly) and other types of censorship structures, we have to talk about something else.

It’s something that’s easier to miss: media plurality.

What’s the difference between internal plurality and external plurality?

A quick answer: that difference is huge, and it has to deal with media ownership consolidation levels.

Listen to this episode to learn more about it.

References:

• Media freedom in Thailand
• A woman sentenced to jail for insulting the King of Jordan
• Media ownership landscape in the U.S.
• Media ownership landscape in the U.K.
• Media Ownership Monitor (MOM) by Reporters Without Borders
• My own article on media silence
• My podcast episode on the media silence surrounding the military occupation in Palestine
• The Intercept, an independent media news outlet (Jeremy Scahill is one of its co-founders).

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