Television: the challenges of pluralism to media regulation

The phenomenon of media pluralism and content diversity has been unceasingly a central issue of the European policy making. Media pluralism is usually linked to the democratic perform- ances of society. The concept of pluralism can be defined both in terms of its function and in terms of its objective. Concerning television, media pluralism can be assessed through the number and types of channels, the number and structure of their owners, the editorial content of the broadcasts, and the access of different societal groups to the programming. Th e text investigates how well the traditional television system with its main social pillars, such as plurality and diversity, fits into the newly devel- oped digitized media environment.