Control the money, control the media: How government uses funding to keep media in line

Abstract

The media industry has been ravaged by the economic crises. Some media, mainly those covering tabloid fare and digitally savvier than others or those backed by deep-pocketed investors, are surviving or even thriving. But independent journalism outfits, particularly outside the Western world, have been grappling with serious financial problems. This article is an analysis of how government uses funding, directly and indirectly, to capture the media. It describes trends in how governments use funding to control media by not financing independent journalism, but choosing to fund instead media outlets that advance the government agenda and the interests of its allies and supporters, either political groups or businesses.