The Umbilical Cord That Was Never Cut

Market dynamics has led to a dramatic transformation of the Spanish and Greek media systems since the late 1980s, bringing them in line with West European patterns. The current media landscape is, thus, a far cry from the introvert, parochial press and broadcasting systems present in the two countries in the first 15 years of democratic government, when the partisan political control of radio and television and the overpoliticization of the press were dominant features of their media systems. The aim of this article is to analyse the key developments in the media industries of these two Southern European countries and identify the elements of continuity and change through an examination of the interplay between the state, the market and the media. Despite the multiplication of media outlets, it is argued, state policy in the media is determined as ever by the persistent culture of political expediency, typical of the European south, as political elites still seek desperately to influence the content of political coverage.