The US stands as a cautionary tale for what happens when a media system is dominated by market values

While America’s media system is atypical, understanding its weaknesses may offer important implications for the future of public media like the BBC in the UK. Victor Pickard discusses the structural problems facing the American media and the corporate libertarian ideology that holds them in place. He argues that until corporate libertarianism is dismantled, it is difficult to achieve an effective “media democracy” which protects collective rights held by publics, audiences, and communities over the individual rights of corporations.