This study examines mergers in two-sided markets using a structural supply-and-demand model that employs data from the 1996-2006 merger wave in the U.S. radio industry. In particular, it identities the conflicting incentives for merged firms to exercise market power on both listener and...

We consider the long-lived slant towards Berlusconi in political information on Italian television (TV). We exploit a shock to the slanted exposure of viewers: idiosyncratic deadlines to switch to digital TV from 2008 to 2012, which increased the number of free view channels tenfold. The switch...

The advance of innovative information and communication technologies has triggered a fundamental upheaval in the media industry. The technology is reforming the conventional media model. The media mix will become more varied; interactive and personalised offers are taking root and finding their...

In 2020, the French Parliament passed an amendment that put the country at the forefront of attempts by democratic states to restrict young people’s access to legal online pornography. This study examines the necessity for and potential efficacy of the amendment through a comparative analysis...

The latest World Press Trends report shows that business sentiment in the industry has taken a downturn, in a context where multiple challenges face news publishers around the world. Yet there are causes for optimism, as revenue diversification progresses and publishers double down on new...

This paper plays out against a backdrop of continued closures and diminished local news reporting across much of the United States. It explores the role that media policy can and should play in supporting local journalism. In examining this topic, we investigate three fundamental questions: What...

This paper presents a review of empirical methods used to assess the behavioral, economic, and political outcomes of Internet and social media usage. Instead of merely surveying the various impacts of the Internet, we examine the methods adopted to identify these impacts. We describe two main...

The low cost of communication made possible by the Internet has led to ruinous competition in news markets. It has also led to stiff competition from social media companies in the advertising distribution markets in which newspapers also compete. As a result, cash-starved newspapers have...

Social media platforms generate huge profits from targeted advertising by collecting massive amounts of data from their users, usually referred to as data harvesting. While leveraging users' data may initially seem beneficial for users, practitioners have suggested that data harvesting causes...

This edition of WAN-IFRA’s annual flagship research and report reveals an industry challenged but optimistic about its business. It examines the results of publishers’ business in 2021, their forecasts for 2022 and beyond, and the trends and issues shaping the industry. Our research shows...