This introduction discusses the idea of ‘media capture’. It argues that media capture is a useful concept for understanding today’s state of the media. Media capture refers to a situation in which governments or vested interests networked with politics control the media. While traditional forms of prepublication censorship no longer exist in many parts of the world, the media are still not truly free. Political transition and digital technology, which were expected to free the media, did not. Instead, forms of control by government in tandem with business evolved along with changes in the media. This Special Issue explores recent cases of media capture and discusses how to update theories of media capture in light of transformations caused by digital technology and political transition.
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