Communication industries in North America after 20 years of North American Free Trade Agreement: Media policy,regulatory bodies and concentration

Abstract

This article assesses an overview of the media industries in North America after 20 years of NAFTA, 1994–2014. The study addresses three research questions: (1) How have the communications acts been reformed: according to which logic and with what objectives? (2) How have the communication regulatory bodies performed? (3) To what extent has concentration on the media and telecommunication industries increased? It explores these issues from a structural historical analysis to understand how the media systems in North America have been re-shaping in the three countries (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) during the last 20 years, focusing in three observable paths: Media policy reform and policy-making; the performance and leeway of the regulatory institutions; and the level of concentration in the three countries in media and telecommunications sectors.

Keywords

Commodification communication systems concentration convergence media industries media policy neoliberalism North America regulatory bodies telecommunications

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