The 1980s have seen rapid changes in the ownership, organization and control of the European media. In the 1990s, cultural theorists now face a challenge to reconceptualize traditional ways of thinking about the transnational media and about cultural studies in general. Media Cultures re-examines how established beliefs about the role and power of the media shape our collective consciousness. Through a series of case-oriented studies, the contributors explore the operation of cultural industries across national borders and considers how they affect audiences and societies. This innovative collection includes discussion of the spectre of Americanization and its impact on European popular culture; the new insights offered by ethnographic reception research, and the prospects for public service broadcasting in an age of deregulation. This book should be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and academics in media, communication and cultural studies.