Media Policy in Britain: Now You See It, Now You Don't

This article analyses the disparity between the culturally based belief that the media are not a government policy area and the fact that British governments have made policies about all aspects of media at one time or another. Nine features of British policy making are identified, stressing especially its unco-ordinated character and the many inconsistencies and paradoxes that have resulted. Several underlying sources of such policy patchiness and invisibility are traced, including the lack of a coherent notion of `media' itself. The article concludes by asking whether the situation is changing: Will British media policy become more co-ordinated and coherent in the future?