Ensuring diversity of opinion on television is of outstanding importance for the process of democratic decision-making. Since the liberalization of media regulations throughout Europe, the journalistic influence of public broadcasting has been increasingly displaced by the closely intertwined national and international private media groups. Mailänder’s study first analyzes the constitutional principles of diversity of opinion for selected EU member states, discusses the requirements of Community and international law, and questions the interaction between corporate concentration and the requirement of pluralism. Against this background, the author examines the appropriateness of the existing regulatory mechanisms under antitrust and broadcasting law. Finally, he evaluates the legality of the discussed European measures to combat media concentration and safeguard pluralism. The study is aimed at media and European lawyers as well as regulatory authorities, media companies and their legal advisors.
