MEDIA: Media Regulation in the Interest of the Audience.

• Position: Book Review

The first report deals with legislation guaranteeing citizen access to information on state activities. The freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without interference from public authorities is enshrined in Article 10 of the European convention for Human Rights. It is also ensured by the fact that the media themselves may enjoy privileged access to information on state activities and can therefore broadcast this information to their audience

Advertising legislation in the countries of the former USSR is the subject of the second report. Television and the electronic media use their audience as a source of income by selling advertising slots, the price of which is based on the size of the respective audience. It is clear, then, that regulation is necessary to stipulate how, when, how often and under what conditions the media may direct advertising at its audience. But what of countries where this concept is a relatively recent one?a This report focuses on the way in which advertising legislation has evolved under the changing political regimes within the different countries that of the former USSR.

The third report in this collection deals with advertising legislation in the electronic media. Whether one considers radio, television or indeed the Internet, it is clear that the electronic media have become a major way of relaying advertising information to potential consumers. Access to information is not only made possible through legislation, but also through technical...