This volume argues that previous works sometimes neglected the way in which organizations are influenced by the wider context of society. It combines overview essays with detailed case studies exploring Chinese soap opera, a Greek moral panic, British book reviews and political reporting. It also draws attention to the way in which the economic organization of the media influences its wider cultural and social roles. This is exemplified by iconoclastic studies of the Internet, musical indies, mega-musicals and media globalization, which question fashionable claims about the liberating role of markets, new technology and commercial enterprise.