Digital Platforms and the Press

New study provides an overview of the consequences of a platform-dependent press.

Platform dependence is a concept that is used to describe what happens when businesses or an entire sector become reliant on one or more digital platforms for their survival. Digital Platforms and the Press argues that we face a major risk of a platform-dependent press—a development that threatens liberal democracies across the world. As James Meese shows, the situation is occurring across the news industry, to the extent that it is difficult to imagine the production, distribution, and long-term survival of news in liberal democracies without the involvement of platforms. As governments, regulators, and citizens become increasingly concerned about platform power, Digital Platforms and the Press is the first book to highlight the long-term economic and social consequences of platform dependence for the news sector. 
 

James Meese is a senior lecturer at the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University and an associate investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making and Society.