The European Media in the Platform Era: Realities and Tendencies

This book examines the significant changes reshaping the European media landscape in the context of rapid technological advancements, political shifts, and economic pressures. It sheds light on the economic, political, and structural forces behind these transformations, focusing particularly on the impact of platformisation, media convergence, and the emergence of new players on media production, distribution, and consumption. At the same time, the book analyses how platform dominance is reshaping European media ownership by fostering mergers and collaborations, while also raising concerns about media concentration. Against this backdrop, it also considers the evolving role of public broadcasters, as governments and policymakers grapple with the challenge of regulating new media realities while maintaining diversity and pluralism. It also discusses the implications of the trends for European identity and the European public sphere, particularly the tension between a top-down, institutional, and regulatory approach to Europeanisation.

Providing a detailed overview of the trends and shifts shaping the future of European media, the book offers key insights into the dynamics and challenges of the contemporary media environment. It will appeal to students, researchers, and media professionals interested in media studies, European studies, international communication, and public policy. Its insightful analysis and empirical grounding enable readers to gain a better understanding of the ongoing transformations in the European media sector and the future direction of the media in the digital platform era.

Stylianos Papathanassopoulos is a Professor of Media Organization and Policy at the Department of Communication and Media Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Greece. Between 2007 and 2011 he was the head of the faculty and member of the Board of the Hellenic Audiovisual Institute. Further, he is a Visiting Professor at City University, London, United Kingdom. Previously, he was Deputy Director of the University Research Institute of Applied Communication (URIAC) and Deputy-Head of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Technological University of Cyprus, and he has also taught at the University of Helsinki and the University of Sheffield. Additionally, Papathanassopoulos is a member of the Euromedia Research Group. He is currently Director of the postgraduate program in Journalism and New Media, as well as Director of the Laboratory of Journalism Studies both at the Department of Communication and Media Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. He has participated as a partner in various EU funded projects, the most recent ＂Euromedia Ownership Monitor and the Horizon 2020 Project ＂European Media Platforms: Assessing Positive and Negative Externalities for European Culture＂.

Andrea Miconi is a Professor of Media Sociology at IULM University, Milan, Italy. He holds a PhD in Communication Sciences from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Miconi is a former Professor of Media Theories at the University of Padova, Italy (2002-2008), and former Adjunct Professor of Network Society at USI-University of Italian Switzerland, Switzerland (2013-2017).

He was the Principal Investigator of the Horizon 2020 Project European Media Platforms: Assessing Positive and Negative Externalities for European Culture-EUMEPLAT, and the responsible of the IULM University Unit in the Horizon Europe Project Mapping Media for Future Democracies- MEDEMPA, and in the Strategic Partnership project Critical Visual Media Literacy and Empowerment- CLIP. He has also coordinated the Erasmus+ project Post-crisis Journalism in Post-Crisis Libya-PAgES.

Miconi has been a Visiting Professor at the School of Communication and Arts at the University USP, Sao Paulo, Brazil and an Erasmus+ Visiting Lecturer at the University San Pablo CEU Madrid, Spain, and Aveiro University, Portugal.