Portuguese media: new forms of concentration

Abstract

In this paper we will argue that if the Portuguese case is to be fully understood, economic arguments are far from sufficient. Media ownership and control is directly related with political and societal power. Media concentration has been, first of all, a consequence of power seeking, although economic considerations may have also played a role. This analysis will try to demonstrate that political decisions for the media take into consideration the ability of decision-makers to exercise power over those media and that the groups which succeed in entering the media market have to carefully handle their own usage of power in line with governmental covert or overt goals. The electronic media, in particular, have always been considered too important to be left out of governments' control.