1. Introduction

The aim of this book is to present recent research on media independence by French-speaking researchers. The contributions bear witness to a dynamic field of research, which over the past 20 years has profoundly renewed media studies in the French-speaking world. The choice of the media independence theme was both a necessity and an opportunity—a vital necessity for the media, because the deep economic crisis they are facing cannot be resolved without a thorough reflection on the importance of media independence and the forces that jeopardise it; an opportunity for research, because independence is less a concept as such than the result of various intersecting issues. This is why this book approaches it from three interrelated and complementary perspectives: the economy, the relationship to media readers and the political context.