Media Plurality in France

Abstract

Since the end of the Second World War the concept of plurality has been an important objective of media policymaking in France. In 1944 the Liberation government introduced legislation with the aim of ensuring pluralism in the ownership and control of newspapers as part of a comprehensive package of structural reforms of the press, while in broadcasting a succession of statutory regulatory authorities has since the early 1980s sought to guarantee pluralism in the political coverage of radio and television (Kuhn, 1995). Some of the state’s policy instruments are designed to secure ‘external pluralism’, defined in terms of the plurality of supply — the range and distinctiveness of outlets operating both within and across specific media sectors. In this context selected appropriate measures have included legislation on ownership concentration, a system of state financial aid to the press, and government support for a designated public service component in a broadcasting system which since the late 1980s has to a significant extent been dominated by privately owned commercial radio stations and television channels. The enforcement of ‘internal pluralism’, defined in terms of equity and diversity of voice — the range and balance of different political views disseminated within any single media outlet — has been restricted to the broadcasting sector. Here the main policy instrument has been the regulation of political expression across all domestic radio and television services. Compliance is monitored by the relevant regulatory authority, which since 1989 has been the Conseil Superieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA).