Politico-media complex

The politico-media complex (PMC, also referred to as the political-media complex) is a name given to the network of relationships between a state's political and ruling classes and its media industry. It may also encompass other interest groups, such as law (and its enforcement), corporations and multinationals. The term PMC is used as a pejorative, to refer to the collusion between governments, individual politicians, and the media industry. Before Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type in 1450, most information was delivered by town criers, ministers from the pulpit, or bartenders. Town criers spread information and news including royal edicts, police regulations, important community events and war news. These early methods of communication were often delivered by messengers on foot and could be easily controlled by the ruling class. With the invention of the printing press, written news began to spread. Corantos, which were semi-regular pamphlets that reported the news, are an example of the early politico-media complex. Popular in England, corantos reported mostly foreign news as the royal government attempted to control what domestic news reached the masses. Corantos eventually would become regular periodicals that were subject to less political control and mark one of the earlier forms of industrialized media. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers". Although print media in the West has suffered from declining advertising trends, many newspapers and magazines in the Middle East continue to publish well. For countries in which the majority of the population does not have easy access to the Internet or television, newspapers and magazines are some ways to get the news. However, the independence from political influence and dependability of newsprint is questionable in many countries.