Communicating Democracy presents the first comprehensive comparative investigation of the role of the media in the move toward democracy in developing and post-communist countries. Recognizing the central role of an independent press in the formulation of stable democracies, Patrick H. O'Neil and a team of area and country specialists explore the particular cultural, economic, and political conditions that have shaped the media in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. The authors examine how the print and electronic media function in societies that have recently made the move toward democracy--whether successfully or not. They pay particular attention to the role of the media in political life prior to transition; the impact of an authoritarian legacy on media structures after the move toward democracy; the problems in developing an independent media; and issues involving content, objectivity, and bias.