This course aims to broaden students' knowledge of the outcomes of different kinds of politics, economics, history, culture, social organization and technology on the format of the news media in any one country at any given time. It introduces students to the development and current status of a variety of national (and territorial) news media systems and to the major concepts and theories that have been articulated to explain their individual natures and the differences between them. The course encourages students to critically analyse and compare different news media systems using the theories and concepts taught and to examine the key idea of freedom of the press in order to deepen their understanding of the news they are getting and compare it to news in other places round the world.