2025-2026 CEPR Media Plurality Webinar Series

The Media Plurality Webinar Series, an initiative of the CEPR Media Plurality Research and Policy Network (RPN), led by Departmental faculty member Julia Cagé, will kick of its third year with an exceptional hybrid session to be held at Sciences Po's Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP) and online.

Julia Cagé will welcome Rodney Benson (Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University (NYU), to discuss issues related to media ownership that he introduces in his new book, How Media Ownership Matters (Oxford University Press).

The book offers a fresh and insightful look into understanding news media ownership, moving beyond the usual focus on market concentration or media moguls. It explores how different types of ownership affect news production, guided by the sociological idea of "institutional logics." The book classifies ownership into four main categories: market, private, civil society, and public. It is enriched by over one hundred interviews with top executives and editors, a unique collection of industry data, and an extensive content analysis of more than fifty news outlets across the United States, Sweden, and France. This thorough analysis helps us see how these ownership types—along with their funding models, and the social and political characteristics of owners and audiences—shape three key roles: public service, political influence, and economic interests. 

Rodney Benson is a Professor in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication and Affiliated Faculty in the Department of Sociology, at New York University (NYU). His research and theoretical articles have appeared in leading journals including American Sociological Review, Theory and Society, Poetics, American Behavioral Scientist, Political Communication, and the International Journal of Press/Politics. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of California-Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University.

Rodney Benson's website

Registration is mandatory :

• if you would like to attend in person, please use the “internal” link
• if you would like to attend online, please use the “external” link

Organisers :
Julia Cagé (Sciences Po, CEPR & Media Plurality RPN Leader)
Felipe Lauritzen (Sciences Po, CEPR & Media Plurality RPN)