The ownership of the media and issues related to the governance of global media institutions are of immense public significance. Not only are the cultural industries a major source of contemporary power - economic, political, social - they are also the primary definers of consciousness in most parts of the contemporary world. Media ownership patterns and permutations today are a direct consequence of the globalisation of neo-liberal economics. While there are some regional variations in the ownership "mix" the trend, from South Africa to Argentina and India to East and Central Europe, is the same.