The Scottish media contain content for Scottish audiences. These media are being challenged by digital offerings and present regulatory difficulties.
Mediated communication and culture are central to the analysis of nations and nationalism. Scotland has a distinctive media landscape: newspapers, TV and radio, as well as new digital actors, all carry content specifically tailored for Scottish audiences.
After Scottish devolution in 1999, the Scottish media became increasingly central to the new democratic polity. Their role was also crucial during the Scottish independence referendum of 2014. The nation’s mediated public sphere intertwines with that of the UK as a whole. Scottish publics are therefore diversely addressed through a dual public sphere.
Of late, the audiovisual media’s role in the Scottish creative economy has grown as a public policy focus. However, the survival of the UK’s public service media is challenged by global internet-based majors in the digital economy, posing new problems for content regulation by states and nations, and the very constitution of national audiences.
Keywords: broadcasting, communication, media, nation, Scotland