The influence of technology on all aspects of society – on the people, the institutions, and relations within societies – is being both celebrated and criticised in the late twentieth century. Technological developments in computers, telecommunications, satellites and fire optics are proclaimed by many as heralding a new, more productive and economically efficient society. Two areas where the influence of computer technology is particularly prevalent are in the organisation of work and the workplace, and the global expansion of the media and communications industries. Walter Wriston, the former Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the US-based Citibank, has been reported as claiming:

Commenting on the interaction between technology, the media and world events, Rupert Murdoch, die Chair and Chief Executive of the global media company News Corporation Limited, observed that over a period of thirty years he had witnessed the media playing a fundamental role in liberating nations, and in transforming politics and culture around the world (Murdoch 1993:8).

While an apparent internationalisation of media linked to technological developments has occurred, a globalisation of the world economy has also taken place which is linked fundamentally to the dispersion of computer and other electronic and digital technology (Freeman, Soete and Efendioglu 1995; Lash and Urry 1994).