Media capture

Media capture is a form of systemic corruption in which mass media is controlled by governments, corporations, or powerful individuals to serve their own interests instead of the public interest, undermining media independence and media pluralism. The concept describes how vested interests can dominate or co-opt nominally independent media institutions through ownership, regulation, or financing, whilst maintaining the illusion of press freedom.

The most widely held definition of the term was published by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi in 2008: "either directly by governments or by vested interests networked with politics".

According to Joseph Stiglitz: "Preventing capture, and ensuring that the media can perform their societal function, requires an understanding of the myriad and sometimes subtle ways the media can be compromised by the very actors they are supposed to monitor."