This work is a study of the evolution of broadcasting and audiovisual policy in the European Community. It considers the extent to which the audio-visual media may assist realization of the goal of ever closer union in Europe - and among Europeans - enshrined in the Treaty of Rome and the Maastricht Treaty. It also focuses on the contradictions between the cultural/political doctrines realized in the Single European Market and a "television without frontiers". The book describes the formation of broadcasting policy within the intricate policies of the EC. It outlines the roles of th different, and rival, burearcracies within the Commission of the European Communities and the European Parliament. It also examines the rivalry between different policy visions, and their institutional bearers in different Directorates of the Commission of the European Communities and the Member States of the Community. This account draws on a comprehensive study of Community documentation, and interviews with politicians and policy-makers in the Community, in European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the European Broadcasting Union and in the UK.
Other works by Richard Collins include "Satellite Television in Western Europe", "Culture, Communication and National Identity: The Case of a Canadian Television" and "Television: Policy and Culture".