The media are at the end of a cycle and at the beginning of a new model that is still unpredictable. For decades, the industry enjoyed solid profits, a certain tranquillity and clear rules. The presence of high barriers to entry hindered the progress of competitors and several key markets were, in fact, oligopolies.

This book tells how a stable industry was buffeted by winds that seriously threatened its essential pillars. Free access and Internet development caused a dramatic drop of the value of the contents. The public could often find information and entertainment at no cost, therefore beginning to move away from the media that were poorly differentiated and predictable in terms of subjects and approaches.

The authors do not restrict themselves to writing a chronicle of those transformations: they deepen the causes and propose solutions. In their view, companies in the sector have lacked the discipline necessary to keep pace with innovation, adapt to change and make learning a constant and priority activity. The industry needs better leaders, managers with vision, who can take risks and break the monotonous cycle of systematic imitation of success formulas that already belong to the past.