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We live in an “Information Age” of overabundant data and lightning-fast transmission. Yet although information and knowledge represent key factors in most economic decisions, we often forget that data, information, and knowledge are products created and traded within the knowledge economy. In Gurus and Oracles, Miklos Sarvary describes the information industry–the far-flung universe of companies whose core business is to sell information to decision makers.

The BBC holds a special place in the world of broadcasting. It derives its funding from a compulsory levy on people who may not even use the service. The protection it receives is justified on the grounds that it contributes to national welfare because of its role in ‘public service broadcasting’. The authors of this book argue that the BBC’s funding model is becoming untenable as technology changes. The problem is…the link between the BBC and the government, together with the compulsory funding model which does not allow people to not fund content of which they disapprove. This book is essential reading for anybody involved in public policy or the economics of broadcasting.