Reclaiming the Media (Book)

Communication Rights and Democratic Media Roles

In the twentieth century, the media gave whistleblowers a voice, spearheaded the downfall of powerful politicians, and exposed widespread corporate corruption. How will the twenty-first-century media cope with its storied legacy as the watchdog of democratic society? Reclaiming the Media examines the sometimes tenuous, often fraught relationship between media organizations and civil rights in Europe. In sections devoted to citizenship, participation, contemporary journalism, and activist communication strategies, a panel of European media experts makes the case for deepening the media’s role in democracy.

Edition

At the beginning of the 21st century, it hardly goes uncontested anymore that media organisations play an important role in democracy. The main questions have now become whether the contemporary media conjuncture offers enough to our democracies, how their democratic investment can be deepened and how our communication rights can be expande. This book aims to look at four thematic areas that structure the opportunities for democratising (media) democracy. A first section is devoted to citizenship and the public spheres, giving special attention to the general theme of communication rights. The second section elaborates further on a notion central to communication rights, namely that of participation. The third section returns to the traditional representational role in relation to democracy and citizenship, scrutinizing and criticizing the democratic efforts of contemporary journalism. The fourth section moves outside of the (traditional) media system, and deals with the diversity of media and communication strategies of activists. This is volume 3 in the European Communication Research and Education Association book series.

Bart Cammaerts is a lecturer in the media communication department of the London School of Economics. Nico Carpentier is codirector of the Research Center for Studies on Media and Culture at the Free University of Brussels.

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