Democracy in the Age of Television (original) (raw)

Media and democracy-Fading boundaries

Isara solutions, 2023

Media and democracy have always been closely linked, with media playing a vital role in promoting democracy by providing citizens with access to information and the ability to participate in the democratic process. However, in recent years, the boundaries between media and democracy have started to blur, creating new challenges for policymakers and stakeholders. This literature review examines the relationship between media and democracy and explores the ways in which the boundaries between the two have become less distinct. The methodology involved a comprehensive review of relevant literature on the subject, including ten studies that were selected based on their relevance, publication date, and academic rigor. The results of this study highlight the importance of addressing the challenges posed by the fading boundaries between media and democracy.

The media and the crisis of democracy in the age of Bush‐2

Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 2004

In this study, I demonstrate the consequences of the triumph of neoliberalism and media deregulation for democracy. I argue that the tremendous concentration of power in the hands of corporate groups who control powerful media conglomerates has intensified a crisis of democracy in the United States and elsewhere. Providing case studies of how mainstream media in the United States have become tools of conservative and corporate interests since the 1980s, I discuss how the corporate media helped forge a conservative hegemony, failed to address key social problems, and promoted the candidacy of George W. Bush in the 2000 US presidential election.

Media and Democracy: a Plural Approach

T he central theme of Mauro Porto's analysis is the political role of the media in contexts of democratic transition. His reflection is anchored in a case study of the Globo Television Network, a prominent nationwide network usually referred to as TV Globo. It is interesting to note that the history of theories on political communication runs jointly with the history of the rise of representative democracies. But lacunas still exist in the interface between communication and democracy, and the contributions of Porto's book are significant.

Democracy and New Broadcasting System: A Problematic Discussion

The new broadcasting media has brought many opportunities for democracy. Interactive television has a potential to boost deliberation process. In addition, global media is widening audience options and new channels are increasing diversity of media output. However, commercial broadcasting is thought as a threat to democracy as well. Accordingly, ownership of broadcasting tends to become more concentrated in fewer hands. It depends on advertising revenue, which cultivates in preference for entertainment and sensationalism over serious political discussions. Considering anti-democratic operations of broadcasting media, there had been proposals in the direction of regeneration of media under new social circumstances. Accordingly, governments are called to formulate policies in order to keep commercial broadcasters socially responsible. It s proposed that public service model be redefined and reactivated on a different basis. This new model shall be founded in civil society, and funded and protected by state. Hence, they would be protected from the diverse effects of both state and market. Paper claims that such proposals are problematic, mainly because they rest on state / market dichotomy. These proposals assume that broadcasting has passed from the sovereignty of state to that of market during 1980s. Accordingly, public service model of broadcasting was more successful in serving society and democracy, because state ownership and regulation kept market imperatives away. Paper defends that transition from state to market control is an illusion. Accordingly, any broadcasting system is an outcome of the interrelation among state and market. Hence, discussions on a more democratic broadcasting always require us to place it in its political and economic context simultaneously. New media technologies historically developed as a part of neoliberal policies. It is a part of selling of state properties, commercialization of public services, and abolishment of workers' rights. They all show the attitude and will of state towards deliberative democracy and public benefit, which is highly hostile. Therefore, any serious proposal for a more democratic media shall stand on the objective analysis of contemporary state, rather than escaping from it.