Social Media and the Public Interest

Social Media and the Public Interest
Author: Philip M. Napoli
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 419
Release: 2019-08-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0231545541

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Facebook, a platform created by undergraduates in a Harvard dorm room, has transformed the ways millions of people consume news, understand the world, and participate in the political process. Despite taking on many of journalism’s traditional roles, Facebook and other platforms, such as Twitter and Google, have presented themselves as tech companies—and therefore not subject to the same regulations and ethical codes as conventional media organizations. Challenging such superficial distinctions, Philip M. Napoli offers a timely and persuasive case for understanding and governing social media as news media, with a fundamental obligation to serve the public interest. Social Media and the Public Interest explores how and why social media platforms became so central to news consumption and distribution as they met many of the challenges of finding information—and audiences—online. Napoli illustrates the implications of a system in which coders and engineers drive out journalists and editors as the gatekeepers who determine media content. He argues that a social media–driven news ecosystem represents a case of market failure in what he calls the algorithmic marketplace of ideas. To respond, we need to rethink fundamental elements of media governance based on a revitalized concept of the public interest. A compelling examination of the intersection of social media and journalism, Social Media and the Public Interest offers valuable insights for the democratic governance of today’s most influential shapers of news.

America's Battle for Media Democracy

America's Battle for Media Democracy
Author: Victor Pickard
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2015
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107038332

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Drawing from extensive archival research, the book uncovers the American media system's historical roots and normative foundations. It charts the rise and fall of a forgotten media-reform movement to recover alternatives and paths not taken.

Good News, Bad News

Good News, Bad News
Author: Jeremy Iggers
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2018-02-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0429968698

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In Good News, Bad News , Jeremy Iggers argues that journalism's institutionalized conversation about ethics largely evades the most important issues regarding the public interest and the civic responsibilities of the press. Changes in the ownership and organization of the news media make these issues especially timely; although journalism's ethics rest on the idea of journalism as a profession, the rise of market-driven journalism has undermined journalists' professional status. Ultimately, argues Iggers, journalism is impossible without a public that cares about the common life. Written in an accessible style, Good News, Bad News is important reading for journalists, communication scholars, and students. }Public dissatisfaction with the news media frequently gives rise to calls for journalists to live up to the ethical standards of their profession. But what if the fault lies in part with the standards themselves?Jeremy Iggers argues that journalisms institutionalized conversation about ethics largely evades the most important issues regarding the public interest and the civic responsibilities of the press. Changes in the ownership and organization of the news media make these issues especially timely; although journalisms ethics rest on the idea of journalism as a profession, the rise of market-driven journalism has undermined journalists professional status.Ultimately, argues Iggers, journalism is impossible without a public that cares about the common life. A more meaningful approach to journalism ethics must begin with a consideration of the role of the news media in a democratic society and proceed to look for practical ways in which journalism can contribute to the vitality of public life.Written in an accessible style, Good News, Bad News is important reading for journalists, communication scholars, and students. }

The Problem of the Media

The Problem of the Media
Author: Robert D. McChesney
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2004-03-01
Genre: Current Events
ISBN: 1583671064

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The symptoms of the crisis of the U.S. media are well-known—a decline in hard news, the growth of info-tainment and advertorials, staff cuts and concentration of ownership, increasing conformity of viewpoint and suppression of genuine debate. McChesney's new book, The Problem of the Media, gets to the roots of this crisis, explains it, and points a way forward for the growing media reform movement. Moving consistently from critique to action, the book explores the political economy of the media, illuminating its major flashpoints and controversies by locating them in the political economy of U.S. capitalism. It deals with issues such as the declining quality of journalism, the question of bias, the weakness of the public broadcasting sector, and the limits and possibilities of antitrust legislation in regulating the media. It points out the ways in which the existing media system has become a threat to democracy, and shows how it could be made to serve the interests of the majority. McChesney's Rich Media, Poor Democracy was hailed as a pioneering analysis of the way in which media had come to serve the interests of corporate profit rather than public enlightenment and debate. Bill Moyers commented, "If Thomas Paine were around, he would have written this book." The Problem of the Media is certain to be a landmark in media studies, a vital resource for media activism, and essential reading for concerned scholars and citizens everywhere.

The Business of Media

The Business of Media
Author: David Croteau
Publisher: Pine Forge Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2006
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781412913157

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The Business of Media presents the critical, yet careful, analysis of the rapidly changing media industry that students need in order to get behind the headlines and understand our increasingly media-saturated society. The writing is clear and jargon-free, accessible to undergraduates without requiring a background in economics.

Journalism and the Future of Democracy

Journalism and the Future of Democracy
Author: Denis Muller
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2021-08-09
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3030767612

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This book is about how journalism can contribute to the recovery of democracy from the crisis exemplified by the Trump presidency, the Brexit referendum and the rise of populism across the Western world. It explores the ethical concepts that provide the foundation for journalism in modern democracies: pluralism, liberalism, tolerance, truth, free speech, and impartiality. History has shown that crisis brings opportunity for change on a scale that is unachievable under ordinary political conditions, and this book proposes fundamental ways in which journalism can help democratic societies seize the moment. It traces the development of traditional mass media and social media and explores how the two might work better together to benefit democratic life. The development of press theory is described, and enhanced by a proposed new theory, Democratic Revival.

Saving the News

Saving the News
Author: Martha Minow
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2021
Genre: LAW
ISBN: 0190948418

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"As traditional for-profit news media in the United States declines in economic viability and sheer numbers of outlets and staff, what does and what should the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press mean? The book examines the current news ecosystem in the U.S. and chronicles historical developments in government involvement in shaping the industry. It argues that initiatives by the government and by private-sector actors are not only permitted but called for as transformations in technology, economics, and communications jeopardize the production and distribution of and trust in news and the very existence of local news reporting. It presents ten proposals for change to help preserve the free press essential to our democratic society"--

The Press and Democratic Backsliding

The Press and Democratic Backsliding
Author: Thomas J. Johnson
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2024-04-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 166695750X

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This edited volume explores the democratic dangers posed by a political press that emphasizes electoral competition, strategy, entertainment, and what Jay Rosen calls “savviness”—praising candidates for being politically smart rather than being honest—in its coverage of a political landscape dominated by a looming authoritarian threat. Contributors document how the American and global political press have failed to fulfill their role in elections and demonstrate how authoritarians have used and will continue to use their power in setting policy before going on to suggest and develop solutions to these problems. These proposed solutions include the adoption of democracy-focused framing, solutions journalism, and solidarity journalism, all of which emphasize the needs and issues of democratic communities over candidates’ political strategy. The book’s recommendations contribute to a reorientation of journalism toward democracy and truth rather than performative detachment and forced balance. Scholars of journalism, mass media, communication, and political science will find this collection to be of particular use.

Media, Markets, and Democracy

Media, Markets, and Democracy
Author: C. Edwin Baker
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2001-11-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1139432427

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Government interventions in media markets are often criticized for preventing audiences from getting the media products they want. A free press is often asserted to be essential for democracy. The first point is incorrect and the second is inadequate as a policy guide. Part I of this book shows that unique aspects of media products prevent markets from providing for audience desires. Part II shows that four prominent, but different, theories of democracy lead to different conceptions of good journalistic practice, media policy, and proper constitutional principles. Part II makes clear that the choice among democratic theories is crucial for understanding what should be meant by free press. Part III explores international free trade in media products. Contrary to the dominant American position, it shows that Parts I and II's economic and democratic theory justify deviations from free trade in media products.