Digital media inequalities: Policies against divides, distrust and discrimination, 2019
This chapter discusses inequality from the perspective of media use. It analyses pat- terns of ne... more This chapter discusses inequality from the perspective of media use. It analyses pat- terns of news consumption and willingness to pay for news in three comparatively well-off countries – the small Nordic welfare states of Finland, Denmark and Norway. The chapter reveals significant dissimilarities between these case countries, which we need to understand in relation to the countries’ wider media systems as well as historically. By zooming in on news consumption in Denmark, Finland and Norway, we also gain a better understanding of how subtle inequalities play out within these societies. News that is free to users matters as a resource for the citizenship of specific social groups. The implication is that regulatory schemes need to be developed that facilitate quality news provision through channels that are free at the point of use.
The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era comprehensively addresses the central dy... more The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era comprehensively addresses the central dynamics of the digitalization of the media industry in the Nordic countries—Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland—and the ways media organizations there are transforming to address the new digital environment.
READ FREE ON THE WEB: dx.doi.org/10.3998/nmw.12367206.0001.001
Taking a comparative approach, the authors provide an overview of media institutions, content, use, and policy throughout the region, focusing on the impact of information and communication technology/internet and digitalization on the Nordic media sector. Illustrating the shifting media landscape the authors draw on a wide range of cases, including developments in the press, television, the public service media institutions, and telecommunication. Authors: Trine Syvertsen, Gunn Enli, Ole Mjøs, Hallvard Moe
Public service broadcasters across Europe are venturing into the digital world, launching niche T... more Public service broadcasters across Europe are venturing into the digital world, launching niche TV channels, building extensive websites, developing commercial services, entering into partnerships with external actors, and exploring new ways to reach users, whether its through smart phone apps or screens in public spaces. Such endeavours intensify fundamental discussions about what we need public service media institutions for. These are complex discussions, building on history, encompassing new technology, and involving a range of strong stakeholders. Recently, the so-called public value test has emerged as the focal point for these discussions. As a detailed regulatory scheme to measure the public worth and possible market impact of planned publicly funded media services, the public value test is causing controversy across Europe. This collection of short essays from academics, regulators, public broadcasters and private media representatives, provides thought-provoking perspectives on the state of play of public value tests in a range of European states. In so doing, the book is a topical intervention in the ongoing debate about the future of our media systems.
----------------------
Contents:
Editors’ preface
Hallvard Moe, Karen Donders Ex Ante Tests in Europe. From Diverging Perspectives to Infinite Conclusions
Tim Raats, Caroline Pauwels In Search of the Holy Grail? Comparative Analysis in Public Broadcasting Research
Karen Donders The Public Value Test. A Reasoned Response or Panic Reaction?
Ross Biggam Ex Ante Regulations, the EU and its Member States. Back to Brussels?
Richard Collins Public Value, the BBC and Humpty Dumpty Words – does Public Value Management Mean What it Says?
Irini Katsirea The Three-step Test. Three Steps Forwards or Backwards for Public Service Broadcasting in Germany?
Renate Dörr The ZDF Three-step Test. A Dynamic Tool of Governance
Stoyan Radoslavov, Barbara Thomass ZDF’s Three-step Test as a Societal Debate about the Future of Public Service Broadcasting
Marie Therese Lilleborge The Public Service Remit in Norway: What’s In and What’s Out?
Hilde Thoresen, Erik Bolstad Ex Ante Limits Public Broadcasting and Gives the Public Less Attractive Services
Erik Nordahl Svendsen Two Steps Towards a Public Value Test. Danish Public Service Broadcasting Between Two Lines of Control
Nina Wormbs Swedish Pre-screening of New Services. Treading Lightly
Jo Bardoel, Marit Vochteloo Dutch Public Service Broadcasting Between Bureaucratic Burden and Political Choice. Implementing the Amsterdam Test in the Netherlands
Herman Wolswinkel Publishers’ Fight for Fair Competition in the Digital Era
Hilde Van den Bulck Ex Ante Test in Flanders. Making Ends Meet?
Ben Appel Long Live the Ex Ante Test. The Ex Ante Test Is Dead!
Benedetta Brevini Ex Ante Assessments for Public Broadcasters in Southern Europe. Delayed Europeanization?
The idea of the public sphere as the space where citizens come together to deliberate on issues o... more The idea of the public sphere as the space where citizens come together to deliberate on issues of common concern and to critique and influence the government has been one of the most influential and contested concepts since the beginnings of debates on the constitution of democracy. It remains central to contemporary issues such as the democratic potential of the internet, the challenges posed by the resurgence of fundamentalisms, and the possibilities for a post-national, cosmopolitan, political order in the age of globalization.
This four volume major reference collection is a 'must-have' guide to the idea of the public sphere, its history, the ongoing struggles over its meaning and importance to democracy, and its continuing relevance to emerging issues.
"The idea of the public sphere has been a vital part of democratic theory throughout the modern e... more "The idea of the public sphere has been a vital part of democratic theory throughout the modern era. This helpful reader provides the intellectual and historical background to enable those thinking about these issues today to connect the most important contemporary contributions to their intellectual history."—Craig Calhoun, New York University
---
The notion of "the public sphere" has become increasingly central to theories and studies of democracy, media, and culture over the last few decades. It has also gained political importance in the context of the European Union's efforts to strengthen democracy, integration, and identity.
The Idea of the Public Sphere offers a wide-ranging, accessible, and easy-to-use introduction to one of the most influential ideas in modern social and political thought, tracing its development from the origins of modern democracy in the Eighteenth Century to present day debates. This book brings key texts by the leading contributors in the field together in a single volume. It explores current topics such as the role of religion in public affairs, the implications of the internet for organizing public deliberation, and the transnationalisation of public issues.
Texts by: Hannah Arendt, Seyla Benhabib, James Bohman, John Dewey, Jon Elster, Nancy Fraser, Jürgen Habermas, G.W.F. Hegel, Immanuel Kant, Alexander Kluge, Walter Lippmann, Niklas Luhmann, Chantal Mouffe, Oskar Negt, Bernhard Peters, John Rawls, Carl Schmitt, and Joseph Schumpeter.
Until recently, media policy was thought of as national, media-specific, and as part of the cultu... more Until recently, media policy was thought of as national, media-specific, and as part of the cultural domain. All is changing in a digital public sphere: first, by the processes of globalization in a broad sense; second, by a blurring of borders between media, which can be summed up as convergence; and third, by a more far-reaching commercialisation of the media. The transformation triggered by these developments are ongoing and have been so for quite a few years. Thus, it is time to take stock. The different contributions in this book set out to do that.
With basis in the idea that media policy is fundamentally about regulating the public sphere in accordance with central democratic ideals, the book covers a wide range of issues: Transnational online television distribution; the trouble with building and opening digital audiovisual archives; the impact of recent EU regulations on global conglomerates as well as national public service broadcasters; the debate on net neutrality; the idea of the participating public in policy-making; the regulation of freedom of speech on the internet; as well as the impact of legal globalization on media policy itself.
Contents:
Preface Jostein Gripsrud, Hallvard Moe Introduction. The Digital Public Sphere. Challenges for Media Policy
Part I. A Perspective
Slavko Splichal Eclipse of ”the Public”. From the Public to (transnational) Public Sphere. Conceptual Shifts in the Twentieth Century
Part II. Changes
Hannu Nieminen Global Copyright Regulation and the Prospects of European Public Sphere. The Case of TVkaista
Karl Knapskog Providing Cultural Resources. On Turning Audiovisual Archives into a Public Domain
Ole J. Mjøs News Corporation's MySpace.com and the Digital Challenges to Audiovisual Regulations
Tanja Storsul Television in Cyberspace. The Net Neutrality Tussle in Norway
Part III. Fundamentals
Hallvard Moe Notions of the Public in Public Service Broadcasting Policy for the Digital Era
Karen Donders, Caroline Pauwels What if Competition Policy Assists the Transfer from Public Service Broadcasting to Public Service Media? An analysis of EU State aid Control and its Relevance for Public Broadcasting
Helge Rønning Tools for Democracy or for Surveillance? Reflections on the Rule of Law on the Internet
Sandra Braman Legal Globalization and the Public Sphere
20. august 1960 gikk startskuddet for norsk tv. Denne boka er skrevet femti år etter og handler o... more 20. august 1960 gikk startskuddet for norsk tv. Denne boka er skrevet femti år etter og handler om de ulike aspektene ved tv: Fra tv som institusjon og kanal, til tv-markeder, tv-regulering, tv-produksjon, tv-program og tv-publikum Dette er den første norske læreboka som samlet diskuterer og analyserer tv ut i fra et slikt bredt perspektiv, og som trekker tråder på tvers av ulike emner og felt. Formålet med boka er å belyse sentrale tendenser i tv-mediets utvikling, med særlig vekt på det siste tiåret. Tv har alltid vært i endring, men det siste tiåret har utviklingstrekk som fragmentering, konvergens, globalisering og regionalisering preget mediet i særlig grad. Hva gjør det med innholdet, med økonomien - og med oss som publikum? Gjennom en blanding av komparative analyser og konkrete case-studier, diskuterer forfatterne tv-mediets kulturelle og samfunnsmessige betydning i den digitale tidsalder. Boka beskriver sentrale aktører og tendenser i Norge, men også internasjonalt.
This article compares Wikipedia as an arena and source for the public through analysis of article... more This article compares Wikipedia as an arena and source for the public through analysis of articles on "Islam" across the three Scandinavian languages. Findings show that the Swedish article is continuously revised and adjusted by a fairly high number of contributors, with comparatively low concentration to a small group of top users. The Norwegian article is static, more basic, but still serves as a matter-of-factly presentation of Islam as religion to a stable amount of views. In contrast, the Danish article is at once more dynamic through more changes up until recently, it portrays Islam differently with a distinct focus on identity issues, and it is read less often. The analysis illustrates how studying Wikipedia can bring light to the receiving end of what goes on in the public sphere. The analysis also illustrates how our understanding of the online realm profits from "groundedness," and how the comparison of similar sites in different languages can yield insights into cultural as well as political differences, and their implications.
This article argues that journalism scholars should strive to understand the democratic significa... more This article argues that journalism scholars should strive to understand the democratic significance of everyday news use, and that such an interest requires us to tackle some methodological and conceptual challenges. We utilize the concept of public connection as a starting point for prioritizing aspects of everyday news use that are most relevant to democracy. Based on a review of existing methods-surveys, interviews and digital trace data-we propose an approach that facilitates analysis beyond the moment, and beyond single platforms or providers, and which situates journalism and news as part of intricate media experiences in everyday life. Our approach centres on media diaries to achieve these aims, and we illustrate its relevance for public connection research with a case from Norway.
This article explores implications of the central position of the smartphone in an age of constan... more This article explores implications of the central position of the smartphone in an age of constant connectivity. Based on a qualitative study of 50 informants, we ask how users experience and handle temporal ambivalences in everyday smartphone use, drawing on the concepts flow and responsibilization to conceptualize central dimensions of such ambivalences. The notion of conflicting flows illuminates how brief checking cycles expand at the expense of other activities, resulting in a temporal conflict experienced by users. Responsibilization points to how users take individual responsibility for managing such conflicting flows, and to how this practice is difficult and conflict-ridden. We conclude that while individual time management is often framed as the solution to temporal conflicts, such attempts at regulating smartphone use appear inadequate. Our conceptualization of temporal ambivalence offers a more nuanced understanding of why this is the case.
The last two decades have witnessed major disruptions to the traditional media industry as a resu... more The last two decades have witnessed major disruptions to the traditional media industry as a result of technological breakthroughs. New opportunities and challenges continue to arise, most recently as a result of the rapid advance and adoption of artificial intelligence technologies. On the one hand, the broad adoption of these technologies may introduce new opportunities for diversifying media offerings, fighting disinformation, and advancing data-driven journalism. On the other hand, techniques such as algorithmic content selection and user personalization can introduce risks and societal threats. The challenge of balancing these opportunities and benefits against their potential for negative impacts underscores the need for more research in responsible media technology. In this paper, we first describe the major challenges-both for societies and the media industry-that come with modern media technology. We then outline various places in the media production and dissemination chain, where research gaps exist, where better technical approaches are needed, and where technology must be designed in a way that can effectively support responsible editorial processes and principles. We argue that a comprehensive approach to research in responsible media technology, leveraging an interdisciplinary approach and a close cooperation between the media industry and academic institutions, is urgently needed.
The concept of exposure diversity, the diversity of information that people actually access and u... more The concept of exposure diversity, the diversity of information that people actually access and use, has recently gained prominence in media policy debates. This aspect of media diversity, however, remains difficult to define, measure or implement in actual policy. In this article, we propose an empirical approach that operationalizes exposure diversity in terms of news and current affairs providers in the media repertoire of different social groups. This can be studied through cluster analysis of survey data on respondents' combinations of use of different media providers and outlets. The article first discusses exposure diversity as a media policy aim. We then outline our proposal on how to take the debate a step further through empirical analysis of media repertoires, with an illustration of how such an analysis may be conducted using survey data from Norway.
Digital media enable processes of datafication: users' online activities leave digital traces tha... more Digital media enable processes of datafication: users' online activities leave digital traces that are transformed into data points in databases, kept by service providers and other private and public organisations, and repurposed for commercial exploitation, business innovation, surveillance-and research. Increasingly, this also extends to sensors and recognition technologies that turn homes and cities, as well as our own bodies, into data points to be collected and analysed So-called 'traditional' media industries, too, including public service broadcasting, have been datafied, tracking and profiling audiences, algorithmically processing data for greater personalisation as a way to compete with new players and streaming services. Datafication both raises new research questions and brings about new avenues, and an array of tools, for empirical research. This special issue is dedicated to exploring these, linking them to broader historical trajectories of social science methodologies as well as to central concerns and perspectives in media and communication research. As such, this special issue grapples with
This article draws on the framework of "folk theories" to analyze how people perceive algorithms ... more This article draws on the framework of "folk theories" to analyze how people perceive algorithms in the media. Taking algorithms as a prime case to investigate how people respond to datafication in everyday media use, we ask how people perceive positive and negative consequences of algorithms. To answer our question, we conduct qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended answers from a 2019 representative survey among Norwegians, identifying five folk theories: algorithms are confining, practical, reductive, intangible, and exploitative. We situate our analysis in relation to different application of folk theory approaches, and discuss our findings in light of emerging work on perceptions of algorithms and critiques of datafication, including the concept digital resignation. We conclude that rather than resignation, digital irritation emerges as a central emotional response, with a small but significant potential to inspire future political action against datafication.
This paper analyzes news use during the COVID-19 pandemic, asking how people balance between conf... more This paper analyzes news use during the COVID-19 pandemic, asking how people balance between conflicting needs for information and disconnection in an extraordinary situation. We analyze empirical data from a qualitative questionnaire study of Norwegian media users conducted in March–April 2020, a period of early pandemic lockdown. The acute lockdown context accentuated intensified monitoring of constantly updated news streams, and perceptions of news use as immersive and emotionally draining, as captured in the notion of “doomscrolling”. To cope with feelings of being scared or overwhelmed, even the most connected citizens deliberately and intermittingly avoided news. Discussing these findings in light of the debate on news avoidance in journalism studies, we argue for the relevance of understanding news avoidance as a situational strategy. We conclude that the concept of news avoidance remains relevant to qualitatively understand a human experience of wanting to avoid news in particular contexts. Our analysis further outlines interconnections between different practices of pandemic news use, including a research-based conceptualization of doomscrolling as a phenomenon.
This article argues that our view of citizens as miserably failing to maintain their role in demo... more This article argues that our view of citizens as miserably failing to maintain their role in democracy is problematic, and that the problems stem from the "informed citizen" ideal: it is too demanding, but also misses the target. The article proposes an alternative normative concept for citizens' public connection: distributed readiness citizenship. The concept highlights how the state of being prepared to act is more important than levels of measurable political knowledge. Readiness is crucial to finding enough information and relevant cues, and it cannot be assessed based on individual citizens in isolation, but should be considered as distributed, and embodied in citizens' social networks, with a division of labor. With such a conceptualization, we are better equipped to evaluate existing conditions, judge the impact of populism and propaganda, and figure out how to improve the chances for those less well-off to participate in democracy.
Deliberative systems theory is a promising candidate for a normative theory of democracy that com... more Deliberative systems theory is a promising candidate for a normative theory of democracy that combines ideal requirements with feasibility. Yet, recent theoretical elaborations and studies of citizens' online media use inspired by the theory suffer from an incomplete account of the public sphere's epistemic function, too rough interpretations of participatory levels, shortcomings in the understanding of online media, and a context-insensitive notion of policy reform. Addressing these weaknesses, the article argues for a refined version of deliberative systems theory. Particular attention is given to feasibility considerations. Reviewing studies of online democracy in Norway, the article shows that the theoretical critique has practical significance. It is also argued that the amended version of the deliberative systems approach produces a diagnosis of Norwegian online democracy more in line with reasonable expectations to a high achiever. This is taken as a prima facie indicator of feasibility.
Digital media inequalities: Policies against divides, distrust and discrimination, 2019
This chapter discusses inequality from the perspective of media use. It analyses pat- terns of ne... more This chapter discusses inequality from the perspective of media use. It analyses pat- terns of news consumption and willingness to pay for news in three comparatively well-off countries – the small Nordic welfare states of Finland, Denmark and Norway. The chapter reveals significant dissimilarities between these case countries, which we need to understand in relation to the countries’ wider media systems as well as historically. By zooming in on news consumption in Denmark, Finland and Norway, we also gain a better understanding of how subtle inequalities play out within these societies. News that is free to users matters as a resource for the citizenship of specific social groups. The implication is that regulatory schemes need to be developed that facilitate quality news provision through channels that are free at the point of use.
The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era comprehensively addresses the central dy... more The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era comprehensively addresses the central dynamics of the digitalization of the media industry in the Nordic countries—Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland—and the ways media organizations there are transforming to address the new digital environment.
READ FREE ON THE WEB: dx.doi.org/10.3998/nmw.12367206.0001.001
Taking a comparative approach, the authors provide an overview of media institutions, content, use, and policy throughout the region, focusing on the impact of information and communication technology/internet and digitalization on the Nordic media sector. Illustrating the shifting media landscape the authors draw on a wide range of cases, including developments in the press, television, the public service media institutions, and telecommunication. Authors: Trine Syvertsen, Gunn Enli, Ole Mjøs, Hallvard Moe
Public service broadcasters across Europe are venturing into the digital world, launching niche T... more Public service broadcasters across Europe are venturing into the digital world, launching niche TV channels, building extensive websites, developing commercial services, entering into partnerships with external actors, and exploring new ways to reach users, whether its through smart phone apps or screens in public spaces. Such endeavours intensify fundamental discussions about what we need public service media institutions for. These are complex discussions, building on history, encompassing new technology, and involving a range of strong stakeholders. Recently, the so-called public value test has emerged as the focal point for these discussions. As a detailed regulatory scheme to measure the public worth and possible market impact of planned publicly funded media services, the public value test is causing controversy across Europe. This collection of short essays from academics, regulators, public broadcasters and private media representatives, provides thought-provoking perspectives on the state of play of public value tests in a range of European states. In so doing, the book is a topical intervention in the ongoing debate about the future of our media systems.
----------------------
Contents:
Editors’ preface
Hallvard Moe, Karen Donders Ex Ante Tests in Europe. From Diverging Perspectives to Infinite Conclusions
Tim Raats, Caroline Pauwels In Search of the Holy Grail? Comparative Analysis in Public Broadcasting Research
Karen Donders The Public Value Test. A Reasoned Response or Panic Reaction?
Ross Biggam Ex Ante Regulations, the EU and its Member States. Back to Brussels?
Richard Collins Public Value, the BBC and Humpty Dumpty Words – does Public Value Management Mean What it Says?
Irini Katsirea The Three-step Test. Three Steps Forwards or Backwards for Public Service Broadcasting in Germany?
Renate Dörr The ZDF Three-step Test. A Dynamic Tool of Governance
Stoyan Radoslavov, Barbara Thomass ZDF’s Three-step Test as a Societal Debate about the Future of Public Service Broadcasting
Marie Therese Lilleborge The Public Service Remit in Norway: What’s In and What’s Out?
Hilde Thoresen, Erik Bolstad Ex Ante Limits Public Broadcasting and Gives the Public Less Attractive Services
Erik Nordahl Svendsen Two Steps Towards a Public Value Test. Danish Public Service Broadcasting Between Two Lines of Control
Nina Wormbs Swedish Pre-screening of New Services. Treading Lightly
Jo Bardoel, Marit Vochteloo Dutch Public Service Broadcasting Between Bureaucratic Burden and Political Choice. Implementing the Amsterdam Test in the Netherlands
Herman Wolswinkel Publishers’ Fight for Fair Competition in the Digital Era
Hilde Van den Bulck Ex Ante Test in Flanders. Making Ends Meet?
Ben Appel Long Live the Ex Ante Test. The Ex Ante Test Is Dead!
Benedetta Brevini Ex Ante Assessments for Public Broadcasters in Southern Europe. Delayed Europeanization?
The idea of the public sphere as the space where citizens come together to deliberate on issues o... more The idea of the public sphere as the space where citizens come together to deliberate on issues of common concern and to critique and influence the government has been one of the most influential and contested concepts since the beginnings of debates on the constitution of democracy. It remains central to contemporary issues such as the democratic potential of the internet, the challenges posed by the resurgence of fundamentalisms, and the possibilities for a post-national, cosmopolitan, political order in the age of globalization.
This four volume major reference collection is a 'must-have' guide to the idea of the public sphere, its history, the ongoing struggles over its meaning and importance to democracy, and its continuing relevance to emerging issues.
"The idea of the public sphere has been a vital part of democratic theory throughout the modern e... more "The idea of the public sphere has been a vital part of democratic theory throughout the modern era. This helpful reader provides the intellectual and historical background to enable those thinking about these issues today to connect the most important contemporary contributions to their intellectual history."—Craig Calhoun, New York University
---
The notion of "the public sphere" has become increasingly central to theories and studies of democracy, media, and culture over the last few decades. It has also gained political importance in the context of the European Union's efforts to strengthen democracy, integration, and identity.
The Idea of the Public Sphere offers a wide-ranging, accessible, and easy-to-use introduction to one of the most influential ideas in modern social and political thought, tracing its development from the origins of modern democracy in the Eighteenth Century to present day debates. This book brings key texts by the leading contributors in the field together in a single volume. It explores current topics such as the role of religion in public affairs, the implications of the internet for organizing public deliberation, and the transnationalisation of public issues.
Texts by: Hannah Arendt, Seyla Benhabib, James Bohman, John Dewey, Jon Elster, Nancy Fraser, Jürgen Habermas, G.W.F. Hegel, Immanuel Kant, Alexander Kluge, Walter Lippmann, Niklas Luhmann, Chantal Mouffe, Oskar Negt, Bernhard Peters, John Rawls, Carl Schmitt, and Joseph Schumpeter.
Until recently, media policy was thought of as national, media-specific, and as part of the cultu... more Until recently, media policy was thought of as national, media-specific, and as part of the cultural domain. All is changing in a digital public sphere: first, by the processes of globalization in a broad sense; second, by a blurring of borders between media, which can be summed up as convergence; and third, by a more far-reaching commercialisation of the media. The transformation triggered by these developments are ongoing and have been so for quite a few years. Thus, it is time to take stock. The different contributions in this book set out to do that.
With basis in the idea that media policy is fundamentally about regulating the public sphere in accordance with central democratic ideals, the book covers a wide range of issues: Transnational online television distribution; the trouble with building and opening digital audiovisual archives; the impact of recent EU regulations on global conglomerates as well as national public service broadcasters; the debate on net neutrality; the idea of the participating public in policy-making; the regulation of freedom of speech on the internet; as well as the impact of legal globalization on media policy itself.
Contents:
Preface Jostein Gripsrud, Hallvard Moe Introduction. The Digital Public Sphere. Challenges for Media Policy
Part I. A Perspective
Slavko Splichal Eclipse of ”the Public”. From the Public to (transnational) Public Sphere. Conceptual Shifts in the Twentieth Century
Part II. Changes
Hannu Nieminen Global Copyright Regulation and the Prospects of European Public Sphere. The Case of TVkaista
Karl Knapskog Providing Cultural Resources. On Turning Audiovisual Archives into a Public Domain
Ole J. Mjøs News Corporation's MySpace.com and the Digital Challenges to Audiovisual Regulations
Tanja Storsul Television in Cyberspace. The Net Neutrality Tussle in Norway
Part III. Fundamentals
Hallvard Moe Notions of the Public in Public Service Broadcasting Policy for the Digital Era
Karen Donders, Caroline Pauwels What if Competition Policy Assists the Transfer from Public Service Broadcasting to Public Service Media? An analysis of EU State aid Control and its Relevance for Public Broadcasting
Helge Rønning Tools for Democracy or for Surveillance? Reflections on the Rule of Law on the Internet
Sandra Braman Legal Globalization and the Public Sphere
20. august 1960 gikk startskuddet for norsk tv. Denne boka er skrevet femti år etter og handler o... more 20. august 1960 gikk startskuddet for norsk tv. Denne boka er skrevet femti år etter og handler om de ulike aspektene ved tv: Fra tv som institusjon og kanal, til tv-markeder, tv-regulering, tv-produksjon, tv-program og tv-publikum Dette er den første norske læreboka som samlet diskuterer og analyserer tv ut i fra et slikt bredt perspektiv, og som trekker tråder på tvers av ulike emner og felt. Formålet med boka er å belyse sentrale tendenser i tv-mediets utvikling, med særlig vekt på det siste tiåret. Tv har alltid vært i endring, men det siste tiåret har utviklingstrekk som fragmentering, konvergens, globalisering og regionalisering preget mediet i særlig grad. Hva gjør det med innholdet, med økonomien - og med oss som publikum? Gjennom en blanding av komparative analyser og konkrete case-studier, diskuterer forfatterne tv-mediets kulturelle og samfunnsmessige betydning i den digitale tidsalder. Boka beskriver sentrale aktører og tendenser i Norge, men også internasjonalt.
This article compares Wikipedia as an arena and source for the public through analysis of article... more This article compares Wikipedia as an arena and source for the public through analysis of articles on "Islam" across the three Scandinavian languages. Findings show that the Swedish article is continuously revised and adjusted by a fairly high number of contributors, with comparatively low concentration to a small group of top users. The Norwegian article is static, more basic, but still serves as a matter-of-factly presentation of Islam as religion to a stable amount of views. In contrast, the Danish article is at once more dynamic through more changes up until recently, it portrays Islam differently with a distinct focus on identity issues, and it is read less often. The analysis illustrates how studying Wikipedia can bring light to the receiving end of what goes on in the public sphere. The analysis also illustrates how our understanding of the online realm profits from "groundedness," and how the comparison of similar sites in different languages can yield insights into cultural as well as political differences, and their implications.
This article argues that journalism scholars should strive to understand the democratic significa... more This article argues that journalism scholars should strive to understand the democratic significance of everyday news use, and that such an interest requires us to tackle some methodological and conceptual challenges. We utilize the concept of public connection as a starting point for prioritizing aspects of everyday news use that are most relevant to democracy. Based on a review of existing methods-surveys, interviews and digital trace data-we propose an approach that facilitates analysis beyond the moment, and beyond single platforms or providers, and which situates journalism and news as part of intricate media experiences in everyday life. Our approach centres on media diaries to achieve these aims, and we illustrate its relevance for public connection research with a case from Norway.
This article explores implications of the central position of the smartphone in an age of constan... more This article explores implications of the central position of the smartphone in an age of constant connectivity. Based on a qualitative study of 50 informants, we ask how users experience and handle temporal ambivalences in everyday smartphone use, drawing on the concepts flow and responsibilization to conceptualize central dimensions of such ambivalences. The notion of conflicting flows illuminates how brief checking cycles expand at the expense of other activities, resulting in a temporal conflict experienced by users. Responsibilization points to how users take individual responsibility for managing such conflicting flows, and to how this practice is difficult and conflict-ridden. We conclude that while individual time management is often framed as the solution to temporal conflicts, such attempts at regulating smartphone use appear inadequate. Our conceptualization of temporal ambivalence offers a more nuanced understanding of why this is the case.
The last two decades have witnessed major disruptions to the traditional media industry as a resu... more The last two decades have witnessed major disruptions to the traditional media industry as a result of technological breakthroughs. New opportunities and challenges continue to arise, most recently as a result of the rapid advance and adoption of artificial intelligence technologies. On the one hand, the broad adoption of these technologies may introduce new opportunities for diversifying media offerings, fighting disinformation, and advancing data-driven journalism. On the other hand, techniques such as algorithmic content selection and user personalization can introduce risks and societal threats. The challenge of balancing these opportunities and benefits against their potential for negative impacts underscores the need for more research in responsible media technology. In this paper, we first describe the major challenges-both for societies and the media industry-that come with modern media technology. We then outline various places in the media production and dissemination chain, where research gaps exist, where better technical approaches are needed, and where technology must be designed in a way that can effectively support responsible editorial processes and principles. We argue that a comprehensive approach to research in responsible media technology, leveraging an interdisciplinary approach and a close cooperation between the media industry and academic institutions, is urgently needed.
The concept of exposure diversity, the diversity of information that people actually access and u... more The concept of exposure diversity, the diversity of information that people actually access and use, has recently gained prominence in media policy debates. This aspect of media diversity, however, remains difficult to define, measure or implement in actual policy. In this article, we propose an empirical approach that operationalizes exposure diversity in terms of news and current affairs providers in the media repertoire of different social groups. This can be studied through cluster analysis of survey data on respondents' combinations of use of different media providers and outlets. The article first discusses exposure diversity as a media policy aim. We then outline our proposal on how to take the debate a step further through empirical analysis of media repertoires, with an illustration of how such an analysis may be conducted using survey data from Norway.
Digital media enable processes of datafication: users' online activities leave digital traces tha... more Digital media enable processes of datafication: users' online activities leave digital traces that are transformed into data points in databases, kept by service providers and other private and public organisations, and repurposed for commercial exploitation, business innovation, surveillance-and research. Increasingly, this also extends to sensors and recognition technologies that turn homes and cities, as well as our own bodies, into data points to be collected and analysed So-called 'traditional' media industries, too, including public service broadcasting, have been datafied, tracking and profiling audiences, algorithmically processing data for greater personalisation as a way to compete with new players and streaming services. Datafication both raises new research questions and brings about new avenues, and an array of tools, for empirical research. This special issue is dedicated to exploring these, linking them to broader historical trajectories of social science methodologies as well as to central concerns and perspectives in media and communication research. As such, this special issue grapples with
This article draws on the framework of "folk theories" to analyze how people perceive algorithms ... more This article draws on the framework of "folk theories" to analyze how people perceive algorithms in the media. Taking algorithms as a prime case to investigate how people respond to datafication in everyday media use, we ask how people perceive positive and negative consequences of algorithms. To answer our question, we conduct qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended answers from a 2019 representative survey among Norwegians, identifying five folk theories: algorithms are confining, practical, reductive, intangible, and exploitative. We situate our analysis in relation to different application of folk theory approaches, and discuss our findings in light of emerging work on perceptions of algorithms and critiques of datafication, including the concept digital resignation. We conclude that rather than resignation, digital irritation emerges as a central emotional response, with a small but significant potential to inspire future political action against datafication.
This paper analyzes news use during the COVID-19 pandemic, asking how people balance between conf... more This paper analyzes news use during the COVID-19 pandemic, asking how people balance between conflicting needs for information and disconnection in an extraordinary situation. We analyze empirical data from a qualitative questionnaire study of Norwegian media users conducted in March–April 2020, a period of early pandemic lockdown. The acute lockdown context accentuated intensified monitoring of constantly updated news streams, and perceptions of news use as immersive and emotionally draining, as captured in the notion of “doomscrolling”. To cope with feelings of being scared or overwhelmed, even the most connected citizens deliberately and intermittingly avoided news. Discussing these findings in light of the debate on news avoidance in journalism studies, we argue for the relevance of understanding news avoidance as a situational strategy. We conclude that the concept of news avoidance remains relevant to qualitatively understand a human experience of wanting to avoid news in particular contexts. Our analysis further outlines interconnections between different practices of pandemic news use, including a research-based conceptualization of doomscrolling as a phenomenon.
This article argues that our view of citizens as miserably failing to maintain their role in demo... more This article argues that our view of citizens as miserably failing to maintain their role in democracy is problematic, and that the problems stem from the "informed citizen" ideal: it is too demanding, but also misses the target. The article proposes an alternative normative concept for citizens' public connection: distributed readiness citizenship. The concept highlights how the state of being prepared to act is more important than levels of measurable political knowledge. Readiness is crucial to finding enough information and relevant cues, and it cannot be assessed based on individual citizens in isolation, but should be considered as distributed, and embodied in citizens' social networks, with a division of labor. With such a conceptualization, we are better equipped to evaluate existing conditions, judge the impact of populism and propaganda, and figure out how to improve the chances for those less well-off to participate in democracy.
Deliberative systems theory is a promising candidate for a normative theory of democracy that com... more Deliberative systems theory is a promising candidate for a normative theory of democracy that combines ideal requirements with feasibility. Yet, recent theoretical elaborations and studies of citizens' online media use inspired by the theory suffer from an incomplete account of the public sphere's epistemic function, too rough interpretations of participatory levels, shortcomings in the understanding of online media, and a context-insensitive notion of policy reform. Addressing these weaknesses, the article argues for a refined version of deliberative systems theory. Particular attention is given to feasibility considerations. Reviewing studies of online democracy in Norway, the article shows that the theoretical critique has practical significance. It is also argued that the amended version of the deliberative systems approach produces a diagnosis of Norwegian online democracy more in line with reasonable expectations to a high achiever. This is taken as a prima facie indicator of feasibility.
This article is concerned with how different agencies play out in shaping public debate online an... more This article is concerned with how different agencies play out in shaping public debate online and, for this purpose, employs an approach that acknowledges the role not just of algorithms seen in isolation, but in context with users. The empirical case is YouTube video search results related to Islam in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. As such, the article makes a contribution by adding a comparative layer to the discussion of "ranking cultures," which has so far focused on individual cases or English-language searches. The analysis is based on a mapping of the highest-ranking videos, as well as a qualitative exploration of these videos' content and context. Findings illustrate how intricate practices of re-posting and re-framing of videos is key to understand the ways YouTube's search function contributes to shape the public image of an issue differently in different language areas and social settings. Findings are related to previous studies of immigration coverage in mainstream news media in the case countries. The discussion highlights the merits of the approach, not only for bringing out nuances in how YouTube shape political issues in different contexts but also for pointing to questions of the broader public debate.
This article investigates sense-making processes of news audiences when faced with destabilizing ... more This article investigates sense-making processes of news audiences when faced with destabilizing global events. The destabilizing event is Trump's 2016 election win, which we study from the perspective of audiences far removed: in the Nordic region. Asking how we can understand shifts in the balance between the informational and ritual aspects of news over time, we study how journalism matters when ordinary practices are suddenly uprooted, and in the gradual return to everyday life. Based on the analysis of extensive qualitative material, we formulate three successive phases of Norwegian news audiences' reactions to the election: annoying circus far away, world-shattering shock and regained stability. We underline not only shared experiences but also nuances which we link to differences in media use routines, levels of interests in news as well as resources for the sense-making of politics. Our findings contribute to the scrutiny of news use in everyday life and at times of political upheaval, and add an audience perspective to research on Trump and the media.
Hva kan vi bruke kvantitative undersøkelsesmetoder for tv-bruk til, og hvordan kan vi forstå avvi... more Hva kan vi bruke kvantitative undersøkelsesmetoder for tv-bruk til, og hvordan kan vi forstå avvik mellom dem? Vi argumenterer for at en sammenligning av svarene survey-og tvmeterdata gir oss-over tid og på tvers av genre-reiser en viktig diskusjon om metodiske utfordringer, men også setter oss i stand til å bedre forstå endringer i tv-bruken.
This article identifies gaps between normative ideals and realistic accounts of news use in democ... more This article identifies gaps between normative ideals and realistic accounts of news use in democracy today. Starting from the widespread but unrealistic ideal of the informed citizen, and its more realistic development through notions of the monitorial citizen, we analyze comprehensive qualitative data on news users' experiences. We describe these news users as approximately informed, occasionally monitorial. This description emphasizes the limited, shifting, and partial figurations of societal information that citizens are able to obtain through their use of journalistic and social media, and thereby challenges normative ideals. How do monitorial ideals function when the citizens are only occasionally on guard? By zooming in on three key gaps between even a less demanding ideal and actual practices in news use, we underline the need to further reconceptualize our expectations of citizens' news use.
Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 2021
Digital disconnection or 'digital detox' has become a key reference point for media scholars inte... more Digital disconnection or 'digital detox' has become a key reference point for media scholars interested in how media technology increasingly gains influence on our everyday lives. Digital disconnection from intrusive media is often intertwined with other types of human conduct, which is less highlighted. There is a potential for media scholars to engage with what seems to be a mainstreaming of digital disconnection from self-help literature via mobile applications to media activism and public debate. In this article, we therefore aim to examine digital disconnection beyond media studies by distilling five common positions: disconnection as health, concentration, existentiality, freedom and sustainability. An underlying theme in all five positions appears to be the notion of responsibilisation, although some of the positions attempt to portray disconnection as a way to ultimately resist such responsibilisation. The article thus aims to spur media scholars to treat digital disconnection as part of broader cultural trends.
This article mobilizes the capabilities approach to offer a new and empirically grounded critical... more This article mobilizes the capabilities approach to offer a new and empirically grounded critical perspective on how cultural policy should promote citizenship to audiences. The capabilities approach posits that public policies should be designed and measured in terms of what they actually enable subjects to do or be. Focusing on the case of Norway, we operationalize the capabilities approach in two steps. First, based on survey data, we highlight systematic relationships between social background, cultural consumption, and citizenship. Based on extensive interview data, the article thereafter offers insight into how people engage with culture and whether this engagement enables them to function as citizens. In contrast to common assessments of cultural policy, we argue that the merit of this approach is that it focuses attention on how different measures actually empower different groups of citizens and fail to empower others, thus providing a basis for more effective and just policy measures.
This contribution compares personalisation strategies of public service media (PSM) and how these... more This contribution compares personalisation strategies of public service media (PSM) and how these are reconciled with PSM's core values, especially universality. To this end, it combines mapping of a sample of PSM with in-depth analysis of Flemish VRT and Norwegian NRK. The theoretical framework discusses universality in relationship to PSM's historical remit and to contemporary personalisation through digital options like algorithms. Subsequently, strategies of the sampled PSM are analysed, using data from documents, an online survey and interviews. Results suggest that most PSM, including VRT and NRK, engage in implicit and explicit digital personalisation, yet vary in type of engagement and in views on how personalisation strengthens or threatens universality. It is argued that histories and the understanding of technology within specific institutions affect their personalisation approach. We argue that policies focus on news and information but that negotiating universality and personalisation, while dealing with issues like filter bubbles and privacy, extends to the entire range of PSM programmes and goals.
Media independence is a contested concept that carries different meanings in different contexts. ... more Media independence is a contested concept that carries different meanings in different contexts. As a normative ideal, independence can be discussed on many levels, and media organisations, journalists, researchers and regulators often invoke the term in contradictory ways. In contemporary European media policy, the conceptual contestation over the meaning of independence has been further reheated by commercial media’s attempts to reframe the distinction between commercial and public service media as a choice between “independent” and “state” media. The digital transformations and the emergence of new media actors and platforms also challenge the meaning and relevance of different conceptions of media independence and dependence. In this article, we discuss the changing uses of the notion of independence in current media policy discourse, including controversies between public service and commercial media, but also other settings where the notion is invoked. We then develop a more fine-tuned understanding of the different dimensions that media independence contains in a contemporary media environment. Finally, we discuss how the relational nature of independence makes it problematic to employ as a normative principle in media policy.
New media technologies are often met with political and public ambivalence, as they are perceived... more New media technologies are often met with political and public ambivalence, as they are perceived to threaten established activities, values and institutions, as well as bring progress and improve political, cultural and social life. Taking the Norwegian history of television as an empirical case study, this article relates to an international research agenda focusing on the cultural political debates in the early phases of broadcast media. The article is structured according to five key conjunctures where significant new media and technologies were introduced with corresponding political debates: the introduction of television (1940s–1950s), of colour television (1960s–1970s), of satellite, cable and commercial television (1980s), of digital distribution (1990s–2000s) and the expansion of television to new platforms (2000s). The article addresses the key arguments and dividing lines in these political debates, as well as the change in the perception of television when the medium is no longer new, but has become an integrated part of people's everyday life.
This introduction to the special issue on social media and television audience engagement sketche... more This introduction to the special issue on social media and television audience engagement sketches the key dimensions that affect how audiences are transformed through the development of social platforms. Building on the five contributions to the special issue, we identify three dimensions that deserve further attention: (1) the character of national media cultures, (2) whether social platforms are employed by public or commercial broadcasters, and (3) the specific techno-commercial strategies of television producers and social media companies. By exploring these three dimensions, the article presents a basic analytical model to systematically compare and contextualize empirical findings on the relationship between social media and audience engagement.
While there are certainly internal differences among the three Scandinavian countries - Sweden, N... more While there are certainly internal differences among the three Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Norway and Denmark - they share enough characteristics with regards to media systems and political organizations to merit comparison of political communication on social media. Based on our previous studies of online political communication in Scandinavia, as well as an ongoing comparative research project, this paper will summarize main trends and allow for a comparative European perspective.
The popularization of the Internet during the 1990s was especially tangible in these countries, in no small part due to state subsidized computers and Internet subscriptions. Thus, the groundwork was laid for three countries characterized by high levels of Internet use and penetration. The same can also be said for social media services. About 60 per cent of the online Scandinavian population have an account on Facebook, while the same figure for Twitter is more modest - between 5 and 10 per cent, depending on what sources you use.
As party-centered rather than candidate-centered representative democracies, much of the research looking into these contexts have concluded that parties rather than individuals play important parts also in the online environment. Nevertheless, studies on Twitter in particular have suggested the possibilty for political “underdogs” - non-incumbent actors - to make their voices heard. This appears to hold true both with regards to individual politicans, as well as the party organizations to which they belong. Ideological differences can also be discerned. Interestingly, our study of the 2013 Norwegian election showed how the comparably small and non-incumbent environmentalist party, The Green, appeared as more popular in the online environment - this is perhaps especially noteworthy since Green parties were also among the earliest adopters of the Internet for political purposes. Moreover, Facebook use in Sweden and Norway in particular is characterized by high popularity ratings (in terms of “Likes” and “Shares”) enjoyed by right-wing populist parties. Taken together, this creates an online political environment which exhibits some difference from that which can be experienced through e.g. traditional media outlets.
Finally, for the political uses of social media at the hands of citizens, research on Twitter in particular has suggested that while this particular platform can certainly function as a platform for those not previously holding positions in the public sphere, those users who manage to gain tangible amounts of traction when discussing political issues can perhaps easiest be described as societal elites. While examples exist of previously more or less unknown citizens making their voices heard in the “Twittersphere”, well-known journalists, politicians and pundits are retweeted more often and receive more messages, effectively reproducing their offline roles in the online environment.
The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era comprehensively addresses the central dy... more The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era comprehensively addresses the central dynamics of the digitalization of the media industry in the Nordic countries—Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland—and the ways media organizations there are transforming to address the new digital environment. Taking a comparative approach, the authors provide an overview of media institutions, content, use, and policy throughout the region, focusing on the impact of information and communication technology/internet and digitalization on the Nordic media sector. Illustrating the shifting media landscape the authors draw on a wide range of cases, including developments in the press, television, the public service media institutions, and telecommunication.
"While many in critical media studies bemoan a homogeneous media culture and global neoliberalism, the authors undertake a sophisticated analysis of a ‘Nordic model’ of the media welfare state that is culturally and institutionally grounded, but avoids crude comparativism and is sensitive to economic and technological forces challenging long-established policy settlements."
—Terry Flew, Queensland University of Technology
“The Media Welfare State carefully amplifies a Nordic model in the media sphere. Here, as elsewhere, a Nordic model is essential for global sanity and we can all think of ways the model can be adapted, changed and emulated. Throughout the book, the text highlights complex, uncertain technological, economic and ideological areas of change in speech and society. Everywhere there is tumult: the authors' gift is helping us see how significant and important journalistic, political and social values might persist in a time of such transformation."
—Monroe Price, University of Pennsylvania
“The Media Welfare State is an ambitious account of the Nordic media landscape. It is an innovative, timely, and well-illustrated commentary on the future of mass/public media and national media systems in the digital era of globalization, marketization and authoritarianism—trends that are not by any means specific to the Nordic region. An important intervention to the study of the welfare state, the book brings the media into the equation of its success and future sustainability.”
—Minna Aslama Horowitz, St. John's University, New York
20. august 1960 gikk startskuddet for norsk tv. Denne boka er skrevet 50 år etter, og handler om ... more 20. august 1960 gikk startskuddet for norsk tv. Denne boka er skrevet 50 år etter, og handler om de mange ulike aspektene ved tv: Fra tv som institusjon og kanal, til tv-markeder, regulering, produksjon, program og publikum. Selv om en rekke bøker analyserer tv fra ulike perspektiv, finnes det fra før av ingen norsk lærebok som samlet diskuterer tv ut i fra et slikt bredt perspektiv og som trekker tråder på tvers av ulike emner og felt.
Denne boka belyser sentrale tendenser i tv-mediets utvikling, med særlig vekt på det siste tiåret. Selv om tv-mediet til alle tider har vært utsatt for endring, har utviklingstrekk som fragmentering, konvergens, globalisering og regionalisering de siste årene gitt tv-mediet helt bestemte utfordringer. Disse utfordringene søkes det mange og til dels nye svar på, og på ulike nivåer: politiske rammebetingelser, import av programformater, nye strategier for å skape allianser med publikum osv.
Gjennom en blanding av komparative analyser og konkrete case-studier, diskuterer denne boka tv-mediets kulturelle og samfunnsmessige betydning i den digitale tidsalder, med stadige tilbakeblikk på fjernsynshistorien. Boka tar sikte på å beskrive sentrale aktører og tendenser i Norge, men også internasjonalt.
Boka består av totalt 15 kapitler fordelt på tre hoveddeler: Samfunn og økonomi; Produksjon og program og Publikum og deltakelse. Underkapitlene inneholder analyser av tv på institusjons-, markeds-, regulerings-, produksjons-, program-, og publikumsnivå. Alle delene avsluttes med korte kapitler om hvordan man studerer de ulike aspektene ved tv.
Boka er primært skrevet for studenter i medieitenskap på universitets- og høyskolenivå som ønsker å lære noe om tv, men kan også leses av andre med interesse for tv.
20. august 1960 gikk startskuddet for norsk tv. Denne boka er skrevet 50 år etter, og handler om ... more 20. august 1960 gikk startskuddet for norsk tv. Denne boka er skrevet 50 år etter, og handler om de mange ulike aspektene ved tv: Fra tv som institusjon og kanal, til tv-markeder, regulering, produksjon, program og publikum. Selv om en rekke bøker analyserer tv fra ulike perspektiv, finnes det fra før av ingen norsk lærebok som samlet diskuterer tv ut i fra et slikt bredt perspektiv og som trekker tråder på tvers av ulike emner og felt.
Denne boka belyser sentrale tendenser i tv-mediets utvikling, med særlig vekt på det siste tiåret. Selv om tv-mediet til alle tider har vært utsatt for endring, har utviklingstrekk som fragmentering, konvergens, globalisering og regionalisering de siste årene gitt tv-mediet helt bestemte utfordringer. Disse utfordringene søkes det mange og til dels nye svar på, og på ulike nivåer: politiske rammebetingelser, import av programformater, nye strategier for å skape allianser med publikum osv.
Gjennom en blanding av komparative analyser og konkrete case-studier, diskuterer denne boka tv-mediets kulturelle og samfunnsmessige betydning i den digitale tidsalder, med stadige tilbakeblikk på fjernsynshistorien. Boka tar sikte på å beskrive sentrale aktører og tendenser i Norge, men også internasjonalt.
Boka består av totalt 15 kapitler fordelt på tre hoveddeler: Samfunn og økonomi; Produksjon og program og Publikum og deltakelse. Underkapitlene inneholder analyser av tv på institusjons-, markeds-, regulerings-, produksjons-, program-, og publikumsnivå. Alle delene avsluttes med korte kapitler om hvordan man studerer de ulike aspektene ved tv.
New media technologies are often met with political and public ambivalence, as they are perceived... more New media technologies are often met with political and public ambivalence, as they are perceived to threaten established activities, values and institutions, as well as bring progress and improve political, cultural and social life. Taking the Norwegian history of television as an empirical case study, this article relates to an international research agenda focusing on the cultural political debates in the early phases of broadcast media. The article is structured according to five key conjunctures where significant new media and technologies were introduced with corresponding political debates: the introduction of television (1940s–1950s), of colour television (1960s–1970s), of satellite, cable and commercial television (1980s), of digital distribution (1990s–2000s) and the expansion of television to new platforms (2000s). The article addresses the key arguments and dividing lines in these political debates, as well as the change in the perception of television when the medium is no longer new, but has become an integrated part of people's everyday life.
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Books by Hallvard Moe
READ FREE ON THE WEB: dx.doi.org/10.3998/nmw.12367206.0001.001
Taking a comparative approach, the authors provide an overview of media institutions, content, use, and policy throughout the region, focusing on the impact of information and communication technology/internet and digitalization on the Nordic media sector. Illustrating the shifting media landscape the authors draw on a wide range of cases, including developments in the press, television, the public service media institutions, and telecommunication.
Authors: Trine Syvertsen, Gunn Enli, Ole Mjøs, Hallvard Moe
----------------------
Contents:
Editors’ preface
Hallvard Moe, Karen Donders
Ex Ante Tests in Europe. From Diverging Perspectives to Infinite Conclusions
Tim Raats, Caroline Pauwels
In Search of the Holy Grail? Comparative Analysis in Public Broadcasting Research
Karen Donders
The Public Value Test. A Reasoned Response or Panic Reaction?
Ross Biggam
Ex Ante Regulations, the EU and its Member States. Back to Brussels?
Richard Collins
Public Value, the BBC and Humpty Dumpty Words – does Public Value Management Mean What it Says?
Irini Katsirea
The Three-step Test. Three Steps Forwards or Backwards for Public Service Broadcasting in Germany?
Renate Dörr
The ZDF Three-step Test. A Dynamic Tool of Governance
Stoyan Radoslavov, Barbara Thomass
ZDF’s Three-step Test as a Societal Debate about the Future of Public Service Broadcasting
Marie Therese Lilleborge
The Public Service Remit in Norway: What’s In and What’s Out?
Hilde Thoresen, Erik Bolstad
Ex Ante Limits Public Broadcasting and Gives the Public Less Attractive Services
Erik Nordahl Svendsen
Two Steps Towards a Public Value Test. Danish Public Service Broadcasting Between Two Lines of Control
Nina Wormbs
Swedish Pre-screening of New Services. Treading Lightly
Jo Bardoel, Marit Vochteloo
Dutch Public Service Broadcasting Between Bureaucratic Burden and Political Choice. Implementing the Amsterdam Test in the Netherlands
Herman Wolswinkel
Publishers’ Fight for Fair Competition in the Digital Era
Hilde Van den Bulck
Ex Ante Test in Flanders. Making Ends Meet?
Ben Appel
Long Live the Ex Ante Test. The Ex Ante Test Is Dead!
Benedetta Brevini
Ex Ante Assessments for Public Broadcasters in Southern Europe. Delayed Europeanization?
This four volume major reference collection is a 'must-have' guide to the idea of the public sphere, its history, the ongoing struggles over its meaning and importance to democracy, and its continuing relevance to emerging issues.
Volume One: Discovering the Public Sphere
Volume Two: The Political Public Sphere
Volume Three: The Cultural Public Sphere
Volume Four: The Future of the Public Sphere
---
The notion of "the public sphere" has become increasingly central to theories and studies of democracy, media, and culture over the last few decades. It has also gained political importance in the context of the European Union's efforts to strengthen democracy, integration, and identity.
The Idea of the Public Sphere offers a wide-ranging, accessible, and easy-to-use introduction to one of the most influential ideas in modern social and political thought, tracing its development from the origins of modern democracy in the Eighteenth Century to present day debates. This book brings key texts by the leading contributors in the field together in a single volume. It explores current topics such as the role of religion in public affairs, the implications of the internet for organizing public deliberation, and the transnationalisation of public issues.
Texts by:
Hannah Arendt, Seyla Benhabib, James Bohman, John Dewey, Jon Elster, Nancy Fraser, Jürgen Habermas, G.W.F. Hegel, Immanuel Kant, Alexander Kluge, Walter Lippmann, Niklas Luhmann, Chantal Mouffe, Oskar Negt, Bernhard Peters, John Rawls, Carl Schmitt, and Joseph Schumpeter.
With basis in the idea that media policy is fundamentally about regulating the public sphere in accordance with central democratic ideals, the book covers a wide range of issues: Transnational online television distribution; the trouble with building and opening digital audiovisual archives; the impact of recent EU regulations on global conglomerates as well as national public service broadcasters; the debate on net neutrality; the idea of the participating public in policy-making; the regulation of freedom of speech on the internet; as well as the impact of legal globalization on media policy itself.
Contents:
Preface
Jostein Gripsrud, Hallvard Moe
Introduction. The Digital Public Sphere. Challenges for Media Policy
Part I. A Perspective
Slavko Splichal
Eclipse of ”the Public”. From the Public to (transnational) Public Sphere. Conceptual Shifts in the Twentieth Century
Part II. Changes
Hannu Nieminen
Global Copyright Regulation and the Prospects of European Public Sphere. The Case of TVkaista
Karl Knapskog
Providing Cultural Resources. On Turning Audiovisual Archives into a Public Domain
Ole J. Mjøs
News Corporation's MySpace.com and the Digital Challenges to Audiovisual Regulations
Tanja Storsul
Television in Cyberspace. The Net Neutrality Tussle in Norway
Part III. Fundamentals
Hallvard Moe
Notions of the Public in Public Service Broadcasting Policy for the Digital Era
Karen Donders, Caroline Pauwels
What if Competition Policy Assists the Transfer from Public Service Broadcasting to Public Service Media? An analysis of EU State aid Control and its Relevance for Public Broadcasting
Helge Rønning
Tools for Democracy or for Surveillance? Reflections on the Rule of Law on the Internet
Sandra Braman
Legal Globalization and the Public Sphere
Papers by Hallvard Moe
READ FREE ON THE WEB: dx.doi.org/10.3998/nmw.12367206.0001.001
Taking a comparative approach, the authors provide an overview of media institutions, content, use, and policy throughout the region, focusing on the impact of information and communication technology/internet and digitalization on the Nordic media sector. Illustrating the shifting media landscape the authors draw on a wide range of cases, including developments in the press, television, the public service media institutions, and telecommunication.
Authors: Trine Syvertsen, Gunn Enli, Ole Mjøs, Hallvard Moe
----------------------
Contents:
Editors’ preface
Hallvard Moe, Karen Donders
Ex Ante Tests in Europe. From Diverging Perspectives to Infinite Conclusions
Tim Raats, Caroline Pauwels
In Search of the Holy Grail? Comparative Analysis in Public Broadcasting Research
Karen Donders
The Public Value Test. A Reasoned Response or Panic Reaction?
Ross Biggam
Ex Ante Regulations, the EU and its Member States. Back to Brussels?
Richard Collins
Public Value, the BBC and Humpty Dumpty Words – does Public Value Management Mean What it Says?
Irini Katsirea
The Three-step Test. Three Steps Forwards or Backwards for Public Service Broadcasting in Germany?
Renate Dörr
The ZDF Three-step Test. A Dynamic Tool of Governance
Stoyan Radoslavov, Barbara Thomass
ZDF’s Three-step Test as a Societal Debate about the Future of Public Service Broadcasting
Marie Therese Lilleborge
The Public Service Remit in Norway: What’s In and What’s Out?
Hilde Thoresen, Erik Bolstad
Ex Ante Limits Public Broadcasting and Gives the Public Less Attractive Services
Erik Nordahl Svendsen
Two Steps Towards a Public Value Test. Danish Public Service Broadcasting Between Two Lines of Control
Nina Wormbs
Swedish Pre-screening of New Services. Treading Lightly
Jo Bardoel, Marit Vochteloo
Dutch Public Service Broadcasting Between Bureaucratic Burden and Political Choice. Implementing the Amsterdam Test in the Netherlands
Herman Wolswinkel
Publishers’ Fight for Fair Competition in the Digital Era
Hilde Van den Bulck
Ex Ante Test in Flanders. Making Ends Meet?
Ben Appel
Long Live the Ex Ante Test. The Ex Ante Test Is Dead!
Benedetta Brevini
Ex Ante Assessments for Public Broadcasters in Southern Europe. Delayed Europeanization?
This four volume major reference collection is a 'must-have' guide to the idea of the public sphere, its history, the ongoing struggles over its meaning and importance to democracy, and its continuing relevance to emerging issues.
Volume One: Discovering the Public Sphere
Volume Two: The Political Public Sphere
Volume Three: The Cultural Public Sphere
Volume Four: The Future of the Public Sphere
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The notion of "the public sphere" has become increasingly central to theories and studies of democracy, media, and culture over the last few decades. It has also gained political importance in the context of the European Union's efforts to strengthen democracy, integration, and identity.
The Idea of the Public Sphere offers a wide-ranging, accessible, and easy-to-use introduction to one of the most influential ideas in modern social and political thought, tracing its development from the origins of modern democracy in the Eighteenth Century to present day debates. This book brings key texts by the leading contributors in the field together in a single volume. It explores current topics such as the role of religion in public affairs, the implications of the internet for organizing public deliberation, and the transnationalisation of public issues.
Texts by:
Hannah Arendt, Seyla Benhabib, James Bohman, John Dewey, Jon Elster, Nancy Fraser, Jürgen Habermas, G.W.F. Hegel, Immanuel Kant, Alexander Kluge, Walter Lippmann, Niklas Luhmann, Chantal Mouffe, Oskar Negt, Bernhard Peters, John Rawls, Carl Schmitt, and Joseph Schumpeter.
With basis in the idea that media policy is fundamentally about regulating the public sphere in accordance with central democratic ideals, the book covers a wide range of issues: Transnational online television distribution; the trouble with building and opening digital audiovisual archives; the impact of recent EU regulations on global conglomerates as well as national public service broadcasters; the debate on net neutrality; the idea of the participating public in policy-making; the regulation of freedom of speech on the internet; as well as the impact of legal globalization on media policy itself.
Contents:
Preface
Jostein Gripsrud, Hallvard Moe
Introduction. The Digital Public Sphere. Challenges for Media Policy
Part I. A Perspective
Slavko Splichal
Eclipse of ”the Public”. From the Public to (transnational) Public Sphere. Conceptual Shifts in the Twentieth Century
Part II. Changes
Hannu Nieminen
Global Copyright Regulation and the Prospects of European Public Sphere. The Case of TVkaista
Karl Knapskog
Providing Cultural Resources. On Turning Audiovisual Archives into a Public Domain
Ole J. Mjøs
News Corporation's MySpace.com and the Digital Challenges to Audiovisual Regulations
Tanja Storsul
Television in Cyberspace. The Net Neutrality Tussle in Norway
Part III. Fundamentals
Hallvard Moe
Notions of the Public in Public Service Broadcasting Policy for the Digital Era
Karen Donders, Caroline Pauwels
What if Competition Policy Assists the Transfer from Public Service Broadcasting to Public Service Media? An analysis of EU State aid Control and its Relevance for Public Broadcasting
Helge Rønning
Tools for Democracy or for Surveillance? Reflections on the Rule of Law on the Internet
Sandra Braman
Legal Globalization and the Public Sphere
The popularization of the Internet during the 1990s was especially tangible in these countries, in no small part due to state subsidized computers and Internet subscriptions. Thus, the groundwork was laid for three countries characterized by high levels of Internet use and penetration. The same can also be said for social media services. About 60 per cent of the online Scandinavian population have an account on Facebook, while the same figure for Twitter is more modest - between 5 and 10 per cent, depending on what sources you use.
As party-centered rather than candidate-centered representative democracies, much of the research looking into these contexts have concluded that parties rather than individuals play important parts also in the online environment. Nevertheless, studies on Twitter in particular have suggested the possibilty for political “underdogs” - non-incumbent actors - to make their voices heard. This appears to hold true both with regards to individual politicans, as well as the party organizations to which they belong. Ideological differences can also be discerned. Interestingly, our study of the 2013 Norwegian election showed how the comparably small and non-incumbent environmentalist party, The Green, appeared as more popular in the online environment - this is perhaps especially noteworthy since Green parties were also among the earliest adopters of the Internet for political purposes. Moreover, Facebook use in Sweden and Norway in particular is characterized by high popularity ratings (in terms of “Likes” and “Shares”) enjoyed by right-wing populist parties. Taken together, this creates an online political environment which exhibits some difference from that which can be experienced through e.g. traditional media outlets.
Finally, for the political uses of social media at the hands of citizens, research on Twitter in particular has suggested that while this particular platform can certainly function as a platform for those not previously holding positions in the public sphere, those users who manage to gain tangible amounts of traction when discussing political issues can perhaps easiest be described as societal elites. While examples exist of previously more or less unknown citizens making their voices heard in the “Twittersphere”, well-known journalists, politicians and pundits are retweeted more often and receive more messages, effectively reproducing their offline roles in the online environment.
"While many in critical media studies bemoan a homogeneous media culture and global neoliberalism, the authors undertake a sophisticated analysis of a ‘Nordic model’ of the media welfare state that is culturally and institutionally grounded, but avoids crude comparativism and is sensitive to economic and technological forces challenging long-established policy settlements."
—Terry Flew, Queensland University of Technology
“The Media Welfare State carefully amplifies a Nordic model in the media sphere. Here, as elsewhere, a Nordic model is essential for global sanity and we can all think of ways the model can be adapted, changed and emulated. Throughout the book, the text highlights complex, uncertain technological, economic and ideological areas of change in speech and society. Everywhere there is tumult: the authors' gift is helping us see how significant and important journalistic, political and social values might persist in a time of such transformation."
—Monroe Price, University of Pennsylvania
“The Media Welfare State is an ambitious account of the Nordic media landscape. It is an innovative, timely, and well-illustrated commentary on the future of mass/public media and national media systems in the digital era of globalization, marketization and authoritarianism—trends that are not by any means specific to the Nordic region. An important intervention to the study of the welfare state, the book brings the media into the equation of its success and future sustainability.”
—Minna Aslama Horowitz, St. John's University, New York
Denne boka belyser sentrale tendenser i tv-mediets utvikling, med særlig vekt på det siste tiåret. Selv om tv-mediet til alle tider har vært utsatt for endring, har utviklingstrekk som fragmentering, konvergens, globalisering og regionalisering de siste årene gitt tv-mediet helt bestemte utfordringer. Disse utfordringene søkes det mange og til dels nye svar på, og på ulike nivåer: politiske rammebetingelser, import av programformater, nye strategier for å skape allianser med publikum osv.
Gjennom en blanding av komparative analyser og konkrete case-studier, diskuterer denne boka tv-mediets kulturelle og samfunnsmessige betydning i den digitale tidsalder, med stadige tilbakeblikk på fjernsynshistorien. Boka tar sikte på å beskrive sentrale aktører og tendenser i Norge, men også internasjonalt.
Boka består av totalt 15 kapitler fordelt på tre hoveddeler: Samfunn og økonomi; Produksjon og program og Publikum og deltakelse. Underkapitlene inneholder analyser av tv på institusjons-, markeds-, regulerings-, produksjons-, program-, og publikumsnivå. Alle delene avsluttes med korte kapitler om hvordan man studerer de ulike aspektene ved tv.
Boka er primært skrevet for studenter i medieitenskap på universitets- og høyskolenivå som ønsker å lære noe om tv, men kan også leses av andre med interesse for tv.
Denne boka belyser sentrale tendenser i tv-mediets utvikling, med særlig vekt på det siste tiåret. Selv om tv-mediet til alle tider har vært utsatt for endring, har utviklingstrekk som fragmentering, konvergens, globalisering og regionalisering de siste årene gitt tv-mediet helt bestemte utfordringer. Disse utfordringene søkes det mange og til dels nye svar på, og på ulike nivåer: politiske rammebetingelser, import av programformater, nye strategier for å skape allianser med publikum osv.
Gjennom en blanding av komparative analyser og konkrete case-studier, diskuterer denne boka tv-mediets kulturelle og samfunnsmessige betydning i den digitale tidsalder, med stadige tilbakeblikk på fjernsynshistorien. Boka tar sikte på å beskrive sentrale aktører og tendenser i Norge, men også internasjonalt.
Boka består av totalt 15 kapitler fordelt på tre hoveddeler: Samfunn og økonomi; Produksjon og program og Publikum og deltakelse. Underkapitlene inneholder analyser av tv på institusjons-, markeds-, regulerings-, produksjons-, program-, og publikumsnivå. Alle delene avsluttes med korte kapitler om hvordan man studerer de ulike aspektene ved tv.