Rethinking media pluralism / Kari Karppinen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Karppinen, Kari.

Series:

Donald McGannon Communication Research Center's Everett C. Parker book series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mass media--Political aspects--Europe.

Mass media.

Mass media policy--Political aspects--Europe.

Mass media policy.

Multiculturalism--Europe.

Multiculturalism.

Mass media--Political aspects.

Europe.

Physical Description:

ix, 239 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Fordham University Press, 2013.

Summary:

Assess to a broad range of different political views and cultural expressions is often regarded as a self-evident value in both theoretical and political debates on media and democracy. Pluralism is commonly accepted as a guiding principle of media policy in addressing media concentration, the role of public service media, or more recently such questions as how to respond to search engines, social networking sites, and citizen media. However, opinions on the meaning and nature of media pluralism as a concept vary widely, and definitions of it can easily be adjusted to suit different political purposes.

Rethinking Media Pluralism contends that the notions of media pluralism and diversity have been reduced to empty catchphrases or conflated with consumer choice and market competitions. In this narrow logic, key questions about social and political values, democracy, and citizenship are left unexamined. In this provocative new book, Kari Karppinen argues that media pluralism needs to be rescued from its depoliticized uses and re-imagined more broadly as a normative value that refers to the distribution of communicative power in the public sphere. Instead of something that could simply be measured through the number of media outlets available, media pluralism should be understood in terms of its ability to challenge inequalities and create a more democratic public sphere. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction

Theorizing pluralism and the public sphere. Three models of democratic pluralism

Pluralization and its problems

Toward a critical concept of media pluralism

The politics of media pluralism. Aspects and scope of media pluralism

Paradoxes of communicative abundance

Uses of pluralism in contemporary media policy

Empirical indicators and the politics of criteria

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780823245123

0823245128

9780823245130

0823245136

OCLC:

792885781