"Public service media (PSM) have long been seen as the necessary counterweight to the failures of a market model. Given the rise of private corporate power over communications systems, PSM have long been claimed to the be the ‘heart of a heartless world’ – spaces dominated not by the relentles
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s logic of capital but by broader ambitions that involve citizen participation, social improvement andknowledge acquisition. This article offers a different interpretation. It argues that at their very best, PSM have improved an otherwise anaemic commercial landscape; at their worst, they are simply an accessory to state actors and contaminated media markets that reproduce elite power. Media practices and institutions based on the public service idea all too often lack the accountability and indeed the fundamental democratic oversight of the publics in whose name they operate. This article seeks first to contrast the values and structures of public service media with those of wholly commercial models and illustrates some of the ‘defensive’ arguments and initiatives that have been developed in response to threats to PSM. The article then explores a series of arguments that problematise what is often a reflexive defence of PSM. It considers whether being non-commercial necessarily positions an institution as pro-public and focuses on the role of the state in the creation of PSM institutions. It argues that the gap between normative accounts of public service and their institutional structures is not an accident or an aberration but reflects the structural imbalances of power built into PSM. Finally, the article analyses the different ways in which ‘the public’ has been conceptualised and deployed in the operational models of PSM, often as the ‘masses’ or as individuals in need of enlightenment or as sovereign consumers, but rarely as active agents of social change." (Abstract)
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"The book identifies and explains the unequal power relations in place that limit the possibilities of communication justice, the challenges and difficulties faced by activists and communities, the ways in which communities and movements have confronted power structures through discourse and materia
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l action, and their successes and limitations in creating new structures that promote the right to, and facilitate a future for, communicative justice. The volume features contributions based on experiences of resistance and transformation in the Global South—Bolivia, Ecuador, India, Malawi, and collaborations between the continents of Latin America and Africa—as well as notable studies from the Global North—Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom—that defy hegemonic models." (Publisher description)
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"This companion brings together various concepts used to analyse dimensions of media disinformation and populism. The companion is theoretically and methodologically comprehensive and features various historical and critical approaches providing a full and incisive understanding of media, misinforma
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tion and populism. It is both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary consisting of contributions from scholars analysing aspects of misinformation, disinformation and populism across countries, political systems and media systems. A global, comparative approach to the study of misinformation and populism is important in identifying common elements and particular characteristics, and these individual essays cover a wide range of topics and themes, with contributions from both leading and young scholars. The distinctiveness of the companion is its encompassing of a variety of subject areas: Political Communication, Journalism, Law, Sociology, Cultural studies, International Politics, and International Relations." (Publisher description)
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"This collection is the first of its kind on the topic of media development. It brings together luminary thinkers in the field—both researchers and practitioners—to reflect on how advocacy groups, researchers, the international community and others can work to ensure that media can continue to s
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erve as a force of democracy and development. But that mission faces considerable challenges. Media development paradigms are still too frequently associated with Western prejudices, or out of touch with the digital age. As we move past Western blueprints and into an uncertain digital future, what does media development mean? If we are to act meaningfully to shape the future of our increasingly mediated societies, we must answer this question." (Publisher description)
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"The Palgrave Handbook of Methods for Media Policy Research covers the craft that is and the methods used in media and communication policy research. It discusses the steps involved in conducting research, from deciding on a topic to writing a report and everything in between and, furthermore, deals
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with a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. The handbook invites researchers to rediscover trusted methods such as document analysis, elite interviews and comparisons, as well as to familiarize themselves with newer methods like experiments, big data and network analysis. For each method, the handbook provides a practical step-by-step guide and case studies that help readers in using that method in their own research. The methods discussed are useful for all areas of media and communication policy research, for research concerning the governance of both mass media and online platforms, and for policy issues around the globe." (Publisher description)
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"This handbook links the growing body of media and conflict research with the field of security studies. The academic sub-field of media and conflict has developed and expanded greatly over the past two decades. Operating across a diverse range of academic disciplines, academics are studying the imp
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act the media has on governments pursuing war, responses to humanitarian crises and violent political struggles, and the role of the media as a facilitator of, and a threat to, both peace building and conflict prevention. This handbook seeks to consolidate existing knowledge by linking the body of conflict and media studies with work in security studies. The handbook is arranged into five parts: theory and principles; media, the state and war; media and human security; media and policymaking within the security state; new issues in security and conflict and future directions. For scholars of security studies, this handbook will provide a key point of reference for state-of-the-art scholarship concerning the media–security nexus; for scholars of communication and media studies, the handbook will provide a comprehensive mapping of the media–conflict field." (Publisher description)
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"Research on popular culture is a dynamic, fast-growing domain. In scholarly terms, it cuts across many areas, including communication studies, sociology, history, American studies, anthropology, literature, journalism, folklore, economics, and media and cultural studies. The Routledge Companion to
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Global Popular Culture provides an authoritative, up-to-date, intellectually broad, internationally-aware, and conceptually agile guide to the most important aspects of popular culture scholarship. Specifically, this Companion includes: "interdisciplinary models and approaches for analyzing popular culture; wide-ranging case studies; discussions of economic and policy underpinnings; analysis of textual manifestations of popular culture; examinations of political, social, and cultural dynamics and discussions of emerging issues such as ecological sustainability and labor. Featuring scholarly voices from across six continents, The Routledge Companion to Global Popular Culture presents a nuanced and wide-ranging survey of popular culture research." (Publisher description)
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"Media and Terrorism brings together leading scholars to explore how the world's media have influenced, and in turn, been influenced by terrorism and the war on terror in the aftermath of 9/11. Accessible and user-friendly with lively and current case studies, it is a perfect student text and is an
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essential handbook on the dynamics of war and the media in a global context." (Publisher description)
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"News and current affairs journalism that purports to be for the public good, and in the public interest, can survive, grow and flourish but not through market forces and new technology alone. To survive, news media will have to adjust and adapt to changes in technology and a harsher commercial envi
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ronment. New ways of ensuring the space for, and independence of, news and current affairs journalism that purports to be for the public good, need to be found to preserve and protect the public interest and encourage a healthy democracy. This is not the same as preserving and protecting news organisations, or even the news, as we know it. In a world of communicative abundance there is, more than ever, a sense that there are many things that news journalism ought to be doing – monitoring, holding to account, and facilitating and maintaining deliberation – but is not doing in a fully satisfactory way, and we neglect this at our peril. To ignore it is to accept that the market can be relied upon to deliver the conditions for deliberative democracy to flourish. However, when markets fail or come under threat, ethical practice is swept aside in pursuit of financial stability. Civil society associations have a key role to play in this extended news environment. They can act as wardens of, and contributors to, news media at local, regional and national levels; they can facilitate deliberation and expand the diversity of views on news platforms, and develop news platforms of their own. They could also provide crucial funding for news organisations or consortia deemed to be operating on a not-for-profit basis. Establishing a more collaborative relationship between news organisations and civil society associations should be encouraged in order to: enable participation; increase effective engagement; expand the public sphere; and enhance democracy. This report recommends a number of ways that civil society associations, media industries and policy-makers can act to achieve these goals. The authors also recommend that the Charity Commission should recognise journalism in the public interest as a charitable endeavour available for charitable status." (Conclusion, page 36)
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