To what extent do the technological and economic transformations of the contemporary press affect democracy ? The inventory of fixtures drawn up The life of ideas allows us to move away from a simple dichotomy between the Internet and the traditional press on this issue.
In their coverage of the Arab Spring, the traditional media recognized it: the revolution which carried the democratic movements was first and foremost a media revolution. Will the Internet and social networks continue to play a role in the consolidation and construction of truly democratic regimes? ? It’s still too early to tell. Attacks on press freedom are far from having disappeared around the world, whether in France (telephone tapping) or in Hungary (law against press freedom), in Israel or in China. On the other hand, large-scale economic and technological realignments are weakening the most traditional information sectors. At the same time, new forms of journalism, information sharing and participation are emerging and invite us to question the metamorphoses of the press and democratic life.
Beyond the regime of the press, it is therefore the regime of opinion itself which seems called to transform: between the concentration of information whose autonomy is threatened, and the appearance of demands and new political possibilities, the pessimistic picture of the end of the free press rubs shoulders with the millenarian announcement of a new media and democratic era. The Life of Ideas opens a file to analyze this strange contemporary diptych.
Summary of the file:
- Charles Girard, “ Of the press in democracy. The media revolution and public debate, October 11, 2011.
- Emilie Frenkiel, “ Monitoring Changes in China’s Media. An Interview with David Bandurski », September 30, 2011.
- Sylvain Parasie, “ Journalism “ hacker “. A new utopia for the press ? », June 21, 2011.
- Nolwenn Salmon, “ Being a journalist in China », October 12, 2011.
- Jérôme Bourdon, “ Anastasie and Massouda: the faces of censorship in Israel », October 18, 2011.
- Enrique Klaus, Journalists facing revolutions », October 21, 2011.
- Essay by Julia Cagé, “ The regional press: a national policy issue » , December 12, 2011.
Already published, on The life of ideas :
- Dominique Cardon, “ Democratic virtues of the Internet », November 10, 2009.
- Audrey Williamson, Internet, new democratic space ? Interview with Dominique Cardon », July 7, 2009.
- Thierry Pech, “ The end of information ? Interview with Bernard Poulet and Vincent Giret », April 18, 2008.
- Patrice Flichy, “ Internet, a tool of democracy ? », January 14, 2008.
- Charlotte Dé, “ The Wikipedia affair. Responsibility on the Internet », November 30, 2007.
- Monique Dagnaud, “ Journalists and their audiences: misunderstanding or crossed paranoia ? », November 27, 2007.
- Éric Sautedé, “ A revolution without illusion. Internet and freedom of expression in China », May 2007.