Doing citizenship: The cultural origin of civic agency in the public shpere

The notion of civic agency gains relevance in the discussions about declining participation in democracy. This article argues that we need to take a ‘cultural turn’ in our understanding of such agency, seeing citizenship not just in formal terms but also in regard to meaning, practices, communication and identities. It pulls together various strands of thought that are helpful in conceptualizing civic agency, first from the republican conception of democracy, and then from perspectives on civil society. Thereafter it focuses on public spheres and the civic competencies associated with them, particularly the communicative variety. Finally, it critically addresses the notion of deliberative democracy, a concept that has come to signal the mode of communicative interaction of the public sphere, and suggests that this view of civic communication ignores a number of important issues in regard to the cultural aspects of civic competence

Reconsidering Participatory Journalism in the Internet Age

Participatory journalism is embedded in larger dilemmas of access, interaction, and participation, where it is used as a general rubric to refer to all forms of non-professional activities of journalistic conduct that capture the ideas of collaborative and collective action. The article suggests that the relations between journalists and the audience have changed significantly in the last decade or so: where the members of the audience have started to operate as co-producers of the news. Simultaneously, journalists are beginning to develop a sense of how to reinvent themselves as the co-creators of the content. In this regard, thinking about, and exploring, participatory journalism demands some conceptual precision; we will not be helped if it becomes a signifier for any- and everything that is not mainstream journalism. The article discusses the contexts, practices, and dilemmas of participatory journalism in three sections. In doing so, it looks at the key conceptual difficulties regarding the complexities of citizen access to public life, where various interactive possibilities of online platforms are evolving. These are set against the manifold difficulties of contemporary democracy and traditional journalism. In the concluding section, the article sets possible future paths for participatory journalism research

Web et participation politique : quelles promesses et quels pièges ?

Ici, la principale préoccupation est le rôle d'internet dans la participation des citoyens à la démocratie. En particulier, ce qui concerne le web en tant qu’environnement de plus en plus intégré au quotidien. Il s’agit d’abord de situer le web dans le contexte troublé de la démocratie contemporaine. Ensuite, sont retracés plusieurs points clés du débat opposant optimistes et pessimistes au sujet de ce que le web peut faire à la démocratie, avant que ne soit pointé un certain nombre de caractères relatifs à l'environnement web et à la culture des médias, le tout en lien avec thème de la participation. Quant à la dernière section, elle tente de revenir sur la logique de réseau et sa signification positive en termes de participation, offre à cet égard deux tendances problématiques entravant ce potentiel. La discussion finale accentue le caractère ambivalent de rôle démocratique du web, et l'importance de l'analyser dans des contextes spécifiques.The overarching concern in this text is the internet’s role in citizens’ participation in democracy, broadly understood. In particular, I focus on the web as an environment increasingly integrated with people’s everyday lives. I first situate the web in the context of the troubles facing contemporary democracy. From there, in the second section, I briefly review some of the key points in the debates between ‘optimists’ and ‘pessimists’ regarding what the net can do for democracy. In the third section I highlight a number of attributes of the web environment and its media culture, linking these features to the theme of participation. The fourth section probes the network logic of the internet and its positive significance for participation, and also offers two problematic tendencies that impede this potential. The concluding discussion accentuates the ambivalent nature of the web’s democratic role, and the importance of analyzing it in terms of specific contexts

Skiciranje evolucije novinarstva: vidokrug demokracije

The contemporary developments within journalism raise many issues about its future. Working with a rather wide brush, this article looks at some key factors that are shaping journalism at present. The author sketches some general parameters that apply to most Western societies; the perspective draws especially the US, where the crisis has been extensively analyzed. Every national context, however, has its own version of journalism’s evolution. The author emphasizes what he sees as being journalism’s fundamental raison d’être, namely to facilitate and enhance democracy. This includes nourishing its norms, values and practices; journalism must touch us, inspire us, and contribute to our daily democratic horizons. The article begins with a quick glimpse at the various structural factors that are shaping the transformation of journalism. From there, the author probes some of the contemporary technological developments and their impact on journalism, and looks at how the audiences for journalism are changing, along with their roles as citizens and consumers. In the final section the article explores the intensifying multi-perspective character of the emerging journalistic landscape, and some of its implications.Suvremeni razvoj novinarstva otvara niz pitanja o njegovoj budućnosti. U ovom članku daje se uvid u neke od ključnih faktora koji trenutačno oblikuju novinarstvo. Autor skicira neke od općih parametara koji se odnose na većinu zemalja Zapada, s posebnim naglaskom na analizu kriza u SAD-u. Ipak, verzije evolucije novinarstva različite su u različitim nacionalnim kontekstima. Autor ističe ono što sam vidi kao temeljni raison d’être novinarstva, ono što omogućuje i jača demokraciju, a to uključuje jačanje novinarskih normi, vrijednosti i prakse. Zadaća je novinarstva dotaknuti nas, nadahnuti, pridonijeti našem svakodnevnom demokratskom vidokrugu. Članak započinje kratkim pregledom različitih strukturnih faktora koji oblikuju proces transformacije novinarstva. Dalje autor istražuje neka od suvremenih tehnoloških dostignuća i njihov učinak na novinarstvo, kao i promjene publika koje se zbivaju paralelno s promjenom njihovih uloga kao građana i konzumenata. U završnom poglavlju članak istražuje intenzivirani multiperspektivni karakter novinarske okoline u razvoju, kao i neke od njegovih implikacija

Médias et sphères publiques en Suède. L’émergence d’une nouvelle hégémonie

Il s’agit d’interroger le fonctionnement de l’espace public en Suède qui est essentiellement tourné vers la résolution de questions pratiques, sinon techniques, et prisonnier d’un provincialisme où la notion d’intellectuel reste péjorativement connotée. Les Suédois ont appréhendé le passage d’un État- Providence – social-démocrate et corporatiste – vers des formes néo-libérales où le paysage audiovisuel fait montre aujourd’hui d’un certain pluralisme. Mais il a aussi généré de la fragmentation et relégué les intellectuels vers des ghettos ou autres lieux d’isolement. Dans un contexte de nouvelle donne européenne, comment peuvent se rejouer les conditions du pluralisme et de la médiation, tant en Suède que sur les rives de la Baltique ?This article questions the operation of the public space in Sweden, which is primarily turned towards the resolution of practical questions, if not technical, and which is prisoner of a provincialism where the concept of intellectual remains pejoratively connoted. The Swedes apprehended the passage of a social democrat Welfare state, supporter of corporatism, towards neoliberal forms where the audio-visual landscape shows certain pluralism today. But it also generated fragmentation and relegated the intellectuals towards ghettos or other places of insulation. In a context of European new deal, how can the conditions of pluralism and mediation are replayed, both in Sweden and on the banks of the Baltic 

In Search of the Talkative Public: Media, Deliberative Democracy and Civic Culture

Komunikacijska se interakcija smatra ključnim mjestom u teorijama demokracije. Posljednjih je godina ideja prosuđujuće (deliberative) demokracije komunikacijskim pristupom potaknula elemente političke teorije. Ta se ideja uglavnom temelji na habermasovskoj tradiciji i povezuje teorije civilnog društva i građanstva. Zato ima i razmjerno snažnu normativnu dimenziju. Ipak, poteškoća ima i dalje. Namjera je ovog članka ispitati poimanje prosuđujuće demokracije, stavljajući je u okvire tako da se može bolje iskoristiti, kako za teoretski, tako i za empirijski rad. Članak počinje kratkim predstavljanjem teorijske pozadine. Zatim autor raspravlja o nekim suvremenim pitanjima konceptualizacije, primjerice o pitanju je li javni govor dio svakodnevne konverzacije ili poseban oblik interakcije. Ta definicijska pitanja su osnova za ispitivanje dvaju nedavnih empirijskih doprinosa. U zaključku članak pokušava smjestiti prosuđujuću demokraciju unutar analitičkog sklopa građanske kulture. Prosuđujuća demokracija, ili jednostavno raspravljanje, tako postaje jedna od šest dimenzija građanske kulture.Theories of democracy consider communicative interaction among citizens central. In recent years the idea of deliberative democracy has galvanised elements of political theory with perspectives on communication. This concept emerges to a large extent from the Habermasian trajectory and links currents from theories of civil society and citizenship. It has thus a rather forceful normative dimension. However, there are difficulties; and the aim of the article is to probe the notion of deliberative democracy by framing it in ways that may render it more useful for both theoretical and empirical work. The article begins with a quick interpretation of the theoretical background. From there the author discusses some current issues of conceptualisation, in particular if such talk should be seen as a part of everyday conversation or a special mode of interaction. These definitional issues set the stage for an examination of two recent empirical contributions. In the final section, the article attempts to situate deliberative democracy within an analytic framework of civic culture. Deliberative democracy, or simply discussion, becomes, one of six dimensions of civic culture

Reconsidering Participatory Journalism in the Internet Age

Participatory journalism is embedded in larger dilemmas of access, interaction, and participation, where it is used as a general rubric to refer to all forms of non-professional activities of journalistic conduct that capture the ideas of collaborative and collective action. The article suggests that the relations between journalists and the audience have changed significantly in the last decade or so: where the members of the audience have started to operate as co-producers of the news. Simultaneously, journalists are beginning to develop a sense of how to reinvent themselves as the co-creators of the content. In this regard, thinking about, and exploring, participatory journalism demands some conceptual precision; we will not be helped if it becomes a signifier for any- and everything that is not mainstream journalism. The article discusses the contexts, practices, and dilemmas of participatory journalism in three sections. In doing so, it looks at the key conceptual difficulties regarding the complexities of citizen access to public life, where various interactive possibilities of online platforms are evolving. These are set against the manifold difficulties of contemporary democracy and traditional journalism. In the concluding section, the article sets possible future paths for participatory journalism research