Equality – an ambiguous value

Abstract

In his chapter Denis McQuail departs from two dominant narratives of public communication, technology and human agency. While the first seems to be running ahead of purpose, the latter follows the ideal and goal of freedom. However, freedom and equality are ambiguous values, and may contradict one another. McQuail identifies a stream of inequalities along the road of public communication, from claims of cultural imperialism, ethnic and gender inequalities to knowledge gaps. He emphasizes the close relationship between equality, objectivity and truth. With regard to the public interest in media equality, he reminds us that media comprise cultural and material goods in themselves, and their distribution reflects divisions and inequalities in society. His conclusion is rather sober: Technologies enable voice, but not large audiences, and they turn every open communication space into a commercial opportunity. What remains necessary is public communication that has qualities of transparency, non-exploitation, reliability, diversity and relevance. (abstract written by the editor)Go to the full book to find a version of this chapter tagged for accessibility