Public service in the age of social network media

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This chapter addresses how, and to what extent, public service obligations and institutions may be redefined and extended to facilitate information flows and public deliberation using social network media as a remedy for democratic deficiencies of both older mass media and newer forms of network media. I make a case for three public service functions that have particular importance in social network media: curation, moderation, and monitoring. Building on a critique of the individualistic perspective underlying both cyber-optimist and -pessimist accounts of the potentials of social network media, an alternative and institutional perspective based on mediatization theory is introduced. I focus on the ongoing restructuring of societal spheres through which strategic and sociable forms of communication are challenging deliberative forms of communication. Based on recent studies on public service media’s use of social network media in efforts to enhance public deliberation, the chapter examines how networked media can be a focus for intervention in the public interest.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPublic service media in the networked society
EditorsGregory Ferrell Lowe, Hilde Van den Bulck, Karen Donders
Number of pages16
PublisherNordicom
Publication date5 Apr 2018
Pages59-74
Chapter4
ISBN (Print)978-91-87957-73-4
ISBN (Electronic)978-91-87957-74-1
Publication statusPublished - 5 Apr 2018

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