If the Public Broadcasting System in Germany did not already exist, it would have to be invented right now. That is the first proposition of a public appeal launched by a group of German media studies scientists in September 2017. The public concept for broadcasting, the scientists argue, is a systematic constituent of how democracy functions.
I love the Caribbean. I was born and grew up in the Bahamas, and now I have the privilege of living in Jamaica as a postgraduate student. From my assessment, Caribbean life and culture is dominated by orality. Even though social media and communication technology has influenced social life and cultural realities, Caribbean people still value the traditional idea of gathering and talking with friends and family.
Issues of human rights, gender equality, and democratic representation within communication and education technology industries are all examples of media specific social justice topics that have dominated world politics throughout the past century. However, emerging intersections between social justice, new media and new media technology complicate how we approach traditional issues of rights, representation, communication, education and the media industry.
The voice of the people is all very well as long as it can be ignored. While official archives and libraries are subject to authoritarian control, while newspapers can be relied upon to reflect the views and opinions of those in power, and while radio and television can be manipulated, people’s voices and images can be edited and censored. But with the arrival of the Internet and digital communication platforms, all that has changed.
“Media freedom and democracy are about people’s happiness” exclaims Gvozden Flego, a philosophy professor and member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) at a recent conference on Freedom of Expression. The discussion is intense and one of the most comprehensively organised conferences on the matter I have ever attended. The speakers raise structural, cultural and legal aspects of freedom of expression. The ultimate question of course always remains the same: What can we do?
Worldwide, people are living in a culture of fear. They see the horror of brutality through conventional media or in virtual communication every day that create a mindset of fear. But, people should not bear this legacy further when all of us envision a good and peaceful society for ourselves as well as for the next generation. How communication will play a role in eradicating fear from mind, life and society is the key point of this article.