Title

Communication Media in a Democratic Society

Abstract

Communication policy analysts often measure policy effectiveness against normative expectations of media industries such as providing a public sphere for democratic discussion, ensuring access for a diverse population or supplying news and entertainment to satisfy majority interests. Underlying these expectations are broader doctrines of democratic theory. This study examines the potential roles of media industries and technologies in the context of four different models of democracy: market liberalism, deliberative, communitarian and activist. From these models the author derives four distinct doctrines of media use in a democratic society: the market doctrine, the public sphere doctrine, the public improvement doctrine and the anti-establishment doctrine. The first two are well known in the literature of media policy and economics. The second two are sometimes implicit, but only occasionally identified. Implications and recommendations for policy makers for each doctrine are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Communication Law & Policy is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Department(s)

Media, Journalism, and Film

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326926clp0902_3

Publication Date

11-1-2005

Journal Title

Communication Law & Policy

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