Democratic Theory and Communication

HistoryDr. Juan Luis Manfredi Sánchez

Correo-e: juan.manfredi@yahoo.es juan.manfredi@ie.edu

Twitter: @juanmanfredihttp://ciberdemocracia.blogspot.com

2Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

Conflicting views of the history of communications often reflect disagreements about democracy and its possibilities Three perspectives:

1. Minimalist2. Strong, Radical or participatory3. Government by discussion

3Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

1. Minimalist Perspective

Democracy is an institutional arrangement in which individuals acquire the power to make political decisions by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote (Joseph Schumpeter) People not demand extensive popular engagement in politics

The free flow of ideas is the central argument for freedom of expression and against censorship

People can use reason in order to distinguish right and wrong

How? The individual must have unlimited access to the ideas of his fellow men in “a free and open encounter”Ideally, when people argue against each other the better argument will prevail.

4Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

1. Minimalist Perspective

Marketplace of ideas:Persecution for the expression of opinions seems to me perfectly logical. If you have no doubt of your premises or your power and want a certain result with all your heart you naturally express your wishes in law and sweep away all opposition...But when men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct that the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas...that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out.

(Justice Holmes, 1919)

The ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas

5Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

1. Minimalist Perspective• News is a commodity: what information becomes news depends on a

different set of five Ws, those asked in the market• Quality Journalism is a trade off: breadth vs. depth• People desire information for four functions: consumption, production,• entertainment, and voting• Soft news programs will be more prevalent if advertisers value those

viewers more highly• If programmers pay less for soft news, then they will be more likely to

program this type of information• How an increase in the number of competitors may increase diversity but

may decrease quality, as measured by depth of coverage or type of news programming offered

• Objectivity evolved in the market as a commercial product, as publishers frequently found it more profitable to remove partisan coverage in order to attract more readers.

Some viewsJames T. Hamilton All the News Thats Fit to Sell: How the Market Transforms Information into News (70 minutes Duke Law)

6Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

2. Strong, radical or participatory democracy

Democracy calls for the active engagement of citizens in public affairs and an equal distribution of power in society. Democratic principles ought to apply not simply to elections, but also between elections to the process of government and to other economic and social institutions The market as a corrupting influence that degrades political discussion and reinforces what used to be described as the cultural hegemony of the capitalist class and is now usually just characterized as the dominance or “monopoly” of big media corporations. If the public is inattentive to public affairs, it is because the political system and the media have failed to engage them. As the old radical maxim goes, the cure for the ailments of democracy is more democracy.

7Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

2. Strong, radical or participatory democracy

Freedom of speech and the press are demanding plenty of interference to break up media monopolies, counteract commercialism, and create an informed citizenry. Freedom of speech and the press are individual rightsPeople has the right to be free of governmental interference The interpretation is based on the people, not on the companies

Robert McChesney and Ben Scott: A social right shared equally by all citizens in a democracy ... to be exposed to a wide range of uncensored, informed analysis of social affairs

8Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

2. Strong, radical or participatory democracy

Actions to improve the participatory and citizen-oriented approach

• Access to infrastructure, capabilities, skills, services and qualitative contents

• Real diversity and pluralism of channels of expression a media outlets• Vibrant and pluralistic public sphere• Independence, ethical norms and protection to journalists• The common good and knowledge sharing• Fair trade and sustainable development of media companies• Support to citizens media initiatives

9Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

2. Strong, radical or participatory democracy

Some final ideas

• The interpretation is based on aspirational criteria• It is difficult to measure the success• It is useful to analyze the relationship among media, democracy,

people and corporations

Some viewsWho Controls the Media: Free Press and OwnershipR. McChesney: Media and Politics in the United States Today (90 minutes)Dan Rather reveals how the Corporation controls the Media The Myth of the Liberal Media: The Propaganda Model of News

10Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

3. Deliberative Democracy

Democracy by discussion

Government requires that all those interested in influencing political decisions offer reasons justifying their positions in terms of generally accepted values democracy calls for mutual respect between those on opposing sides and seeks to create a basis for cooperation that transcends particular moral and political disagreements Deliberative means “partnership model of democracy rather than a purely majoritarian conception” (Ronald Dworkin) Goals of public deliberation

1. To focus attention on the public good rather than private and partial interests

2. To bring failures and mistakes to light and thereby lead to the discovery of more effective policies

3. To promote equality of respect in public life 4. To make political decisions more legitimate by subjecting them to

scrutiny and counterargument

11Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

3. Deliberative Democracy

Because the quality of public discussion matters for deliberative democracy, there is reason to be concerned if market forces drive out public-affairs programming and serious journalism The best policy is to promote diversity of sources of opinion and informationLegal framework develops the freedom of speech and press + civil society through different incentives It is a positive legal action > non-interference in the marketIndeed, some actions have been vital for the growth of well-functioning marketsExamples: postal policies, broadcast licensing decisions, intellectual property laws, laws governing libel and some other else Moreover, in political communication, the government may make provisions for the financing of campaigns to encourage fair and sustained debate between political candidates

12Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

3. Deliberative Democracy: Dewey – Lippmann Debate

The Lippmann-Dewey debate on the role of citizens in modern democracies continues to exist today, and it can be found both in philosophical arguments raised by contemporary authors like Richard Rorty, Cornel West, Jürgen Habermas and Benjamin Barber

Key topics in the debate

1. The role of the people and journalism in democracy2. The accountability and transparency of political institutions3. Media must play a key role in sustaining democracy

What do you think?

13Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

4. What about Internet and the New Media?

Some of the new developments are deeply threatening to established interests, which may use their political influence to bend law and regulation to their own advantage New frontiers:

• Privacy• Net neutrality• Copyrights and intellectual property

New menaces• Civic Engagement – Gladwell’s discussion • High Quality Journalism

How can the government foster

the public sphere and enrich the

diversity of voices without distorting

the market?

14Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

4. What about Internet and the New Media?

Internet contribute to new structural changes in public opinion

Public Sphere

Technology: Convergence

+ Digital

Politics:Globalization

Social:Networked

individualism

Governing Public

Sphere?

Producing Public

Sphere?

15Juan Luis Manfredi, Ph.D @juanmanfredi

5. Some conclusions

1. Markets, however much reviled, make vital contributions to a democratic public sphere that are unlikely to be made any other way

2. The entrepreneurial activity expands the scale and scope of the public sphere, extending its known frontiers

3. The discovery of a new market may thereby trigger public (and private) self-discovery and alter what politics is about

4. The growth of markets does not extinguish noncommercial interests in culture and public life

5. Markets in liberal societies enrich the public sphere far more than they impoverish it: innovation and risk

6. If all is left to the market, the public sphere would be poor

JL Manfredi, Ph.D. @juanmanfredi 16

Thanks!Questions?Answers?

Now?Latter?

C U OnlineJuan.manfredi@ie.edu

Juan.manfredi@yahoo.es @juanmanfredi

ciberdemocracia.blogspot.com