Abstract
Current academic discussion on media and democracy assumes certain ambivalence between journalism and new media; between journalists in traditional media and content producers in new media. This perspective implies the risk of leaving journalism in a marginalized role in the present media ecosystem. At the same time, the debate about certain regulatory attempts –such as the Digital Services Act of the European Union- puts on the stage the idea of “media exemption”. This is an effort for defending the editorial independence of media; keep them apart from the coming legal oversight on the online platforms. A regulation that appears to be strict, combating disinformation. New media are transforming many aspects of journalism, the routines of work of journalists, and the news media business. Nevertheless, journalism still has an important role to play in society as a “watchdog of democracy”. Not only in the sense that it represents some kind of control over politicians and public institutions, but also from the point of view that journalism promotes citizens for having the opportunity to develop personally, for choose freely and safely, and engaging in society, regardless of their age, gender of professional background. We ask: Is there still room for journalism as a watchdog of democracy, in the present scenario of media? The editorial oversight of content, does it have to be applied only for journalism content, or on the contrary, does it has to exist for the different content disseminated across online platforms? Is this editorial oversight identifiable to censorship?
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
JOURNALISM, DEMOCRACY, DISINFORMATION, ONLINE PLATFORMS
