Thread: The Media
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Old 05-31-2006, 01:21 PM   #74
Danish
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Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 9,824
Quote:
Originally Posted by nowhesingsnowhesobs
How exactly can the media promote the growth of a healthy democratic society?
I'm so glad you asked!

Fundamentally, the most important element of a democratic society is freedom of information. In order to be politically engaged, one must have access to information about the world outside of their immediate surroundings. Likewise, interaction with others and discussion about issues promote political activity. A wide, open discourse is absolutely necessary for a healthy democracy.

There is this concept in democratic political theory called "the town square." It harks back to the days of Ancient Athens, when citizens would gather in the public marketplace to debate and discuss the issues of the day. Every democratic society in history has had their public squares (ie. the Bostonian Town Hall, etc.). In a country like Canada, with 30 million people spread across a vast landmass, such a national public meeting place can only be achieved through broadcasting (the same is true in the US). This is only compounded by the expansion of globalization and international affairs, where events taking place on the other side of the world definately involve us.

A free and open media can and must be that town square. In Canada, this is (arguably) fulfilled by the CBC; in Britain, the BBC. As the only window to the outside world, the media is crucial to our understanding of our society.

I'm sure this will be of no suprise to any of you, but I think the media in Western society fails dismally to fulfill this role. Instead, a privately-owned media that is utterly dependent on advertising revenue presents a worldview that doesn't democratize, but narrows the discourse and presents an ideology favourable to maintain present power structures.

Last edited by Danish; 05-31-2006 at 01:24 PM.
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