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oneworld.net's guides aim to challenge and inform, questioning assumptions and suggesting alternatives on the subjects that really matter.
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Media Democracy
Freedom of speech - Traditionally, many discussions of media democracy have focused on the right to freedom of expression. Particularly during the Cold War years, Western governments made much of state censorship in the Soviet bloc as a useful contrast to the supposed freedom of their own press. Yet although free speech is still a right denied in many instances across the world (as in the recent 'Gandalf' convictions by the British state), concentrating exclusively on that aspect has obscured issues even more fundamental to media democracy in many countries today. Voice projection - For media democracy is much more than just 'being able to say what you like'. Media democracy is about voice projection - making yourself heard. While technology has made it easier than ever to publish your own magazine (or record your own video news), it has become ever more difficult to reach even the smallest audience with that material. Even if you can find a distributor to take it round to the tiny number of independent outlets still open and willing to stock it, the fact that you can't spend millions on advertising each year means only the hardened few will ever pick it up. Concentration of ownership - In its more sophisticated form, censorship is achieved not through the police and prison systems but through capitalist institutions working together to maintain the hegemony of their beliefs. This is made even easier now that the majority of media businesses are owned by a tiny number of industry giants. Whether in individual countries or - increasingly - on a global scale, these cartels effectively control the images and stories through which we understand the world. Instead of a true democratic plurality, we are offered infinite versions of the same product (with slight variations in the packaging). Keep it safe - This lack of variety has serious consequences, as it becomes increasingly difficult to voice alternatives to the mainstream media's orthodoxy. How much coverage was given to the hundreds of thousands in North America and Western Europe campaigning against their countries' assault on Iraq in the Gulf War? Restricted media democracy leads to restricted political democracy, as alternative ideas are deliberately kept away from public attention (especially if they might offend the advertisers). Net power - If you're reading this you'll probably already know many of the hundreds of Internet sites offering alternative readings to mainstream media orthodoxy. The Net has clearly made such views more available than before, and acts as a democratic force in its own sphere by offering more equal voice power to the big and the small. The problem is: the Net still doesn't project far enough to challenge the power of the traditional media - just as the host of alternative magazines which have existed for years have never managed to challenge the mainstream. In this respect media democracy relies on all of us: it is our support and subscriptions that keep diversity alive.
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Guides Co-ordinator Bry Lynas welcomes your views and suggested links on related subjects: For links to all related OneWorld stories: Last update: 19 July 2000
Mainstream media O F F - S I T E L I N K S
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
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