Booklet updated on 25 Nov 2022, now on sale as version 2.0
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Literature Review: Press and Media Problems for the 2020s
In Ukraine, since the Russian invasion in late February 2022, war correspondents, like other civilians, have been constrained by curfews, checkpoints, and military restrictions. Reports on the presence of Russian saboteurs have increased the risks of being suspected of espionage for reporters roaming in areas controlled by Ukrainian soldiers or ad hoc defense groups. The blurred frontlines, the presence of special forces and irregular fighters and indiscriminate shelling inevitably expose Ukrainian and international reporters to high risks of injury or death [1].
The press, defined as the collective of journalists playing a special political role in a democracy, remains indispensable because it constitutes an informal power that holds formal power-holders accountable and serves the citizens’ basic right to be informed. Even news media organizations might be legitimately partisan under specific conditions. When constitutional democracy itself is under threat, journalists, the press, and media organizations must defend the very structures which sustain reasonable pluralism. The rise of social media has not changed this normative picture but has aggravated both the normative and the practical challenges [2].
In 2021, the media & entertainment industry saw continued changes from technological progress, evolving generational behaviors, and ongoing impacts from the global pandemic. Amid recurring COVID-19 surges, people sought more media & entertainment at home, while often avoiding larger in-person events. Digital media engagement even remained strong over the healthier summer, evidence that the pandemic has only accelerated preexisting trends toward the digital world [3].
Starting from such general references, this booklet identifies ten relevant issues, as put forward at academic level in the form of recent journal articles, conference proceedings or students’ theses. Four freely accessible internet references have been selected for each issue and direct links are provided at the end of each chapter for own consultation. Our references neither intend to mirror ranking indexes nor establish novel classifications. On the contrary, they are meant to represent peer-reviewed, scientifically-sound case studies for dissemination aimed at non-specialist readers. They will also offer even more references through their own bibliography list.
Without further ado, these are the “Ten Problems for Press and Media in the 2020s” that we are going to introduce in this booklet:
- profitability,
- subsidies,
- entertainment,
- artificial intelligence,
- disinformation,
- trust,
- diversity,
- regulation,
- staff issues,
- podcasts.
Each problem has its own dedicated chapter made of an introduction, a snippet from the 1st edition of this booklet, a short presentation of four new case studies, a conclusions section and the references list with links.
The final chapter of this booklet will report the conclusions from each chapter, again, in order to provide a complete executive summary.
GENERAL REFERENCES CITED
[1] J.P. Marthoz et al., “Defending Press Freedom in Times of Tension and Conflict”, 2022, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France, online at https://edoc.coe.int/en/media/11063-defending-press-freedom-in-times-of-tension-and-conflict.html
[2] J.W. Muller, “Still the “Fourth Power”? Rethinking the Press in Liberal Democracies”, 2022, SCRIPTS Working Paper n.18, Berlin, Germany, online at https://www.scripts-berlin.eu/publications/working-paper-series/Working-Paper-18-2022/SCRIPTS_Working_Paper_18_WEB.pdf
[3] J. Arbanas et al., “2022 media & entertainment industry outlook”, 2022, Deloitte, online at https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/us-tmt-2022-me-outlook.pdf
