Transcript Educating media for an european civic space

Media education
for
a European civic space
A civic space: defining elements
• The public/civic space provides a symbolic-discursive
context in which public opinion can develop.
• It includes different linchpins or constituent elements namely:
– AGENTS (political agents, researchers, experts, journalists, ordinary
men and women, etc.) with their beliefs, their interests and their
ideological positions);
– DISCURSIVE/ARGUMENTATION CONTENT (with their critical
or factual/analytical overtones; their cognitive perspectives - common
sense, philosophy, religion, science, etc.; their themes for debate and
controversy;
– COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION RESOURCES
(traditional and new)
• .../...
A civic space: defining elements (cont.)
• Strictly speaking, the public space can be
differentiated from the civic space as the former
may be considered as the starting point and the
latter as the arrival point. The civic space
necessarily presupposes the free, open and
multiple participation of its citizens;
• It is in the public/civic space that historic memory,
different versions of contemporary reality and
forecasts for the future are woven together.
A civic space: defining elements (cont.)
• The public/civic space implies a process of
collective construction in relation to the
structures and institutions of power. This
means that the P/C space may be more or
less open or more or less closed
The European civic space
• The European civic space is an abstract
construction in the throes of development
and materialisation
• The CEE receives (is built on the basis of...)
contributions from different national public
and civic spaces
The European civic space
Promotion and development factors in the
European civic space:
• Formalised European citizenship (legal
framework, treaties, Constitution, etc.);
• Political will as well as civil society resolve
• The drive of the communication and
information professionals
The European civic space
Restrictive factors in the civic space:
• 'Egoistic' factors and nationalistic and
regional traditions;
• Lack of specifically European
communication resources
The European civic space
Their more or less 'strong', more or less 'weak'
driving force (agents, constituent elements,
discursive content conveyed, etc.) may lead
to effects that are:
• Positive (consolidation of European
citizenship)
• Negative (reduction in the plurality of
public opinion about Europe)
The media & power
Between myth and reality:
objectivity / subjectivity / honesty …
A (counter) power?
to form an opinion; re-establish the truth; exercise
the Right of expression & the Right to information
historically, the press has supported democratic
progress
But dangers and abuses exist:
relations / collusion between the sources of
information and political parties
How do the new media differ from the old media?
The media & democracy
 What conditions for a democratic press?
liberty, independence, pluralism, professional
ethics
 Is the reader considered as a citizen or a consumer?
 Problem of competition and market economy:
selling (advertisers, advertising collateral) /
audience ratings / please, distract, win over
 Information or propaganda: manipulation,
falsification?
 The code of ethics
The media and the civic European
space
• What is Europe's position in the media?
Is there a European viewpoint? European questions? Where does
European information come from?
• What are the constraints in constructing cross-border information?
• Is there a European media space?
what are the media objectives?
who is interested in 'European subjects'?
who are the readers / listeners / viewers, European citizen public?
• European information and national constraints
Media education
 A real need: the populations are massive consumers
of television cf. the European commission
 To maintain democracy: an ongoing struggle
 Plays a role in citizenship education: i.e. the school
newspaper as a democratic experience
the development of citizenship skills cf. chart and
marelles
Media education:
skills
Skills concerning :
media interests in society,
what the media offers
Understanding how the different forms of media work,
Know how to:
use it, recognise the sources, cross reference, identify the way information is treated
in the different types of media, compare, complete information by using the different
forms of media (printed, TV, internet etc.), select, exercise a critical mind, discuss,
become involved, step back
Learn how to write a press article, a radio programme, a video report
Key objective
media education:
Offer pupils and young adults
the possibility to become
active citizens
and informed citizens
through active and democratic European
citizenship