Information Crisis in the Mediatised Public Sphere—From Traditional Media to Hybrid Communication Platforms
Abstract
The free circulation of information in an open and unfettered public sphere is one of the foundations of well-functioning democracies. For theirs proper functioning, access to reliable information is necessary, which — reaching citizens — allows them to make the right decisions and control power. Many factors should be taken into account when analysing the information production process in new and traditional media: publishers-media owners, advertisers-business, communication technologies, public relations institutions, and now algorithms. An important element are also consumers and prosumers of media content, who try to participate in the media flow of information in a more competent or less competent way. The emergence of communication platforms that redistribute information has revolutionized the relationship between the elite, the media, and the public. More importantly, it contributed to the crisis of the public sphere, trust, and defragmentation of societies. Confused citizens are bombarded with information whose sources they cannot assess and disinformation, fake news, and post-truth have permanently entered the popular dictionary, replacing „unfashionable” propaganda and censorship. The aim of the article will be to analyse the current state of the media sphere through the prism of the weaknesses of traditional journalism, insufficient competences of recipients and uncontrolled flow of information controlled by the attention management industry.
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