https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3h-T3KQNxU

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/vice-news/yo-soy-132

Media and Public Connections

Margarita Torres, Alfredo DillonSalzburg Academy, 2014

• The Economist• June 29th, 2013

Public Connections Project (Manuel Alejandro Guerrero)

ANTECEDENTS

• 2003-2006 LSE study = Nick Couldry, Sonia Livingstone & Tim Markham, Media Consumption and Public Engagement, Palgrave 2007.

• Aim of the project: – to explore people’s understanding of what counted as ‘public issues’

and how their media consumption relate to such understanding.

• This ‘orientation’ was called Public Connection.

• Mexico same research with two variances: – only college educated individuals from Mexico City Metropolitan area– digital media consumption.

Key issues

• Theory says there are relatively conscious citizens of their rights/obligations… • How does this work in real daily-life?

• Theory says that the media’s informational role helps citizens to be updated on common interest public issues and eventually engage… • How does this work in real

daily-life?

Shared transformations

• In different ways, though with similar trends in urban modern settings:

– Increased amalgamation of news & entertainment

– Increasing predominance of on-line activities– Increasing variety of services/contents available– Increased ‘disconection’ from traditional

politics, but higher ‘connection’ to platforms providing entertainment, private services and social networking.

Some hunches

• These changes are contributing to blur among certain users the frontiers between public/private (i.e. Public actions may spring out from private practices)

• Traditional ways of surveying are not representing and mapping these transformations

• Traditional political science models are not accounting for these transformations (the categories are still so stiff in a way)

• These are relevant for the future and the legitimacy of democracy

Public connection

• What does it mean/feel to be a citizen on a day-to-day basis?

• In which sort of situations you may feel you’re acting as a citizen?

• What kind of ‘public issues’ are part of your daily-life conversations/interests?

• How does the kind of contents you are consuming on the media relate to such meaning/feeling?

Findings (both UK and Mx)

• On “public”– There is an understanding –more or less clear—of

what public interest issues are.– There is interest on, and knowledge about,

“public issues”, though low levels of trust in politicians and politics.

– Public interest issues = mostly politics; but also references to social, cultural & entertainment topics.

– There is a “theoretical” identification of the division between public and private, but it blurs in their daily life practices.

Findings (UK and Mx)

• The ‘mediation’:– Strongly mediated “public connection”– In Mx, the connection starts with something that is

discussed or listened at home, college, friends, and then they go and seek further info in the social networks.

– In most topics, though their primary source may not be mediatic, there is still strong coincidence with the media agenda (Agenda Setting & Priming strong role).

– Digital media consumption does not replaces traditional media (many sources are the same. I.e. The web sites of traditional media to which they arrived via Tweeter).

Findings (Mx)

• They do participate, but not through the traditional channels. New concepts are needed in political science to forms of participation that are sometimes not even recognized as such by the actors themselves.

• Constant activity in social networks• Incipient forms of deliberation (exchanges

with authorities are frequent!)• The basis for them to “feel” their citizenship

is to be informed… from there they act, or not.

What about us, here?

1) What is “public”?

= audience?

= related to the government?

≠ private / domestic?

= famous?

= open, accessible?

≠ secret?

= affecting the community?

Think of your friends & other people of your age…

… specially the ones that didn’t actually come to Salzburg

2) Are the young interested in public issues?

2.1. What issues are young people most interested in?

2.2. Why are those issues important to you/them?

… in a “traditional” way

Chile, 2013 Spain, 2012

Two examples of youth participation…

3) How can young people participate in the public sphere?

a) Is “liking” a form of participation…?

… or does it disencourage real participation?

b) Consider the digital divide…

Internet users per 100 inhabitants Source: International Telecommunications Union

… remember the 5 A’s of media literacy!

ACCESS

Source:

Survey

•http://bit.ly/sacpublic

Discussion time!

1) Select a public issue that is relevant for young people in your country (choose only one in each table).

2) Think of a target: 1. Politician from the Government2. Politician from the opposition 3. Journalist from a traditional media4. Journalist from a new, “alternative”

media5. International NGO6. Local NGO

3) What are the challenges that you would face if you were trying to get your issue into this agent’s agenda?

4) In one sentence: What would be the best strategy to reach your target?