Access to a broad range of different political views and cultural expressions is often regarded as a self-evident value in both theoretical and political debates on media and democracy. Pluralism is commonly accepted as a guiding principle of media policy in addressing media concentration, the role of public service media, or more recently such questions as how to respond to search engines, social networking sites, and citizen media. However, opinions on the meaning and nature of media pluralism as a concept vary widely, and definitions of it can easily be adjusted to suit different political purposes. Rethinking Media Pluralism contends that the notions of media pluralism and diversity have been reduced to empty catchphrases or conflated with consumer choice and market competition. In this narrow logic, key questions about social and political values, democracy, and citizenship are left unexamined. In this provocative new book, Kari Karppinen argues that media pluralism needs to be rescued from its depoliticized uses and re-imagined more broadly as a normative value that refers to the distribution of communicative power in the public sphere. Instead of something that could simply be measured through the number of media outlets available, media pluralism should be understood in terms of its ability to challenge inequalities and create a more democratic public sphere.

The Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) assesses the performance of leading news media in mature democracies with regard to three core dimensions of democracy: freedom, equality, and control. After monitoring 10 countries in 2011, the MDM project expanded to cover leading news media of 18 democracies in 2021. In this book, the most salient results from the MDM were selected to undergo cross-country and longitudinal comparison, searching for patterns and tendencies across countries, with a particular focus on the influence of digitalisation. Some of the key results are the ubiquitousness of the news media’s financial crisis, increasing consumption gaps as younger generations prefer online platforms, and persisting gender inequalities, both in news content and in newsrooms. However, the volume also shows that the reach of news media remains high, the watchdog role and investigative journalism are increasingly relevant in daily practice, and that public service media, in general, continue to play a vital role for democracy. These results have implications for media policies, regulations, and practices to improve news quality and, ultimately, democracy worldwide.

Demokratian perusta ovat aktiiviset ja asioista perillä olevat kansalaiset. Viestinnälliset taidot ovatkin tärkeitä kansalaistaitoja. Toisaalta kansalaisilla on viestinnällisiä oikeuksia, jotka yhteiskunnan olisi turvattava. Heillä on oltava pääsy tiedon äärelle sekä mahdollisuus tehdä vapaasti valintoja sen pohjalta. Viestintä kuuluu kaikille on ensimmäinen kokonaisesitys kansalaisten viestinnällisistä oikeuksista ja niiden toteutumisesta maassamme. Pääsevätkö ihmiset tasavertaisesti informaation äärelle hankkimaan ja soveltamaan sitä? Toteutuuko vuorovaikutus viestinnässä, ja miten kansalaisten yksityisyyttä suojellaan? Teemoja tarkastellaan lainsäädännön, viranomaisten toiminnan, kaupallisten toimijoiden sekä kansalaisten median käytön näkökulmista. Viestinnälliset oikeudet eivät ole oma erillinen saarekkeensa, vaan niiden toteutuminen riippuu yhteiskunnan valtasuhteista ja tasa-arvoisuudesta laajemmin. Onko tietoyhteiskunnaksi kutsuttu Suomi tässä lopultakaan mallimaa?

Access to a broad range of different political views and cultural expressions is often regarded as a self-evident value in both theoretical and political debates on media and democracy. Pluralism is commonly accepted as a guiding principle of media policy in addressing media concentration, the role of public service media, or more recently such questions as how to respond to search engines, social networking sites, and citizen media. However, opinions on the meaning and nature of media pluralism as a concept vary widely, and definitions of it can easily be adjusted to suit different political purposes. Rethinking Media Pluralism contends that the notions of media pluralism and diversity have been reduced to empty catchphrases or conflated with consumer choice and market competition. In this narrow logic, key questions about social and political values, democracy, and citizenship are left unexamined. In this provocative new book, Kari Karppinen argues that media pluralism needs to be rescued from its depoliticized uses and re-imagined more broadly as a normative value that refers to the distribution of communicative power in the public sphere. Instead of something that could simply be measured through the number of media outlets available, media pluralism should be understood in terms of its ability to challenge inequalities and create a more democratic public sphere.

The Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) assesses the performance of leading news media in mature democracies with regard to three core dimensions of democracy: freedom, equality, and control. After monitoring 10 countries in 2011, the MDM project expanded to cover leading news media of 18 democracies in 2021. In this book, the most salient results from the MDM were selected to undergo cross-country and longitudinal comparison, searching for patterns and tendencies across countries, with a particular focus on the influence of digitalisation. Some of the key results are the ubiquitousness of the news media’s financial crisis, increasing consumption gaps as younger generations prefer online platforms, and persisting gender inequalities, both in news content and in newsrooms. However, the volume also shows that the reach of news media remains high, the watchdog role and investigative journalism are increasingly relevant in daily practice, and that public service media, in general, continue to play a vital role for democracy. These results have implications for media policies, regulations, and practices to improve news quality and, ultimately, democracy worldwide.

Demokratian perusta ovat aktiiviset ja asioista perillä olevat kansalaiset. Viestinnälliset taidot ovatkin tärkeitä kansalaistaitoja. Toisaalta kansalaisilla on viestinnällisiä oikeuksia, jotka yhteiskunnan olisi turvattava. Heillä on oltava pääsy tiedon äärelle sekä mahdollisuus tehdä vapaasti valintoja sen pohjalta. Viestintä kuuluu kaikille on ensimmäinen kokonaisesitys kansalaisten viestinnällisistä oikeuksista ja niiden toteutumisesta maassamme. Pääsevätkö ihmiset tasavertaisesti informaation äärelle hankkimaan ja soveltamaan sitä? Toteutuuko vuorovaikutus viestinnässä, ja miten kansalaisten yksityisyyttä suojellaan? Teemoja tarkastellaan lainsäädännön, viranomaisten toiminnan, kaupallisten toimijoiden sekä kansalaisten median käytön näkökulmista. Viestinnälliset oikeudet eivät ole oma erillinen saarekkeensa, vaan niiden toteutuminen riippuu yhteiskunnan valtasuhteista ja tasa-arvoisuudesta laajemmin. Onko tietoyhteiskunnaksi kutsuttu Suomi tässä lopultakaan mallimaa?