Slavko Splichal – författare

Media Beyond Socialism treats the changing relationships among media, state, economy, and civil society in the current period of transition in East Europe from socialism to the establishment of Western-type democracies. Analyzing the relevance of mass communication and particularly of the media in the democratization process, the book addresses such issues as the problems of civil society, the principles of power and profit maximization in the communication sphere, the role the media have played in the "velvet revolution," and concerns surrounding East Europe's new "information age." First offering a fundamental theoretical discussion, Splichal goes on to share empirical data documenting the changes in the East-Central European print and broadcast media in terms of ownership, political control, the role of the media, and journalism practices as well as paradoxes stemming from the economic and political restructuring of the former socialist societies. He closely examines the claim that the media have taken a radical departure from their previous activities in East-Central Europe and challenges the notion that authoritarian control of the media has been buried in the transition to democracy. Indeed, Splichal asserts that the media are in the process of mimicking the Western design and are often placed under the control of paternalism, commercialism, and nationalism.

Media Beyond Socialism treats the changing relationships among media, state, economy, and civil society in the current period of transition in East Europe from socialism to the establishment of Western-type democracies. Analyzing the relevance of mass communication and particularly of the media in the democratization process, the book addresses suc

The successful Brexit referendum campaign; Donald Trump’s election; and the rise of right-wing nationalist-populist political parties and movements – all of these events have incited renewed interest in public communication and the internetised media, deliberative democracy and public spheres, challenged by an informational abundance that generates a communicative liquefaction of publicness and politics. This book celebrates the 25th anniversary of the journal Javnost – The Public, bringing together internationally renowned scholars from 20 countries to discuss topical issues in contemporary media and communication research. It focuses on challenging issues of the changing nature of publicness and the public sphere in the internet age, issues of democracy and the crisis of public communication and the tasks of media and communication research as a social practice. It critically reflects on the democratisation crisis and the demise of popular and scholarly optimism, which the emerging internet inspired in early 1990s, when Javnost – The Public was founded.

This book presents, for the first time in English, selections from Ferdinand Tönnies’ classic Kritik der öffentlichen Meinung (Critique of Public Opinion). Communication scholars Hanno Hardt and Slavko Splichal give a brief history of public opinion and provide the translation and original analyses of Tönnies’ work, situating it theoretically and historically. Featuring an introduction by Gary T. Marx, this book highlights Tönnies’ valuable contributions to past and current theories of society, communication, and public opinion.

This insightful book examines freedom of the press, the social functions of the press, and how the original concept of publicity—as the 'public use of reason,' or citizens' freedom to express and publish opinions—has been reduced to mean the right of media to access and print information. This, the author argues, unfairly gives media more freedom than individuals have and reduces the accountability and service of the press to the public. Splichal's thoughtful work includes discussions of the media-relevant theories and works of Jeremy Bentham, Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, and John Stuart Mill, among many others.

This major work surveys the historical roots, theoretical foundations, and normative claims of 20th-century conceptualizations of public opinion. It reanalyzes leading traditions, such as those of Lippmann, Dewey, and Noelle-Neumann, and reinvents some unjustly ignored ones, such as Toennies, Harrisson, and Wilson. The book critically examines popular modern research strategies such as polling and the Ospiral of silenceO model and looks at the role of mass media in the formation and expression of public opinion. This comprehensive and original treatment is a must for all serious students and scholars of public opinion.

This book reports the results of a comparative survey of journalism students in university-level institutions in 22 countries of the major world regions. The survey and analysis are guided by a critical discussion of concepts of journalistic professionalism and the role played by education and training in developing such ideas. The book explores the origins and motivations of students, and the ambitions they have as future journalists. The students had three different concepts of the role of the press: the enlightenment model in which the prime functions is to educate and inform; the power model, ensuring the views of socially powerful groups are publicized; and the entertainment model, which provides the audience with distractions. With a strong desire for professional status, they believe that the form of media ownership dominant in their own society is a major threat to press freedom.

The 1980s witnessed a rapid growth of communication technology and an immense expansion of new media around the globe. The development of new information and communication technologies has emphasized again the importance of economic, social, political, and cultural institutions associated with the definitions of new technologies. Many of the traditional conceptions of the relation of the media to democracy were predicated upon a certain perception of communication technology and the major contemporary debates related to democratization have to do, again, with the deployment of technologies. How do all these developments affect society? How is the communications explosion related to democracy? What are the implications for the social functions of communications, people's activities, consciousness and values, media ownership and control, both nationally and internationally? These are some of the questions discussed in this volume.

The 1980s witnessed a rapid growth of communication technology and an immense expansion of new media around the globe. The development of new information and communication technologies has emphasized again the importance of economic, social, political, and cultural institutions associated with the definitions of new technologies. Many of the traditional conceptions of the relation of the media to democracy were predicated upon a certain perception of communication technology and the major contemporary debates related to democratization have to do, again, with the deployment of technologies. How do all these developments affect society? How is the communications explosion related to democracy? What are the implications for the social functions of communications, people's activities, consciousness and values, media ownership and control, both nationally and internationally? These are some of the questions discussed in this volume.

This book reports the results of a comparative survey of journalism students in university-level institutions in 22 countries of the major world regions. The survey and analysis are guided by a critical discussion of concepts of journalistic professionalism and the role played by education and training in developing such ideas. The book explores the origins and motivations of students, and the ambitions they have as future journalists. The students had three different concepts of the role of the press: the enlightenment model in which the prime functions is to educate and inform; the power model, ensuring the views of socially powerful groups are publicized; and the entertainment model, which provides the audience with distractions. With a strong desire for professional status, they believe that the form of media ownership dominant in their own society is a major threat to press freedom.

The successful Brexit referendum campaign; Donald Trump’s election; and the rise of right-wing nationalist-populist political parties and movements – all of these events have incited renewed interest in public communication and the internetised media, deliberative democracy and public spheres, challenged by an informational abundance that generates a communicative liquefaction of publicness and politics. This book celebrates the 25th anniversary of the journal Javnost – The Public, bringing together internationally renowned scholars from 20 countries to discuss topical issues in contemporary media and communication research. It focuses on challenging issues of the changing nature of publicness and the public sphere in the internet age, issues of democracy and the crisis of public communication and the tasks of media and communication research as a social practice. It critically reflects on the democratisation crisis and the demise of popular and scholarly optimism, which the emerging internet inspired in early 1990s, when Javnost – The Public was founded.

These essays examine the relationship between two concepts - public opinion and democracy - central to social and political theories. They deal with forms of political institutionalization of public opinion and the relationship between mass media, opinion polling and broader issues of democracy.

The book, anchored in stimulating debates about the Enlightenment ideas of publicness, analyses historical changes in the core phenomena of publicness: possibilities, conditions and obstacles to developing a public sphere in which the public reflexively creates, articulates and expresses public opinion. It is focused on the historical transformation from “public use of reason” through the identification of “public opinion” in opinion polls to contemporary opinion mining, in which the Enlightenment idea of public expression of opinion has been displaced by the technology of extracting opinions. It heralds a new critical impetus in theory and research of publicness at a time when critical social thought is sharply criticising and even abandoning the notion of the public sphere, much like the notion of public opinion decades ago, due to its predominantly administrative use.

This monograph explores the evolving nature of publicness in the era of digital communication and social media saturation, arguing that the rise of the “gig public” represents a new paradigm that challenges the traditional conceptualization of the public in shaping social and political change. The gig public departs from traditional notions of publicness and the public, characterized by individuals’ spontaneous and less-structured engagement in public discourse. This engagement is often hampered by challenges in fostering sustained interaction and depth of discussion, due to the ephemeral nature of online interactions.In particular, this monograph highlights the importance of customs, negotiations, and contracts that complement the normatively privileged public reasoning in public domains. It examines the transformations in the multifaceted nature of the public and its interrelationship with other social structures amid the shifting boundaries between public and private domains. In addition, it explores the evolution of conceptualizations of publicness and related concepts within critical theory, illustrating how contemporary shifts are redefining civic engagement and the essence of public life in a rapidly changing world. From these perspectives, the study is structured around three primary focal points: First, it analyzes how new information technologies and AI have altered human interactions within the public sphere. Second, it examines the impact of capitalist economic dynamics and governmentality strategies on reshaping the public realm, fundamentally altering the essence of the public and its democratic potential. Third, it explores how habitual and routine practices traditionally associated with the private sphere are now influencing the ongoing evolution of publicness.The monograph aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the challenges posed by the fragmentation of contemporary public discourse and the emergence of gig publics. It also considers strategies to invigorate publicness through AI technology that enables users to transform plain language into automated actions on their computers, potentially reshaping civic engagement in the digital age.