1. Communication and Participation in the New Media Era
Fausto Colombo
(Catholic University, Milan)

2. Introducing (briefly) myself
Professor of Media Theory, Faculty of Political Sciences, Catholic University of Milan
Director of OssCom, Research Center on Media and Communication (Catholic University)
Main Topics:
Digitalisation of media
Generations and Media
Media and Politics
Social History of Italian Media (and Mass Culture)

3. Discussing about politics in the new media era
The new importance of the concept of public sphere
The rivitalization oh Habermas’ approach
Critics and alternatives

4. Discussing about public sphere
The role of media in Habermas’ theory:
Media setting: newspapers, burgeois salon, cafè
Social setting: bourgeoisie
Cultural setting: familiar, ethical and economic values
Main Changes:
1. Transformations in media setting:
Professionalization of production
Product alienation
Change from news as information to news as commodity
2. Transformations in social setting:
Proletariat's ascent
Mass society

5. Some hypothesis… Media Setting From Newspapers.. To Cultural Industry
Public Sphere To
Mass Democracy
From
bourgeoisie To
Proletariat
Masses
Social Setting

6. New participatory Media
Habermasian hypothesis about new media contribution to public sphere (especially web 2.0)
From
Cultural Industry To
New participatory Media
Media setting
From
Mass Democracy To
New Public Sphere
From
Masses to
New citizenship
Social setting

7. Controversial points
Underestimation of institutional contexts (audience democracy), political feelings, popular contents
Overestimation of the role of rationality in political choices
Overemphasis on differences among media and underestimation of their intrinsic flexibility

8. Underestimation of Institutional Context
The role of media changes in different institutional systems:
not only in totalitarism (or authoritarism) vs democracies
but also in different forms of totalitarism (and authoritarism) and in different forms of democracy

9. Overestimation of the Role of Rationality
Contents and political argumentation are always challenged by emotional conditions:
Development of fandom model of the political participation
Difficulties in understanding the most important topics
Because of the global dimension
Because of links with ethical dimension

10. Overemphasis on differences among media…
Difficulties in defining “media”:
Interfaces
Rituals
Flows/contents
Possibilites to find the same interface, ritual or content on different media, and viceversa

11. …and underestimation of media flexibility
Every single media always changes and presents differences
Monopolistic Tv vs Commercial Tv vs Digital Tvs and their complexity
Newspapers
Web vs web 2.0

12. Alternative hyphotesis ..
Media (New and Old Media) setting processes are effective as far as they suit dominant culture (egemony) and are encouraged by the whole social/political system.

13. 3 cases of political audiovisual communication on Youtube
2VtQI
ZRrYAp0
YbsSh0Y

14. Multi-dimensional model
Institutional system (formal and informal)
Political feeling (e.g personalization)
Public sphere
Media setting: statics, dynamics and relations between media.
Cultural change: languages, recurring contents, framing

15. Multi-dimensional model
Institutional system (formal and informal)
Public sphere
Tradition
Powers balance
Strenght of institutions

16. Multi-dimensional model
Political feeling
Public sphere
Trust in institutions
Participation culture
Sentiment of national belonging

17. Multi-dimensional model
Social and cultural roles of élites
Cultural level
Role of education and high culture
Public sphere
Cultural change: languages, recurring contents, framing

18. Multi-dimensional model
Complexity of settings
Diffusion of new media and media literacy
Competition and economic autonomy
Public sphere
Media setting: statics, dynamics and relations between media.

19. Conclusions
Differences between old and new media are less important then differences between societies
The concept of public sphere could be useful, but it need some critical observation

20. fausto.colombo@unicatt.it http:laculturasottile.wordpress.com