Focus on Growth: Innovation, the media and public interest

Carl-Gustav Lindén
TV Reporter, TV Nytt, Yleisradio, Finland
Doctoral student, Department of Communication, University of Helsinki, Finland

Download paper: Lindenfocusongrowthdraft.pdf

According to normative theories the media are “expected to be organized and to behave in the wider public interest or for the good of the society as a whole”. Public interest here is defined as a product of dominating values in a society, something journalists are supposed to be aware of as it is the foundation for the special place the media have in society. That is unfortunately also the outer boundary of the sphere of consensus. The discussion on what journalism should be is coloured by diverging ideas due to differences in perspectives...

IT and Democracy: An analysis of the power of digital images to strengthen the public sphere and decision-making process

Larry Pryor, Annenberg School of Journalism, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Download paper here: PryorITDemocracyDraft.pdf

Virtual Environments (VEs) open new possibilities for journalism. The advanced technology, which still resides mostly in laboratories, only requires adaptation and the imagination that can enable journalists to think with technology. The literature of VE theory shows the possibility exists to create alternative worlds that invite the public to share knowledge necessary for rational policy decisions. Our research has looked at using head-mounted displays to tell news stories, and we have worked with a multi-user 360° panoramic display...