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This Open Access book provides an in-depth analysis of the role held by media and journalists in a fragmented and polarized communication ecosystem that faces the uncertainty of major challenges, such as the impact of the disintermediation process, the pressure of simultaneous over- and disinformation forces, and labor precariousness. It discusses these challenges in the context of business model crises and the loss of journalistic quality. Following an interdisciplinary approach, the book further explores the interaction between communication and political and social change processes, their implications, and their consequences in a hybrid media context.
The book examines the loss of credibility of traditional media and democratic institutions and discusses how trust can be restored. While doing so, it appeals to the innate link between journalism and democracy, based on the public s trust in the capacity of the media to provide quality content that allows citizens to make informed decisions. As the rise of disinformation presents an incredible challenge for conventional media, due to their position of extreme vulnerability, the book finally analyzes how media and professional journalists, who have traditionally held the responsibility of providing quality information, have to address these issues, while facing the disintegration of former business models and social credibility.
This book will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers of political communication, journalism, political science, and related fields, as well as policy-makers and professionals interested in a better understanding of the role of media and journalists in contemporary political and social change processes.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. The New Communication Ecosystem.- Chapter 3. Fragmentation and Dissolution of the Public Sphere.- Chapter 4. Challenges in a Hostile Scenario.- Chapter 5. Information Consumption and Trust.- Chapter 6. Quality of Information and Democracy.- Chapter 7. Disruption in the Information Industry: Precariousness and Professional 'Decapitalisation'.- Chapter 8. Conclusions.
About the author
Dolors Palau-Sampio is a Senior Lecturer in Journalism at the University of Valencia (Spain). Her research focuses on digital and narrative journalism, disinformation, quality journalism and accountability. Co-editor of four books, she has published sixty articles in indexed journals and half a hundred chapter books. Since 2014 she has been coordinating the working group on journalism and quality information at the Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación. She has been a visiting researcher at several universities in Europe (France, United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Finland) and Latin America (Chile, Argentina, Peru and Mexico). She is currently IP in Spain of the Horizon 2020 R&D project PLEDGE, funded by the European Union. Prior to her academic career, she worked as a journalist for nine years.
Guillermo López-García is a Full Professor of Journalism at the University of Valencia, Spain. His primary research focuses on political and online communication. He coordinates the R&D Group Mediaflows, financed by Spain's Ministry for the Economy and Innovation, since 2013. This project analyses communication flows among political parties, the media, and citizens in processes of political mobilization. He also directs the Valencian Digital Media Research Group, and has coordinated a yearly conference on new trends in digital communication since 2009. López García was editor of the academic journal Dígitos. Revista de Comunicación Digital (2015-2022) and has authored or edited 20 books and numerous articles and book chapters in various scientific publications. He has co-edited the website La Página Definitiva since 2000 and works with various media outlets, including the digital media Valencia Plaza, for which he is a weekly columnist.
