democracy without journalism confronting the misinformation society

His work is particularly concerned about the future of journalism and the role of media in a democratic society. The series features insights on pressing issues affecting new media and human rights, particularly at the margins.Victor Pickard’s research focuses on the history and political economy of media institutions, media activism, and the politics and normative foundations of media policy. The PCMLP Global Media Seminar Series is an online seminar series jointly organised between the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at the University of Oxford and the School of Communication at the University of Johannesburg and made possible by funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation grant program.

Ultimately this crisis is an opportunity to reimagine what journalism could and should be. Victor’s talk draws from his recent book Democracy without Journalism? to discuss potential policy interventions to not only salvage–but also reinvent–our news media system. The pandemic has accelerated this structural crisis and democratic societies across the globe are scrambling to save journalism before it is too late. Dramatic shifts in digital economics, especially the collapse of commercial journalism’s advertising revenue, have devastated local journalism in recent years. News media industries-particularly newspapers-are facing an existential threat.

He has written numerous books on the subject, including, most recently, Democracy Without Journalism?: Confronting the Misinformation Society. He is an expert in the political economy of media institutions and media activism in the United States and is a long-time advocate for the importance of independent journalism in preserving democratic institutions. Victor Pickard is an Associate Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania where he is the Co-Director of the Media, Inequality & Change Center. A recording of our latest Global Media and Policy Seminar, ‘Media Policy in a Time of Crisis’ with Victor Pickard is now available on our YouTube Channel! About the Speaker: Victor Pickard

Democracy without journalism confronting the misinformation society