Media and political/civil society in eastern Europe: an evolving relationship
Media and political/civil society in eastern Europe: an evolving relationship

Summary/Abstract: The dominant view among media scholars is that the new eastern European media and their journalism do not represent, are not expressions of, and do not enhance the growth of, civil society. In line with this view, the responsibility of the media and their style of journalism is seen as resting not with the public or with civil society, but with political parties, politicians and the new capitalists or the market. Consequently, the public sphere is judged to be constituted from among mostly political voices, as already noted, and, in worse case scenarios, also by businesses controlled by the former communist nomenklatura, by the newly-formed mafia openly operating in a number of countries,5 and by foreign media enterprises. This article seeks to look at the issue from a different perspective and offer a more positive view of media’s relationship with civil society. This article is excerpted from the author’s forthcoming book, Unperfect Evolutions – Eastern European Media, Political Culture, Civil Society and Democratization.

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