Articles

The Center's new "Frequently Asked Questions: Public Media" publication, by Center Director Pat Aufderheide and Research Director Jessica Clark, helps to clarify exactly what public media is, how it's used, and why it's so important to a democratic society.

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Public_Media_FAQ.pdf

Public Broadcasting and Public Affairs:
Opportunities and Challenges for Public Broadcasting’s Role in Provisioning the Public with News and Public Affairs

In this paper, commissioned as part of the Berkman Center's Media Re:Public project, CSM's Pat Aufderheide and Jessica Clark describe the complex system of U.S. public broadcasting, the many exciting experiments that are underway and the barriers to creating a truly public media.

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public_broadcasting_and_public_affairs_mr.pdf

This analysis by Center for Social Media Research Director Jessica Clark contrasts the findings revealed by CSM case studies to Govcom.org's maps of the same media projects, below.

Questions

Whose voices, which globe? Is there a particular geography of voice? Are the global voices (known as bridge blogs) substantively bridging familiar global boundaries or redrawing them?

What is the substance of the global voices conversations? Are there particular subject matters that are discussed globally or regionally?

Who are the publics for global voices? Do the commentators on global voices postings form a distinctive geography?

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Global_voices_maps.pdf

This case study by CSM Media Fellow Martin Lucas explores the origins, structure, and impact of Global Voices, an international blogging site designed to increase communication across borders and reveal international issues from the perspectives of citizen media-makers.

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global_voices.pdf