WHAT CAN WE LEARNABOUT THE

TRANSFORMATIONOF THE PUBLIC SPHERE

BY LOOKING AT TELEVISION NEWS NETWORKS?

Adam Fish

Traditional Cable

Progressive TV News

Internet Video "Networks"

Insurgent Foreign TV News

Media Activism

Independent Film

Traditional Cable

Progressive TV News

Internet Video "Networks"

Insurgent Foreign TV News

Media Activism

Independent Film

"...democracy depends upon the openness, reliability, appropriateness, responsiveness, and two-way nature of the communication environment." -Al Gore (2007, photo 2005)

Gore on the Public Sphere…

WHY THIS CHANGE?

"It is inconceivable that we should allow so great a possibility for service to be drowned in advertising chatter" President Hoover

WHAT DOES CURRENT’S

TRANSFORMATIONMEAN TO OUR

UNDERSTANDING OF THE

PUBLIC SPHERE?

HISTORICALLY

POLITICALPHILOSOPHICALLY

CULTURALLY

HISTORICALLY

POLITICALPHILOSOPHICALLY

CULTURALLY“the cycle”

discourse

liberalism

CYCLE

William Fox(20th Century Fox)

Carl Laemmle(Universal)

William Hodkinson (Paramount)

a. Public Sphereb. Guardianshipc. Commercial

DISCOURSE

State paternalism

GUARDIANSHIP

State paternalismPublic needs education to be better citizens

GUARDIANSHIP

State paternalismPublic needs education to be better citizens

Audience as enlightened publics

GUARDIANSHIP

State paternalismPublic needs education to be better citizens

Audience as enlightened publics

GUARDIANSHIP

audience-as-markets, not publics

COMMERCIAL

audience-as-markets, not publicsconsumers not citizens

COMMERCIAL

audience-as-markets, not publicsconsumers not citizens

broadcasters are competitors not trustees

COMMERCIAL

“maximizing competition, enhancing market power, promoting investment incentives, insuring competitive rate structures, removing barriers to entry, and encouraging new service providers” (Avery and Stavitsky 2003: 57)

Content is listener created

PUBLIC SPHERE

Content is listener createdGovernance is listener directed

PUBLIC SPHERE

Content is listener createdGovernance is listener directed

Social ownership of means of production

PUBLIC SPHERE

Liberty and the Individual!

 

LIBERALISM

Liberty and the Individual!

SOCIAL LIBERALISMIndividual liberty is the result of the

state supporting the public      

LIBERALISM

Liberty and the Individual!

SOCIAL LIBERALISMIndividual liberty is the result of the

state supporting the public    

CAPITALIST LIBERALISM Individual liberty is the result of

state support of market --market will do the service of the state

"invisible hand”

LIBERALISM

Liberty and the Individual!

SOCIAL LIBERALISMIndividual liberty is the result of the

state supporting the public    

CAPITALIST LIBERALISM Individual liberty is the result of

state support of market --market will do the service of the state

"invisible hand”

NEOLIBERALISMNo state/all market

“Gloves off”    

LIBERALISM

HISTORY The CYCLE from OPEN to CLOSED

CULTURE BROADCASTING DISCOURSES 

PHILOSOPHY LIBERALISM

Viewer Generated Content (VC2) (05-09)Social Media/Social News (07-09)Professional/Hollywood (09-today)

Cycle, Discourse, and Liberalism

Historically: Open (Internet/TV)Discursively: Public Sphere (explicit)Philosophically: Capitalist Liberalism

Current TV - TV-Internet Cycle

VC2

OBAMA-TWITTERFIRING

Current TV - TV-Internet Cycle

VC2

Historically: Open (social media) Discursively: Public Sphere (implicit)Philosophically: Capitalist Liberalism

Current TV - TV-Internet Cycle

Hollywood

Current TV - TV-Internet Cycle

Hollywood

Historically: Closed (TV)Discursively: GuardianshipPhilosophically: Capitalist LiberalismYes Social Liberalism, Yes Neoliberal

Historically: Closed (TV)Discursively: GuardianshipPhilosophically: Neoliberalism

USERGENERATED

CONTENT

TELEVISION

SOCIALMEDIA

CAPITALISTLIBERALISM

&COMMERCIALDISCOURSE

CLOSEDTV

(2010)

GUARDIANSHIP

PUBLIC SPHEREexplicit

PUBLIC SPHEREimplicit

OPENTV/internet(2005-09)

OPENSocial media

(2008-10)

SOCIAL LIBERALISM

NEOLIBERALISM

Corporate Public Sphere:Cultural, historical, philosophical

Hybridity and contradiction

Which results in…

Corporate Public Sphere:Cultural, historical, philosophical

Hybridity and contradiction

Which results in…

Job insecurity, crowdsourcing, flexible accumulation

FIRING

FLEXIBLE CAPITALISM

Consistencies:

Anomalies:

FLEXIBLE CAPITALISM

Consistencies: Capitalist Liberalism

Anomalies:

FLEXIBLE CAPITALISM

Consistencies: Capitalist Liberalism

Corporate Adaptability

Anomalies:

FLEXIBLE CAPITALISM

Consistencies: Capitalist Liberalism

Corporate AdaptabilityExpendability of Public Sphere Discourse

Anomalies:

FLEXIBLE CAPITALISM

Consistencies: Capitalist Liberalism

Corporate AdaptabilityExpendability of Public Sphere Discourse

Cultural Industries Precarity

Anomalies:

FLEXIBLE CAPITALISM

Consistencies: Capitalist Liberalism

Corporate AdaptabilityExpendability of Public Sphere Discourse

Cultural Industries PrecarityNeoliberal Critique = Corporate Instability

Anomalies:

FLEXIBLE CAPITALISM

Consistencies: Capitalist Liberalism

Corporate AdaptabilityExpendability of Public Sphere Discourse

Cultural Industries PrecarityNeoliberal Critique = Corporate Instability

Anomalies:Neoliberal Critique ≠ Public Sphere Discourse

FLEXIBLE CAPITALISM

Consistencies: Capitalist Liberalism

Corporate AdaptabilityExpendability of Public Sphere Discourse

Cultural Industries PrecarityNeoliberal Critique = Corporate Instability

Anomalies:Neoliberal Critique ≠ Public Sphere DiscourseNeoliberal Critique = Guardianship Discourse

FLEXIBLE CAPITALISM

Consistencies: Capitalist Liberalism

Corporate AdaptabilityExpendability of Public Sphere Discourse

Cultural Industries PrecarityNeoliberal Critique = Corporate Instability

Anomalies:Neoliberal Critique ≠ Public Sphere DiscourseNeoliberal Critique = Guardianship Discourse

Capitalist Liberalism w/in mounting Neoliberalism

NEOLIBERAL DEMOCRACY=

OXYMORON