Media and Participation

Nico Carpentier is Associate Professor at the Communication Studies Department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB – Free University of Brussels) and Docent at Charles University in Prague. He is also an executive board member of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and he was vice-president of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) from 2008 to 2012. His theoretical focus is on discourse theory; his research interests are situated in the relationship between media, journalism, politics and culture, especially towards social domains as war and conflict, ideology, participation and democracy. This has been translated into the following five topical areas: (1) Media, participation and democracy; (2) Media, death and war; (3) Journalism and identity; (4) Audience and reception; (5) Discourse theory.

• Introduction Chapter 1: Defining Participation: An Interdisciplinary Overview1. Democratic theory and participation2. Beyond democratic theory3. Audience participation and communication (rights)3. Audience participation and communication (rights) Chapter 2: Keyword – Power1. A conceptual introduction2. Case 1: Management in the north Belgian audience discussion programme Jan Publiek3. Case 2: Barometer and the post-political Chapter 3: Keyword – Identity1. A conceptual introduction2. Case 1: The construction of ordinary people in Jan Publiek3. Case 2: Temptation Island – reality TV and minimalist participation Chapter 4: Keyword – Organization1. A conceptual introduction2. Case 1: BBC’s Video Nation3. Case 2: RadioSwap Chapter 5: Keyword – Technology1. A conceptual introduction2. Case: Kinoautomat – One man and his house. The lack of uptake of participatory technology Chapter 6: Keyword – Quality1. A conceptual introduction2. Case 1: 16plus, Barometer and the rejection of participatory products3. Case 2: Alternative and community media constructions of quality: Negotiated quality Chapter 7: A Short Conclusion

'Carpentier impresses with his seemingly bottomless theoretical knowledge and the eloquence with which he navigates the discursive fields of power, participation and ideology in the media' – Global Media and Communication, Jakob Svensson 'A very well argued, written, and illustrated book on media participation' – International Journal of E-Politics, Itır Akdoğan 'Carpentier’s book makes evident that power relations within a society are mediated through participation and those struggles between institutions and users remain a quintessential field of investigation' – Medijske Studije / Media Studies, Zlatan Krajina 'A lucid analysis' – Media and Participation, Lars Nyre 'The book offers a lucid yet exhaustive account, combining both intricate theoretical detail with prudent and informative examples' – Political Studies Review, James Dennis