Media Agoras: Democracy, Diversity, and Communication is a collection of essays presenting some of the most up-to-date perspectives on the study of the role media play in the construction of a more inclusive and respectful society. From theoretical debates on the role played by media in fostering participatory practices in the public sphere to more empirically based analyses of the media policy, production, content, and reception in relation to democratic possiblities and diversity, this book presents a critical overview of such crucial debates in contemporary European societies.
About the Author: Inaki Garcia-Blanco is a media analyst working at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies (Cardiff University). He holds an MSc in Politics and Communication (London School of Economics and Political Science) and is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Journalism and Communication Sciences of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He has also carried out research at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). Previous to his appointment to Cardiff University, he was an associate lecturer at the UAB, where he taught undergraduate modules on media theory and public opinion. He is vice-chair of the Communication and Democracy section of ECREA (European Communication Research and Education Association). Sofie Van Bauwel (PhD) is professor at the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Ghent (Belgium). She teaches film and television studies and cultural media studies at the Ghent University. She has also taught at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) as a guest professor. She is a member of the Working Group Film and Television Studies at Ghent University, where she is the co-editor of the Working Papers on Film and Television Studies published by Academia Press. Her research focuses on cultural media studies, film and television studies, and gender and the media. She has published on popular culture, feminist media theory, and gender and the media. She is vice-chair of the Gender and Communication section of ECREA (European Communication Research and Education Association). Bart Cammaerts is a political scientist and media researcher lecturing on media, citizenship, and democracy at the Media and Communications department of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His research interests include the impact of the Internet on the transnationalization of civil society actors, as well as on mobilization, direct action, (media) activism, and interactive participation; alternative media and practices of resistance; the use of the Internet by international organizations (UN and EU) in order to involve civil society actors in their decision-making processes and their claims to democratise global or regional governance processes. He publishes widely, is a member of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and chairs the communication and democracy section of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA).