Communication, Power and Counter-power in the Network Society

Description

This article presents a set of grounded hypotheses on the interplay between
communication and power relationships in the technological context that characterizes
the network society. Based on a selected body of communication literature, and of a
number of case studies and examples, it argues that the media have become the
social space where power is decided. It shows the direct link between politics, media
politics, the politics of scandal, and the crisis of political legitimacy in a global
perspective. It also puts forward the notion that the development of interactive,
horizontal networks of communication has induced the rise of a new form of
communication, mass self-communication, over the Internet and wireless
communication networks. Under these conditions, insurgent politics and social
movements are able to intervene more decisively in the new communication space.
However, corporate media and mainstream politics have also invested in this new
communication space. As a result of these processes, mass media and horizontal
communication networks are converging. The net outcome of this evolution is a
historical shift of the public sphere from the institutional realm to the new
communication space.

Original URL

http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/46/35

http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/46/35