Media for future democracies in Europe

From September 24 to 26, researchers of the European scientific research project Mapping Media for Future Democracies (MeDeMAP) met at the University of Applied Sciences in St. Pölten, Austria.

The purpose of the latest working meeting was to present and discuss the project’s current findings and to plan future activities, with a focus on disseminating the results.

The meeting centered on reports detailing extensive audience analyses conducted through focus groups and interviews, as well as the organization and implementation of Citizens’ Parliaments on media and democracy in four partner countries.

Researchers from the Peace Institute presented key findings across various panels.

Brankica Petković, project leader at the Peace Institute, introduced 30 resolutions formulated by citizens in the framework of the Citizens’ Parliament on media and democracy, placing them in the context of the current Slovenian media landscape. These demands were already presented to the Slovenian public in June and represent a direct voice of citizens on how media should contribute to a democratic society.

Tjaša Turnšek presented preliminary results from the analysis of the Citizens’ Parliament, focusing on two key research questions: how democracy and media are constructed in the participatory process, and how participants envision the democratic roles of media in the formulated resolutions and in the process itself. Initial results indicate that citizens call for a stronger interventionist role of the state in media regulation, the provision of socially relevant media content, and the strengthening of media literacy as a crucial precondition for active participation in democratic processes.

Mojca Pajnik presented the outline of an academic article critically analyzing dominant perceptions of audience distrust in the media. The article highlights how citizens navigate the contemporary media environment both emotionally and epistemologically, showing that skepticism and cynicism are not merely signs of alienation, but productive strategies for orienting oneself in the media landscape.

In the coming months, the project team will focus on a more detailed analysis of the Citizens’ Parliament as well as on dissemination and publication of the findings, with the aim of contributing to a deeper understanding of the relationship between media and democracy in Europe.