Funkcje mediów w demokracjach
Functions of Media in Democracies

Summary/Abstract: The belief in the effectiveness and power of media influence causes politicians, media communication specialists, and democracy theorists to use the media for promotional activities aimed at shaping and persuading public opinion and improving it through education and empowerment. It turns out, however, that reading numerous conceptualizations of media functions depends on the way democracy is understood, how politics is perceived, and what is the role of public opinion in the system. The article places various concepts of media missions (from the Hutchins Commission social responsibility trend, through the conceptualizations of Gurevitch, Blumler, Zaller, to participatory journalism and public journalism) in the context of three basic types of democracy: liberal, elitist and participatory, deliberative. Such consideration of democracies and the functions of the media allows for a better understanding of the observed tendencies to appropriate media by politicians and transnational corporations, media concentration processes, and hopes for the revival of journalism and the public sphere in social media.

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