Medienheft, July 04, 2005
The voice of the public
Mobile ringtones, competitions, product placement – TV broadcasters are trying hard to come up with new revenue models. But the transformation of television, formerly a cultural asset, into a mere consumer good doesn’t go down too well with the viewers, since free market-economy increasingly tends to regard them as consumers, and consumers only. What is missing, according to experts, is a neutral platform for civil society. Could a kind of “Media Council”, modelled after societies for consumer protection, act as an independent watchdog for the media?
An extended version of the article appeared in Neue Zürcher Zeitung, April 8, 2005: Schmerzliche Gedächtnislücken
Mobile ringtones, competitions, product placement – TV broadcasters are trying hard to come up with new revenue models. But the transformation of television, formerly a cultural asset, into a mere consumer good doesn’t go down too well with the viewers, since free market-economy increasingly tends to regard them as consumers, and consumers only. What is missing, according to experts, is a neutral platform for civil society. Could a kind of “Media Council”, modelled after societies for consumer protection, act as an independent watchdog for the media?
An extended version of the article appeared in Neue Zürcher Zeitung, April 8, 2005: Schmerzliche Gedächtnislücken
