Media & communications - openDemocracy (Page 140)

Britain is considering mass censorship of the net: all to tackle porn

The UK is considering default censorship of legal, adult material. Sensible, you might think. But who says what qualifies? We may wake up in a world where BT decides what is 'adult content' and Aids awareness websites are blocked as a default. Now is the time to make your thoughts known.

By Ruth Coustick

/ 5 Sep 2012

We Are Fed Up! The power of a new generation of Sudanese youth activists

The recent protests in Sudan attest to the rise of a new generation of Sudanese youth activists. At the heart of this emerging political force is Girifna, a youth-led movement which has been using internet power, confrontational street tactics, and advocacy to stand up to the regime of Omar al-Bas

By Anonymous .

/ 31 Aug 2012

WikiLeaks and network-era news

The WikiLeaks storm of 2010 seems to be spent. But as a symptom of what is happening to journalism the WikiLeaks phenomenon carries profound significance, says Charlie Beckett.

By Charlie Beckett

/ 15 Aug 2012

The Fire and the Games: how London’s Olympic opening confronted corporate values

London 2012's opening ceremony had a lot to say about the British and their homeland. Behind the eccentricity and humour lay a radical challenge to neoliberalism and the corporate control that the City of London thrives upon, and the Games have embraced. It showed that a different form of popular

By Anthony Barnett

/ 30 Jul 2012

One year after terrorism struck Norway: taking stock

Key figures in the Norwegian media have acted on the assumption that open confrontation with right-wing bloggers and activists is the most effective strategy to combat extremism.

By Anders Ravik Jupskås and Tore Wig

/ 24 Jul 2012

Notes from the Editor-in-Chief

Our Editor-in-Chief launches a new front page feature. His first note reflects on Norway's past year and the need for eternal vigilance both against online hate speech and the new manacles on internet freedom in the pipeline.

By Magnus Nome

/ 23 Jul 2012

Exploring the commons

Today's rediscovery of the notion of the commons stems directly from the need to regulate and to explore how to enable the collaborative action of a multiplicity of protagonists who are autonomous and so not governable by simple authoritative mechanisms.

By Marco Berlinguer

/ 12 Jul 2012

The commons: beyond the market vs. state dilemma

Elinor Ostrom, the Nobel Prizewinner who died this week, pioneered this work. Value is created through the logic of sharing with others in an open and even casual way. Innovation is no longer a monopoly, unassailably colonised by mercantile initiative.

By Joan Subirats

/ 12 Jul 2012

Reinventing democracy in Europe: introducing the week

The economic and social travails sweeping through Europe can be traced to an imperceptible but seismic shift in the ground of European democracy. This is the takeover and corruption of democratic politics by an amalgam of economic and political elites, a change poorly compensated for by the rise o

By Ash Amin

/ 10 Jul 2012

Reclaiming democratic demands from the populists

As citizens lose confidence in democratic institutions, xenophobic populist parties thrive and join their voices to the critique of the state of national and European democracies. Their arguments often coincide with those of liberal or leftist critics, but their goals are radically different

By Jordi Vaquer

/ 10 Jul 2012

Russian journalists: poor, venal… but (usually) honest

Journalism in Russia has never been easy, but today the complications are many. If you write to order, you may be financially better off but you will be despised. If you are honest, then you can end up risking life and limb. But despite the dangers there are still journalists prepared to stand up

By Mikhail Loginov

/ 6 Jul 2012

Breaking the chains of linear programming: an open letter to the future DG

In order to satisfy its commitment to technological innovation, the BBC needs to place greater emphasis on experiments with interactive programming. Recognising this is not a case of smoke and mirrors but imperative to representing the public interest.

By Mandy Rose

/ 28 Jun 2012