Media and Morality

Roger Silverstone's compelling new book places the global media atthe heart of the moral future of civilisation. It argues that themedia (the press, broadcasting, the Internet and increasinglypeer-to-peer technologies and networks) have a profoundsignificance for the way in which the world is understood by itscitizens. It also argues that without a clear understanding of thatsignificance, and without a critique of the way in which the mediago about their daily business, we are likely to see an erosion inthe capacity of human beings to understand and respect each other,especially those whom they see and hear only in their mediation.
In a world of increasing polarisation and demonisation, themedia have a powerful role to play. They can reinforce or they canchallenge that polarisation. The book proposes that we should thinkof the global media as a mediapolis, a single space of politicaland social communication, in which the basis for the relationshipsbetween neighbours and strangers can be either constructed ordestroyed. The mediapolis is a moral space, a space of hospitality,responsibility, obligation and judgement. And questioning itspresent and future requires attention to issues of media justice,media literacy and media regulation.
Media and Morality is essential reading for all studentsand scholars of the media but will be of equal fascination toanyone interested in the workings of our modern world.