Suchergebnisse

Digital communication technologies, social web platforms, and mobile communication have fundamentally altered the way we communicate publicly. They have also changed our perception of space, thus making a re-calibration of a spatial perspective on public communication necessary. We argue that such a new perspective must consider the relational logic of public communication, which stands in stark contrast to the plain territorial notion of space common in communication research. Conceptualising the spatiality of public communication, we draw on Löw's (2016) sociology of space. Her relational concept of space encourages us to pay more attention to (a) the infrastructural basis of communication, (b) the operations of synthesising the relational communication space through discursive practices, and (c) power relations that determine the accessibility of public communication. Thus, focusing on infrastructures and discursive practices means highlighting crucial socio-material preconditions of public communication and considering the effects of the power relations which are inherent in their spatialisation upon the inclusivity of public communication. This new approach serves a dual purpose: Firstly, it works as an analytical perspective to systematically account for the spatiality of public communication. Secondly, the differentiation between infrastructural spaces and spaces of discursive practices adds explanatory value to the perspective of relational communication spaces.

Ziel des Projektes war die Erforschung lokaler Öffentlichkeiten unter den Bedingungen der Differenzierung öffentlicher Kommunikation. Denn der öffentliche Austausch zwischen politischen Akteuren wie der Stadtverwaltung sowie Bürgerinnen und Bürgern stellt eine zentrale Voraussetzung für eine funktionierende, lebendige Demokratie dar. Insbesondere für die lokale Demokratie – die mit der regionalen, nationalen und auch globalen Ebene politischer Ereignisse um die Aufmerksamkeit konkurriert. Der nun vorliegende Monitor der lokalen Öffentlichkeit soll es lokalen Akteuren und anderen Institutionen ermöglichen, zu erfassen und zu beobachten, wie deutsche Städte mit den Herausforderungen des gesellschaftlichen Wandels vor dem Hintergrund veränderter Informations- und Kommunikationsbedingungen umgehen. Er soll im Längs- wie im Querschnittsvergleich Veränderungen zeigen. Der Anfang ist mit dem entwickelten Prototyp gemacht, der erste, exemplarische Vergleiche zwischen den vier Fallstädten Cottbus, Kassel, Osnabrück und Pforzheim zulässt.

Despite the research tradition in analyzing public communication, local public spheres have been rather neglected by communication science, although they are crucial for social cohesion and democracy. Existing empirical studies about local public spheres are mostly case studies which implicitly assume that cities are alike. Based on a participatory-liberal understanding of democracy, we develop a theoretical framework, from which we derive a monitor covering structural, social, and spatial aspects of local communication to empirically compare local public spheres along four dimensions: (1) information, (2) participation, (3) inclusion, and (4) diversity. In a pilot study, we then apply our monitor to four German cities that are comparable in size and regional function ('regiopolises'). The monitoring framework is built on local statistical data, some of which was provided by the cities, while some came from our own research. We show that the social structures and the normative assessment of the quality of local public spheres can vary among similar cities and between the four dimensions. We hope the innovative monitor prototype enables scholars and local actors to compare local public spheres across spaces, places, and time, and to investigate the impact of social change and digitalization on local public spheres.

Despite the research tradition in analyzing public communication, local public spheres have been rather neglected by communication science, although they are crucial for social cohesion and democracy. Existing empirical studies about local public spheres are mostly case studies which implicitly assume that cities are alike. Based on a participatory-liberal understanding of democracy, we develop a theoretical framework, from which we derive a monitor covering structural, social, and spatial aspects of local communication to empirically compare local public spheres along four dimensions: (1) information, (2) participation, (3) inclusion, and (4) diversity. In a pilot study, we then apply our monitor to four German cities that are comparable in size and regional function ('regiopolises'). The monitoring framework is built on local statistical data, some of which was provided by the cities, while some came from our own research. We show that the social structures and the normative assessment of the quality of local public spheres can vary among similar cities and between the four dimensions. We hope the innovative monitor prototype enables scholars and local actors to compare local public spheres across spaces, places, and time, and to investigate the impact of social change and digitalization on local public spheres.

Ziel des Projektes war die Erforschung lokaler Öffentlichkeiten unter den Bedingungen der Differenzierung öffentlicher Kommunikation. Denn der öffentliche Austausch zwischen politischen Akteuren wie der Stadtverwaltung sowie Bürgerinnen und Bürgern stellt eine zentrale Voraussetzung für eine funktionierende, lebendige Demokratie dar. Insbesondere für die lokale Demokratie - die mit der regionalen, nationalen und auch globalen Ebene politischer Ereignisse um die Aufmerksamkeit konkurriert. Der nun vorliegende Monitor der lokalen Öffentlichkeit soll es lokalen Akteuren und anderen Institutionen ermöglichen, zu erfassen und zu beobachten, wie deutsche Städte mit den Herausforderungen des gesellschaftlichen Wandels vor dem Hintergrund veränderter Informations- und Kommunikationsbedingungen umgehen. Er soll im Längs- wie im Querschnittsvergleich Veränderungen zeigen. Der Anfang ist mit dem entwickelten Prototyp gemacht, der erste, exemplarische Vergleiche zwischen den vier Fallstädten Cottbus, Kassel, Osnabrück und Pforzheim zulässt.

Despite the research tradition in analyzing public communication, local public spheres have been rather neglected by communication science, although they are crucial for social cohesion and democracy. Existing empirical studies about local public spheres are mostly case studies which implicitly assume that cities are alike. Based on a participatory-liberal understanding of democracy, we develop a theoretical framework, from which we derive a monitor covering structural, social, and spatial aspects of local communication to empirically compare local public spheres along four dimensions: (1) information, (2) participation, (3) inclusion, and (4) diversity. In a pilot study, we then apply our monitor to four German cities that are comparable in size and regional function ('regiopolises'). The monitoring framework is built on local statistical data, some of which was provided by the cities, while some came from our own research. We show that the social structures and the normative assessment of the quality of local public spheres can vary among similar cities and between the four dimensions. We hope the innovative monitor prototype enables scholars and local actors to compare local public spheres across spaces, places, and time, and to investigate the impact of social change and digitalization on local public spheres.

In this study, we theoretically conceptualize and empirically investigate translocal spatial arrangements of networked public spheres on social media. In digital communication networks, actors easily connect with others globally, crossing the borders of cities, nations and languages. However, the spatial notions evoked in public sphere research to date remain largely territorial. We propose a theoretical framework drawing on Löw's sociology of space, which highlights the relational and translocal nature of spatial arrangements. In a case study of the translocal interaction network of Berlin Twitter users, we demonstrate how this framework can be leveraged empirically using network analysis. Despite the overall network of Berlin's Twittersphere spanning the whole world, we find territorialized as well as deterritorialized translocal communities. This points to the simultaneity of territorial and networked spatial logics in digital public spheres.