Journalism in the new communicational environment: a reassessment of the notion of “journalism as an expert system”

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/0103-2070.ts.2022.195368

Keywords:

Journalism, Expert system, Post-truth, Crisis of democracy

Abstract

The article reviews, in the light of  contemporary transformations in the communicational environment, the notion that journalism operates as an “expert system” – a system of expertise that receives trust by users who are technically unable to evaluate it. New technologies have increased competition in the discursive space, dissolving the monopoly of journalism and eroding its sources of funding. At the same time, radical epistemic uncertainty (“post-truth”) and the  insulating of the public in closed enclaves compromise its legitimacy. This situation contributes to the crisis
of democracy, since its functioning presupposed a minimum level of agreement on the agenda and on the relevant facts, which journalism  supplied.

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Author Biography

  • Luis Felipe Miguel, Universidade de Brasília

    Professor do Instituto de Ciência Política da UnB, onde coordena o Grupo de Pesquisa sobre Democracia e Desigualdades (Demodê), e pesquisador do CNPq. Autor, entre outros, dos livros Democracia e representação: territórios em disputa (Editora Unesp, 2014) e Democracia na periferia capitalista: impasses do Brasil (Autêntica, 2022).

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Published

2022-08-29

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Section

Articles

How to Cite

Miguel, L. F. (2022). Journalism in the new communicational environment: a reassessment of the notion of “journalism as an expert system”. Tempo Social, 34(2), 195-216. https://doi.org/10.11606/0103-2070.ts.2022.195368