Abstract
Democracies often represent themselves as being ‘free societies’ where the electorate wields power, in contrast to totalitarian states where dictatorships rule. In order for a democracy to work properly its citizens need an unrestricted flow of information on which to base their vote. The press is seen to have an important role in this and journalists are thought to offer a check on potential abuses of power perpetrated by those in government; they act as a ‘fourth estate’. However, as Graham Murdock (1994) pointed out, having access to information is only one aspect of possessing ‘cultural rights’, which he sees as being crucial to citizenship.
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© 2002 Nick Lacey
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Lacey, N. (2002). Audience as Citizens. In: Media, Institutions and Audiences. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4039-9046-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4039-9046-4_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-65870-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4039-9046-4
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