The document discusses citizens' participation in media, focusing on public opinion programs on television and online comment features. It examines theories of participation, examples of participatory media formats, and a case study of a television program in Spain called Banda Ampla that incorporates audience participation and feedback.

1. The Publics in Reception:
citizens’ participation in the media
Fábio Ribeiro
Communication & Society Research Centre
University of Minho (Braga – Portugal)
MediaED Lab
Training course
7-16 May 2012 | Riga, Bernati, Latvia

2. Introduction
Citizens’ participation? Media?
What are we talking about exactly?

3. Some fields of study
Public opinion programmes in TV and radio
Online comment box in newspapers’ website
Letter-to-the-editor

4. Getting to know
some cases
Fórum TSF - TSF
Banda Ampla – TV3 [Spain]

5. Making the room, a public
opinion programme
Today’s topic
Is important that people participate in
media?
How media should motivate them to
engage?

6. Making the room, a public
opinion programme
3,2,1....On Air!

7. Theoretical approaches to
participation
Your key words to define the
concept of ‘participation’

8. Theoretical approaches to
participation
An adaption of the citizen: «a set of a determined group of roles given by the
context and the requirements of a participative format hold by one media
institution» Espen Yterberg (2004: 678)
Connection with the digital: «new group of feedback opportunities, fostered
by the digital era» (2008: 106)
As a flow: «it represents not only an element of social organization, but also
processes which dominate our economic, political and symbolical life»
Castells (2005: 436)
A motivation output: «participation is a symbol of someone’s motivation to
develop its own inclusive concept of citizenship» Kiwan, (2007: 228)

9. Theoretical approaches to
participation
Redistribution of power: «including citizens absent from the political and
economical decision making processes, so that they can be considered in
future resolutions» (1969: 216).
A democratic behaviour: «one of the most intents to overcome the
contradictions between citizens’ civic engagement and political system such as
democracy» Barbrook (cit. por Hamilton, 2003: 297)
A affair technique: media only ask for citizens’ contribution when they
absolutely need it. Random strategy which gives audiences the supreme
illusion of being part of civil and media society. Rosa Alfaro Moreno (2006)

10. Roots of participation
The public forums and debates in
ancient Greece: the archaeology of
citizens’ engagement?
Since the Homeric period (XII – VIII b. C.), the king
used to organize an assembly to understand what
kind of opinions were mentioned by the citizens. All
the subjects were related to the daily life in Athens.

11. Citizenship and participation?
Participating means a specific bounding to civil
society? Or do people simple participate on
their own? Are we steeping up a ladder from
being passive to active?

12. Measuring media willingness
to let people talk
One critical about the role Other one, who phrasing
of media, who does not the active role of media, as
open people to talk in their a source of citizens’
formats speech

13. Measuring media willingness
to let people talk
Critical Supporting media
Cefai & Pasquier (2003): Mendes (2004): media are practical
there is no such thing as a institutions of our identity;
strong and engaged public; Rosalia Winocur (2003): a growing
Todd Gitlin (2002): media relationship, between media and
just send in images on an citizens and becoming more
endless spinning basis. interesting as media often bring to
public space those questions raised by
their audiences.

14. Participation a key to media
literacy?
Participate as a way of expression, release tension, show
(dis)agreement;
how are media motivate to participate? Just through social media?;
More than watch and learn: building a comfortable common space;
Participate means active control towards media/ watchdog
journalism; recent case in Spain, with SPORT newspaper.

15. Participation a key to media
literacy?

16. Participation a key to media
literacy?

17. Have your say: formats of
public expression in media
of your countries
Latvia
Czech Republic
Slovakia
France Romania
Slovenia
Italy Bulgaria
Portugal Spain
Greece

18. Experiences contacting the audiences

19. Citizens’ participation media in television:
the case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know Banda Ampla

20. Citizens’ participation media in television:
the case of Banda Ampla
Interactive formats with audiences

21. Citizens’ participation in television: the
case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know social representations
and participative routines
Gender Age
29 | 22
How often do you watch TV?
39 of 51 watch TV every day.
How often do you watch Banda Ampla?
Nearly half of the inquiriees rarely watches: 20
Low number of participants who watch everytime: 5

22. Citizens’ participation in television: the
case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know social representations
and participative routines
How often do you participate outside the studio?
45 of 51 have never participated before
Just 2 have participated: one once in a month, the other
twice or more montly
Through which platform?
Email and Banda Ampla’s Facebook page
Why?
Both argued it is a fast and direct medium for interact
with the programme.

23. Citizens’ participation in television: the
case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know social representations
and participative routines
Obstacles towards public intervention in audience
discussion programmes: What can explain an eventual lack
of participants in these formats?

24. Citizens’ participation in television: the
case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know social representations
and participative routines
Obstacles towards public intervention in audience
discussion programmes: What can explain an eventual lack
of participants in these formats?
Note: [two alternative chosen]

25. Citizens’ participation in television: the
case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know social representations
and participative routines
Motivations towards participation live in studio
What can explain the desire to participate of the public

26. Citizens’ participation in television: the
case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know social representations
and participative routines
Motivations towards participation live in studio
What can explain the desire to participate of the public
Note: [two alternative chosen]

27. Citizens’ participation in television: the
case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know social representations
and participative routines
Do you participate in other similiar programmes?

28. Citizens’ participation in television: the
case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know social representations
and participative routines
Are public opinion programmes fundamental
so that television continues to be a relevant
and important media? All of them have agreed.
How come?

29. Citizens’ participation in television: the
case of Banda Ampla
Getting to know social representations
and participative routines
Could television be somehow different in the absence
of these programmes?
Is it fundamental for the public and other media to keep
counting with citizens’ participation in this scope?

30. Final remarks
Participation became a common genre in
audiovisual and online media, due to:
New technologies of interaction
Participation is not that expensive when compared with
some other programs
Participation confirms the post-modernist thesis
according to which people want to ‘make part of’ (‘tribal
time’ in Maffesoli’s expression)

31. Final remarks
However…
Participation without any concrete objective may
develop risk of hollow and nonsense interventions
How to improve participation standards?
How to take advantages of participatory tools to really
get people involved in public affairs?