Overview
Media transparency deals with the openness and accountability of the media and can be defined as a transparent exchange of information subsidies based on the ideas of newsworthiness. Media transparency is one of the biggest challenges of contemporary everyday media practices around the world as media outlets and journalists constantly experience pressures from advertisers, information sources, publishers, and other influential groups. News sources may influence what information is published or not published. Sometimes, published information can also be paid for by news sources, but the end media product (an article, a program, a blog post) does not clearly indicate that the message has been paid or influenced in any way. Such media opacity, or media non-transparency, ruins the trust and transparency between the media and the public and have implications for transparency of new forms of advertising and public relations (such as native advertising and brand journalism). Media transparency is defined to be a normative concept and is achieved when: 1) there are many competing sources of information; 2) the method of information delivery is known; and 3) funding of media production is disclosed and publicly available. An important note concerning Media Transparency is the use of ICT's, which can be defined as "Information and Communication Technology". ICT's are the online ways in which communication will be discussed in the following sections of this entry page.The Background of ICT'S and Transparency (Heidegger and McLuhan)
Transparency using the Internet has been a large fascination of social scientists, and the research surrounding transparency continues to grow. The basis to understanding transparency and technology is emphasized by Yoni Van Den Eede to be the work of Martin Heidegger and Marshall McLuhan. Eede claims, "In recent years several approaches--philosophical, sociological, psychological-- have been developed to come to grips with our profoundly technologically mediated world" (Eede, 2011). Yet continues to explain that these recent discoveries would have not been made without the work first accomplished concerning media and technology by Heidegger and McLuhan. Martin Heidegger began the studies without using the word transparency, but its relevance is clear within his "Tool Analysis". The "Tool Analysis" argues that one is never aware of the tools they use in their every life until it no longer functions as it should, or as Eede concludes, "the tool is 'transparent' in the sense that we don't notice it "as-tool". The tool in this context is media, and as the study argues we do not notice media and the presence it holds in our life. Eede expands on the Tool Analysis curated by Heidegger as she states there are two ways in which humans use tools, readiness to hand and presence at hand. This separation of readiness and presence is explained further by G. Harman as he argues that the theory proposed by Heidgger can be understood through what we consciously view as helpful versus what is unconsciously helping us (humankind). Harman claims, "If I observe a table and try to describe its appearance, I silently rely on a vast armada of invisible things that recede into a tacit background. The table that hovers visibly before my mind is outnumbered by all the invisible items that sustain my current reality: floor, oxygen, air conditioning, bodily organs"(Harman, 2010). Through understanding this 'table' analogy, one can conclude that the table in this sense is technology, and its use to create transparency and understanding within society concerning social and economic doings of government and the greater power of which governs each nation and entity is the vast background of which is overlooked, just as the surroundings of the table are. Through this understanding of theory, transparency can then be further explored for its major importance in creating ones environment consciously and unconsciously. Another important theorist to consider when researching ICT's and transparency is Marshall McLuhan who is coined for the term "the medium is the message". McLuhan conducted his work within the 1960s, with the introduction of the global village and age of technology use in communications. The concept of transparency is heavily explored within McLuhan's media theory which examines the media as the channels of medium in which media is presented (television, radio, etc.) which are then defined to be the real messages of the media themselves, and emphasis is placed upon understanding the means of medium rather than content itself as they "manifest themselves first and foremost in the way we perceive, process and interpret sense data" (Eede, 2011). Through understanding the actual medium to be the message, and as the medium itself creates a greater understanding and transparent view of the world around us, one can conclude that McLuhan's work is essential to then looking to understand why ICT's and a sense of transparency concerning day to day life, government work, and national/ global work is of importance. McLuhan, to summarize, concluded that society must be more involved, and that its participates are actively looking to be more involved as they navigate their social understanding and surrounding.Propaganda and Media Transparency
Within the study conducted by the Government Information Quarterly, Media Transparency is understood through means of its ability to aid societies with openness and anti-corruption. This unbiased approach at understanding media transparency specifically deals with how media transparency is an important aspect of social and economic development. The article cited explores the four main channels of transparency at the governmental level; proactive dissemination by the government; release of requested materials by the government; public meetings; and leaks from whistleblowers. These four means of communication help to deter any type of negative propaganda posed by governments and officials and work towards complete transparency of which is arguably necessary to create a thriving social and economic system. Propaganda stands to be a threat to accurate distribution and intake of information, of which disrupts all that transparency works to accomplish. The following sections open on greater aspects of Propaganda, and different ways in which transparency is disrupted as well.Media Bribery and Corruption
Corruption and Media Bribery are large concepts of interest when considering the importance of Media Transparency. The concept of Media Bribery emerged in response to claims of bias within the media. This lack of media transparency can be perceived as a form of corruption. Media transparency is a means to diminish unethical and illegal practices in the relationships between news sources and the media. Within a study conducted by the Government Information Quarterly it is stated that, "The focus on corruption as an economic issue has been part of an overall rise in global interest in transparency. Internationally, corruption has received great attention since 1990 due to fears of increasing opportunities for illicit activity due to globalization (Brown & Cloke, 2005)". There are many areas of concern when it comes to bribery and corruption, specifically law enforcement and government regulation. Corruption of the media and barriers to transparency can be captured through means of propaganda and misinformation. These can be actively be worked against through means of administrative reform, stricter watch and regulation of law enforcement, and through means of social change.Media Transparency and Power (George Gerbner and Cultivation Theory)
Academics at theElectronic Government
The creation of an Electronic Government and the use of the internet along with social media is a new way to get information concerning government work and service to citizens. The use of media in all electronic forms is argued to be an “influential factor in the restoration of trust in government because it has the potential to improve government performance and transparency” within the study published by the Public Performance and Management Review (Song and Lee, 2016). The study continues to argue that many studies have reported that through information and transaction services available on government websites, citizens feel a sense of effectiveness, accessibility, responsiveness, and satisfaction, all of which constitute an overall sense of trust in government. These information and transaction services are more specifically categorized as social media sites that connect citizens to their government. Song and Lee conclude that, “social media can be defined as a group of Web 2.0 technologies that facilitate interactions between users ..By their nature, social media afford easy access to information through convenient devices like cell phones and tablets, enable user-created content, and provide visible social connections” (Song and Lee, 2016). From a citizens perspective, transparency is attained through understanding their local governments actions and movements, along with creating open lines of communication; all of which can be done through social media and other means of online communication. Song and Lee conclude following their experiment concerning media use in relation to government that " social media in government enable citizens to gain easier access to government and be more informed about current events, policies, or programs, heightening their perception of transparency in government" (Song and Lee, 2016). This conclusion argues for social media presence in governmental action and role in order to create transparency; media transparency is needed for a cohesive and close-knit society.Trust in Government and Transparency (Coleman)
The ability to curate trust is essential within the means of transparency and communication. Within the article published by Changsoo Song and Jooho Lee, the two explain trust though work compiled by social theorist J.S Coleman as he looks to simply trust through equivocal explanation. The study states that, "Three essential elements” are used in explaining what leads a potential trustor (e.g., the citizen) to vest trust in a trustee (e.g., the government): p = chance of receiving gain (i.e., the probability that the trustee is trustworthy), L = potential loss (if the trustee is untrustworthy), and G =potential gain (if the trustee is trustworthy) (Coleman, 1990, p. 99)". Song and Lee then apply this framework to governmental context and conclude that role of information is necessary in trust-building as governments must perform or take in action in their citizens interest (and visibly show this action or performance via social media), in order to gain trust in and respect for their work.See also
*References
Further Reading and Videos in order to Gain Greater Perspective on the Topic
* * {{cite journal, doi=10.1111/j.1541-0072.2009.00348.x, title=Local Media and Experts: Sources of Environmental Policy Initiation?, journal=Policy Studies Journal, volume=38, pages=143–164, year=2010, last1=Crow, first1=Deserai Anderson, citeseerx=10.1.1.298.1546 *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3n65fa40JM (McLuhan Hot and Cold Theory) Freedom of expression Sources (journalism) Transparency Transparency Sociological terminology