Citizenship

Citizenship is a political identity and a way of seeing oneself as a participant in politics with a sense of belonging to a community. In technologically advanced, modern societies, media, politics, and citizenship are linked together, and in various ways, media can serve the needs of citizens and help them participate in political life. The concept of the “public sphere” is a central formulation for understanding this function of media as a vehicle for informing the public about politics and bringing the public together around matters of shared political concern, functioning as a form of civic culture. Of all kinds of media, journalism is most often seen as critical to civic culture, but pop culture and entertainment also fulfills this function. The internet as a platform for communities has also been critical for sustaining civic culture, and especially for inviting the participation of diverse counterpublics of online participants.