The current book asserts that reality television serves a broader social purpose than simple entertainment. Instead, this type of programing can best be understood as a revealing exposition on contemporary politics, culture, and social issues. Reality television addresses many different social groups. The book primarily examines the social and political messages conveyed by reality television to its viewers. Focusing on the notion of consumer citizenship, the study analyzes the German television program Deutschland sucht den Superstar (Germany seeks a Superstar) as a reflection of contemporary social and political issues in Germany. Dissertation. (Series: Kulturwissenschaft / Cultural Studies / Estudios Culturales / Ã?Â?tudes Culturelles, Vol. 53) [Subject: Media Studies, Popular Culture, German Studies]

`This is an illuminating and topical study, which skilfully blends together theoretical and empirical analysis in search of the "citizen-consumer". It should become a key text for all with an interest in public service reform and the "choice" agenda, as well as consumerism and citizenship′ - Ruth Lister, Professor of Social Policy, University of Loughborough Political, popular and academic debates have swirled around the notion of the citizen as a consumer of public services, with public service reform increasingly geared towards a consumer society. This innovative book draws on original research with those people in the front-line of the reforms - staff, managers and users of public services - to explore their responses to this turn to consumerism. Creating Citizen-Consumers explores a range of theoretical, political, policy and practice issues that arise in the shift towards consumerism. It draws on recent controversies about choice to examine the tensions of modernising public services to meet the demands of a consumer society. The book offers a fresh and challenging understanding of the relationships between people and services, and argues for a model based on interdependence, respect and partnership rather than choice. This original book makes a distinctive contribution to debates about the future of public services. It will be of interest to those studying social policy, cultural studies, public administration and management across the social sciences, as well as for those working in public services. John Clarke is a Professor of Social Policy at the Open University. Janet Newman is a Professor of Social Policy at the Open University. Nick Smith is a Research Officer in the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent. Elizabeth Vidler is a Project Officer in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Open University. Louise Westmarland is a Lecturer in Criminology at the Open University.

Choice Top 25 Academic Title How activists and minority communities use media to facilitate social change and achieve cultural citizenship. Among the most well-known YouTubers are a cadre of talented Asian American performers, including comedian Ryan Higa and makeup artist Michelle Phan. Yet beneath the sheen of these online success stories lies a problem—Asian Americans remain sorely underrepresented in mainstream film and television. When they do appear on screen, they are often relegated to demeaning stereotypes such as the comical foreigner, the sexy girlfriend, or the martial arts villain. The story that remains untold is that as long as these inequities have existed, Asian Americans have been fighting back—joining together to protest offensive imagery, support Asian American actors and industry workers, and make their voices heard. Providing a cultural history and ethnography, Asian American Media Activism assesses everything from grassroots collectives in the 1970s up to contemporary engagements by fan groups, advertising agencies, and users on YouTube and Twitter. In linking these different forms of activism, Lori Kido Lopez investigates how Asian American media activism takes place and evaluates what kinds of interventions are most effective. Ultimately, Lopez finds that activists must be understood as fighting for cultural citizenship, a deeper sense of belonging and acceptance within a nation that has long rejected them.

"In this superb account of how the British and American news mediarepresent everyday citizens and public opinion, the authors show howcoverage of politics and policy debates subtly - even inadvertently - urgepeople to see themselves as and thus to be politically passive,disengaged and cynical. The book's analysis of how journalistsmisrepresent, even invent, public opinion is alone worth the price ofadmission. Written with great verve, passion and unswerving clarity,Citizens or Consumers? promises to become an instant classic in the studyof the failings--and the still untapped promise--of the news media tofurther democracy." Susan J. Douglas, Catherine Neafie Kellogg Professor and Chair,Department of Communication Studies, The University of Michigan "Based on an exhaustive cross-Atlantic empirical study, Citizens or Consumers? is an engaging and incisive contribution to a subject usually restricted to clichés and vague generalizations. Looking not only at how media impact upon their audiences, but the manner in which that influence is mediated by the way in which citizenship itself is represented in news stories, Lewis et. al. offer us unusual and keen insight into a familiar world. Written in an engaging and lively style, first year students and experienced faculty members (as well as general readers) will benefit from its many perceptive insights. Especially useful are the last few pages which suggest how journalists might alter their representation practices to invoke citizenship rather than passive consumerism." Sut JhallyProfessor of Communication, University of Massachusetts at AmherstFounder & Executive Director, Media Education Foundation "The two great duelists for our attention - citizens and consumers - are locked in a struggle for the future of democracy. Citizens or Consumers? offers its readers a sharp lesson in how the media highlight and distort that struggle. It's the kind of lesson we all need." Toby Miller, author of Cultural Citizenship. In recent years there has been much concern about the general decline in civic participation in both Britain and the United States - especially among young people. At the same time we have seen declining budgets for serious domestic and international news and current affairs amidst widespread accusations of a “dumbing down” in the coverage of public affairs. This book enters the debate by asking whether the news media have played a role in producing a passive citizenry. And, if so, what might be done about it? Based on the largest study of the media coverage of public opinion and citizenship in Britain and the United States, this book argues that while most of us learn about politics and public affairs from the news media, we rarely see or read about examples of an active, engaged citizenry. Key reading for students in media and cultural studies, politics and journalism studies.

"An exemplary study of how media regulation works (and, by implication, how it could work better) set within a wider discussion of democratic theory and political values. It will be of interest not only to students and scholars but to people around the world grappling with the same problem: the need to regulate markets, and the difficulty of doing this well." - James Curran, Goldsmiths, University of London In Media Regulation, two leading scholars of the media examine the challenges of regulation in the global mediated sphere. This book explores the way that regulation affects the relations between government, the media and communications market, civil society, citizens and consumers. Drawing on theories of governance and the public sphere, the book critically analyzes issues at the heart of today′s media, from the saturation of advertising to burdens on individuals to control their own media literacy. Peter Lunt and Sonia Livingstone incisively lay bare shifts in governance and the new role of the public sphere which implicate self-regulation, the public interest, the role of civil society and the changing risks and opportunities for citizens and consumers. It is essential reading to understand the forces that are reshaping the media landscape.

"Americans spend far more time thinking about what to buy, and what not to buy, than they do about politics. Political leaders often make political claims while using consumer terminology. And political decisions resemble consumer decisions in surprising ways. Together, these forces help give rise to the consumer-citizen: A person who depends on tools and techniques familiar from consumer life to make sense of politics. Understanding citizens as consumer-citizens has implications for a broad array of topics related to public opinion and political behaviour. More than a dozen new experiments make clear that appealing to the consumer-citizen as consumer-citizen can increase trust in government, improve attitudes toward taxes, and enhance political knowledge. Indeed, such appeals can even cause people to sign up for government-sponsored health insurance. However, the consumer-citizen may also prefer candidates whose policies would explicitly undercut their own self-interest. Two concepts from consumer psychology, consumer fairness and operational transparency, are especially useful for understanding the consumer citizen. Although the rise of the consumer-citizen may trouble democratic theorists, the lessons of the consumer-citizen can be applied to a new approach to civic education, with the aim of enriching democracy and public life"--

Today, Americans face the challenge of information overload through increasingly accessible mediums, making it harder to identify valuable information and to move fluently and efficiently through social media, news and entertainment platforms. And yet, because of this profound connectivity, user engagement levels are at an all-time high. Individual consumers have more power than ever to shape the changing digital world and demand high-quality information merely by connecting with news sources online. It is of utmost importance, then, that this very consumer class is as informed and educated as possible in regards to the value of accurate, verified journalism and high-quality reporting, in order to demand a better journalistic product and to fulfill the American ideal of an informed, engaged citizenry.

MCKINSEY TOP 5 RECOMMENDED READ 'An underground hit' – Best Politics Books, Financial Times 'Jon has one of the few big ideas that's easily applied' – Sam Conniff, Be More Pirate 'A wonderful guide to how to be human in the 21st Century' – Ece Temelkuran, How to Lose a Country: the Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship Description Citizens opens up a new way of understanding ourselves and shows us what we must do to survive and thrive as individuals, organisations, and nations. Over the past decade, Jon Alexander’s consultancy, the New Citizenship Project, has helped revitalise some of Britain’s biggest organisations including the Co-op, the Guardian and the National Trust. Here, with the New York Times bestselling writer Ariane Conrad, he shows how history is about to enter age of the Citizen. Because when our institutions treat people as creative, empowered creatures rather than consumers, everything changes. Unleashing the power of everyone equips us to face the challenges of economic insecurity, climate crisis, public health threats, and polarisation. Citizens is an upbeat handbook, full of insights, clear examples to follow, and inspiring case studies, from the slums of Kenya to the backstreets of Birmingham – and a foreword by Brian Eno. It is the perfect pick-me-up for leaders, founders, elected officials – and citizens everywhere. Organise and seize the future! Reviews 'Society is like an out of control house party – eating, drinking and consuming everything. Jon is the organiser of the campfire gathering behind the party. It’s calm and welcoming and you won’t want to leave. In Citizens, Jon and Ariane show how to leave the burning house of the Consumer Story and join the campfire that is the Citizen Story.' – Stephen Greene, CEO of RockCorps and founding Chair of National Citizen Service UK 'The belief that every single one of us has both the potential and the desire to make the world better drives me every day, in everything I do. In Citizens, Jon shows how taking that belief as a starting point really could transform our world. This is a truly powerful book, in every sense of the word.' - Josh Babarinde, Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur 'Every great transformation requires a new story. A story that reveals new possibilities and points toward an optimistic alternative to the current situation. Citizens presents just such a story.' – Tim Brown, Chair of IDEO and author of Change By Design 'The shift from consumer to citizen is a truly big idea. If you’re in a position of strategic influence, I strongly recommend you engage with this and consciously explore what it might mean for your organisation.' – Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE, Former Director General, National Trust, and Trustee, BBC 'There is such a thing as an idea whose time has come. This is that idea.' – James Perry, Board Member, B Lab Global, and Founding Partner, Snowball Investment Management About the Authors JON ALEXANDER began his career with success in advertising, winning the prestigious Big Creative Idea of the Year before making a dramatic change. Driven by a deep need to understand the impact on society of 3,000 commercial messages a day, he gathered three Masters degrees, exploring consumerism and its alternatives from every angle. In 2014, he co-founded the New Citizenship Project to bring the resulting ideas into contact with reality. In Citizens, he is ready to share them with the world. ARIANE CONRAD has built a career turning big ideas into books that change the world. Known as the Book Doula, she has co-written several New York Times bestsellers. BRIAN ENO is an artist, philosopher and Citizen who has played a critical part in British culture since the early 1970s. He is a deep believer in the power of ideas and the possibility of a better world, beliefs which manifest both in his audio and visual art, and in his deep engagement with social, political and environmental issues. Buy the book to carry on reading

Based on the largest study of the media coverage of public opinion and citizenship in Britain and the United States, this book argues that while most of us learn about politics and public affairs from the news media, we rarely see or read about examples of an active, engaged citizenry.

The Routledge Companion to Alternative and Community Media provides an authoritative and comprehensive examination of the diverse forms, practices and philosophies of alternative and community media across the world. The volume offers a multiplicity of perspectives to examine the reasons why alternative and community media arise, how they develop in particular ways and in particular places, and how they can enrich our understanding of the broader media landscape and its place in society. The 50 chapters present a range of theoretical and methodological positions, and arguments to demonstrate the dynamic, challenging and innovative thinking around the subject; locating media theory and practice within the broader concerns of democracy, citizenship, social exclusion, race, class and gender. In addition to research from the UK, the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, the Companion also includes studies from Colombia, Haiti, India, South Korea and Zimbabwe, enabling international comparisons to be made and also allowing for the problematisation of traditional - often Western - approaches to media studies. By considering media practices across a range of cultures and communities, this collection is an ideal companion to the key issues and debates within alternative and community media.