Posts tagged civics

Mistrust, Efficacy and the New Civics

Medium, Ethan Zuckerman, trust, civics, institutions, institutionalist, /insurrectionist, 2017

Addressing mistrust in media requires that we examine why mistrust in institutions as a whole is rising. One possible explanation is that our existing institutions aren’t working well for many citizens. Citizens who feel they can’t influence the governments that represent them are less likely to participate in civics. Some evidence exists that the shape of civic participation in the US is changing shape, with young people more focused on influencing institutions through markets (boycotts, buycotts and socially responsible businesses), code (technologies that make new behaviors possible, like solar panels or electric cars) and norms (influencing public attitudes) than through law. By understanding and reporting on this new, emergent civics, journalists may be able to increase their relevance to contemporary audiences alienated from traditional civics.

via https://medium.com/@EthanZ/mistrust-efficacy-and-the-new-civics-a-whitepaper-for-the-knight-foundation–7107de874250