The media landscape has undergone dramatic shifts over the last two decades. In our complex, fragile, and crisis-prone societies, the diversity, freedom, and independence of the media are increasingly under threat. The rise of social media and artificial intelligence has introduced new power dynamics, influencing not just the media itself but also the broader society in significant ways. At such a critical juncture, is it not more important than ever to understand the structures, influencing factors, and effects of the media that shape your worldview?

MEDIA CRISIS MEETS DEMOCRACY CRISIS

The media have always been fiercely contested, but perhaps never as fiercely as they are today. Those who seek power in democratic systems need to control public opinion, and that battle is fought in the media. Traditional news media and independent journalism have been severely weakened—their business models, newsrooms, correspondent networks, and resilience to influence eroded, along with public trust.

Unfortunately, there is little good news for us to offer you on this issue. Media disruption will continue as changes in our media ecosystems are fundamental. The battle for your opinion is now being fought mainly on new digital platforms, which operate under opaque and largely invisible rules. Meanwhile two thirds (63%) of young people aged 18 to 34 globally no longer trust most media most of the time.* Even worse, more and more people are losing interest in or avoid political news altogether.
With the media faltering in their role as pillars of democracy, attempts to address this—whether through regulation, censorship, or other controls—are fraught with danger, as all such measures come with vested interests. And all this in a year when half the world’s population faces crucial elections, where in many countries, the essence of democracy is at stake.

DO YOU KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE MEDIA?

“Everything we know about the world, indeed about the society in which we live, we know through the mass media.” Reflecting on this statement by Niklas Luhmann, you must ask yourself: Do you know enough about the media? You are not present at the events oder decisions that affect your life—you learn about them through the media. But how can you trust that they are acting in your best interests?

The truth is, most people know far too little about the media. Be honest—did you know the answers to the quiz at the beginning of this issue? “We do not live with the media; we live in the media. Media has become to us what water is to fish,” as media scholar Mark Deuze says. Media surrounds you, usually imperceptibly, as you navigate through it—informing yourself, seeking entertainment, communicating with others—often without considering the media itself. Until the water becomes murky, polluted, or toxic. Then you are in serious trouble, especially if you cannot see the causes and effects of that pollution anymore.

UNDERSTANDING MEDIA

What can you do? The key to addressing these critical issues lies in education: You should be able to learn to understand the media you use. What is happening in the media? What is changing? What is important? And what can you do to better understand the structures, connections, and vulnerabilities of the media systems in which we all live?
The UNDERSTANDING MEDIA alumni initiative—presenting itself at the end of this issue—has brought together a multitude of strong voices from the media world at the Witten Lab Studium fundamentale of Witten/Herdecke University—a unique learning space that allows young students of all disciplines to gain insights beyond their fields of study and reflect on urgent questions of our times. And which will open up its educational programme to strengthen a broader understanding of media and democratic capabilities to more and more students at European universities.

These are voices of people who, through their work, expertise and experience, constitute the vanguard of our European media reality, representing most journalists across Europe, the EU Commission, the sciences of media and digital technology, media organisations and NGOs for press freedom and media diversity, or who are renowned journalists themselves. They are united by the urgent need to provide young people with deep insights into the reality of our media ecosystem and to engage in discussions about it. Just like the voices and positions of artists who work at the interface of art, media and democracy and make things visible and tangible in their unique ways. In a multifaceted chorus together with voices from our own university.

They all agree that democracy is determined not least—perhaps even primarily—by the media. To preserve and develop democracy, it’s not enough to simply recognise fake news. You must delve deeper: you need to understand media systems and the hidden structures behind the surface of your screens, making them visible to yourself and others.

LEARN TO THINK LIKE A JOURNALIST!

How can you learn this? When it comes to media, you should learn to ask tough questions, look deeper and think like good journalists: Who owns the media? Who influences them? Who regulates them? How do journalists work today, and what does it mean when press freedom is under threat? What can be done to strengthen trustworthy media, finance independent journalism, hold platforms accountable, and prevent governments from exerting hidden influence? Only then can you ensure access to comprehensive, unbiased, and diverse information about the world.

This is a difficult task, no question about it. The media and their impact on societies are complex. But no one ever said it would be easy to preserve democracy.

Understanding media starts with you – they will not explain themselves.

We would like to thank all contributors, designers, and sponsors for making this issue possible, and we hope it provides you with insightful perspectives on the evolving world of media.