Media and Citizenship: Between Marginalisation and Participation

How central are the media to the functioning of a democracy? Is democracy primarily about citizens using their votes? Does the expression of their voices necessarily empower citizens? These are among the questions addressed in Media and Citizenship. Challenging assumptions about the relationship between the media and democracy in highly unequal societies like postapartheid South Africa, the authors present a range of perspectives that not only interrogate the role of the media, but also offer suggestions for how citizens can engage both the media and the state to overcome the distance between marginalization and participation.