Democracy has freedom, equality and control as its core values. We translate these values into communication functions. The media’s communication function which derives from freedom is the information function; from equality follows what might be called public opinion-making or simply the forum function; and from control follows the function to act as a watchdog against the abuse of all types of power.
Based on the theoretical framework, especially McQuail’s four roles of the media in democracy (monitorial, facilitative, radical and collaborative), the Monitor’s project team developed a set of dimensions and indicators to measure the performance and contribution of leading news media to contemporary democracies.
Tags: Research