Videocracy

The mediocracy (German media domination, also called Mediakratie, telecracy or Videocracy ) is a media theory, as well as above all a concept of political science that political decisions and discussions as well as political communication in modern democracies no longer primarily by the political parties, but increasingly by but are also shaped by the influence of politicians on this the interests of the mass media.

The thesis of mediocracy is represented mainly by the political and media scientist Thomas Meyer. The concept of mediocracy is used by different authors with different meanings, where there is overlap with the thesis of the media democracy and the theory of the media as the fourth force in the state. In the case of strong media concentration in journalistic texts sometimes by telecracy (of Television " TV " and " reign " Greek κρατειν ) the speech to describe the excessive political influence of television on democratic decisions.

An entirely different meaning is assigned the term mediocracy as social science technical term in sociology, where he finds in the specialized field of elite sociology to describe a rule of mediocre use. For this alternative meaning, see the keyword mediocracy ( dominance of mediocrity ). Since both theories are touching in peripheral areas is separated into journalistic texts not always clean between the terms.

Term use

Mediocracy means by Meyer on the concept of media democracy, not only the loss of the didactically demos and thus in particular the disempowerment of the actual sovereign of the citizen. This watch only the political debate in the media, even without active intervention, such as talk shows. So whether it is the media which decided on articulation and selection of their interests.

With the loss of importance of the parties is disappearing the importance of the citizen. The actual form of participatory democracy, says Meyer, will therefore be an alleged spectator democracy.

A similar criticism of the media is to be found in the work of Giovanni Sartori, a representative of the democratic theory. In Homo videns. La sociedad teledirigida he is particularly critical of the grassroots democratic notions (participation, direct democracy ) that would be seen in the possibilities of modern media. In his opinion, the media are not subject to the principle of competition. The media, especially private television are those of the funders, ie the advertisers again, not the audience.

The concept of telecracy was coined at the time of the so -called " tele- revolution" in Romania and arrived at the choice of media entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi in Italy as Prime Minister in 1994 and again in 2001 in the public debate, as many observers saw a threat to democracy and from a " new form of government telecracy " spoke. Even with the " media - duel " from Gerhard Schroeder and challenger Edmund Stoiber, 2002, conjured up the " specter of a telecracy ". So telecracy is also used as a derogatory or jocular buzzword in the sense of " form of government in which power not by the people but by television or by its owner goes out ( rule through television), " or for the " fusion of political and media power in one hand ".

The wider definition of mediocracy treated a much older phenomenon: the greatest period of time, can be spoken of in the of " media " includes the written word: pronouncements that were placarded, newspapers, journals: initially issued by state institutions of authoritarian forms of government, subject to a strict censorship. With the Enlightenment and the increasing democratization arise independent media in the twentieth century, the triumph of the ubiquity of the media takes place, the mass media, and their largely unrestricted access in large parts of the world. By the same time of establishment of marketing as an essential scientific tool for decision making by consumers, this is also increasingly integrated into public policy, and with it the media. " Paul Lazarsfeld began already in the thirties deal with the influence of the media on political decisions. "