Journalism, Citizenship and Surveillance Society

This book shows how surveillance society shapes and interacts with journalistic practices and discourses. It illustrates not only how surveillance debates play out in and through mediated discourses, but also how practices of surveillance inform the stories, everyday work and the ethics of journalists.

The increasing entrenchment of data collection and surveillance in all kinds of social processes raises important questions around new threats to journalistic freedom and political dissent; the responsibilities of media organizations and state actors; the nature of journalists’ relationship to the state; journalists’ ability to protect their sources and data; and the ways in which media coverage shape public perceptions of surveillance, to mention just a few areas of concern. Against this backdrop, the contributions gathered in this book examine areas including media coverage of surveillance, encryption and privacy; journalists’ views on surveillance and security; public debate around the power of intelligence agencies, and the strategies of privacy rights activists. The book raises fundamental questions around the role of journalism in creating the conditions for digital citizenship.

The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of the journal, Digital Journalism.

Author Biography

Karin Wahl-Jorgensen is Professor at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture. She has published 9 books and over 100 journal articles and book chapters on journalism and citizenship.

Arne Hintz is Reader at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture, co-Director of its Data Justice Lab and Director of MA Digital Media and Society. His research focuses on digital citizenship, media activism, digital policy and datafication.

Lina Dencik is Reader at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture and is Co-Director of the Data Justice Lab. She has published widely on digital media, resistance and the politics of data.

Lucy Bennett is a lecturer at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture. Her work on digital media appears in journals such as New Media & Society, Continuum and Celebrity Studies.