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European right-wing populism is a widely studied phenomenon in recent years. At the same time, many fact-checking projects have been launched with the purpose of assessing statements from the most relevant social actors. The role of fact-checkers is growing, but there is scant literature on their agenda. In this study, we investigate the communication strategies on Twitter of European right-wing populist parties and their relationship with the agenda of fact-checking initiatives in Germany, France, Spain and Portugal. Based on a content analysis of tweets covering political content (n = 4212), we analyze not only the agenda but also the use of propaganda mechanisms and the scope of the tweets. The results show how the agenda of right-wing populism was composed of ideological thematic issues. Fact-checkers focus on competitor leaders and generate lower interaction. These findings contribute to increasing research on both actors, arguing that the focus on political leaders impacts on fact-checking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils have achieved prominence in the political agenda of the European Commission with the proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law and the ambitious Soil Mission research framework. The EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) used the latest state‐of‐the‐art pan‐European datasets to propose a preliminary assessment of soil health in the EU based on 18 soil degradation proxy indicators. The body of knowledge will soon be enriched thanks to the investment of 1 billion euros towards the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe', which has the ambition to promote the development of new harmonized bottom‐up and top‐down soil health indicators. New data and knowledge are also anticipated through the national soil monitoring schemes to support the implementation of the Soil Monitoring Law. We present the Soil Mission roadmap towards assessing and achieving soil health in the EU by 2030 to meet Green Deal objectives. We introduce the EUSO Soil Health Dashboard, a soil degradation indicator tool using soil health indicators developed by the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) (2012–2023) that will contribute to Soil Monitoring Law assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista UNISCI is the property of Unidad de Investigaciones Sobre Seguridad y Cooperacion International (UNISCI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The European radical right has influenced the mainstream political agenda on extra-European migration with its election-winning 'fortress Europe' narratives. In parallel, it has shaped political alliances within a 'borderless Europe', with a view to representing a Europe of people opposed to a Europe of elites. The mass media have circulated this European right-wing radicalism, and academic research has been carried out concerning the motives behind this media representation. Nevertheless, this research has rarely taken into consideration whether the media associate the radical right with a key scale of the European construction: cross-border regions. The current article explores this potential phenomenon by analysing how the press in Luxembourg portray the French radical right, as Luxembourg and France share a cross-border region characterised by strong economic interdependencies. The results show that the media can be keen on representing the political destiny of the radical right in the neighbouring state in regional borderlands. However, the portrayed dynamics are not necessarily linked to cross-border regional integration itself. Commercial – and above all political – motives linked to other European scales can lead to the absence of the 'cross-border regional Europe' in the media agenda when the foreign, yet nearby, radical right is portrayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter shows, from a comprehensive and dynamic approach, a unitary idea of Europe that shatters the fragmentation and reification of the old continent that is being politically projected. The research, based on a brief overview of the geopolitical and territorial diversity of the Western European countries, recovers the cartographic representation of Europe made by Sebastian Münster in 1544. It aims to represent a renewed area that has strengthened its international presence, based on the legitimization of divergent trajectories explained through interactive logics. The political agenda for socio-educational issues portrays the contextual diversity that rules the governance of the Western European education systems. At the same time, it shows unification regarding inclusive institutional paradigms where the most significant achievements are accomplished within the European strategic framework. The research allows us to move on from the nationalist–post-nationalist option. Part of the European scene from which present and future lines of joint action are extracted in relation to sustainability, economic digitization and/or reformulation of the social system model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban security has become a pressing political issue in many European cities. This study seeks to understand why some city governments consider urban security to be a policy priority, whereas others do not. Using data from a recent survey of 2674 city mayors in 28 European countries, we test four hypotheses on factors associated with the prioritization of urban security by local politicians. The results show that European mayors' emphasis on urban security as a policy goal varies strongly across countries, as well as across cities within countries. Besides contextual factors related to national political culture, welfare regimes and local autonomy, we find that mayors' preferences on security policy are most strongly associated with political ideology, that is, their self-placement on the left–right spectrum. In addition, crime trends and public opinion about crime play a role. The study demonstrates that there is no convergence of political agendas on urban security issues across European cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disinformation and the proliferation of fake news are global problems that affect the stability of democracies throughout the world. The capacity of distorted information to interfere in election processes or in political agendas has led different actors to create verification initiatives, which operate in partnership with the mass media. Recently, during the 2020 health crisis, false information has proved to have damaging power not only at the levels of politics or communication, but also at a health level. Therefore, the social need to access reliable and quality information, as well as verified information aimed at eradicating hoaxes, becomes evident. This paper focuses on the European context, analyzing the relationship between active verifiers and television stations that are members of the CIRCOM Network, considering their strategies and verification programs. Using a qualitative methodology an exploratory study has been carried out, mapping initiatives and stations by assessing their contribution of verified information to society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Conference on the Future of Europe took place from May 9, 2021, to May 9, 2022, with the aim of discussing the political agenda and institutional development of the EU. The conference was led by European and national decision-makers as well as citizen representatives and had nine pre-structured thematic areas. There were citizen forums, a digital platform, and decentralized events to enable citizen participation. The results of the conference were integration-friendly and characterized by federalism, but they received little attention in the broader public and were unable to break through existing reform blockades. [Extracted from the article]

Recent migrations of East European Roma have exacerbated the currently widespread phenomenon of antiziganism in Europe, but there are cultural, social, political, and historical factors in the various European countries that may affect reactions to Roma in diverse ways. This study aims to compare the attitudes of two groups of 198 young Italian and French people towards Romanian Roma. Stereotypical representations, affective reactions, and levels of cognitive and affective ambivalence were assessed. The results showed a univalent prejudice even if the attitudes of the Italian participants were more unfavourable than those expressed by their French peers. The data showed a similar stereotypical image of the outgroup but different intensities in the affective variables assessed. Italian and French participants were cognitively but not affectively ambivalent towards the Romanian Roma, and the difference between the two levels of cognitive ambivalence was not statistically significant. Potential social factors, such as the history of migration or the political agenda setting, are hypothesized as the origin of the differences in the intensities of Italian and French participants' feelings towards the Romanian Roma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As relationships between people and nature are being reassessed, not least as concerns about climate change gather increasing momentum, so a range of environmental and conservation themes are moving up public and political agendas. Rewilding, simply defined as increasing the role of natural processes within landscapes, is one such theme. This commentary paper outlines the variety of definitions and origins of the concept of rewilding, illustrates some of the elements of rewilding within Europe, and offers some general reflections on the rewilding process. The paper suggests that although many benefits have been claimed for moves to increase the role of natural processes within landscapes and environments, rewilding faces several challenges, in that it means different things to different people, public perceptions of rewilding can generate unease, hostility, and concern and it has only limited scientific support. At the same time, there is no clear statutory policies to guide the rewilding process. As such, rewilding organisations may increasingly look to communication and public relations to garner public and financial support for their cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magrant crisis that Europe has been facing for many years has triggered an avalanche of xenophobia and the dispersion of anti-migrant sentiments that have become the reference matrix for populist discourse. Anti-migrant discourse emerges in parallel as a form of language use and a form of social and political interaction. The antagonistic stereotypical narrative of migrants begins with the thesis that they constitute a retrograde social group that poses an economic and security threat to the natives and which is not capable of culturally assimilating in the countries of transit and destination (dichotomy Us vs. Them). Spreading anti-migrant discourse becomes a strategy for winning the electorate and an important tool for mobilizing political support. The political engineering of European political parties shows that anti-migrant discourse is not the exclusivity of right-wing parties of the political spectrum (although they are the most closely related), but is becoming an increasingly important topic on the political agenda of left-wing populism. Anti-migrant discourse is reflected through a nationalist and hostile approach to immigration, the glorification of national and sovereign narratives, and hostility to neoliberalism. Anti-migrant narratives have found their footing in the political activities of many European parties that are largely sovereignly profiled. Such a political vault ofreasoning transforms migrant into a foreigner and attest on the triumph of communitarianism in regards to cosmopolitanism, which makes the EU’s slogan „in varietate concordia” (united in diversity) questionable and subject to deconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, the monitoring and management of migration flows are high on the political agenda. Evidence-based monitoring calls for adequate data, which do not exist. The sources of data on international migration differ significantly between countries in Europe and the initiatives to improve data collection and produce comparable data, including new legislation, did not yield the expected outcome. Scientists have developed statistical models that combine quantitative and qualitative data from different sources to derive at estimates of migration flows that account for differences in definition, undercoverage, undercount and other measurement problems. Official statisticians are reluctant to substitute estimates for measurements. This article reviews the progress made over the last decades and the challenges that remain. It concludes with several recommendations for better international migration data/estimates. They range from improved cooperation between actors to innovation in data collection and modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between politics and the supernatural in nineteenth‐century Spain through the figure of Sor Patrocinio: a stigmatized nun and advisor to Queen Isabel II of Spain. I introduce Sor Patrocinio as an example of a "wonder nun:" a type of ultra‐charismatic, supposedly supernaturally gifted religious woman who influenced her country's political agenda. During Sor Patrocinio's rise to fame, she lost control of her public image. In their efforts to dethrone Isabel II, Spanish republicans transformed Sor Patrocinio into a politico‐religious symbol, a living reminder of the anti‐liberal and neo‐Catholic tendencies attributed to Isabel II and her clique. On the one hand, her case exemplifies the struggle of liberalism to form modern nations in Europe. On the other, it shows how some religious women obtained power through their experience of the supernatural during the "culture wars" of the period, reflecting how such experience was shaped by political affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce the INSPIRATION bottom-up approach for the development of a strategic research agenda for spatial planning, land use and soil-sediment-water-system management in Europe. Research and innovation needs were identified by more than 500 European funders, endusers, scientists, policy makers, public administrators and consultants. We report both on the concept and on the implementation of the bottom-up approach, provide a critique of the process and draw key lessons for the development of research agendas in the future. Based on identified strengths and weaknesses we identified as key opportunities and threats 1) a high ranking and attentiveness for the research topics on the political agenda, in press and media or in public awareness, 2) availability of funding for research, 3) the resources available for creating the agenda itself, 4) the role of the sponsor of the agenda development, and 5) the continuity of stakeholder engagement as bases for identification of windows of opportunity, creating ownership for the agenda and facilitating its implementation. Our derived key recommendations are 1) a clear definition of the area for which the agenda is to be developed and for the targeted user, 2) a conceptual model to structure the agenda, 3) making clear the expected roles, tasks, input formats regarding the involvement and communication with the stakeholders and project partners, 4) a sufficient number of iterations and checks of the agenda with stakeholders to insure completeness, relevance and creation of co-ownership for the agenda, and 5) from the beginning prepare the infrastructure for the network to implement the agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution, we focus on the efforts dedicated to creating a ‘European’ memory culture, particularly since EU enlargement in 2004. Based upon analytical premises of neo-institutionalist world society studies, we interpret memory politics as a project that is not only driven forward by political movements and policy-makers, but also by quasi-neutral epistemic agents of memory deliberately pursuing knowledge-based strategies of agenda setting. This has been an important dimension of memory politics in former debates, especially in debates over Holocaust memory. It is central as well in current discourses over memory in an enlarged European Union. Accordingly, we shed light on the activities of two new Central and Eastern European network organizations—the Platform of European Memory and Conscience and the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity—and their efforts of gaining legitimacy in European memory debates. By analysing their activities and rhetoric, we show that they use expert-oriented practices of epistemic framing in order to break up the Western European consensus over Holocaust memory towards broader ‘anti-totalitarian’ conceptions of European history. However, a comparison of both actors reveals important differences in their strategies oscillating between mere political agenda setting and scientific reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work is political-normative work (De Boer & Duyvendak, 2004). Hence, the political and policy context in which social work practices take place is crucial in understanding social work as a profession and its social task as a product of the welfare state. The political comes to the fore very explicitly when studying social work interventions with clients of immigrant backgrounds, especially due to the prioritization of the “integration” of migrants on various European political agendas. This article studies how frames on “good citizenship” determine the everyday practices of social workers using data on the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

National officials working in international bureaucracies regularly invoke the fear that member states strategically use such officials for influencing decision making and agenda-setting to their advantage. This article theoretically analyses conditions under which the autonomy of national civil servants in international bureaucracies might become compromised. The ensuing predictions are then tested using a unique survey among seconded national experts ( SNEs) in the European Commission ( N ≈ 400). Finally, evaluating the characteristics linked to reduced autonomy among SNEs in the Commission, the article illustrates that these officials are, in practice, likely to be relatively independent from member state influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In her article "negra d'America Remond and Her Journeys" Sirpa A. Salenius analyzes Sarah P. Remond's travels to Europe. Remond, an African American born free in Salem, Massachusetts in 1826 into an abolitionist family, was a successful lecturer on abolitionism in the United States before traveling to England in 1859. During her anti-slavery lecture tour there, she also became involved in promoting women's rights thus enlarging the scope of her social and political agenda to embrace both racial and gender oppression. Subsequently, she studied in London, graduating as a nurse from London University College before moving to Italy where she graduated as a physician and practiced medicine. Remond's life and activities are exceptional because she crossed the boundaries of her time -- physical, geographical, social, and political -- in both the U.S. and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being confronted with the import of formerly unknown cultural practices, the European public authorities are expected to set clear public standards regarding the alleged harmful nature of such practices. The adopted solutions are often of a legal nature, using the law as a vehicle to frame certain social behaviour as socially unacceptable. One of the practices that have been subject to framing in terms of law and gender are what is commonly referred to as forced marriages. Calling upon human rights law, Europe's policy is in favour of penalization of forced marriages. However, such an appeal holds the risk of strategically misuse of human rights law for political benefit. Next to a clear risk penalisation being symbolic, diversity issues bear within a risk of xenophobia. Thus penalisation of diversity issues needs to be analysed scrupulously. This paper addresses the issue of the penalisation of forced marriages in Europe, with special attention paid to a draft law recently submitted by the Dutch government, addressing the issue which actors and factors have contributed forced marriages being put on the European and Dutch political agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the discussion about spatial planning in and for Europe by discussing territoriality in the strategies and practices of the territorial cohesion policy of the European Union (EU). The need for new ways of thinking and acting spatially are strongly promoted within the EU's spatial development policies, and the addition of territorial cohesion as one of the main objectives of the EU alongside the economic and social cohesion has brought the debate on European spatial planning back onto the political agenda. Territorial cohesion policy advocates the idea of soft planning, where new soft planning spaces cross the administrative borders within the EU territory. Accordingly, strategic planning and development policies at national and regional levels are engaged with the policy by promoting soft spatial imaginaries characterized by relational understandings of space. The article explores through two empirical materials related to the Member States’ definitions about territorial cohesion and the case of the Bothnian Arc, whether, and if so, how, the new soft planning spaces are visible in the conceptualizations and regional-level practices of territorial cohesion policy. The study illustrates that the conceptualizations of territorial cohesion and regional practices still lean on traditional understandings of territoriality. Clearly, there are mismatches between the soft planning visions for single European space and the practical development governed through traditional administrative territories. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The distribution of attention across issues is of fundamental importance to the political agenda and outputs of government. This article presents an issue-based theory of the diversity of governing agendas where the core functions of government—defense, international affairs, the economy, government operations, and the rule of law—are prioritized ahead of all other issues. It undertakes comparative analysis of issue diversity of the executive agenda of several European countries and the United States over the postwar period. The results offer strong evidence of the limiting effect of core issues—the economy, government operations, defense, and international affairs—on agenda diversity. This suggests not only that some issues receive more attention than others but also that some issues are attended to only at times when the agenda is more diverse. When core functions of government are high on the agenda, executives pursue a less diverse agenda—focusing the majority of their attention on fewer issues. Some issues are more equal than others in executive agenda setting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents a horizontal perspective on the dynamics of governance sites currently active for the European of Knowledge and places the Bologna process in this wider European level context. It introduces two dynamics of change in political organisation: a) institutional differentiation and specialisation and b) the interaction between institutional spheres and sectors. Signs of sectoral differentiation are identified in the history of European integration that is relevant to the Europe of Knowledge. The argument is that the nature and sequence of the differentiation process are key to understand current governance processes. It is illustrated by showing how a horizontal dynamics has been played out in the case of the EU's Lisbon strategy and in particular the cooperation taking place in the framework of the EU's 'Education and Training 2010' work programme. The analysis shows how the Bologna process, although perpetuated as a sector internal governance site, has co-evolved and interacted with this strategy, partly as an object of emulation and source of support and partly as a competing governance site. A horizontal dynamics of change is also evident in the larger Lisbon strategy as it lifted research and higher education policy to the centre of the European integration project. It resulted in the development of several governance sites with different foci targeting European higher education. A more prominent place on the political agenda came together with demands that research and education should be integrated with the overall political and economic objectives of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Space exploration is a multifaceted endeavor and will be a “grand challenge” of the 21st century. It has already become an element of the political agenda of a growing number of countries worldwide. However, the public is largely unaware of space exploration activities and in particular does not perceive any personal benefit. In order to achieve highly ambitious space exploration goals to explore robotically and with humans the inner solar system, space agencies must improve and expand their efforts to inform and raise the awareness of the public about what they are doing, and why. Therefore adopting new techniques aiming at informing and engaging the public using participatory ways, new communication techniques to reach, in particular, the younger generation will be a prerequisite for a sustainable long-term exploration program: as they will enable it and carry most of the associated financial burden. This paper presents an environmental analysis of space exploration in the United States and Europe and investigates the current branding stature of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). We discuss how improved market research and new branding methods can increase public space awareness and improve the image of NASA and ESA. We propose a new participatory approach to engage the public as major stakeholder (along governments, the industrial space sector and the science community) that may provide sufficient resources for and sustainability of a long-term space exploration program. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Taking into account the context of globalization, glocalization and political rescaling, this paper takes stock of the ways urban issues are processed in the political agendas of Western European states. Using four case studies (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), a typology of 'national urban policies' is proposed, based on their explicit versus implicit focus on issues spatially defined as urban ones, as well as their direct versus indirect character. A comparative perspective is used to consider the resulting types of policies (area-based programmes, mainstream state policies, re-spatialization of local and regional government through institutional reforms, institutional innovation and maintenance of local government) as well as the problematic issue of the formulation of integrated and effective policy strategies for cities. Furthermore, the paper takes a view of the uncertain and weak impacts of many of these actions, and proposes a tentative explanation for how and why urban policies enter states' political agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Community Media (CM) have been present in the European landscape for a long time now and have an equally long history of self-organisation. But since 2002 there had been a lack of presence of community media at the European policy level. That is why in 2004 representatives of national federations, media activists, practitioners and academics initiated the Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE), which has been formally established in 2006 as an action-oriented network of CM-related organizations and people to present the potential of CM within the European media landscape. The short history of CMFE is a real story of success. Whereas until 2006 there had not been any relevant reference to community media on the European level at all, community media-related issues are now part of the political agenda, both in the EU and in the CoE. Community media organizations, activists and politicians around Europe can now refer to a resolution on community media of the European Parliament and to a CoE-Declaration. CMFE has developed a flexible strategy of political intervention and expertise, which combines diversity and common principles, openness and effectiveness. Nevertheless there are still serious problems and challenges characterizing the European lobbying work for community media. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Politix is the property of De Boeck Universite and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article, based on ongoing research, explores the role of civil society organisations in the debate about participatory democracy in the European Constitution (TCE). The findings are based on the qualitative analysis of position papers and interviews in order to determine the ways in which civil society organisations contributed to shaping the model of participatory democracy (article 47 TCE). The article focuses on the debate on the role of civil society for democracy in the EU (Greenwood 2007b; Kohler-Koch 2007; Maloney and Van Deth 2008), by addressing its ability in fostering citizens' participation. It considers firstly the place of civil society in the European public sphere. It then presents the role of civil society in shaping the agenda on participatory democracy before the debate on the European constitution. It particularly investigates the formation of coalitions of organisations which aimed to include these debates in the Convention's agenda. It considers that although the Convention's structure could have been appropriate for coalitions to voice demands from the general public, which is one of the expected functions for coalitions in the literature (Mahoney 2007: 375), this was not the case both because of the inability of European civil society organisations to mobilise the public and the high efficiency of insider strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an increasingly interdependent world, Europe will need its regions to tackle the challenges of globalization effectively, and to remain a leading partner on the international scene. Regions should therefore reorient their administrations towards the European Union (EU), focus more on the EU’s rolling political agenda, and dare to better steer the EU’s decision-making process. On the flipside, the EU itself should be based upon a model of multi-level governance, allowing the EU to work in partnership with its regional and local authorities. Having experienced politics himself at all levels of governance during his career, Dr Luc Van den Brande gives his practitioner’s view to future policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Support for the political and economic integration of Europe has formed an increasingly important policy issue for Irish political parties as the European Union has grown in importance at both the domestic and European level. This article examines the political positioning of Irish parties on the issue of European integration, comparing these positions across parties and across time. For data, it draws on expert surveys taken at each election since 1992, a time series of coded manifestos as well as a computerized content analysis of the 2007 party manifestos. The article also reports the results of a previously unpublished expert survey of Irish party positions on other political dimensions conducted by the author in 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concepts such as ‘reciprocity,’ ‘embeddedness,’ and ‘social capital’ have been the main tools for description and analysis of social relations sustaining economic activities in areas defined as regional economies or industrial districts, becoming models for successful development in Europe. Historicizing these concepts, stressing the concrete political agendas of the scholars who produced them, reveals them as paradoxical in that, though they are abstract, their main force lies in their social, cultural, historical, and spatial situatedness. This situation points to the awkwardness of ‘ethnographic realism’ and the need for a kind of ‘reflexive historical realism’ to enhance viable anthropological communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the problems arising from social communication have yet again become burning issues on social and political agendas. Information disorder, hate speeches, information manipulation, social networking sites, etc., have obliged the most important European institutions to reflect on how to meet the collective challenges that social communication currently poses in the new millennium. These European Institutions have made a clear commitment to self-regulation. The article reviews some recent European initiatives to deal with information disorder that has given a fundamental role to self-regulation. To then carry out a theoretical review of the normative notion of self-regulation that distinguishes it from the neo-liberal economicist conception. To this end, (1) a distinction is drawn between the (purportedly) self-regulating market and (2) a broader conception of self-regulation inherent not to media companies or corporations, but to the social subsystem of social communication, is proposed. This involves increasing the number of self-regulatory mechanisms that may contribute to improve social communication, and reinforcing the commitment of those who should exercise such self-regulation, including not only media companies but also the professionals working at them and the public at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]