No abstract

This article deals with ICT policy activism on a national level and studies the case of Germany, where ICT policy activism became known to the public through its protest against the blocking of websites and data retention. Civil society is a political actor here, being invited to policy consultations. Drawing on the governance approach and resource mobilization theory, we interviewed 20 leading ICT policy activists about their values and goals, and forms of organization and political protest. According to their different focuses we distinguished between four types of activism: privacy protection, free access to information, free software and open standards, and equal opportunities for women in ICT policy. These activists are particular in that their political claims focus on the tools they are using for mobilizing and organizing. However, offline forms of protest still play an important role and mass media coverage is still seen as one of the main resources.

Zusammenfassung: Der Beitrag nimmt Medien als politische Akteure in den Blick und fragt, wie sie über politische Prozesse berichten, von denen sie selbst betroffen sind. Inwieweit werden Medien in solchen fällen Qualitätsanforderungen wie Vielfalt gerecht? Dieses Problem wird am Beispiel der Presseberichterstattung über den 12. Rundfunkänderungsstaatsvertrag untersucht. Die Verlagshäuser, so die Annahme, hatten an der Regelung des Online-Engagements des öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunks ein starkes ökonomisches Eigeninteresse. Mithilfe des framing-Ansatzes wurden die in der Berichterstattung enthaltenen frames ermittelt und ihre Vielfalt diskutiert. Empirische Basis ist eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse von fünf überregionalen Printmedien. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Presse versucht hat, die Meinungsbildung zu diesem thema diskursiv einzuengen. frames mit einer negativen Bewertung des öffentlich-rechtlichen Online-Engagements waren über das gesamte spektrum politischer Orientierungen hinweg verbreitet, während alternative Deutungsmuster nur fragmentarisch und vereinzelt vorkamen.Abstract: this study sheds light on the media in their role as political actors and analyzes how the media cover political processes that involve their own interests. How far are the media able to fulfill, in such cases, quality demands such as diversity? The press coverage on the 12th amendment of the Interstate treaty on Broadcasting and Online Media in Germany served as an example to study this problem. the assumption is that publishing houses had a strong economic interest in regulating the online activities of public service broadcasting. By means of a qualitative content analysis the frames used by five national print media were identified and their diversity was discussed. The findings show that the press tried to narrow down opinion formation on this topic. frames with a negative evaluation of public service online activities prevailed regard-

No abstract

Our study provides a model for the history of communication studies that is developed from the state of research and from the sociology of science, and that meets the demands of intersubjectivity. The model provides a system of categories for research and helps to systematically and transparently analyze the development of communication studies. After discussing traditional biographical, institutional, and intellectual approaches in German and U.S.-American historiography of communication studies, we develop a model that integrates the existing perspectives and also considers influences from the constellation of surrounding disciplines and relevant fields of society. Finally, we demonstrate by means of a study on the history of critical theory in German communication studies how the model can be applied.