Henrik Müller

(Institute of Journalism, TU Dortmund University, Germany)

 

 

Abstract: The notion that Europe needs more political integration to resolve its persistent economic crisis is now widely accepted. Yet, politics in member states of the European Union and even the Euro zone are in reverse gear. In many countries populism is on the rise, impeding compromise at the Union level and threatening the long-term viability of the entire project. Polls show low levels of trust in both Union and national institutions. This paper focuses on the role of the media. Europe’s current ailments can be attributed to the absence of a European Public Sphere. If European nations were interlinked by a common discourse space, economic governance could be enhanced. Moreover, democratization of central level policy making, which is hitherto hindered by the prevalence of national debates, would become possible. This paper argues that a European Public Sphere is the missing link in the process of integration. It examines the changing economic properties of journalistic products due to digitization. It discusses potential solutions and presents a modest proposal: a corporatist scheme to fund pan-European media projects.

 

 

Key words: Euro zone; European Union; public spheres; public goods; media economics; digitization;

macroeconomic governance; corporatism

 

JEL code: H870