American politics has long navigated uneasily between two forms of democracy: Republicanism and mass, or direct, democracy. … Advocates of direct democracy see the Internet as the tool that will give direct effect to their vision, curing defects in our democracy. The evidence isn’t really on their side. CONT. Mark […] Read more »
Issue-Specific Activism on Climate Issues on Facebook
… Pew has fond that more people engage with issue groups online than political officials, and there are several examples of social media campaigns – the Red Equal Sign campaign and the ALS Ice Bucket challenge most notably – where issue-based activism has occurred. Working with colleagues Ashley Anderson, John […] Read more »
Understanding Why We Take To The Streets
It has been a remarkable year for public demonstrations. More than 1 million people filled Parisian streets on Sunday, a show of unity after last week’s terror attacks in France. In August, protests erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, after an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was fatally shot by a police […] Read more »
Participant Index Seeks to Determine Why One Film Spurs Activism, While Others Falter
… For the last year Participant, an activist entertainment company that delivers movies with a message, has been quietly working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Knight Foundation and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to answer a question vexing those who would […] Read more »
5 Memorable Moments When Town Hall Meetings Turned To Rage
As members of Congress retreated to their home states and districts during the 2009 August recess, the growing Tea Party movement and anger over the pending health care reform bill led protesters across the country to confront their elected representatives at town hall meetings. Demonstrations at some of these gatherings […] Read more »