Les Rendez-vous de l’Eco “Information under influence, the decline of traditional media, and democratic challenges”

As part of the "Rendez-vous de l'Eco" series, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Montpellier is organizing a conference on the theme: "Information under influence, the decline of traditional media, and democratic challenges" on Thursday, January 30, 2025, starting at 6:00 p.m., at the Richter Campus of the Faculty of Economics.

Does the economic fragility of the media encourage misinformation?

Democracy can only function if it is built on a common perception of reality, of verifiable and debatable facts (in the sense of democratic debate) (Hannah Arendt, Truth and Politics, Crisis of Culture, 1954). New information practices, combined with the arrival of digital giants in the information space, are undermining the process of information production by traditional media.

From the mass collection of personal data to capturing users' attention and siphoning off online advertising resources, all these factors tend to undermine the economic model of producing quality information, paving the way for the privatization of public space for the benefit of companies that make misinformation and polarization of debate a real business.

Speaker:

Nathalie SONNAC is a professor of information and communication sciences atParis Panthéon-Assas University. A specialist in media, culture, and digital economics, she is particularly interested in issues of competition and regulation, as well as the political and democratic challenges facing media and social networks in the new digital economy.

She chairedthe French Press Institute (IFP) and the Information and Communication Department atParis Panthéon-Assas University (2009-2015). She was a member of the National Digital Council (CNNum) (2013-2015). She was a member of the College of the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) (now Arcom) from 2015 to 2021.