Baltic democracies: re-configuring media environments and civic agency

ABSTRACT Though journalism remains relevant in many European democracies, it is not the dominant source of news for many groups of people. Newly arising dynamic mediated communication ecosystems run on user engagement and information choices, which require informed agency. Training of such a capability is assumed on the side of professional journalism. In the small Baltic nations, however, market-driven problems act as a permanent risk factor against both the democratic functioning of media and engaging the citizenry. The Baltic publics experience the deficiency of public arenas for their exercises in trust and confidence, and exposures of feelings of social solidarity.