Reinterpreting the Democratic Roles of the Media

Abstract

Investigative journalism, according to traditional theory, has the task of exposing the abuses of public offi cials. Therefore, media has been seen as an institution central to liberal democracy. In this article, I examine examples of the role of media in United Kingdom, in United States of America and in Brazil showing how extensive media coverage in these countries drew attention to police violence. The challenge for all of us is to work out what should be retained from this tradition, and what should be revised or rejected and to think about the concrete implications of what results from our reappraisal.