Investigating the role of the media in active community participation in sustainable development: Designing a conceptual model for Iran
Subject Areas : Culturalalireza tajerian 1 , Afsaneh Mozaffari 2 , Hossein Ali Jahed 3 , Hadi Khaniki 4
1 - PhD student, Department of Communication Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
3 - Associate Professor, Department of Educational Management, West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
4 - Professor, Department of Communication Sciences, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: Sustainable development, traditional media, new media, social participation, media literacy, conceptual model.,
Abstract :
Public participation is one of the fundamental pillars of achieving sustainable development, and the media plays a key role in facilitating and strengthening it. However, in Iran, despite the existence of extensive communication infrastructures, active community participation in sustainable development still faces challenges. The aim of this research is to design a conceptual model to explain the role of traditional and new media in active community participation in sustainable development in Iran. This article, which is an extract from the author's doctoral dissertation, identifies key variables affecting social participation by using a systematic literature review, analysis of communication and development theories, and the perspectives of experts in the field of media and development. The research method is qualitative, using thematic analysis, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 experts in the fields of media, sustainable development, and cultural policymaking, as well as the analysis of 15 domestic and international policy documents, and analyzed using MAXQDA software. The findings show that components such as media literacy, public trust, information transparency, and two-way interaction play a mediating role in the relationship between media and public participation. Also, the convergence of traditional and new media has been identified as a platform for increasing the effectiveness of development messages and strengthening active participation. Document analysis also showed that there is a significant gap between the views of experts and the content of existing policies; in such a way that the role of new media, media literacy, public trust, and media convergence has not been fully considered in domestic documents. By presenting a conceptual model, this article paves the way for future research to empirically test the identified relationships and offers specific policy suggestions in the form of a chain model of "awareness, empowerment, trust-building, synergy, and platform-building" to improve the role of the media in strengthening public participation in Iran.
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