Transnationalization of media and governance

In the digital age, the media landscape has thoroughly transnationalized due to the dominance of global information intermediaries (such as Google, Facebook or TikTok) as well as the increased transnational reach of a number of news providers. In this chapter, we draw on public sphere theory to investigate more closely the tension between this highly transnationalized hybrid information media system and current attempts at media governance. We identify three problem areas - incivility, disinformation and distorted perceptions of opinion climates - which traditional approaches in public sphere theory have failed to address adequately, but which have grown in severity due to media transnationalization. Based on the well-established distinction between a representative-liberal, communitarian, deliberative and agonistic model of a public sphere, we provide a first sketch of how these normative models might guide future attempts of media governance to foster a greater resilience of national and transnational public spheres.