What role does journalism play in a democracy? What does it mean to see and render visible the contemporary world? What is the political significance of such an activity? Does there exist an “ideal” journalism against which to judge “real” journalism? On what basis should we criticize it, and what should it aim to become? In this stimulating essay, – the first to subject journalism to philosophical questioning – Géraldine Muhlmann shows that journalism has been assigned a dual task: to bring conflict to life and to weave common ground within the political community.
