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“Why Democratic Societies Need Independent Journalism, Even in Fragmented Digital Public Spheres”

Lecture by Prof. Dr. Marcus Bölz as part of the “Media on Wednesday” series

Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
International Newspaper Museum of the City of Aachen
, Pontstraße 13, Aachen

Digitalization has fundamentally transformed public communication. While traditional media long served to create a shared information space, today numerous digital sub-publics are emerging that often exist side by side without any connection to one another. What are the consequences of this development for democracy, social cohesion, and the ability to resolve political conflicts based on shared facts?

This lecture discusses these questions from a media studies perspective. It focuses on Horst Pöttker’s reflections on the integrative function of the public sphere, as well as current approaches by Marcus Bölz, who views journalism as a cultural practice of orientation, understanding, and social resonance. It demonstrates why independent journalism remains indispensable, especially in the age of social media: not as an exclusive source of information, but as an institution of research, verification, and public reason.

This lecture invites us to reflect on the future of democratic public discourse and to reassess the importance of journalistic quality for a free and pluralistic society. It offers a timely contribution to the question of how social understanding can be achieved in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

Prof. Dr. Marcus Bölz is the director of the Institute for Sports Communication at the University of Applied Sciences for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (FHM) in Berlin. Marcus Bölz began his career as a journalist and has worked for various newspapers (including the Schwäbische Zeitung, the Frankfurter Rundschau, zeit.de, and dpa).