RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

empiricaUy well grounded , future-oriented approach, which does not assume that current forms of (mass ) communication and specific ways of their development would necessarily prevail in the future . On the contrary , the basic task of a critical approach to communication studies is to develop insights into alternative ways of communication deveiopment. Such task must be based on two conditions : (1 ) a comprehensive critical re-examination of the social conseguences of different communication theories , and (2) the possibility for new forms of communication which would exceed existing possibilities for individuals and/or specific social (ethnic, language, economic ,etc . ) groups to participate under the conditions of equality , in social communication process . Therefore , the specific subject of a critical theory of communication and media is the 'non-existent', i.e. that which is neither a constitutive part of communication theory nor a concrete form of communication . Such approach suggests a wide range of specific questions which could provide a beginning research agenda that may help define the future direction of the field. Several contributors to the first Colloguium pointed out that communication theories and research were predominantly međia-centred (rather than examining , media as social institutions) . For instance , public opinion and the public are often understood as a consequence rather than as an 'input' in communication processes (Splichal, 1987); information use , of the use value of information is frequently considered an absolute value inherent in information itself instead of being defined in relation to the specific needs of users (Schulz , 1987; Renckstorf , 1 987 ); or freedom of the press is only rarely conceptualized as a public freeđom rather than as a private right (i.e. as freedom for the press; Glasser , 1987). A critical approach to communication and media should start developing ’counterparts' to such abstract, of ten positivistic concepts , and conceptualize ways of materializing them . There is a growing need to understanđ poiitical есопоту of the media as moving beyond the problems of media ownership to attempt an exp!anation of the history and the main trends of međia development (Wasko, 1987; Meehan , 1987; Rowland, 1987). For instance , the commođification of media contents is not only strongly interrelateđ with the processes of commodification of audiences , but also with the production of new kinds of commodities (e.g. television ratings ) , and therefore embedded in a cultural and ideological context . Since there is no single causal relationship between the dominant form of an есопоту (e.g. capitalist vs . socialist есопоту ) , međia ownership and the form of communication , it will be necessary to devote much more attention to a social scientific exploration of the