Media lokalne Śląska Cieszyńskiego : historia i współczesność

Abstract

The monograph is a compendium of the knowledge about the local media of Cieszyn Silesia, which, being part of the historical and cultural regions of modern Poland, has preserved a strong regional identity. Not only does the paper organise the state of the knowledge about how the local media in this interesting region have been developing and functioning, but it also broadens the knowledge. […] The monograph has a problem-oriented structure and consists of three chapters that are substantively related to the dominant theme, which is the local media of Cieszyn Silesia. The content of the first chapter comprises reflections on the theory of local media and research practice. It defines the concept of local media, presents their typology and development after 1989, as well as limitations in their functioning. The issue of the local community is dealt with in the second chapter, where first the theory of the local community (including the so-called virtual community) is discussed and the concept of local and regional identity defined, and subsequently the characteristics of the community of Cieszyn Silesia and its territory is brought into focus, while the reference is made both to the complex history of this area and to the present day situation. The presentation of the local media in Cieszyn Silesia is the subject of deliberations in the third chapter. Firstly, the historical development of the local media – mainly the press, in this area until 1989, i.e. until the political and socio-political breakthrough beginning the systemic transformation of our country, has been characterised. Then, the transformations taking place on the local media market of this area after 1989 have been examined. The development of the local press segment [...] and the electronic media market of Cieszyn Silesia, including local radio, local television (mainly online) and local Internet portals […] have been separately presented. The paper ends with a summary of the studied issue through the presentation of the outline of the transformations of the contemporary local media in Cieszyn Silesia against the background of the nationwide processes in Poland. […] The reviewed paper constitutes a valuable publishing position, which apart from systematising the studied issues, also enriches the general knowledge about the formation and functioning of the contemporary local media system in Cieszyn Silesia. It is also of specific practical utility primarily for activists and officials of the local government and regionalists, as well as for students of journalism and social communication as well as political science and sociology.