The document summarizes a literature review and research question about media coverage of marijuana legalization in California before the 2016 vote. It discusses concepts of participatory democracy and their implications for journalism. The research question asks if three articles on the topic reflected normative criteria for participatory democracy journalism. The summary found some quotes from the articles aligned with setting the public agenda, mobilizing citizen engagement, and focusing on problem-solving, as participatory democracy envisions. However, one article also contained elements of deliberative democracy.

1. Participatory democracy and the
legalization of Marijuana in
California 2016
GROUP 1A:
Ella Navarro
Dinfin Mulupi
Aaron McKinnon
Aletta D’Cruz
Anna Dittrich
Estefanía Zárate
Media and Journalism Research in the Context of Globalization (2017)

2. Introduction
1. Comprehensive literature review (Strömbäck, Waisborg & Kalogeropoulos)
a. Relationship: State - Journalism
b. Relationship: Citizens - Journalism
2. Development of research question
a. What is participatory democracy? (Strömbäck)
b. Normative implications for journalism in a participatory democracy model (Strömbäck)
c. Marijuana legalization for recreational purposes in California
d. Analysis of three articles published before the vote (August - October 2016)

3. Comprehensive literature review
Strömbäck, Waisborg & Kalogeropoulos

4. Relationship: State - Journalism
Depends on normatives models of democracy: participatory, deliberative,
procedural, competitive. (Strömbäck)
Democracy and journalism have a social contract: freedom of speech & flow of
official information. (Strömbäck)
Populist State at the center of media systems (Waisborg)
Market and civil society as opposed to the populist government (Waisbord)
Ambiguous relationship. (Waisbord)
Journalism as the watchdog of the government, with equal criticism towards
business and political news. (Kalogeropoulos)

5. Relationship: Citizens - Journalism
Normative democracy as analyzed by Strömbäck
“No one has the right to dominate and coerce other participants, and passion
should be ruled by rationality.”
Consensus on democracy: Citizenship is inclusive
Society is law governed
What kind of democracy does media contribute to?
Populist democracy as analysed by Waisbord
“Populism understanding of journalism is a world divided between friends and
foes.” - “Bad journalists” vs. “Official journalists”.
Statist model of media democracy: state at the center of media system/market

6. Watchdog journalism as analysed by Kalogeropoulos
● The idealist journalism should have a watchdog role in order to give a
critical coverage across subjects of interest to the public.
● Journalism is supposed to serve society.

7. Development of research question
Did the coverage of marijuana legalization in California, in the period
before the november 8th elections, reflect the normative implications
of journalism in the participatory democracy model as defined by
Strömbäck ?

8. What is participatory democracy (Strömbäck)?

9. Normative implications for journalism in a
participatory democracy model (Strömbäck)

10. Marijuana legalization for recreational
purposes in California
● November 8th, 2016: California voters cast ballots for Proposition 64 that
proposed the legalisation of marijuana for recreational purposes.
● The Adult (the age of 21 or older) Use of Marijuana Act, passed by a vote of
57% to 43%.
● Proposition allows citizens of California to:
○ Possess, transport, process, purchase, obtain, or give away, without any
compensation whatsoever, no more than one ounce of dry cannabis or
eight grams concentrated cannabis.
○ Possess, plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process no more than six live
plants and the produce of those plants in a private
residence, in a locked area not seen from normal view,
in compliance with all local ordinances.

11. CBS
November 8th, 2016
California voters legalized
the recreational use of
marijuana with the
passage of Prop 64

12. Analysis of three articles published
before the vote (August to October)
1. Vice: Why Marijuana Legalization Campaigns Could Fail in
2016 (August 19th, 2016)
2. PBS News Hour: California to vote on legalizing
recreational marijuana (October 16th, 2016)
3. Bloomberg: Marijuana Vote in California May Herald End
of Prohibition Era (October 28th, 2016)

13. Normative implications
for journalism in a
Participatory
Democracy
Bloomberg PBS Vice
Citizens setting agenda “where polls show it
has wide support”
Begins story with
farmers concerns.
Californians will decide
"And if California, goes
down," he added. "It
sets us back a decade. I
don't want to say you
are fucked, but..."

14. Mobilise citizens
interests, engagement
and participation in
public life
“donated $8.8 million to
the campaign to pass
legalization in California”
“Legalizing marijuana in
Massachusetts means it
may be available in
Boston”
States consequences
for consumers,
growers and the state
“In Maine, where support for
legalization stands at 55
percent, the Campaign to
Regulate Marijuana Like
Alcohol has raised over
$400,000—but most of that
money has come from outside
of the industry, including
$50,000 from television host
Rick Steves and $140,000 from
New Approach, a political
action committee funded by,
among others, Napster founder
Sean Parker and Cari Tuna,
the wife of Facebook co-
founder Dustin Moskovitz”

15. Focus on problem
solving and problems
“cannabis-related traffic
deaths and pot use by
minors”
Legal grey area for
farmers since medical
marijuana was made
legal 20 years ago.
Federal laws and
local laws are at odds
- 0:40
-mass
commercialization of
marijuana by for-profit
companies VS
prohibition has done
more harm than
marijuana itself
(700,000 arrests
annually of mostly
black/brown -racism)
“"I support all of these
measures morally and
emotionally," said Randy
Shipley, the CEO of
CannaFundr.com. "But most
of the people that are doing
these campaigns, I am not
sure that the money is being
spent in the right way. I would
like to see more
transparency."

16. Focus on problem
solving and problems
“Law enforcement and
medical groups are among
those opposing
legalization”
-decriminalization of
the consumer can be
the middle ground
between legalization
and prohibition
-criminal drug
trafficking
operations/marijuana
cartels/drug related
violence and road
accidents
-Kids could get
addicted young
"People are concerned about
what legalization is going to
look like for them," said
Michael Bronstein, a
consultant for the American
Trade Association for
Cannabis. "You would think
they would say, 'let's get this
federal prohibition out of the
way. 'But they want stability.
So many of them have dealt
with instability for so long.”

17. Conclusion
After analysing the articles that we selected to do our research we found several
quotes that reflected Strömbäck’s version of participatory democracy.
It shows that in the case of the marijuana legalization in California in 2016 the
chosen articles in part reflected the normative criterias Strömbäck proposed in
his writings when it comes to participatory democracy.
One of the articles (Vice) contains elements that can also be explained through a
deliberative democracy model.

18. QUESTIONS