YOUNG PEOPLE ACTIVITY IN LOCAL MEDIA. LOCAL MEDIA PERCEPTION AND CREATING ITS CONTENT IN POLAND AND LATVIA (SURVEY REPORTS)

Abstract

The following article is the result of over 2 year period of empirical, quantity and quality research carried out in Poland and Latvia in 2014 – 2015 based on a previous piloting study. The research work was done during 3 time visits to Latvia: twice during the scientific internship at Daugavpils University in 2014 and Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy followed by Erasmus + visit to Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy in 2015. Similar studies were conducted in Poland during the period. Analysis and data interpretation concerned perception of local media functioning by young people aged 20 – 26 and their personal participation in a widely understood image of the media. An interesting fact was also how young generation understood local democracy seen through the angle of local media. The research was carried out with the group of 160 Poles who live in one region – the neighborhood of Siedlce and Warsaw and 108 Latvian respondents of the neighborhood of Daugavpils and Riga. The research method was a diagnostic survey and the technique was a questionnaire with the use of a questionnaire form as the tool including cafeteria of close and open questions. The article is proceeded with a short introduction to media system functioning in Poland and Latvia.

Key words:

local media, mass media in Poland, mass media in Latvia, media education, youth in the media, local democracy.