DIVERSITY BY DESIGN

How do you get citizens/media consumers to voluntarily choose to expose themselves to diverse content? Is there a role for government in helping people make diverse choices? Professor Helberger addresses these questions by suggesting "diversity by design" as an antidote to the ironic fact that broadband media abundance actually makes it more difficult for users to choose diversely. She presents four conceptualizations of diversity policy: marketplace of ideas ("external diversity"); public sphere ("internal diversity"); personal autonomy ("individual choice"); and random exposure ("serendipity"), and suggests concrete design principles to guide regulators in implementing them. However, she notes, in the end it remains for the user to decide.