Scholars should act on the presumption that there are big problems in the public sphere, and that they require long-term research and innovation to be addressed properly. The dying out of local newspapers, the monolithic dominance of big technology companies, and the fake news permeating social media are just a few of the problems that undermine public debate. In particular, media scholars and information scientists must take centre stage in shaping the qualities of emerging media. We must do our best to improve the methods and