Media Studies

'Did Somebody Say Neoliberalism? On the Uses and Limitations of a Critical Concept in Media and Communication Studies'

by Christian Garland

Published in tripleC - Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, Special Issue: Marx is Back: The Importance of Marxist Theory and Research for Critical Communication Studies Today eds. Fuchs, C. and Mosco,V.

Christian Garland, Stephen Harper

Media Monstering: From Tabloid Demons to Transnational Cyberbullies

by Jim Clarke

Won joint first prize.

The Mediatisation and Anonymisation of the World in the Work of Max Weber

by Gilles Bastin

Max Weber Studies, 9(1), 2009, pp. 123-141

The Media and the Development of the Tourism Industry During the 20th and 21st Centuries: An Analysis of Four Noteworthy Cases

by Anne-Marie Hede

Une exception d'irresponsabilité? Médias et journalistes dans l'affaire d'Outreau

by Gilles Bastin

Questions de Communication, 2008, 13, pp. 80-107

Médiatisation et anonymisation du monde chez Max Weber

by Gilles Bastin

La presse au miroir du capitalisme moderne: Un projet d'enquête de max weber sur les journaux et le journalisme

by Gilles Bastin

Codes et codages professionnels dans les mondes de l'information

by Gilles Bastin

Réseaux, 157-158, 2009, 191-211

Materiality and Meaning in Social Life: Toward an Iconic Turn in Cultural Sociology

by Dominik Bartmanski

Introduction to the book "Iconic Power" co-authored with Jeffrey C. Alexander

With this volume, we push the study of culture into the material realm, not to make cultural sociology materialistic... more With this volume, we push the study of culture into the material realm, not to make cultural sociology materialistic but to make the study of material life more cultural. We introduce the concept of iconicity, and alongside it the idea of iconic power. Objects become icons when they have not only material force but also symbolic power. Actors have iconic consciousness when they experience material objects, not only understanding them cognitively or evaluating them morally but also feeling their sensual, aesthetic force.

Application of Media Literacy and Cultural Studies in K-12 Social Studies Curricula

by Vincent Youngbauer

In 2009, the National Council for the Social Studies released a position statement calling for the implementation of... more In 2009, the National Council for the Social Studies released a position statement calling for the implementation of media literacy in social studies education.  NCSS argues that, if today’s students are to become engaged citizens as adults, they must acquire the skills and knowledge associated with media literacy.  Using this position statement as foundation, I developed a media literacy framework for use in the social studies classroom that applies prevailing theories on media and cultural studies. For consumers of media to engage in the practice of citizenship they need to acquire the tools needed to negotiate the waters of the many media texts that are produced.  For a consumer of media texts to negotiate the meaning and influence of those texts, that consumer must utilize a framework that applies approaches that are historical, empirical, interpretive, and critical.  As we shall see, these approaches are necessary if citizens are to engage effectively in a democracy that is flooded with such texts.

Power and Resistance: A Case Study of Satire on the Internet

by Lijun Tang

Tang, L., Bhattacharya, S. Sociological Research Online 16(2)

Past studies on print and TV satire have revealed that satire can be seen as a site of resistance to power. In light... more Past studies on print and TV satire have revealed that satire can be seen as a site of resistance to power. In light of this, interesting questions can be raised regarding Internet satire: what does the Internet contribute to the resistance and what kind of power relation is played out on this site? Using an example from China, this paper reveals that like its print and TV counterparts, Internet satire reflects a widespread feeling of powerlessness, rather than offering the general public any political power. However, the Internet helps to push the symbolic power of satire to a higher level. This is because it makes satire a tool for the grassroots which facilitates the creation and spread of satirical ideas, and also helps to release and stimulate the enormous reserve of public wit and wisdom. As a result, satire on the Internet has the potential to generate a chain of related satirical work, which can create a satire movement and subject power to sustained shame and ridicule.


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Symbolic Power and the Internet: the Power of a ‘Horse’

by Lijun Tang

Tang, L & Yang, P. in Media, Culture & Society 33(5): 675-692

It is a common perception that as long as people have the resources to access the internet, they are in a position to... more It is a common perception that as long as people have the resources to access the internet, they are in a position to make their voice heard. In reality, however, it is obvious that the vast majority of internet users are not really able to make themselves ‘visible’ and that their concerns receive little attention. Thus, it is more accurate to suggest that the internet offers ordinary people the potential of this power. Under what conditions can this potential be realized and what are the associated implications? Drawing upon the concept of symbolic power, and utilizing a recent example from China, this article addresses these often overlooked questions. It shows that it is not easy to materialize the potential of symbolic power on the internet. What the internet makes easy is to produce follow-up discourse once a powerful symbol has appeared. With the aid of supporters and their follow-up discourses, the symbol creates a symbolic network and takes roots in the society quickly and deeply. Finally, some thoughts on symbolic power in the context of China are also provided in the framework of discourse and social change.

The interaction between mass media and the internet in non-democratic states: The case of China

by Lijun Tang

Tang, L & Sampson, H. in Media Culture & Society 34(4)

The internet is widely seen to have facilitated social movement organizations (SMOs) by providing them with... more The internet is widely seen to have facilitated social movement organizations (SMOs) by providing them with alternative media. In the western context, some authors suggest that additionally SMOs use the internet tactically as a tool to gain access to traditional news media. This usage is seen to reaffirm and reinforce the centrality of print and electronic news media. This article shifts the focus to China and examines the interaction between the internet and the traditional mass media in the unfolding of three internet incidents. It reveals that via the expression of public opinion on the internet ordinary people are able to collectively shape and even direct conventional news agendas. In China, where the role of the media is to ‘direct’ public opinion rather than to reflect it, this suggests that the interaction between the two forms of communication serves to challenge state control over the traditional media.

The Press Subsidy System in Norway Controversial Past—Unpredictable Future?

by Eli Skogerbø

Nietzsche’s Pharaonic Thought: Hieroglyphic Transduction

by Nandita Biswas Mellamphy (UWO)

Forthcoming in Horst Hutter, ed., Becoming Loyal to the Earth: Ecology and Life-Affirmation in Nietzsche’s Vision -- Nietzsche’s Teaching as a Therapy for Political Culture (London: Continuum Books, 2012).

Italian Governmental Media Campaigns to Prevent HIV/AIDS: An Effectiveness Study

by Valentina Bazzarin

Co-authored with Pina Lalli
CHALLENGES IN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION, edited by M. Kefalaki & Y. Pasadeos, Athens, ATINER (Athens Institute for Education and Research), 2012, pp.81-95

Abstract:   
This project consisted of a longitudinal scenario analysis of public health media... more Abstract:   
This project consisted of a longitudinal scenario analysis of public health media campaigns aimed at preventing AIDS transmission over the past 20 years. Using funding and data provided by the Ministry, we determined the types of messages conveyed in these campaigns, the dissemination of these messages, their priority in media coverage, and knowledge of HIV/AIDS risk in the public. Subsequently, we conducted a survey, also funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, to independently verify the social impact of one of these campaigns.

Our analysis shows that new cases of HIV/AIDS have decreased in Italy since the mid-nineties, and the advent of antiretroviral drugs has reduced AIDS-related deaths. Consequently, media attention has waned, as have educational campaigns aimed at sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention, causing the rate of decline of HIV transmission to slow and transmission of other STDs to surge. Today, there are 120,000 people with HIV/AIDS living in Italy (mostly women and migrants), and 100 new cases are diagnosed each day. These data highlight the importance of returning the issue to the top of the public health and media agendas.

Results from the national survey (n=500, male and female respondents, 15-59 years old) showed that while the ministerial campaign examined effectively returned HIV/AIDS to the public spotlight and promoted condom use as prevention, it was not designed according to social marketing principles. It lacked a specific objective, clear target, effective language, a rational dissemination and integration strategy, and it overestimated current public awareness of the issue. This resulted in public misunderstanding regarding the source and purpose of the campaign and poor memorability of the message. This survey also showed a discrepancy between self-reported AIDS literacy and actual knowledge on the issue in the public.

Mediated nostalgia, community and nation: a case study of print media representations of the Canadian Football League in crisis and the demise of the Ottawa Rough Riders 1986-1996.

by John Nauright

Published in Sport History Review, 33:2 (2002), 120-135. Coauthored with Phil White.

This article examines the position of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in the context of 1990s Canada, the popular... more This article examines the position of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in the context of 1990s Canada, the popular discourses surrounding it of a nostalgia for an idealized Canada, and the crisis of Canadian identity as the Continent became increasingly integrated after the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Our focus is on a case study of the decline and eventual demise of the Ottawa Rough Riders, a CFL club located in the national capital that traced its roots to 1876, thus being almost as old as Canadian Federation. We examine the media framing of the decline and fall of the Rough Riders, laments for distinctive forms of Canadian sporting culture and the nostalgic frames in which the story was presented.

Deception cues in political speeches: verbal and non-verbal traits of prevarication

by Nicla Rossini

In Esposito A. et al. (2011) Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication and Enactment: The Processing Issue. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 6800, pp. 408-418. Springer-Verlag: Berlin and Heidelberg. Invited chapter.
Please find it on Springer:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/64l056688102q3q2/

N.B.: THIS IS A PRE-PUBLICATION DRAFT. IT MAY CONTAIN ERROS AND DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE PUBLISHED VERSION. FOR QUOTATION PLEASE ASK ME A COPY OF THE PUBLISHED VERSION OR FIND IT ON SPRINGER.

Deception is a determinant social phenomenon already observed
extensively in the literature of several different... more Deception is a determinant social phenomenon already observed
extensively in the literature of several different research fields. This study presents the analysis of both micro-expressions and voice features in sample TV clips, in order to outline a defined research agenda on the topic.

White man’s burden revisited: race, sport and reporting the Hansie Cronje cricket crisis in South Africa and beyond.

by John Nauright

Published in Sport History Review. 35:1 (2005), 61-75.

Betting scandals shook the world of international cricket during the
1990s with players from Australia, India,... more Betting scandals shook the world of international cricket during the
1990s with players from Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri
Lanka being implicated or indeed involved. The most notable case was
that of then South African national team captain Hansie Cronje, who was
to that point noted for his competitive but clean and gentlemanly approach
to the game.

This article examines South African and international media responses
to the crisis as it unfolded, focusing on the themes of the historically constructed “purity” of cricket, the supposed morality and “purity” of white
Western athletes, and then, as the truth was revealed, “shock and horror”
that this “purity” was betrayed as Cronje confessed. Press reports from
South Africa, Australia, and England were examined for their coverage of
the scandal as international and national issues overlapped. The article
discusses the ways in which the scandal was framed as it unfolded, then
briefly explores the beginnings of Cronje’s rehabilitation, his subsequent
death in a plane crash in 2002, and his “resurrection” to cricketing immortality.

Exporting anti-Zionism: The delegitimization of Israel in the Iranian Press

by Rusi Jaspal

**FOR A PDF OF FULL PAPER, E-MAIL ME**

Jaspal, R. (under review). Exporting anti-Zionism: The delegitimization of Israel in the Iranian Press. Submitted to Israel Studies.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Anti-Zionism has remained an important ideological building-block of the Islamic... more Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Anti-Zionism has remained an important ideological building-block of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This paper examines the manifestation of anti-Zionism in the English-language Iranian Press in order to elucidate how this ideology is ‘exported’ to an international readership. The paper presents the results of an empirical study of two leading English-language Iranian newspapers: The Tehran Times and Press TV. The study uses critical discourse analysis and draws upon tenets of Social Representations Theory and the notion of Delegitimization from social psychology. The following themes are outlined: (i) “Problematizing Israel’s right to exist”; (ii) “Unveiling the global Zionist conspiracy”; and (iii) “Leading the global anti-Zionism – the declining ‘Zionist regime’”. Both anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic representations are observable in the corpus. The paper identifies three key components of the delegitimization process in textual representations of Israel, and discusses possible implications of outgroup delegitimization for identity, emotion and action.

Keywords: media representations; Iran; Israel; anti-Zionism; prejudice; social representations theory; critical discourse analysis; qualitative; social psychology