European Journal of Communication recent issues

Editorial: EJC Symposium Special Issue

McQuail, D. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

'New' Media, 'Old' Theories: Does the (National) Public Melt into the Air of Global Governance?

Splichal, S. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Since its earliest conceptualizations, publicity was believed to contribute significantly to the democratic social order; it normatively legitimized the press and other media as constitutive of the public and public opinion. Yet all the ‘old’ mass media rooted in the property rights of their owners failed to enhance and complement the corporate freedom of the press with technologically-feasible actions towards equalizing citizens’ opportunities to participate in public debates. The most recent technological advances in communication do not seem to resolve this age-old controversy. Rather, an attempt is needed to change the media in the way that would allow of publicity in its original three-dimensional design: personal right to communicate in public, surveillance of the public over government (governance), and mediation between the state and civil society.

Participation Is Not Enough: The Conditions of Possibility of Mediated Participatory Practices

Carpentier, N. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

The popularization of ‘new’ Internet-based media has generated much optimism about the social and participatory-democratic potentialities of these media, leading to predictions about the demise of the mass communication paradigm, and its replacement by a many-to-many communicative paradigm. But as happened before, the reappraisal of participation also produced a number of theoretical, conceptual and empirical problems. Participation became (at least partially) an object of celebration, trapped in a reductionist discourse of novelty, detached from the reception of its audiences and decontextualized from its political-ideological, communicative-cultural and communicative-structural contexts. These celebratory perspectives on participation cover how some of the basic concepts of the mass communication paradigm are still very much alive, providing the discursive frameworks for the reception of old and new media products. This article aims to show the persistence of (a number of components of) the mass communication paradigm through an analysis of the reception of two north Belgian participatory media products. One of these case studies is based on the ‘new’ world of a YouTube-like online platform called 16plus; the second case study is based on the ‘old’ concept of access television in a 2002 TV programme called Barometer. Through an analysis of these multilayered audience receptions, this article shows that participatory practices are not unconditionally appreciated by audience members, but are subject to specific conditions of possibility that are still embedded within the mass communication paradigm. Albeit in different degrees, these case studies show the importance of two ‘old’ key concepts — professional quality and social relevance — for these audiences’ evaluation of participatory practices.

The Changing Urban Landscapes of Media Consumption and Production

Hartmann, M. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Questions of change have always been at the forefront of the social sciences. The article addresses the question of the adequacy of media and communication studies theories through looking at change in both a concrete environment and more generally in terms of linking this example with wider debates concerning social changes in the world of work. The example stems from a study on Wi-Fi cafe environments, in which work does play an important role. To introduce this topic, the article begins by discussing cafe environments overall and Wi-Fi cafes in particular, as well as the seemingly old-fashioned concept of telework. It then briefly presents the study as such, before discussing possible frameworks: the question of the public sphere on the one hand and of concpets such as ‘digital bohème’ to describe emerging work forms on the other hand. The latter is taken to be the more appropriate framework. This is also the answer to the question of which media and communication studies theories appear to be adequate for analysing such changes.

Does 'the Media' Have a Future?

Couldry, N. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Media-related practices have so long been configured in a particular one-to-many pattern that the mass communication paradigm has seemed automatic as both frame for research and fact of social life. The paradigm is summed up in the English term ‘ the media’. But what if the very idea of ‘the media’ is also imploding, as the interfaces we call media are transformed? Does the implosion of ‘the media’ generate a crisis of appearances for government and other institutions? Three dynamics are considered here — technological, social and political — that are potentially undermining our idea of ‘the media’ as a privileged site for accessing a common world. The article concludes that, instead of collapsing, the social construction of ‘the media’ will become a site of intensified struggle for competing forces: market-based fragmentation vs continued pressures of centralization that draw on new media-related myths and rituals.

'Freshly Generated for You, and Barack Obama': How Social Media Represent Your Life

Rettberg, J. W. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

This article discusses the ways in which social media help us craft the narratives of our lives. Many discussions of social media look at self-presentation and the construction of identity on social network sites in particular and the Internet in general. This article switches the focus from the moment of self-construction and instead looks at ways in which social media represent our lives by filtering the data we feed into them through templates and by displaying simplified patterns, visualizations and narratives back to us. The article argues that social media help users to see themselves by taking their raw data and representing them in structured form, and gives examples of different ways in which this data is presented.

Media Industries, Work and Life

Deuze, M. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Convergence culture, as a concept, articulates a shift in the way global media industries operate, and how people as audiences interact with them. It recognizes contemporary media culture as a primarily participatory culture. In turn, this assumption renders notions of production and consumption of (mass, mediated) culture not just theoretically problematic — as has been established earlier in disciplines as varied as communication studies, cultural geography and media anthropology — but also less than useful on a practical level when making sense of the role media play in people’s everyday lives. This paper explores the practical applications of convergence culture from the perspectives of media workers, suggesting not so much the use of ‘new’ categories, but rather an alignment of production, mediation and consumption as constituent practices in all experience of (in) media life.

Mass Communication Tapping into Participatory Culture: Exploring Strictly Come Dancing and Britain's Got Talent

Enli, G. S. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Exploring the vote-in formats Strictly Come Dancing and Britain’s Got Talent, this article examines how mass communication is changing as a result of audience involvement via digital platforms. The central argument is that feedback opportunities provided by new technology represents new ways of connecting with the audience, and thus new challenges for the TV industry.

Review: Paula Chakravartty and Yuezhi Zhao (eds), Global Communications: Toward a Transcultural Political Economy. Lanham, Boulder, New York and Plymouth, UK: Rowan & Littlefield, 2008. {pound}53.00. 359 pp

Wasko, J. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Review: Kathryn C. Montgomery, Generation Digital: Politics, Commerce, and Childhood in the Age of the Internet. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007. {pound}18.95. 347 pp

Provenzo, E. F. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Review: Mary P. Wood, Contemporary European Cinema. London: Hodder Arnold, 2008. {pound}16.99. 200 pp

Fotiade, R. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Review: Paschal Preston, Making the News: Journalism and News Cultures in Europe. New York and London: Routledge, 2009. U$140.00 (hbk), US$39.95 (pbk), 200 pp

Hjarvard, S. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Review: Ralph Negrine, The Transformation of Political Communication: Continuities and Changes in Media and Politics. London: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2008. {pound}19.99. 226 pp

Cushion, S. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Review: David Deacon, British News Media and the Spanish Civil War. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008. {pound}60.00. 197 pp

Keeble, R. L. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

Book Notes

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:15:35 PST

The Educational Character of Public Service Broadcasting: From Cultural Enrichment to Knowledge Society

Grummell, B. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

A gradual erosion of the general principles of public service broadcasting has left a system increasingly susceptible to economic and political interests in the neoliberal marketplace. Education has a vital, but often overlooked role to play in the maintenance of public communication, as this case study of Irish broadcasting reveals. Education is located on the cusp of tensions between the social and political objectives of public service broadcasting and the economic reality in which it finds itself operating. Documentary and qualitative interviews reveal how education seeks to resolve these tensions, and the ambivalent consequences for public service broadcasting.

Everyone Needs Idols: Reality Television and Transformations in Media Structure, Production and Output

Kjus, Y. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

The rise of digital media has generally been accompanied by audience fragmentation, but the trend of reality-TV has helped television enterprises around the world retain their audience’s attention. One obvious reason for this is reality-TV’s increased social interaction with the audience. Also important, however, are the rapidly evolving interactions between media sectors, companies and departments on the production side of reality-TV. This article studies these interactions, demonstrating that the reality TV phenomenon in fact does not promote the status quo in commercial television but gradually reinvents its value chains in digital environments. Spectacular events and live content are more essential than ever for extending audience reach and developing new revenues. The article relates their production to developments in television tabloidization and commodification through a case analysis of the production of Idols in Norway.

Establishing a Multi-ethnic Imagined Community?: Ethnic Minority Audiences Watching Flemish Soaps

Dhoest, A. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

Television is often conceived as a unifying force, creating a national ‘imagined community’. This article tries to apply this concept to the audience of domestic fiction in Flanders, in particular ethnic minority viewers. Based on in-depth interviews with 80 young adults of both Flemish and ethnic minority backgrounds, it focuses on the viewing of domestic soaps. The findings show very similar patterns of reception, both groups preferring American fiction and criticizing Flemish fiction. An important difference is that ethnic minority viewers do not consider the soap world as a representation of their own reality. A related difference concerns their dissatisfaction with the portrayal of ethnic minorities, in spite of the attempts of programme makers to provide positive role models. While confirming the importance of ethnic identity in television viewing and demonstrating the variety within the assumed homogeneous national viewing community, the similarities found caution against a binary opposition between native Flemish and ethnic minority viewpoints.

Four Voices, One Canon?: A Comparative Study on the Music Selection of Classical Music Radio Stations

Kramer, B. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

In different countries, radio stations broadcast what is regularly categorized as classical music. The question arises, however, whether the various stations rely on the same concept of the genre and whether they apply the same programming strategies. In an analysis focusing on the composers of the works broadcast, programmes of four radio stations — two in Germany, one in France and one in the US — were compared. The results are interpreted with regard to the concept of a ‘canon’ of classical composers, changes in ‘legitimate culture’ and debates on the function and performance of classical music stations. Findings are also compared to the composers’ importance in the educational and scientific system. The study shows that the stations essentially rely on an internationally common repertoire of classical composers, but that programming strategies rely on different understandings of legitimate culture and different functions of the canonical works.

Review: Steve Buckley, Kreszentia Duer, Toby Mendel and Sean O'Siochru, with Monroe E. Price and Marc Raboy, Broadcasting, Voice, and Accountability: A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law, and Regulation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008. US$25.00. 402 pp

Hardy, J. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

Review: Gregory Ferrell Lowe and Jo Bardoel (eds), From Public Service Broadcasting to Public Service Media. Goteborg: Nordicom, 2007. SEK280/30. 259 pp

Chignell, H. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

Review: Mark Rowlands, Fame. Stocksfield: Acumen, 2008. {pound}9.99. 122 pp

Pickering, M. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

Review: Daya Kishan Thussu (ed.), Media on the Move: Global Flow and Contra-flow. London and New York: Routledge, 2007. {pound}16.99. 267 pp

Tveiten, O. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

Review: P. Taylor and J. Harris, Critical Theories of Mass Media: Then and Now. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2008. {pound}20.99. 233 pp

Allen, H. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

Review: Dominique Marchetti (ed.), Communication et mediatisation de l'Etat: La Politique invisible. Grenoble: Presses Universitaires de Grenoble, 2008. {degrees}21.00. 200 pp

Maarek, P. J. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

Review: David Buckingham, Beyond Technology: Children's Learning in the Age of Digital Culture. Cambridge and Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2007. {pound}15.99. 224 pp

Howard, A. A. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

Review: Belteke van Ruler, Ana Tkalac Vercic and Dejan Vercic (eds), Public Relations Metrics: Research and Evaluation. New York and London: Routledge, 2008. {pound}22.99. 328 pp

Theaker, A. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

Book Notes

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:08:53 PDT

A Discursive Approach to Genre: Mobi News

Erjavec, K., Poler Kovacic, M. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

This article argues that genres are discursive categories that move beyond the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience and social practices as well. It demonstrates the usefulness of an expanded genre analysis. The genre chain of mobi news, which relies on the use of mobile telephone cameras and is a popular genre in Slovenian and Balkan media, is explored by combining text analysis with an analysis of discourse practice and social practice. Mobi news items are produced as a denunciatory participatory practice in which audience participation is managed by the production team: journalists define the content and the structure of the news while the audience's activity is reduced to spying and denunciating.

Watching the Detectives: Inside the Guilty Landscapes of Inspector Morse, Baantjer and Wallander

Reijnders, S. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Visiting the settings of popular media products has become a growing niche within the tourist market. This article provides a content-based explanation for the popularity of one specific example: the TV detective tour. Three popular television series from different linguistic regions of Europe were analysed, each of which has led to substantial tourist numbers: Inspector Morse (Oxford) , Wallander (Ystad) and Baantjer (Amsterdam). The results show that the tourist attraction of the TV detective programme is due in part to its topophilic character. First, couleur locale is extremely important to the narrative setting of the detective programmes; the narratives elaborate on existing tourist gazes. Second, the narrative development is characterized by a process of investigation and tracking. By taking the tour, viewers can walk in the detective's footsteps and relive the storylines. Finally, the TV detective genre promises the viewer/tourist an acquaintance with the thrilling, `guilty' landscapes of the TV detective.

An Anatomy of Media Hypes: Developing a Model for the Dynamics and Structure of Intense Media Coverage of Single Issues

Wien, C., Elmelund-Praestekaer, C. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Media hypes are a well known phenomenon. They occur on a regular basis and attract much media attention, but there is very little knowledge about them. This article supplements Vasterman's analysis of the phenomenon and presents new empirical evidence. Through a case study of five Danish media hypes occurring between 2000 and 2005, the article shows that not every event has the potential to trigger a media hype: it must, of course, satisfy the general news values, but should also contain some violation of norms, be suitable for public debate and, finally, it must be possible for the media to cover the event from a variety of perspectives. Concerning the structure and dynamics of the media hype, the article concludes that media hypes begin with a trigger event, they last approximately three weeks and come in several, usually three, waves of decreasing intensity.

Beauty and the Beast: Bodies Politic and Political Representation in the 2007 French Presidential Election Campaign

Coulomb-Gully, M. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Though fundamental in the process of political representation, the phenomenon of incarnation is little studied. Incarnation is an ephemeral concept, resistant to formalization, for which the present article wishes to propose a first approach, by formulating the hypothesis that the politicians' actual bodies are at the heart of the operation. Based on a press and televisual corpus, the article focuses on the French presidential campaign of 2007, and analyses the two main protagonists Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal. Starting from their physical dimension, it shows how the body becomes a vector of a sociological message and highlights the manipulation of gender during this latest campaign.

Review Article: Legally Blonde: Developing a Research Domain at the Intersection of Law and Popular Culture: Steve Greenfield and Guy Osborn (eds), Readings in Law and Popular Culture. London and New York: Routledge, 2006. {pound}95.00. 328 pp. Orit Kamir, Framed: Women in Law and Film. Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press, 2006. US$23.95. 324 pp. Richard K. Sherwin (ed.), Popular Culture and Law. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006. {pound}125.00. 612 pp

Hermes, J. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Reviews: Karin M. Ekstrom and Birgitte Tufte (eds)., Children, Media and Consumption -- On the Front Edge. Goteborg: The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media, Nordicom/Goteborg University, 2007. SEK250/27.00/ US$35.00. 356 pp

Bakic-Miric, N. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Reviews: Heather Savigny, The Problem of Political Marketing. London: Continuum, 2008. {pound}60.00. 147 pp

Lilleker, D. G. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Reviews: Nelly Elias, Coming Home: Media and Returning Diaspora in Israel and Germany. New York: State University of New York Press, 2008. US$60.00. 175 pp

Negrine, R. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Reviews: Olga Guides Bailey, Bart Cammaerts and Nico Carpentier, Understanding Alternative Media. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2008. {pound}19.95. 196 pp

Gordon, A. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Reviews: Petros Iosifidis, Public Television in the Digital Era: Technological Challenges and New Strategies for Europe. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. {pound}45.00. 211 pp

Gibbons, T. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Reviews: Mark Andrejevic, iSpy: Surveillance and Power in the Interactive Era. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2007. {pound}21.95. 325 pp

Jansson, A. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Book Notes

Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Article of the Year Award

Wed, 20 May 2009 08:45:55 PDT

Media System, Public Knowledge and Democracy: A Comparative Study

Curran, J., Iyengar, S., Brink Lund, A., Salovaara-Moring, I. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

This article addresses the implications of the movement towards entertainment-centred, market-driven media by comparing what is reported and what the public knows in four countries with different media systems. The different systems are public service (Denmark and Finland), a `dual' model (UK) and the market model (US). The comparison shows that public service television devotes more attention to public affairs and international news, and fosters greater knowledge in these areas, than the market model. Public service television also gives greater prominence to news, encourages higher levels of news consumption and contributes to a smaller within-nation knowledge gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged. But wider processes in society take precedence over the organization of the media in determining how much people know about public life.

`Let's Talk about Europe': Why Europeanization Shows a Different Face in Different Newspapers

Bruggemann, M., Kleinen-von Konigslow, K. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

This article contributes to the ongoing quest for a European public sphere understood as a structural transformation of national public debates. This process of Europeanization of national public spheres has a vertical and a horizontal dimension: an increased focus on the EU as well as more attention to other European countries. A content analysis of quality newspapers in five EU member states covering a period of 20 years reveals common trends across different countries but no convergence over time. Four different patterns of Europeanization can be identified: comprehensive Europeanization, segmented Europeanization, Europeanization aloof from the EU and a parochial public sphere. This article pushes research in this area ahead by identifying and testing factors that explain these differences in newspaper coverage. In-depth case analysis as well as regression analysis show that the editorial mission of a newspaper and the size of the member state it is situated in have a significant effect on patterns of Europeanization. Contrary to common expectations, the number of correspondents in Brussels and the degree of popular identification with Europe did not significantly affect patterns of Europeanization.

Reminiscing Television: Media Ethnography, Oral History and Finnish Third Generation Media History

Kortti, J., Mahonen, T. A. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

This article presents and discusses the methodological issues arising in a project on the advent, diffusion and integration of Finnish television over its 50-year history. The study uses oral history, in the form of written reminiscences, to explore the changing role of television in the life of Finns. This social historical study combines methods of ethnographic television audience studies and oral history studies. This kind of approach is rarely used in media ethnography. It raises questions around themes such as the importance of context, the nature of narratives and coding methods. This article also summarizes how the project's data and methodology have served to produce a third generation media history study.

Information and Communication Technologies and Society: A Contribution to the Critique of the Political Economy of the Internet

Fuchs, C. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

This article argues for the need of Critical Internet Theory. It outlines how such a theory operates by the example of the role of gifts and commodities in the Internet economy. It is argued that after the crisis of the `New Economy', the emergence of what is termed `Web 2.0' signifies the increasing importance of the Internet gift commodity strategy. This strategy commodifies the users who produce content and communications online on free access platforms so that advertisement rates are driven up, and functions as a legitimizing ideology. In this context, the notion of the Internet prosumer commodity is introduced.

Research Note: Breaking into the Popular Record Industry: An Insider's View on the Career Entry of Pop Musicians

Zwaan, K., ter Bogt, T. F.M. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

This study focuses on the career entry and development of professional musicians in the Netherlands. Ten artist and repertoire (A&R) managers, key decision-makers in the selection process at the input side of the record industry, were interviewed to investigate the essential characteristics a musician requires to become a successful professional. In addition, the practices and criteria applied in the A&R manager's selection process were discussed. Based on these interviews, a number of background, personality and contextual factors influencing career success were identified. The musician's social environment should be supportive but critical, while likeability, perfectionism, motivation, insecurity and self-criticism were said to be key personality traits to become successful. For A&R managers, the most important source for finding out about new talent is their professional network. The main criteria for selection are the musician's skills, quality of their music and live performance, and the perceived possibility to sell their music and attract media exposure. The study's findings are consistent with earlier research on the American and British record industry practices, indicating that such practices in the record industry are persistent over time, and that they are similar in other, smaller European music markets.

Review: James Lull, Culture-on-Demand: Communication in a Crisis World. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007. {pound}16.99. 248 pp

Keightley, E. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

Review: D.W. McKiernan, Cinema and Community. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. {pound}45.00. 226 pp

Herbrechter, S. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

Review: Martin Barker and Ernest Mathijs (eds), Watching The Lord of the Rings: Tolkien's World Audiences. New York: Peter Lang, 2008. {pound}16.50. 297 pp

Lealand, G. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

Review: Gordon Lynch (ed.), Between Sacred and Profane: Researching Religion and Popular Culture. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2007. {pound}16.99. 185 pp

Mihelj, S. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

Review: Janet McCabe and Kim Akass (eds), Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond. London: I.B. Tauris, 2007. {pound}45.00 (hbk), {pound}16.99 (pbk). 291 pp

Gray, A. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

Review: Jim Rossignol, This Gaming Life: Travels in Three Cities. Ann Arbor, MI: Digital Culture Books, 2008. {pound}17.50. 224 pp

Wade, A. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

Review: Jannis Kallinikos, The Consequences of Information. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2008. {pound}55.00 (hbk), {pound}19.95 (pbk). 205 pp

Kaitatzi-Whitlock, S. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

Review: Kai Hafez, The Myth of Media Globalization. Oxford: Polity Press, 2007. {pound}14.99. 232 pp

Lian Zhu, — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

Review: Aeron Davis, The Mediation of Power: A Critical Introduction. Routledge: London and New York, 2007. {pound}18.99. 218 pp

Stanyer, J. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST

Book Notes

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:10:31 PST