Javnost - The Public, Vol. 26 - 2019, No. 1
Media, Social Ontology and Intentionality: Notes from Meta-Theoretical Borders
The purpose of this paper is to present a meta-theoretical analysis of three broadly defined areas of academic work with substantial internal complexity and difference: mediatisation, reflexive modernisation and critical political economy of communication. Each developed a complex set of ideas and concepts for explaining elements of media, communication and/or social change. The main argument is that by looking at the intersection between these areas, a more complete argument can be made for explaining the complexity of media and social change in the twenty-first century. Two philosophical concepts aid in untangling the connections and differences between these areas. First, social ontology or the understanding of what society is and what is it made of. Second, intentionality or the understanding of the experiences of actors about society as well as their role in media and communication change. By looking at the boundaries and connecting points between mediatisation, reflexive modernisation and critical political economy of communication the paper offers an analysis of multiple ontological dimensions: cultural and social constructivist, social and sociotechnical and political-economic.
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Representations of Europe at Times of Massive Migration Movements: A Qualitative Analysis of Greek-Cypriot Newspapers During the 2015 Refugee Crisis
This paper presents a thematic analysis of a media criticism against the European Union (EU) during the so-called 2015 refugee crisis in one member-state, the Republic of Cyprus. Three inter-related negative representations of Europe were identified in the Greek-Cypriot newspapers studied at the time: inhuman Europe, fragmented Europe and Europe as perpetrator. All three represented Europe as unable or unwilling to deal with a crisis that Europe itself partly caused or reproduced. This media criticism focused on questioning Europe across pessimistic lines without offering or considering alternatives, thus served to reproduce the EU status quo. The paper discusses the implications of these findings in understanding the role of the media in the con-current skepticism towards EU in other member-states.
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The Liminal Landscape: The Reception of Western Press Freedom in Late Imperial China
The concept of “freedom of the press” has been an essential conceptual tool used across disciplines which has enabled Chinese people to participate discursively in politics since the late nineteenth century. As an alien concept transplanted into China, the introduction and reception of this concept into the Chinese historical context reflects China’s encounter with the Enlightenment and the global discourse of transcultural knowledge transference in modern history. Adopting a historical approach, this article examines primary archival sources in an effort to understand the transcultural travelling of the Western concept of “freedom of the press” in modern China. It describes how the idea was introduced into late imperial China from European and Japanese origins. By contextualising the introduction and reception of this concept in Chinese history, this article further analyses the cultural factors that exerted influences on Chinese understandings and interpretations of this concept at the turn of the twentieth century. It also argues that the legacy of this liminal landscape continues to have an impact on China’s press freedom in the twentieth century and beyond.
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A Stratified and Segmented Citizenry? Identification of Political Milieus and Conditions for their Communicative Integration
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Aligning Adolescents to the Public Sphere: The Teen Serial Skam and Democratic Aesthetic
The Norwegian online teen serial Skam, produced by public broadcaster NRK, makes up an interesting case for exploring the role of popular culture within the public sphere. Since first premiered in 2015, Skam has become an international phenomenon, engaging and connecting teenagers all over the world in online discussions mainly concerning the serial’s characters and romantic plots. Through empirically based reception studies and analysis of online fan activity, we find that these discussions have civic potential and may “build” teen audiences as citizens. Furthermore, we argue that the genre-specific and aesthetic characteristics of Skam facilitate for this to happen. Melodrama, as well as the liveness created by the publication method, are the main features of the serial’s democratic aesthetic.
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Protectionism vs. Non-Interventionism: Two Approaches to Media Diversity in Commercial Terrestrial Television Regulation
Roughly a decade has now passed since the full-scale introduction of digital terrestrial television (DTTV) across the European continent. In Scandinavia, DTTV put an end to the so-called duopolistic television market model, in which a fee-financed public service broadcaster (PSB) competed with a commercial, but carefully regulated, broadcaster—a hybrid. The hybrid concept was an attempt to maintain a diverse broadcasting market also in small linguistic markets. Building on the theoretical framework of market failure, this article compares the impact on external and internal market pluralism of the protectionist policy of Norway, which has chosen to keep a hybrid channel also in the new multi-channel environment, and the non-interventionist policy of Sweden, in which the hybrid concept has been abandoned. The results point to a problematic trade-off, where the more public service-oriented Norwegian hybrid TV2 has experienced plummeting market shares, whereas the Swedish “former-hybrid” TV4—following a clear reorientation towards more market-oriented programming—has been able to uphold theirs. The findings highlight the increasing difficulties of designing effective national media policies in the globalised media landscape.
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Positioning “the people” and Its Enemies: Populism and Nationalism in AfD and UKIP
Much previous research on right-wing populist parties in Europe has concentrated on what they share, and has failed to problematise the term “populist.” This article sets out from one proposed distinction between populism and nationalism, comparing the discourses of two relatively under-researched parties: Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). Analysis of the way these two parties operationalise both a vertical (populist) and horizontal (nationalist) axis brings out some differences, as well as major areas of overlap. The conclusions suggest that such parties activate hostility to elites (populism) in order to destabilise the political landscape, while boosting support for anti-migrant and anti-EU stances (nationalism). The vertical axis is particularly powerful because it exploits pre-existing sources of resentment or suspicion and enables the people to be positioned as “victims,” thereby legitimating their attacks on “others” who threaten the people's space.
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