Journalism and Media

This paper explores the political campaigning strategies of Lynton Crosby, and argues that they pose a threat to democracy. In doing so, I looks to shed light on Crosby’s tactics, but also to elucidate exactly what is anti-democratic about them. I argue that there are two worrying aspects to this. The first involves Crosby’s lack of respect for voters’ beliefs, interests and values, whereas the second concerns his propensity for avoiding debate.

“It was a peculiarly beautiful book. its smooth creamy paper, a little yellowed by age, was of a kind that had not been manufactured for at least forty years past. . . . Even with nothing written in it, it was a compromising possession. The thing that he was about to do was to open a diary. This was not illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would (...) be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labour camp.” The Party fears blank paper. On every street corner, you can find newspapers printed With propaganda but blank paper, now that’s nearly impossible to find. For nearly half a century no more notebooks were produced, no blank papers allowed to touch the hands of the masses. This restriction seems odd. Why is blank paper dangerous? What is treacherous about a nice leather-bound book With creamy pages? The very act of Writing on a blank paper is thoughtcrime and Winston knows it. The intriguing question for us is: What’s at stake in the potential of a blank page? There is political potential in a blank page, it could contain a subversive message that could be passed on to others, yet blank paper to Write on is much Weaker than owning a manual printing press hidden in a basement. If Winston Wanted to instigate rebellion against the Party, he Would not handwrite manifestos, he should print them somehow. There’s something else going on with Writing your thoughts in a notebook, and that is related to Newspeak. (shrink)

An important way in which philosophy can contribute to public discourse is by clarifying concepts that are central to it. This paper is a philosophical contribution in that spirit. It offers an account of fake news—a notion that has entered public debate following the 2016 US presidential election. On the view I defend, fake news is Frankfurtian bullshit that is asserted in the form of a news publication. According to Frankfurt’s famous account, bullshit has two characteristics. There is, firstly, an (...) “indifference to how things really are” on the part of the bullshitter. This does not mean that what a bullshitter says is always false. It might well be true. What it does mean, however, is that, unlike a liar, who tries to convince us that a given statement he believes to be false is true, a bullshitter simply does not care whether what he says is true. The same, I believe, is true of the publisher of fake news. Secondly, the bullshitter misrepresents “in a certain way … what he is up to”. Likewise, the publisher of fake news seems to misrepresent what he is up to. It appears that he wants to hide his actual motives. At any rate, so I will argue. (shrink)

A review of David M. Berry’s Critical Theory and the Digital (London: Bloomsbury, 2014) and Christian Fuchs’s Social Media: A Critical Introduction (London: Sage, 2014) which was published in Krisis: Journal for Contemporary Philosophy 2015, Issue 1: Pirates & Privateers.

The ideas that inspired the movement for Black lives have been traced through African-American political thought. However, the ideas of the movement have resonances with Black radical political thought more generally. I argue that key ideas of the movement have resonances with Frantz Fanon’s ideas particularly in Black Skin, White Masks. The stated mission of the movement is to influence global change where “Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise,” and to affirm Black humanity. The organizers “call for (...) Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation.” While these are not the only ideas of the movement, they represent the basic impetus of the movement. I connect these ideas to three Fanonian ideas: his critique of universal humanism, the centrality of the body for affectively over-determined racial relations, and his introduction of “sociodiagnostics” to understand racism and its effects. What, then, does it mean to move for Black lives? (shrink)

Jean Baudrillards Kulturphilosophie läßt sich durch die Behauptung charakterisieren, daß die Medien in der modernen Kultur vorherrschend geworden sind. Seine These, die Medien hätten jeden Bezug zu einer von ihnen unabhängigen Realität verloren, haben zahlreiche Autorinnen und Autoren nihilistisch genannt. Das Zutreffende dieser Kennzeichnung verdankt sich im Wesentlichen einem eingeschränkten, auf das 19. Jahrhundert zurückweisenden Begriff des Nihilismus. Allerdings nimmt Baudrillard auf Phänomene Bezug, die er historisch später verortet und die sich ihrer Struktur nach kategorial von den Funktionen der Medien (...) im 19. Jahrhundert unterscheiden. Es gelingt ihm hierbei nicht, den allgemeinen Realitätsverlust, den er vor allem auf den wachsenden Einfluß von Wissenschaft und Technik im 20. Jahrhundert zurückführt, überzeugend nachzuweisen. -/- Als wolle er diesen Mangel beheben, führt Baudrillard in späteren Schriften weitere Struktureigenschaften der kulturellen Mediendominanz ein. Zu diesen Fortentwicklungen gehört die durch Medienmacht erzeugte „Transparenz“, die nicht zuletzt die restlose Durchsichtigkeit aller Zustände und Prozesse meint. Es ist dieses Merkmal, das Baudrillard 1981 selbst mit einem Nihilismusbegriff in Verbindung bringt. Der Nihilismus der Transparenz beansprucht, das spezifisch Neue der Sinnlosigkeit in zunehmend wissenschafts- und technikbestimmten Gesellschaften zu erfassen. Obwohl sich die Schwächen der Medientheorie in seiner Auffassung des Nihilismus reflektieren, gelingt es ihm, Phänomene der Nichtigkeit zu beschreiben, für die man gute Gründe hat anzunehmen, daß sie sich durch keinen Werte- oder Einstellungswandel mehr aufheben lassen. Um diese Einsicht zu begründen, muß man Baudrillards Medientheorie allerdings gleichsam vom Kopf auf die Füße stellen. Nicht auf einen evidenten, alles umfassenden Realitätsverlust, sondern umgekehrt auf einen Teil der vermutlichen Realitätsgehalte der Medien läßt sich die drohende Ausdehnung der Transparenz zurückführen. (shrink)

: Despite being a new term, ‘fake news’ has evolved rapidly. This paper argues that it should be reserved for cases of deliberate presentation of false or misleading claims as news, where these are misleading by design. The phrase ‘by design’ here refers to systemic features of the design of the sources and channels by which fake news propagates and, thereby, manipulates the audience’s cognitive processes. This prospective definition is then tested: first, by contrasting fake news with other forms of (...) public disinformation; second, by considering whether it helps pinpoint conditions for the proliferation of fake news. Résumé: En dépit de son utilisation récente, l’expression «fausses nouvelles » a évolué rapidement. Cet article soutient qu'elle devrait être réservée aux présentations intentionnelles d’allégations fausses ou trompeuses comme si elles étaient des nouvelles véridiques et où elles sont faussées à dessein. L'expression «à dessein» fait ici référence à des caractéristiques systémiques de la conception des sources et des canaux par lesquels les fausses nouvelles se propagent et par conséquent, manipulent les processus cognitifs du public. Cette définition prospective est ensuite mise à l’épreuve: d'abord, en opposant les fausses nouvelles à d'autres formes de désinformation publique; deuxièmement, en examinant si elle aide à cerner les conditions de la prolifération de fausses nouvelles. (shrink)

This chapter aims to direct attention to the political dimension of the social media age. Although current events like the Cambridge Analytica data breach managed to raise awareness for the issue, the systematically organized and orchestrated mechanisms at play still remain oblivious to most. Next to dangerous monopoly-tendencies among the powerful players on the market, reliance on automated algorithms in dealing with content seems to enable large-scale manipulation that is applied for economical and political purposes alike. The successful replacement of (...) traditional parties by movements based on personality cults around marketable young faces like Emmanuel Macron or Austria’s Sebastian Kurz is strongly linked to products and services offered by an industry that simply provides likes and followers for cash. Inspired by Trump’s monopolization of the Twitter-channel, these new political acteurs use the potential of social media for effective message control, allowing them to avoid confrontations with professional journalists. In addition, an extremely active minority of organized agitators relies on the viral potential of the web to strongly influence and dictate public discourse – suggesting a shift from the Spiral of Silence to the dangerous illusion of a Nexus of Noise. (shrink)

This volume compiles international contributions that explore the potential risks and chances coming along with the wide-scale migration of society into digital space. Suggesting a shift of paradigm from Spiral of Silence to Nexus of Noise, the opening chapter provides an overview on systematic approaches and mechanisms of manipulation – ranging from populist political players to Cambridge Analytica. After a discussion of the the juxtaposition effects of social media use on social environments, the efficient instrumentalization of Twitter by Turkish politicans (...) in the course of the US-decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is being analyzed. Following a case study of Instagram, Black Lives Matter and racism is a research about the impact of online pornography on the academic performance of university students. Another chapter is pointing out the potential of online tools for the successful relaunch of shadow brands. The closing section of the book deals with the role of social media on the opinion formation about the Euromaidan movement during the Ukrainian revolution and offers a comparative study touching on Russian and Western depictions of political documentaries in the 2000s. (shrink)

Peer review process helps in evaluating and validating of research that is published in the journals. U.S. Office of Research Integrity reported that data fraudulence was found to be involved in 94% cases of misconduct from 228 identified articles between 1994–2012. If fraud in published article are significantly as high as reported, the question arise in mind, were these articles peer reviewed? Another report said that the reviewers failed to detect 16 cases of fabricated article of Jan Hendrick Schon. Superficial (...) peer reviewing process does not reveals suspicion of misconduct. Lack of knowledge of systemic review process not only demolish the academic integrity in publication but also loss the trust of the people of the institution, the nation, and the world. The aim of this review article is to aware stakeholders specially novice reviewers about the peer review system. Beginners will understand how to review an article and they can justify better action choices in dealing with reviewing an article. (shrink)

Why do we trust TV news? What reasons might support a recipient’s assessment of the trustworthiness of this kind of information? This paper presents a veritistic analysis of the epistemic practice of news production and communication. The topic is approached by discussing a detailed case study, namely the characteristics of the most popular German news programme, called the ‘Tagesschau’. It will be shown that a veritistic analysis can indeed provide a recipient with relevant reasons to consider when pondering on the (...) trustworthiness of sources of information. Moreover, it will turn out that these reasons are part of what recipients might gather from media literacy. (shrink)

When a society is characterized by a climate of distrust, how does this impact the professional practices of news journalism? I focus on the practice of balance, or fair presentation of both sides in a story. I articulate a two-step model of how trust modulates the acceptance of tes-timony and draw out its implications for justifying the practice of balance.

In this paper, I offer a conceptual analysis of fake news. In essence, I suggest analysing this notion as a species of Frankfurtian bullshit. This construal, I argue, allows us to distinguish it from similar phenomena like bad or biased journalism and satire. First, I introduce four test cases. The first three are, intuitively, not cases of fake news, while the fourth one is. A correct conceptual analysis should, hence, exclude the first three while including the fourth. Next, I go (...) through some factors that could explain the difference between the first three cases and the fourth one before I offer my explanation. After that, I propose an analysis of fake news and show that it matches our intuitions about the four test cases. Finally, I consider a possible objection to my proposal. (shrink)

The article devoted to the analysis of advertising texts in terms of both diachrony and synchrony. Advertising texts relating to the texts of the mass media carry out several communicative and pragmatic functions in the modern society. Evolution of this type of text indicates that without advertising the successful activity of producers of goods and services in a market economy is unthinkable. On the extensive empirical material borrowed from the German press, various sub-types of advertising texts are established, a number (...) of both linguistic and non-linguistic means used in modern advertising for the realization of its purposes, including manipulative ones, are revealed. In order to achieve their goal, copywriters tend to appeal to a number of social values. Despite the fact that the main pragmatic purpose of advertising is updated with the help of morphological means, specific syntactic constructions, and lexical units, the non-verbal component plays a significant role in realizing the impact on recipients. Modern advertising occupies one of the leading places in the media, being the most mobile and dynamic texts. Since many linguistic and non-linguistic means are used in them for manipulative purposes, one can in some cases talk about so-called hidden advertising. The analysis showed that the main principle of constructing an advertising text is the tendency to the apparent simplicity of information delivery. However, in reality advertising is built on much more complex principles, which initially assume not to resort to an objective description of the product or service. It is established that the advertising texts are actively studied from the position of a number of modern scientific branches. They are not only medialinguistics and the sociology of mass communication, but also communicative linguistics, theories of discourse, psycho- and sociolinguistics. (shrink)

Το βιβλίο ΑΜΦΙΔΡΟΜΗ ΔΙΑΦΗΜΙΣΗ: ΔΥΝΑΜΙΚΗ ΕΠΙΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΠΟΧΗ ΤΗΣ ΠΛΗΡΟΦΟΡΙΑΣ των Εκδόσεων LIBRIS-TECH αποτελεί ένα εγχειρίδιο για την επιτυχημένη πλοήγηση στα νέα διαφημιστικά μέσα: Διαδίκτυο, κινητή τηλεφωνία, διαδραστική τηλεόραση. -/- Η συγγραφική ομάδα (Α. Αϊβαλής, Λ. Αρριανάς, Γ. Δημητρόπουλος, Δ. Μοσχοπούλου, Β. Μπακόπουλος, Γ. Ροσσολάτος, Ε. Σακκάς, Γ. Σαλιάρης-Φασσέας / επιμέλεια ύλης: Γ. Ροσσολάτος) αποτελείται από επαγγελματίες του χώρου, που στόχο τους έχουν να μεταφέρουν την τεχνογνωσία τους σε θέματα σχεδίασης, υλοποίησης και ελέγχου μιας διαφημιστικής εκστρατείας στα Αμφίδρομα Διαφημιστικά Μέσα, (...) με γνώμονα πάντοτε τα προβλήματα που οι ίδιοι αντιμετωπίζουν σε πραγματικές συνθήκες. -/- Μέσα από μια πληθώρα case-studies από την Ελλάδα και το εξωτερικό, εξετάζονται ποικίλα θέματα που σχετίζονται με την Αμφίδρομη Διαφήμιση, όπως το πώς μπορεί μια διαφημιστική εκστρατεία στα Αμφίδρομα Διαφημιστικά Μέσα να ενταχθεί με επιτυχία σε ένα ολοκληρωμένο πρόγραμμα επικοινωνίας, ποιες είναι οι νομικές πτυχές της διαφήμισης στο Διαδίκτυο και ποια η προβληματική περί προστασίας των προσωπικών δεδομένων κ.λπ. -/- Με δεδομένο ότι το θέμα της Αμφίδρομης Διαφημιστικής Επικοινωνίας είναι αρκετά σύνθετο για να εξαντληθεί στο πλαίσιο μιας μεμονωμένης έκδοσης, το βιβλίο αυτό φιλοδοξεί να αναδείξει τις σημαντικότερες πλευρές του και να αποτελέσει έναν χρήσιμο οδηγό στην πλοήγησή σας στην πολυτάραχη θάλασσα της Αμφίδρομης Διαφήμισης. -/- Γ.Ροσσολάτος 2002. (shrink)

The report describes an investigation into possible business models for open access journals and books within philosophy conducted 2012-14.

This is a review of a book which is unique in the history of contemporary ideas --- the authors make explicit the religious imperative in a connected world which is glocal.

In a theoretical reflection, the aim of this paper is primarily to discuss alterity in journalism. We believe that journalism plays a fundamental role in the construction of knowledge on similarities and differences between human beings, stressing social diversity as one of its purposes. We associate the concept of otherness, understood as a singular mode of existence of the “other”, with the purpose of journalism and with actions of empathy, sympathy and compassion. Based on a phenomenological perspective, we discuss the (...) importance of the meeting between the "self" and the "other", as well as the ability of journalists to perceive and narrate on the aspects that shape the identities of human beings. Moreover, we discuss otherness in journalistic narratives, approaching the relation between the lifeworld and the world of text... (shrink)

The article devoted to Magic Lamp magazine, the Russian periodical of 1817. The magazine was published in Saint Petersburg in small printing; only 12 issues were published. It makes Magic Lamp magazine to be a bibliographical rarity. Objective function of Magic Lamp magazine was to amuse and enlighten people. In addition, it could be used as peculiar phrasebook and guidebook for foreigners visiting Saint Petersburg. The articles display typical everyday episodes taking place in the capital of Russia in the early (...) 19th century. It is a valuable source of information about Saint Petersburg’s everyday life and folkways of the time, when Pushkin was living there. Magic Lamp magazine is an artifact of polygraphic culture, because it is one of the first illustrated magazines in Russia. Magic Lamp magazine can be qualified as sociocultural phenomenon valuable for comprehension and study of Russian history, way of life, and linguistics. (shrink)

The purpose of this volume is to broadly discuss the media’s responsibility to provide discursive contributions to the ethical and moral challenges of our times. At the crossroads of intellectual progress and profit-orientation, questionable concentration tendencies in the academic publishing industry pose a threat to the reputation and integrity of higher education. The actions of whistleblowers like Edward Snowden have radically changed our perception of privacy, stiring debates about the ethical and moral dilemma attached to the disclosures. Islam and religion (...) continue to rank as urgent topics in the news – with the most influential contributors to thje public discourse often belonging to ideologically influenced Western voices. One century after the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, Russia is still negotiating how to categorize these events – which has recently beenpointed out in a controversial TV show. The example of Nigeria makes clear that insecurity and national development go hand in hand with responsible press coverage while the low self-perception of the Belarusian film industry is due partly to its depiction in the country’s only cinematographic publication. (shrink)

Ausgehend von der, von Journalisten und Musikern immer wieder bemühten Metapher des 'Black CNN' wird versucht, das Potenzial der musikalischen Ausdrucksform des HipHop als Kommunikationsstruktur der Schwarzen Minderheit in den USA zu analysieren. Nach einer historisch-kulturellen Erläuterung, die sich mit der Tradition der Reflektion sozialer und politischer Aspekte in den unterschiedlichen musikalischen Äußerungen der Schwarzen Volksgruppe in den USA beschäftigt und schon ansatzweise die Bedeutung dieser Ausdrucksmöglichkeit im Kontext eines 'internal colonialsm' vor Augen führt, werden jene soziodemographischen Entwicklungen nachvollziehbar gemacht, (...) die sich als zentraler Kritikpunkt in den verbalen Artikulationen des HipHop widerspiegeln. Bestehende mediale Dysfunktionen hinsichtlich der Repräsentation von Angehörigen der Schwarzen Minderheit werden mit einem entsprechenden Fallbeispiel belegt. Vor dem theoretischem Hintergrund von 'cultural citizenship' - ein Konzept zur Bestimmung kultureller Teilhabe in der Mediengesellschaft -, werden 25 Textbeispiele, die sich auf HipHop-Veröffentlichungen von 1982 bis 2004 finden, auf ihre Übereinstimmung mit Indikatoren untersucht, die sich aus, den Medien zugeschriebenen, politischen und sozialen Funktionen ableiten lassen. Die angewandte Inhaltsanalyse lässt zahlreiche Entsprechungen erkennen, die sich zum Teil in komplexen, der Kritik- und Kontrollfunktion bzw. Integrationsfunktion der Medien zuzuordnenden Inhalten äußern. (shrink)

This article has highlighted some of the issues related to projects and how to deal with it. So often projects start and its completion becomes a challenge due to some the related issues discussed above. The project manager must monitor and control the human side of his project. This involves utilizing appropriate forms of power in managing the project team to obtain desired results. Project teams also need to manage stakeholder expectations through understanding their expectations, delivering on those expectations, and (...) communicating effectively (Kloppenborg, 2012). This will give the project manager the upper hand to deal with issues that may cause the failure of the project. (shrink)

Internal mechanisms that uphold the reliability of published scientific results have failed across many sciences, including some that are major sources of science news. Traditional methods for reporting science in the mass media do not effectively compensate for this unreliability. I argue for a new conceptual framework in which science journalists and scientists form a complex knowledge community, with science news as the interdisciplinary product. This approach motivates forms of collaboration and training that can improve the epistemic reliability of science (...) news. (shrink)

The article is devoted to the review and analysis of journalistic discourse from the perspective of its pragmatic characteristics. It has been suggested that any written text published on the pages of periodicals is a dialectical unity of language and media features, formed by three levels of mediaspeech: verbal text, the level of funds and the level of iconic graphic image is a part of a journalistic discourse. This type of discourse is related to the institutional discourse. In order to (...) identify characteristic features of journalistic discourse in the selected angle of study its definition is discussed, the notions of journalistic discourse and media text are divided, and on a material of modern German language the characteristics of the language code in the texts of journalistic discourse are identified. It is found that with the development of the theory of discourse, including journalistic discourse, the text is moving to the center of linguistic studies and it is analyzed in its interaction with the pragmatic factors. That linguistic pragmatics provides the basis for theoretical studies of the text as an appropriate discourse component and treats it as intentional communicative action, which is realized by means of appropriate lexical and morphological tools, terminology and grammar structures. The peculiar language of the text code is predetermined, first of all, communicative-pragmatic function performed by the analyzed text. (shrink)

The objective of this project is to investigate the tendentious dichotomization between so-called 'conservatives', 'radicals' or 'Islamists' and non-practicing Muslims who serve as an examplification for so-called 'moderate' Muslim behavior. Using qualitaitive content analysis, the study is focusing on how news reports in Western media are suggesting constitutional acts for practicing Muslims such as ritual prayer and fasting as possible indications for radicalization processes as well as culturally coined categories such as the growing of beards or wearing of traditional clothes (...) as categories for integration. (shrink)

While many papers may claim that virtual environments have much to gain from architectural and urban planning theory, few seem to specify in any verifiable or falsifiable way, how notions of place and interaction are best combined and developed for specific needs. The following is an attempt to summarize a theory of place for virtual environments and explain both the shortcomings and the advantages of this theory.

The purpose of this article is to provide viewpoints and discussion of a variety of potentially problematic aspects and mechanisms regarding academic publishing in relation to economical and ethical issues. Starting with the establishment of wide-scale internet access in the beginning of the 21st century, a considerable increase of plagiarism and more sophisticated forms of academic fraud, expanded infrastructure of academic publication channels and forms, combined with strong tendencies of concentration in terms of research disciplines and outlets have now led (...) to certain undesirable developments. Next to the general business model operating according to these parameters, the purpose, reliability and authenticity of circulated rankings and grading systems of academic publishers as well as citation indexes will be critically discussed in relation to new open access possibilities that start to question the outdated structures of the established system. (shrink)

This Volume is designed to introduce the reader to a few selected topics reflecting on aspects of Nigerian media and culture, where traditional forms of communication meet with the technical possibilities and globalized vision of the 21st century. It is a very important part of the concept of this book and our clear intention as Editors to provide an international platform for Nigerian future academics to address selected key issues and demonstrate interesting aspects of tradition and modernity from their very (...) own perspective. Next to an introductory contribution by the Editors highlighting the considerable influence of Nigerian music and culture on those of the Black diaspora in the USA and vice-versa, the book includes detailed case-studies of various Nigerian media outlets. (shrink)

This edited volume is designed to explore different perspectives of culture, identity and social development using the impact of the digital age as a common thread, aiming at interdisciplinary audiences. Cases of communities and individuals using new technology as a tool to preserve and explore their cultural heritage alongside new media as a source for social orientation ranging from language acquisition to health-related issues will be covered. Therefore, aspects such as Art and Cultural Studies, Media and Communication, Behavioral Science, Psychology, (...) Philosophy and innovative approaches used by creative individuals are included. From the Aboriginal tribes of Australia, to the Maoris of New Zealand, to the mystical teachings of Sufi brotherhoods, the significance of the oral and written traditions and their current relation to online activities shall be discussed in the opening article. The book continues with a closer look at obesity awareness support groups and their impact on social media, Facebook usage in language learning context, smartphone addiction and internet dependency, as well as online media reporting of controversial ethical issues. The Digital progress has already left its dominating mark as the world entered the 21st century. Without a doubt, as technology continues its ascent, society will be faced with new and altering values in an effort to catch-up with this extraordinary Digitization, adapt satisfactorily in order to utilize these strong developments in everyday life. (shrink)

Recent proposals to improve public communication about animal-based biomedical research have been narrowly focused on reforming biomedical journal submission guidelines. My suggestion for communication reform is broader in scope reaching beyond the research community to healthcare communicators and ultimately the general public. The suggestion is for researchers to provide journalists and public relations practitioners with concise summaries of their ‘animal use data’. Animal use data is collected by researchers and intended for the public record but is rarely, if ever, given (...) significant media exposure. By providing healthcare communicators with specific details about their animal use, researchers can play a role informing people about a matter of serious public interest and help to promote a more open and publicly accountable animal research culture. (shrink)

In this paper I suggest practical measures that can address some familiar, and some not so familiar, commercial obstacles to increasing media coverage of dissident opinion.The kernel of my proposal is for media codes of practice and workplace norms to reflect an ethical distinction between different kinds of commercial speech.

This master thesis analyzes specific challenges concerning 'truth-telling' war reporters face when reporting on international conflict. For this purpose truth is examined in accordance with journalistic principles outlined in codes of ethics, with a focus on objectivity and fairness. The aim is to discover ways to improve the application of principles, in order to battle epistemic errors and the effects they entail: polarization, reductionism, and superficiality. The study concludes that providing context and nuance is crucial, but that codes - although (...) essential - are insufficient in helping journalists decide what is relevant and what is not. An approach in virtue ethics is recommended where phronesis (or practical wisdom) can inspire responsible journalists to comply with the spirit, rather than the letter of the principles. (shrink)

The controversy between Richard Wagner and his critic Eduard Hanslick is well known, but rarely looked at in detail. It is mostly believed that Hanslick was unable to see Wagner's genius, stuck deeply in an antiquated aesthetical world. By reassessing Wagner's and Hanslick's letters and publications it can be seen, however, that Hanslick's detailed criticism (and also appreciation) was much more objective and less spiteful than is often assumed.

In this article I consider what the implications of ubuntu, interpreted as an African moral philosophy, are for self-expression as a value that the media could help to promote. In contrast to the natural hunches that self-expression is merely a kind of narcissism or makes sense for only individualist cultures to prize, I argue that an attractive construal of ubuntu entails that self-expression can play an important communitarian role. The mass media can be obligated to enable people to express themselves (...) since doing so can be one way for people to share with and care for others. (shrink)

Modern tendencies of genre formatting in printed media in Russia are analyzed in the article. A number of printed periodicals are investigated, namely “Ekonomika i zhizn’”, “Vedomosti”, “Schastlivye roditeli” (more than 1200 texts) and 5 regional Moscow newspapers (“Kolomenskaya Pravda”, “Zarya”, “Orekhovo-Zuevskaya Pravda”, “Serebryanoprudsky Vestnik”, “Khimkinskie Novosti”) comprising more than 400 texts. The author states that formatting of modern printed media and formatting of the used genres occur within the main tendencies of journalism development. They are PR, Westernization, glamorization and (...) usage of Western journalism patterns. It leads to distribution of new text types, such as an advertising article, an ordered article, an image and supporting articles. Some changes in the process of genre formatting in Russia are determined: traditional genre forms characteristic for Russia are reduced and hybrid genres appear instead whereas journalism genres mutate and Western ones are widely applied. This results in news reports as the most popular genres whereas high quality analytical and art-journalistic genres are reduced. (shrink)

The process of merging the political, economic and media power in Italy and the role of the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi are discussed. “La Repubblica” and “L’Unita” publications are investigated (2009–2010) and compared via the famous European media as “The Financial Times”, “The Times”, “The Independent”, ”Le Monde”, “La Liberation”, “Le Nouvel Obstrvateur”, “El Pais” and “Der Spigel”. In particular the author pays the attention to polemics devoted to the information freedom protection. The existence of media empires in modern (...) mass media hinders one of the main functions of the press, namely the spreading of objective and full information on all sides of the society life directed by plurality in informational and analytical material. At the same moment in time the mass media influence on the fates of the leading political figures, Silvio Berlusconi in particular. A topical problem of complex relations of modern press and different political, social and power structures is analyzed on the Italian example. (shrink)