Showing papers in "Journal of Communication Inquiry in 1997"
TL;DR: Public journalism is a ’90s phenomenon as mentioned in this paper that can be traced to a newspaper in Columbus, Ga., that decided to abandon its role of detached observer and jump into an activist mode to help improve the quality of life in the community.
Abstract: Public Journalism is a ’90s phenomenon. Its first experiment can be pinpointed to a newspaper in Columbus, Ga., (Rosen, 1991 ) that decided to abandon its role of detached observer and jump into an activist mode to help improve the quality of life in the community. While those in Columbus didn’t call their work &dquo;public journalism,&dquo; and in fact, didn’t even realize they were part of a coming trend, similar ideas were being conceived around the country. The official christening of public journalism can be traced to 1990, with Jay Rosen widely considered the founding intellectual father and Davis Merritt as his professional counterpart. Rosen and Merritt were not lone crusaders delivering an unheard of message to the media masses; there was considerable consensus it seems all across the country, media academics and professionals were asking themselves
20 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the issues surrounding gender and technologies, especially new communication technologies, are examined, and case studies of eco/radical feminism and liberal feminism are discussed. But they do not consider the relationship between gender and communication technologies.
Abstract: This paper examines some of the issues surrounding gender and technologies, especially new communication technologies. To do this, it is first important to look at research that has focused on varying definitions and meanings of both gender and technology, and see how they have developed and mutually informed one another. From among the different approaches taken in this area, two will be examined closely, eco/radical feminism and liberal feminism. This paper will also consider theory regarding gender and communication technologies, and case studies in this
17 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors use the umbrella term &dquo;globalization to frame the changing dispositions and structure of global forces such as transnationalisation of capital, and the realignment of the nation-states into regional super-states in the so-called post Cold War Era, as well as the implementation of the interconnected high-tech systems such as satellites and inter-nets which makes talking across borders more possible.
Abstract: Growing out of the histories of world-wide decolonization movements, Cultural Studies has become a major force continuing that critical intellectual tradition both within and outside academic contexts. Having persistently questioned cultural relations of power in local social formations for the past forty years, Cultural Studies is now undergoing a critical phase of internationalization. Such a transformation is occurring very much in response to the changing dispositions and structure of global forces such as transnationalisation of capital, and the realignment of the nation-states into regional super-states in the so-called post Cold War Era, as well as the implementation of the interconnected high tech systems such as satellites and inter-nets which makes talking across borders more possible. To be sure, using the umbrella term &dquo;globalization&dquo; to frame the
9 citations
TL;DR: We were free, but our bellies were empty. The Master had become the Boss-Medouze, in the film Sugar Cane Alley as mentioned in this paper, in the early nineties.
Abstract: We were free, but our bellies were empty. The Master had become the Boss-Medouze, in the film Sugar Cane Alley
8 citations
TL;DR: In the months and years after the coup, as Aristide's exile in the United States dragged on, his supporters continued to find fault with French's coverage of Haiti.
Abstract: on sources connected to Haiti’s military regime and the wealthy elite who opposed Aristide. And, they said, French ignored sources with ties to the much larger pro-Aristide rural majority. Aristide himself, the protesters pointed out, had not been interviewed by French since the coup. Times editor Max Frankel defended French in a letter to the protesting groups. Two weeks later, however, Aristide was given space on the Times op-ed page and, soon after, French published an interview with Aristide (Orenstein, 1993a; 1993b; Chomsky, 1993). In the months and years after the coup, as Aristide’s exile in the United States dragged on, his supporters continued to find fault with French’s coverage of Haiti. They charged that French, following Washington’s lead, treated with deference the military coup leaders. Moreover, they said, he and the Times contributed to a smear campaign against Aristide, giving prominent coverage to allegations that Aristide had been an egotistical, perhaps unbalanced leader who encouraged violence and vengeance among his supporters (Hess, 1994). In July 1994, perhaps in response to the critical pressure or simply as part of a regular rotation, Larry Rohter, the Times Miami bureau chief, assumed the position of Caribbean correspondent, offering a fresh start to Times coverage of Haiti. It was a critical time: The Clinton administration
7 citations
TL;DR: For instance, cultural studies lacks the basic standards of intellectual rigor and quality control that would allow it to distinguish outlandish, jargon-riddled parody from legitimate critical scholarship as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: any more damage. For instance, according to Alan Sokal (1996) and his various sympathizers (on both the Left and the Right), cultural studies lacks the basic standards of intellectual rigor and quality control that would allow it to distinguish outlandish, jargon-riddled parody from legitimate critical scholarship. According to Todd Gitlin (1997), cultural studies’ claim to being a politically progressive enterprise is so far-fetched that the field would be better off if it abandoned politics completely so as to clear the terrain for the real political work that needs to be done.’ According to The Village Voice, cultural studies is an unwitting(?) pawn of multinational capitalism (Frank 1995)2 and an elaborate fraud (Christgau 1997).3 According to Lingua Franca, cultural studies is a market-driven, sensationalistic form of sloppy, &dquo;tabloid&dquo; scholarship that merely masquerades as serious intellectual work (Boynton 1995; Zalewski 1996; Schudson 1997). According to Harper’s, cultural studies avoids rigorous and disciplined critical analysis of the mass media in favor of a mindless
7 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the importance of cultural analysis as a mode of political action in the current technological environment, and relate the internal debates about cultural studies' &dquo;institutionalization&dqo; and events they analyse.
Abstract: events they analyse. Think about cyberpunk science fiction, which attracted large audiences in the early 1980s, but emerged as an object of critical commentary only later in the decade.’ Or what about an event like the &dquo;Rushdie affair,&dquo; which generated wide publicity in the global media, but whose scholarly analyses could neither keep pace with its popular reportage nor apprehend its daily unfolding.2 Such belatedness is endemic to all critical practice, but in this age of increasingly rapid information exchange, it has a special relevance for cultural studies. Not only does it raise important questions about the efficacy of cultural analysis as a mode of political action in the current technological environment, but it relates the internal debates about cultural studies’ &dquo;institutionalization&dquo; and
7 citations
TL;DR: Cultural studies in the United States is failing to meet its most important challenge, the realization of its potential as a political project as discussed by the authors, and it has become a contested terrain of hope for an enlightened approach to interor multidisciplinary studies of culture which benefit from earlier understandings of Marxism, feminism, and poststructuralism and the subsequent provocation of a postmodernist perspective.
Abstract: Cultural studies in the United States is failing to meet its most important challenge, the realization of its potential as a political project. Instead, it has become a contested terrain of hopes for an enlightened approach to interor multidisciplinary studies of culture which benefit from earlier understandings of Marxism, feminism, and poststructuralism and the subsequent provocation of a postmodernist perspective, in particular. Communication studies, temporarily freed from the methodological preoccupation of its past, has embraced the potential of a multidisciplinary perspective which legitimated and strengthened its qualitative inclinations, broadened its theoretical base, and enriched traditional study and research practices. However, neither cultural studies nor communication studies constitute effective arenas for the pursuit of ideological issues; that is, efforts to redefine notions of communication, participation, or public interests and democracy do not even attempt to address the political consequences of an alternative conceptualization of culture and society. They fail completely in providing concrete alternatives to bankrupt utopian constructions of communication and media environments in contemporary society. The present debates over &dquo;public&dquo; journalism and the dismantling of public broadcasting are cases in point. This essay suggests some reasons for the failure and proposes a differ-
6 citations
TL;DR: The old French proverb "one must suffer to be beautiful" as discussed by the authors can be interpreted as an expression of the inner beauty of human beings and it may be understood as the affirmation that people who have experienced much suffering in their lives develop a kind of beauty cultivated through every hardship, as each trial increases their strength and wisdom.
Abstract: The old proverb above, so often quoted in French popular culture, offers the potential for a profound and comprehensive definition of beauty. The assertion that &dquo;one must suffer to be beautiful,&dquo; could be interpreted as an expression of the inner beauty of human beings. It may be understood as the affirmation that people who have experienced much suffering in their lives develop a kind of beauty cultivated through every hardship, as each trial increases their strength and wisdom. Such beauty would be found in
6 citations
4 citations
TL;DR: Popular culture is not a sphere where socialism, a socialist culture already fully formed-might be simply ‘expressed,’ but it is one of the places where socialism might be constituted.
Abstract: an earlier, more specific, formulation, one which established a dominant position in cultural studies, Hall claimed that &dquo;Popular culture...is an arena of consent and resistance. It is partly where hegemony arises, and where it is secured. It is not a sphere where socialism, a socialist culture already fully formed-might be simply ’expressed.’ But it is one of the places where socialism might be constituted. That is why &dquo;popular culture&dquo; matters&dquo; (1997: 453). Others working in cultural studies have not always expressed their attitude to popular culture quite in these terms, but mostly they have shared Hall’s concern to think culture politically. Richard Johnson, for example, argues that cultural studies is political, &dquo;but not in an immediate pragmatic
TL;DR: For another group of grumpy journalists, however, the fullcover ad offering free copies of &dquo;The Odd Couple, America's Team: a report on the relationship between the media and the military was still another excessive public relations intrusion of outsiders who piggy-back on the editorial writers' craving for advertising funds, as well as reputation, independence and credibility as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: cover of its in-house journal The Masthead. For another group of grumpy journalists, however, the fullcover ad offering free copies of &dquo;The Odd Couple, America’s Team: a report on the relationship between the media and the military&dquo; was still another excessive public relations intrusion of outsiders who piggy-back on the editorial writers’ craving for advertising funds, as well as reputation, independence and credibility.’ Sadly, and perhaps symbolically, the Freedom Forum advertisement and other inhouse ads for the NCEW’s own foundation and conferences had
TL;DR: Mchesney as discussed by the authors argued that early writings in the cultural studies genre, explicitly linked with a populist political left, were intellectually exciting and important, but in the last two decades, cultural studies has lost its politically radical edge, and is now largely an academic enterprise neither connected to social movements nor recognized for its critique of capitalism.
Abstract: In the March, 1996 issue of Monthly Review, Robert McChesney launched a stinging critique of the &dquo;postmodern turn&dquo; in cultural studies. He argued that early writings in the cultural studies genre, explicitly linked with a populist political left, were intellectually exciting and important. But in the last two decades, cultural studies has lost its politically radical edge, and is now largely an academic enterprise neither connected to social movements nor recognized for its critique of capitalism. According to McChesney:
TL;DR: Sokal and his supporters have used this episode as a way of stimulating new attacks on the &dquo;culture studies of science and similar approaches (B 1) as discussed by the authors, which has resonated with a diverse number of audiences who see themselves as victims of a dangerous trend.
Abstract: has brought to the surface many latent feelings that have been around for decades (Rosen 1996). For example, the cultural or social sciences are relatively new fields and it has been only in the last several decades that philosophical, literary, historical, sociological and literary approaches have been taken seriously (Keller 1995, 10). As Lewenstein (1996) recently observed, Sokal’s supporters have used this episode as a way of stimulating new attacks on the &dquo;culture studies of science&dquo; and similar approaches (B 1). Sokal’s arguments have resonated with a diverse number of audiences who see themselves as victims of a dangerous trend. Some scientists share the perception that there is a causal connection between the scarcity of research dollars and the rising influence of postmodernity. Researchers in the hard sciences have for decades lamented the drastic
TL;DR: The paradox of subjection in cultural studies was explored by as discussed by the authors, who argued that we are the instrument of agency and at the same time the effect of subordination, or the deprivation of agency.
Abstract: What is the object of cultural studies? If we want to reconsider cultural studies we need an object for our attention. So what of the subject of cultural studies? Are we explained by Judith Butler's paradox of subjection: that we are the instrument of agency and at the same time the effect of subordination, or the deprivation of agency? (Butler, 1997, p. 10). Perhaps we are in a discursive formation that one learns (or has learned) to understand, and from that point on the formation partially constitutes its learner—its "taught." Our investigations then become a kind a literacy, a way of seeing :