Showing papers in "Journal of Communication Inquiry in 2003"
TL;DR: This article used Bormann's fantasy theme analysis to examine hate group web sites as a means to understand the world views expressed and the resulting potential for persuasion, revealing world views that cast organizations' aims in mainstream and traditionally American terms.
Abstract: The development and growth of the Internet and World Wide Web have provided a new and persuasive medium for business, education, and social interaction. Examination of hate group Web sites reveal world views that cast organizations' aims in mainstream and traditionally American terms. This article uses Ernest Bormann's fantasy theme analysis to examine hate group Web sites as a means to understand the world views expressed and the resulting potential for persuasion.
106 citations
44 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a textual analysis of the popular press discourse surrounding two bodies, prominently defined in popular culture, demonstrates specific rhetorical strategies at work in the construction of the appropriate cultural body.
Abstract: Mass media images of gender, beauty, and women have been at the heart of many feminist arguments about the need for change in our understanding of gender and the role it plays in our day-to-day existence. The role of a body, much like the role of a woman, is also negotiated between the pages and airwaves of a popular culture that precariously favors particular excessive behaviors and norms. A textual analysis of the popular press discourse surrounding two bodies, prominently defined in popular culture, demonstrates specific rhetorical strategies at work in the construction of the “appropriate” cultural body. This article explores how these two bodies are positioned at the border of cultural intelligibility and how these bodies, acting as discourse themselves, speak to culture and reify their positions on the margins.
42 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines media fans' web sites devoted to Star Trek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to determine how the code of the Internet allows fans some creative control over media artifacts of inte...
Abstract: This article examines media fans’ Web sites devoted to Star Trek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to determine how the code of the Internet allows fans some creative control over media artifacts of int...
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss Islamic fundamentalism as forming an imagined community functioning within and beyond the nation, and therefore communicating a local/global identity through the use of text, and discuss the role of Islam in this imagined community.
Abstract: This article discusses Islamic fundamentalism as forming an imagined community functioning within and beyond the nation, and therefore communicating a local/global identity. Through the use of text...
39 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the role of globalization in forming and weakening national identity, and hence patriotism in Singapore, and explores the ways in which civic discourse is employed by the citizens and governmental leaders of Singapore to renegotiate national identity and patriotism.
Abstract: Singapore, as one of the world’s most globalized nations, has undergone a series of tumultuous political and economic crises that has forced the nation’s leaders to adopt a very proactive stance to the formation of national identity. To create an imagined nation that would secure economic growth and harmonious ethnic ties, the leaders of the nation chose to define Singapore as a global city, which has had a long-term effect of lessening citizen loyalty to the Republic as the effects of globalization are realized. This article examines the role of globalization in forming and weakening national identity, and hence patriotism in Singapore, and explores the ways in which civic discourse is employed by the citizens and governmental leaders of Singapore to renegotiate national identity and patriotism.
29 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared news coverage produced by the mainstream Associated Press (AP) and the alternative Inter Press Service (IPS), an organization that highlights development issues and seeks balanced geographic representation in journalism, and found that the dominant agency filters news through U.S. hegemonic interests and assumptions, highlighting the need for more diverse sources of information in order for the public to adequately assess world events.
Abstract: This study compares news coverage produced by the mainstream Associated Press (AP) and the alternative Inter Press Service (IPS), an organization that highlights development issues and seeks balanced geographic representation in journalism. A cultural analysis of the two agencies’content provides a concrete example of how AP and IPS articles represent the South differently at the level where audiences actually experience news: the text. The qualitative analysis finds that in reporting on the Group of 77 Summit that convened in Cuba in 2000, IPS discourse emphasizes Southern nations’ cooperation, achievement, and goals, while the AP frames the event in terms of their disunity, neglect, and controversy. It concludes that the dominant agency filters news through U.S. hegemonic interests and assumptions, underscoring the need for more diverse sources of information in order for the public to adequately assess world events.
27 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the representation of female subaltern identity in Gurinder Chadha's films using the lens of cultural studies and postcolonial theory, focusing on the position of marginalized outsiders, the working classes of the western metropolis, much of which is made up by people of color from Britain's former colonies in Asia and Africa.
Abstract: In the past two decades of the twentieth century, a new movement began in mass media with the work of South Asian diasporic filmmakers in the West. Asian films no longer lurk outside in the periphery but have entered the mainstream, with the great success of the film by British Asian filmmaker Gurinder Chadha released in 2002, Bend It Like Beckham. Chadha is the first Asian woman to have made inroads into the mainstream public sphere of the West with her films. Her films give priority to class, race, and gender issues and focus on the position of marginalized outsiders, the working classes of the western metropolis, much of which is made up by people of color from Britain’s former colonies in Asia and Africa. This article examines the representation of female subaltern identity in Chadha’s films using the lens of cultural studies and postcolonial theory.
24 citations
TL;DR: This article investigated the post-Kerner failure of newspapers to remedy past racial exclusion and why the industry's seemingly progressive affirmative action efforts have fallen short of achieving racial inclusion in newspapers.
Abstract: Of particular interest to any inquiry into the post-Kerner failure of newspapers to remedy past racial exclusion is why the industry’s seemingly progressive affirmative action efforts have fallen s...
22 citations
TL;DR: The authors focused on news media coverage of AMIA's attack to analyze the representation of "the Jews" in two major Argentinean newspapers: La Nacion and Clarin, presenting Argentinean Jews in the role of scapegoat, and contributing to the general perception of the AMIA attack as a Jewish problem and a Jewish burden.
Abstract: On 18 July 1994, the Asociacion de Mutuales Israelitas Argentinas (Israelite Argentinean Mutual Aid Association) (AMIA) was bombed. AMIA’s seven-story building was destroyed, and eighty-five lives were lost. Drawing on the literature of news as myth and using textual analysis, this study focuses on news media coverage of AMIA’s attack to analyze the representation of “the Jews” in two major Argentinean newspapers: La Nacion and Clarin. These dailies distanced Jews and non-Jews, presenting Argentinean Jews in the role of scapegoat, and contributing to the general perception of the AMIA attack as a Jewish problem and a Jewish burden. This perception further separates Argentinean Jews from non-Jews. In addition, it diminishes the probabilities of solving the judicial case since the terrorist attack is not acknowledged as an Argentinean problem.
18 citations
TL;DR: The late 1990s biopic Man on the Moon as mentioned in this paper explores the ways in which the film's remembrance of Andy Kaufman relates to and negotiates the "crisis of masculinity" that many writers have identified with the 1990s.
Abstract: This article explores the late 1990s biopic Man on the Moon, discussing the ways in which the film's remembrance of Andy Kaufman relates to and negotiates the “crisis of masculinity” that many writers have identified with the 1990s. With a number of voices noting the ways in which contemporary identity politics have troubled traditional white masculinity, this sense of crisis had a profound impact on the masculinities of the 1990s, effectively marking an identity that has traditionally remained unmarked. Many have discussed the liberating possibilities of such marking practices, however, Man on the Moon illustrates a different dimension of these negotiations of identity. Man on the Moon remembers Andy Kaufman as a chaotic, conflicted performance of multiple selves, reflective of the chaotic identities that came to characterize the 1990s. In the process, however, Man on the Moon forgets Andy Kaufman's Jewishness, remembering a more traditional, white masculinity in its place. Owing to this, I argue that th...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors challenge the recent cultural studies scholarship that champions textual openness of reality television, and present a textual analysis of the reality dating show Blind Date, which they call a "textual analysis" of the show.
Abstract: In this textual analysis of the reality dating show Blind Date, the authors challenge the recent cultural studies scholarship that champions textual openness of reality television. In particular, t...
TL;DR: The United Parcel Service (UPS) strike of August 1997 is now commonly cited as labor's greatest success of the 1990s, when 185,000 Teamster workers brought the nation's largest parcel delivery service to a standstill and won most of their demands.
Abstract: The United Parcel Service (UPS) strike of August 1997 is now commonly cited as labor’s greatest success of the 1990s, when 185,000 Teamster workers brought the nation’s largest parcel delivery service to a standstill and won most of their demands. Despite the fact that millions of consumers in the United States were touched by inconveniences, the majority of citizens supported the striking workers. Also surprising, many mainstream news media dropped their typical consumer-oriented frames for telling stories about labor and instead presented a range of opinions about the status of part-time workers in the American economy, the years of downsizing at U.S. corporations, and the question of fair wages. This critical case study analyzes news frames of national television and print reports and discusses the factors behind such unusual coverage.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the hegemonic articulations of the national and the global, and the constitution of new forms of patriotism in select music videos in India, and make an argument for pursuing the visual as one site where the relationships between national and global in the articulation of patriotism can be tracked.
Abstract: This study examines the hegemonic articulations of the national and the global, and the constitution of “new” forms of patriotism in select music videos in India. The music videos mobilized aspects of nationalism, globalization, and consumerism in generating ideas around patriotism. The article makes an argument for pursuing the visual as one site where the relationships between national and global in the articulation of patriotism can be tracked. Through a critical visual analysis, these issues are examined in greater detail.
TL;DR: A case study of The New York Times Magazine's 2001 special photography issue on women and power as discussed by the authors analyzes the magazine's treatment of the topic of gender and power, and compares it to existing concerns about stereotyped portrayals of women in mass media.
Abstract: This case study is a cultural analysis of The New York Times Magazine 2001 special photography issue on women and power Drawing from semiotic and feminist theories and critical frameworks, the author analyzes the magazine's treatment of the topic of gender and power, and compares it to existing concerns about stereotyped portrayals of women in mass media The author argues that significant factors are prohibiting the magazine's treatment of the topic from being a significantly new or reconfigured vision: tensions between the magazine's editorial and advertising content, as well as a recurring emphasis on the importance of physical attractiveness and passivity, even for powerful women In light of these findings, the author considers existing critical perspectives on how restricted depictions of women might begin to be changed
TL;DR: The authors explored the connection between globalization and national identity in cultural expressions of environmental sovereignty in the Brazilian Amazon and found that competing claims to resources reflect changing notions of state authority and the role of indigenous citizens in protection of biodiversity.
Abstract: This analysis explores the connection between globalization and national identity in cultural expressions of environmental sovereignty. Competing claims to resources in the Brazilian Amazon reflect changing notions of state authority and the role of indigenous citizens in protection of biodiversity. The debate between Brazilian state governments and the Yanomami Indians and seringueiros (Brazilian Rubber Tapper communities) illustrates the complex interaction of national identity and expressions of local culture in a global ecological context.
TL;DR: This paper explored the historical context for a 1933 brochure advertising contraceptives using historical research, Michel Foucault's theory of "subjugated knowledges, and Roland Barthes's met...
Abstract: This article explores the historical context for a 1933 brochure advertising contraceptives. Using historical research, Michel Foucault’s theory of “subjugated knowledges,” and Roland Barthes’s met...
TL;DR: This paper examined the social construction of community through a discursive analysis of the cognitive frames used by socially conservative participants involved in conflicts about multicultural education in two case studies, and argued that the domain of the private sphere (religion, race, gender, and sexuality) is a central component of socially conservative constructs of nation and community.
Abstract: This article examines the social construction of community through a discursive analysis of the cognitive frames used by socially conservative participants involved in conflicts about multicultural education in two case studies. The primary frame explored is that of religious marginalization. Within this frame, socially conservative activists produce texts that reify an ideological boundary between the values of social conservatives and those groups perceived as symbolic threats, primarily public educators and sexual minorities. Since one of the most controversial issues in contemporary conflicts about multicultural education is the role of religion and sexuality in the public schools, this article contends that the domain of the private sphere (religion, race, gender, and sexuality) is a central component of socially conservative constructs of nation and community.
TL;DR: In this paper, a sport sociology course on Michael Jordan, Inc. would be useful for both undergraduate and graduate students to read and discuss, offering important contemporary ideas on American globalization, mediated depictions of black athletes, issues involving sports marketing, and how professional athletes are sometimes commodified for popular appeal.
Abstract: had a particularly strong game, sports anchors have nearly always cited Jordan’s performance ahead of all others. Casual observation would lead one to conclude that he has been portrayed in one of two ways: (1) As the man who could get it done despite his age, or (2) as a one-time superstar who should have stayed in retirement and gone out with the spectacular championship-winning shot on which he originally retired. Either way, his constant media presence is a testament to the attention he has commanded. Michael Jordan, Inc. would be useful for both undergraduate and graduate students in a sport sociology course to read and discuss. It offers important contemporary ideas on American globalization, mediated depictions of black athletes, issues involving sports marketing, and how professional athletes are sometimes commodified for popular appeal. The authors advance arguments with which some will undoubtedly disagree, making the text a valuable discussion source and reference text for those learning about social and economic processes that involve sport and those who participate. Jordan is a phenomenon, and considering his many effects speaks volumes about American society in general.
TL;DR: The last issue of this volume is dedicated to the theme, "Communicating the 'New Patriotism': What Does It Mean to Be a Citizen in a Global Context?" as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The last issue of this volume is dedicated to the theme, “Communicating the ‘New Patriotism’: What Does It Mean to Be a Citizen in a Global Context?” This theme issue arose after a brainstorming meeting at the journal’s home base, the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communica tion. Iowa’s graduate students, faculty, and JCI’s editorial board came together to develop ideas about what needed urgent scholarly attention in our contemporary social moment. With the shadow of the September 11 attacks on U.S. sites on our minds, we knew that issues of nationalism, globalization, and alternative political and cultural loyalties were important issues. However, we did not want to contribute to the understanding of September 11 as this transformative or unique moment in national or global politics, believing that explanations of this moment must be seen in the context of ongoing and complex social dynamics and processes. We also did not want to reify the nation-state or produce an issue that reiterated the tired debate of nationalism versus globalization, that is, that the strength or demise of the nation-state is somehow inversely related to the intensification of processes of globalization, an approach that does not seem to explain current social dynamics. Consequently, we coined the term new patriotismas a way to be open to conceptualizations and social observations about what constitutes patriotism in ways that disarticulate patriotism from its traditional link to the nation-state. The idea of patriotism as political loyalty and love for country had to be com plicated to take into account and include other forms of political loyalty prac ticed and communicated. Thus, this theme issue called for new ways to think about the role of com munication and culture in constructing representations, discourses, and politi cal practices of contemporary forms of patriotism. The journal sought perspec tives about what we mean by patriotism today, definitions that often include
TL;DR: The American Media History by Anthony R. Fellow as discussed by the authorsocusing on the development of mass media in the United States, the author discusses the very dynamic political situation immediately before and during the Revolutionary War, when newspapers essentially acted as organs for at least three general political perspectives (the Tories, Whigs and Patriots) that differed noticeably in their relationship to England.
Abstract: Any textbook that is structured by historical scope works from the assumption that its readers will recognize the overview provided as an adequate account of the descriptive and analytical facts of certain phenomena in society and culture. In the case of academic texts that focus on the history of media, this arguably becomes even more of a conscious requirement for writing, because of the markedly different ways in which the evolving story of media and its sociocultural representations can be told depending on the author’s underlying interpretation and biases. This means that consideration needs to be given to the existence of a range of past media institutions and practices that complicates the largely mainstream account of the unilinear development of commercialized mass media, especially for the purposes of critical thinking skills on the part of journalism and communications students. American Media History by Anthony R. Fellow, by and large, avoids this “messier” account of the development of mass media in the United States and thereby ultimately presents a misleadingly simplified picture of American media institutions. This new text is perhaps instructive as a historical sourcebook to (especially) beginning journalism students, but it effectively fails to contribute to the ongoing and more subtle understanding of how newspapers, magazines, radio, and television have reflected and shaped the diversity of sociocultural and sociopolitical thought in the United States. To be fair, there are numerous aspects of the content and style of American Media History that can be seen as positives, especially for the textbook’s potential usage on the undergraduate level. Most importantly, in the course of undertaking an impressive coverage of American media from the earliest known colonial history to the presentday situation in the United States, Fellow does devote considerable detail to the dominance of print media in society up until the turn of the 20th century. Many interesting episodes showcasing the sociopolitical and socioeconomic influence of newspapers and, later, magazines are highlighted throughout several chapters at the beginning of the book. For instance, the author discusses the very dynamic political situation immediately before and during the Revolutionary War, when newspapers essentially acted as organs for at least three general political perspectives (the Tories, Whigs, and Patriots) that differed noticeably in their relationship to England. In Fellow’s account, standard names associated with revolutionary thought (e.g, Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine) are enlivened as important figures in the history of American media, as many of these individuals published or contributed to publications expressing political opinion. The Federalist and Anti-Federalist struggle to frame the Constitution is also
TL;DR: The Iowa experiment: Theory, journalism education, and practice as discussed by the authors The Iowa experiment is a seminal work in the field of journalism education and research. But it has not yet been studied in the general public.
Abstract: Beliveau, R. J. 2001. The Iowa experiment: Theory, journalism education, and practice. In A heretic in American journalism education and research: Malcolm S. MacLean, revisited, edited by L. M. and G. W. Pieper, 21-34. Columbia: Stephenson Research Center, University of Missouri–Columbia. Compton, J. 1998. Communicative politics and public journalism. Journalism Studies 1 (3): 449-67. Reese, S. D., and J. Cohen. 2000. Educating for journalism: The professionalism of scholarship. Journalism Studies 1 (2): 213-27. Skinner, D., M. Gasher, and J. Compton. 2001. Putting theory to practice: A critical approach to journalism studies. Journalism 2 (3): 341-60. Stephens, M. 2000. A J-school manifesto. Columbia Journalism Review 3 (September/ October): 63-65. Turner, G. 2000. Media wars: Journalism, cultural and media studies in Australia. Journalism 1 (3): 353-65. Wilkins, D. M. 1998. Recommendations for curricula that stress reflective thinking. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator 53 (1): 64-73.
TL;DR: Goodman and Dretzin this paper discuss cultural studies versus political economy: Is anyone else bored with this debate? Critical Studies in Mass Communication 12 (1): 72-81.
Abstract: 86:263-78. Grossberg, Lawrence. 1995. Cultural studies versus political economy: Is anyone else bored with this debate? Critical Studies in Mass Communication 12 (1): 72-81. Herrnstein Smith, Barbara. 1997. Belief and resistance: Dynamics of contemporary intellectual controversy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Hesmondhalgh, David. 2002. The cultural industries. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. The merchants of cool: A report on the creators and marketers of popular culture for teenagers. 2001. Dir. Barak Goodman, prod. Barak Goodman and Rachel Dretzin. PBS. Radway, Janice. 1991. Reading the romance: Women, patriarchy, and popular literature. 2d ed. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.