Mediated Participation in the column “A day in the life of…” E-Book

Nina Ratavaara

• Herausgeber: GRIN Verlag
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Communications - Multimedia, Internet, New Technologies, grade: 3 (vgl. Anm.), University of Helsinki (Communications), course: Mediated Participations, language: English, abstract: This essay combines theory of power relations and identity construction in mediated participations with a case study. The two theoretical aspects are essential to consider when talking about participation in media because there are different definitions, grades, and perspectives on participation. What might seem like full participation might be restricted and controlled more than is visible to the first glance. On the other hand there might be signs and hints of resistance and usage of the participation platform for one’s own benefit, e.g. by constructing a favourable identity. Both old and ‘new’(mass) media play an important role in society and with the rise of the so called ‘new media’ interaction, interactivity, and participation of consumers, ‘ordinary’ people, and citizens have become approaches both in business strategies as well as in democratization enhancement visions. In this essay the term ‘participation’ carries a political connotation following Mouffe’s description which defines the “political as a domain of the social, which can emerge in a wide range of social relations […] Moving into the world of trans-politics, this wide range of social relations would arguably include both mediated social relations and social relations within the media system itself.” (quoted in Carpentier 2009b, pp. 4) There exists participation in and through media. The important characteristics of participation through media are the allowance for participation in public debates and self-representation in the public sphere. (Carpentier 2009b, pp. 4) Participation in media addresses the production of media output by non-professionals. There are fewer examples of mainstream media allowing for this kind of participation than alternative media. In the small number of examples an in-depth examination and evaluation of the power relations and existing imbalances needs to be done by the media professionals. (Carpentier 2009b, pp. 4) The ‘new’ media also eclipsed the already existing participatory potential of the traditional media which leads to three capital errors. As already mentioned, the significance of the traditional media is not taken into account. But they still have a permanent place in the lives of many- be it because of tradition, lacking access to ‘new’ media or because those media types are still central players to create relevance.

Leseprobe

Impressum:

Copyright (c) 2013 GRIN Verlag GmbH, alle Inhalte urheberrechtlich geschützt. Kopieren und verbreiten nur mit Genehmigung des Verlags.

Bei GRIN macht sich Ihr Wissen bezahlt! Wir veröffentlichen kostenlos Ihre Haus-, Bachelor- und Masterarbeiten.

Jetzt beiwww.grin.com

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Power relations

3. Identity construction

4. Case study

5. Conclusion

6. References

7. Case study references

8. Photo appendix

1. Introduction

This essay combines theory of power relations and identity construction in mediated participations with a case study. The two theoretical aspects are essential to consider when talking about participation in media because there are different definitions, grades, and perspectives on participation. What might seem like full participation might be restricted and controlled more than is visible to the first glance. On the other hand there might be signs and hints of resistance and usage of the participation platform for one’s own benefit, e.g. by constructing a favourable identity.

Both old and ‘new’(mass) media play an important role in society and with the rise of the so called ‘new media’ interaction, interactivity, and participation of consumers, ‘ordinary’ people, and citizens have become approaches both in business strategies as well as in democratization enhancement visions. In this essay the term ‘participation’ carries a political connotation following Mouffe’s description which defines the “political as a domain of the social, which can emerge in a wide range of social relations […] Moving into the world of trans-politics, this wide range of social relations would arguably include both mediated social relations and social relations within the media system itself.” (quoted in Carpentier 2009b, pp. 4) There exists participation in and through media. The important characteristics of participation through media are the allowance for participation in public debates and self-representation in the public sphere. (Carpentier 2009b, pp. 4)  Participation in media addresses the production of media output by non-professionals. There are fewer examples of mainstream media allowing for this kind of participation than alternative media. In the small number of examples an in-depth examination and evaluation of the power relations and existing imbalances needs to be done by the media professionals. (Carpentier 2009b, pp. 4) 

The ‘new’ media also eclipsed the already existing participatory potential of the traditional media which leads to three capital errors. As already mentioned, the significance of the traditional media is not taken into account. But they still have a permanent place in the lives of many- be it because of tradition, lacking access to ‘new’ media or because those media types are still central players to create relevance. Also, the focus for institutional structures of the media landscape is weakened and therefore essential dynamics like the mainly capitalist logics are not detected. Finally, the assumption that ‘new’ media are more participatory just because of their technological characteristics is widely spread. But it is not the technology that is defining but the way the technology is used. (Carpentier 2007, pp. 111, 112) For these reasons the case study consists of the column ‘Ein Tag im Leben von…’ (A day in the life of…) of a Swiss weekly published print-magazine, ‘Das Magazin’ (‘The Magazin’).

2. Power relations

A central aspect of power is transparency. Are the power relations visible and to whom? In an interview situation, like the one in the case study, the interviewee might be aware of the fact that the interviewer as a media professional probably has the power to direct the structure of the interview. This also reflects the roles they are given in that situation. But there are more complex power structures and relations which are hidden and those usually are the essential ones. Phelan argues that “the binary between the power of visibility and the impotency of invisibility is falsifying. There is real power in remaining unmarked.” (quoted in Carpentier 2009b, pp. 3) In the interview situation this could mean that the interviewee is not aware of the power represented by the media professional. This person stands for a whole industry on the macro-level. On the mid-range level, the interviewer represents a media company and a specific product of this organization, like a newspaper. The power relations are not dependant on the technology of the medium and it’s potential for participation but more on the organisational element and as stated above the imbalances between media professionals and non-professionals. The role and attitude of the professionals is crucial for the power relations and the level and kind of participation that is allowed for. (Carpentier 2007, pp. 112) A facilitating, respectful and, most important of all, open attitude creates an atmosphere, where the imbalances are cushioned to some extent. If media professionals try to play off the power imbalances by managing the content created by the non-professional the potential of participation is erased. (Carpentier 2003, pp. 426; Carpentier 2007, pp. 113) The power relations between interviewer and interviewee are also a central aspect in the editing. (Carpentier 2003, pp. 438) How far is the journalist changing and framing the story and how much is the interviewee allowed to edit the text in the cross-reading? Finally, no matter how much power a participant receives, the selection and production process still remains in the hands of the media professionals. Additionally, the concept was created by them and the final publishing decision is in their hands. Therefore, they clearly are the power holders. (Carpentier 2003, pp. 439) Power always implies counter-power and strategies of resistance. They are spread through the whole society and linked to the roles one can take. An interviewee e.g. can refuse to answer a question