Abstracts

Program

Joint event

New media: changing media landscapes

Conference Abstracts

Olessia Koltsova, HSE-SPb

Protests, elections and more: mapping the agenda and media roles of the Russian-language blogosphere.

      Recent events, such as 2011-2012 political protests in Russia, May 15^th Movement in Spain or, most notably, the “Arabic spring” have demonstrated that new, Internet and mobile phone based media may play a crucial role in the life of all types of societies.

      The “big” goal of the long-term project partly presented here is to develop methods of analysis of “life” of social issues in such new media as blogs and social networks whose role is especially important in societies, like Russia, where regular media are effectively controlled by power elites. These methods are in turn to be used for detecting and forecasting social cleavages, tensions, and mobilization through investigation of agenda setting processes, communicative functions of user-generated content, structure of discussions and of information flow.  Click  here for more.

Amir Hetsroni & Hila Lowenstein, School of Communication Ariel University Center, Israel.

Old or New? The Media Chosen by the Israely Tent Protest Movement and its Relations to the Respondents' Level of Involvement and Activism

            This study is based on a survey (N=142) conducted face to face with individuals at the Israeli social protest movement's Tel Aviv Rothschild Boulevard tent compound during the summer of 2011, in order to determine the type of media that provided information to the protestors, and detect potential differences in the commitment and activities of protestors who chose old media and interpersonal communication and those who used online social networks. Our findings demonstrate that despite the notion that this protest was conceived and developed in online social networks the protestors' main sources of information were rather traditional. Click here for more.

Elizaveta Gaufman, University of Tübingen,Germany.

Blogosphere as a Natural Habitat for Analysis of Human Behavior

           The role of new media in politics is currently a highly debated topic, but research on new media is also valuable as a part of methodology ‘upgrade’ in political science and especially in securitization theory. Securitization means that a particular phenomenon is represented through a discursive process as bearing an existential threat to a referent object (Buzan et al. 1998, 23-24). The existential nature of the threat legitimizes the use of extraordinary measures to deal with it (Buzan, Waever 2003, 491). However, in order for the securitization process to take place it is necessary for the audience to accept the discursive representation of the threat. The ‘voice’ of the audience in the securitization process has been largely neglected (Ruzicka 2009, Balzacq and Leonard 2009, Salter 2008; Balzacq 2011, 8) and the acceptance of the threat articulation has so far been presumed based on the authority of the security speaker. Click here for more.

Oscar Westlund, Department of Journalism, Media and Communication,University of Gothenburg,Sweden and DMC Research Group, IT University of Copenhagen,Denmark.
Mathias A. Färdigh, Department of Journalism, Media and Communication,University of Gothenburg,Sweden.

GENERATIONAL NEWS ACCESSING IN A NEW MEDIA LANDSCAPE

          Our contemporary media landscape has undergone tremendous change, which has had great influence on the different ways news media are publishing their news. Print and broadcast media have become accompanied by digital news provisioning through computers, mobile devices and tablets. Consequently there are general shifts in the ways people are accessing news. These shifts presumably vary significantly among different generations, although there is currently limited research available that evidence that. Furthermore, with a more diverse news media landscape a number of different news accessing patterns have emerged, in which print, computers, mobile devices and tablets are used in various combinations and non-combinations. The theoretical approach of the paper is situated in the research traditions focusing displacement and complementary effects, which is used for a focused and empirical analysis of news accessing patterns among different generations in Sweden.  Click here for more.

Christer Lie, KTH

Advertisement models for tablets

        The introduction of tablets opens for a new media channel for publisher of newspaper and magazines. The aim of this paper was to find which type of advertisements the readers of newspapers prefer with respect to design, function and placement and what type of paying bundling method the publishers expect. Finally, one more aim was to find ways for advertisements in magazines to fulfil their potential regarding format and interactivity. The studies were conducted as interviews with publishers, web based surveys and focus groups with the users. Click here for more.

Sergey Davydov, HSE-Moscow

 ORDINARY CINEMA CRITICISM AS A PHENOMENON OF SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

         Ordinary criticism is a communicative phenomenon arisen and is developing within online social media. Internet users produce and publish critical texts devoted to various art objects. Authors in the majority of cases are not professional critics or at least their corresponding statute is not designated. Cinema is one of the most popular subjects of criticism. Texts of ordinary cinema criticism are published on specialized sites. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) is one of the most famous. There are several resources in Russian segment of Internet as well: Afisha.ru, Kinopoisk.ru, LookAtMe.ru, etc.  Click here for more.

Ilya Kiriya, HSE-Moscow

Political isolation within Russian public sphere: the role of new media

       The main idea of my paper is to show how the configuration of new medias and their interactions with traditional media system in Russia contributing to isolation of the opposition and to social control of alternative political debate which contributing to reproduction of actual dominant power system.

      My thesis contradicts to dominating common opinion that gives a great importance to new media and presents them like catalysts of social changes for example in Arab World (Khamis, 2011; Pintak, 2010). The direct interaction, the flexibility, absence of hierarchy inspired scholars to make conclusions about non-submission of social networks to the model of manipulated and instrumented communication. Click here here for more.

Renira Rampazzo Gambarato,University of Tallinn Baltic Film and Media School, Estonia.

How to Analyze Transmedia Narratives?

        This paper focus on transmedia storytelling analysis. How to analyze transmedia stories still remains an open question for several reasons, for instance, because transmedia storytelling is a relatively new subject that doesn’t have its own specific methodology of analysis. Other relevant aspect is that due to the fact that transmedia projects are complex phenomena involving multiple dimensions such as narrative, culture, marketing, business, technology and more, to establish an unified methodology able to congregate all the different aspects it is not an easy challenge and nowadays it gives place to methodologically separate analyses related to some specific dimensions. Click  here for more.

Natalia Sokolova,Samara University,Russia.

Understanding Russian Transmedia from ‘De-Westernisation’ of Media Studies Perspectives

      The paper will address some methodological issue of transmedia studies, the most typical phenomenon of the new media age reflecting many of its trends and contradictions. Transmedia (I will examine this phenomenon mainly in relation to popular culture and entertainment media) is a characteristic of the media production, the media product itself, new cultural practices and experiences of the audiences and new model relationship between producers and consumers.  Click here for more.

Andreaas Joeasaar, University of Tallinn

DIGITAL CROSSROADS – BALTIC PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTERS TURNING INTO PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA

      As all media institutions, are public-service broadcasters also influenced by economics, politics, socio-cultural environment and by technology. Compared to Western Europeare social, political, economic and cultural changes in the resent much more dramatically reshaped Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Due to the absence of strong historical public-service culture must public-service broadcasting (PSB) organizations in CEE countries face lack of political legitimation and direct public support. At the same time overall broadcasting paradigm is changing. Powered by fast technological development, convergence, globalization and commercialization has social media challenged all traditional media models. Depending on the political will the changes in media politics towards a new media paradigm can be public-service media supportive or limiting. Click  here for more.

Jan Olof Gullö,Södertörn University,Sweden.

Aspects on Future Television: an Experiment on how to Produce Readability and Perceived Comprehensibility in a Sport Television Broadcast

            The purpose of this paper is to present results from an experiment in TV production. This experiment is a pilot study in a larger research project that aims to examine various aspects of intelligibility, readability and perceived comprehensibility in sports television. The over all purpose is to develop knowledge about production techniques for television production in general and live broadcast TV sports in particular, which takes account of intelligibility as an important aspect of how viewers perceive a TV broadcast. A further aim of the project is to investigate whether there are universals in terms of television production in general and live broadcast TV sports in particular and to develop methods for how knowledge of such phenomena can be used in practical production work. Click  here for more.

Elena Degtereva, Sodertorn University, Sweden

Journalists’ Blogging as an Extension of Professional Communication.

     Rapid development of new technologies and internet has led the public discourse moving to Internet. The Russian social networks and blogosphere became to serve as a central Discussion Core that contains the majority of political and public affairs discourse. According conclusions of Berkman Center Research this core is comprised mainly, though not exclusively, of blogs on the Live Journal platform.

 Russian media were initially established by the power and for the power as a tool for information, manipulation and managing the public; thus the traditional restriction of press freedom in Russiahas significantly deep roots. Soviet media functioned as a propagandistic machine first of all. Collapse of Soviet Union has changed the old order, but factually media remained under the state supervision.  Click here for more.

Gunnar Nygren, Karin Stigbrand, Sodertorn University

Journalistic cultures around the Baltic – in the eyes of journalism students

      One important part of journalism education is socialization into the profession. Values and ethical standards are to be developed among the students, and also a perception of the role of journalism in society. This is done through literature and teachers (often with a background as journalists), but also through periods of internship in newsrooms. The students also carry the values of a younger generation, from a time often in many ways different from the kind of experiences that formed journalism education. In this paper some results from a survey among students in journalism in five countries around the Baltic sea are presented (Sweden, Russia, Poland, Estonia and Finland).  Click  here for more.

 Alicija Gniewek, Interdisciplinary Centre for Security Reliability and Trust, University of Luxembourg.
Media in the Cloud:New World Shaped between Technology and Law.

 Cloud Computing (CC), a new major trend in ICT, is a concept which could reshape the  virtual media landscapes. New features of CC such as dynamic data distribution and resource sharing allow for outsourcing and then processing, storing and sharing massive amounts of data via networks of data centers. CC provides efficient services accessible via simple interfaces without having additional costs like in-house datacenters and IT personnel. These features of Cloud Computing could and have encouraged many businesses to migrate to the Cloud.
This paper aims to analyze and interpret current EU legal requirements dealing with data protection in the context of technical features of Cloud Computing in order to provide a coherent view of the development of media business in the Cloud as well as its constraints. Click here for more.

 João Canavilhas, Universidade da Beira Interior, Dep. de Comunicação eArtes COVILHÃ,Portugal.
Contents Convergence: Case Study at the Portuguese Media

Digitalization in the journalism sector and the emergence of internet transformed media convergence in a new field of research. On a first stage, researchers were centered on convergence processes in the newsroom, namely in questions related with the entrepreneurial reorganization (Ketterer et al.,2004; Quinn, 2005) and journalists professional routines (Salaverria, 2003; Masip & Micó, 2009, Verweij, 2009).  However, it was understood early that convergence influences a larger area: the migration of traditional media to the internet and the fast technological evolution showed that convergence  was a transversal phenomenon that happens in the contents field (Cádima, 1999; Quinn & Filak, 2005), news distribution (Bruns, 2003; Cabrera, 2010)  and information consumption (Bowman & Willis, 2003; Jenkins, 2006; Sundet & Espen 2009).  Click  here for more.

Katia Koikkalainen,University of Helsiki, Finland.(teleconference)
Media Convergence and Business Models: Responses of Finnish Daily Newspapers 

         Since the 1990s the media industry has experienced a major upheaval, brought about by digitalization. The convergence of different media forms and the rise of the Internet have challenged the business models of almost all traditional news media.  In this paper the results of comparing the differences in the strategies and innovations adopted by the daily newspapers in Finland will be presented. The presentation focuses to question, where do the newspaper publishers seek innovations for converged platforms, what are the elements of new business models of newspapers, and how does this affect newspaper production chain and contact with readers as well as economic and financial performance of major, regional and local dailies.  Click  here for more.

Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech, Division of Social Communication and Media,University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw,Poland. (teleconference)
Media Innovations in Polish Creative Industries. Examples of Micro and Small New Media Enterprises

        New media industries have been developing very intensively. Innovations have played more and more important role in media production, services, processes, communications and organization of work, but also in social business relations, for the last couple of years. Micro and small new media enterprises are the most important part of the sector because they constitute the majority of the creative industries. They create news and commerce services, they offer, sell and project online advertising campaigns, create search engines and promotional tools and take care of their clients’ images. Their innovative potential is considerable, what is more, their activity and gains are based on innovations. Improving products or services or implementing new organizational or legal solutions is a must and daily practice in the context of trends, fashion and clients’ expectations, changing very rapidly. At the same time, innovation processes are not isolated. It needs to be considered in the political, economical, social, cultural, legal and location contexts.  Click here for more.