Suchergebnisse

In light of the importance of culture for the autonomy, sense of identity, and self-respect of individuals, cultural minorities have a right that their cultures flourish. Since cultural minorities are frequently in a disadvantaged position in the cultural market-place, a commitment to equality implies that the state ought to take steps to assist these minorities in preserving their cultures. This Article examines the ways the mass media can assist cultural minorities in preserving their cultures. For instance, when the media present contents that relate to the cultures of minorities, individual members of the minority group are exposed to their culture; media designated for cultural groups facilitate dialogue between group members, thus enabling the cultural group to determine which parts of its culture to retain and which parts to change. With that said, contemporary media frequently provide insufficient cultural contents due to the influence of commercial operational logic. This Article examines why the motivation for profit leads to under-production of cultural materials for minorities and to insufficient inclusion of cultural minorities in the public discourse. It is argued that the inequality caused by the media—which provide minorities with too little of the cultural contents so pertinent to the realization of their right to culture—merits corrective intervention. The Article examines possible forms of State intervention with the media on behalf of cultural minorities, taking into consideration that such intervention is a sensitive issue, since it has ramifications concerning the scope of the freedom of the press. Accordingly, it is argued that the State ought to be permitted to create legislation which intervenes, mainly by means of subsidies and structural regulation, to improve the manner in which the media fulfill their roles in a multicultural democracy. In contrast, there should be sparse use of conditionality in the issue of licenses for media operators.

Abstract. Currently, political violence is a central issue in the world-wide social agenda. This paper describes the psychosocial logic that legitimizes that violence, analyzed as a challenge for social and political psychology, implying that we have to work toward the construction of a culture of peace. Additionally, diverse concepts about peace are discussed. Finally, the transcendental role played by mass media in this dynamic and particularly the framing theory, are analyzed. Moreover, this paper considers how mass media and news are determinant factors in the beliefs, relational frames, and construction of feelings and are, thus, a barrier to coping and peacefully solving the conflicts that end in political violence.

Quoique les études publiées dans le présent numéro de Recherches sociographiqu.es portent toutes sur les communications de masse, on doit reconnaître que, dans leurs thèmes comme dans leurs méthodes, elles présentent un caractère assez disparate. Aussi il a semblé utile de les faire précéder d'un exposé sommaire de l'état de la recherche sur les mass média au Canada et au Québec et des problèmes auxquels elle est confrontée. Ce tour d'horizon devrait permettre au lecteur de mieux situer chacune des contributions à ce numéro et d'en mieux apprécier l'originalité et la pertinence.

In fast-changing scientific fields like biotechnology, new information and discoveries should influence the balance of risks and rewards and their associated media coverage. This study investigates how reporters interpret and report such information and, in turn, whether they frame the public debate about biotechnology. Mass media coverage of medical and agricultural biotechnology is compared over a 12-year period and in two different countries: the United States and the United Kingdom. We examine whether media have consistently chosen to emphasize the potential risks over the benefits of these applications, or vice versa, and what information might drive any relevant changes in such frames. We find that the two sets of technologies have been framed differently—more positive for medical applications, more negative for agricultural biotechnology. This result holds over time and across different geographic locations. We also find that international events influence media coverage but have been locally framed. This local newsworthiness extends to both medical and agricultural applications. We conclude that such coverage could have led to differences in public perception of the two sets of technology: more negative (or ambivalent) for agricultural, positive for medical applications. Our findings suggest that understanding news frames, and the events that drive them, provides some insight into the long-term formation of public opinion as influenced by news coverage.

Argues that Hungarian mass media & political parties have fostered a sense of europessimism. Characteristics of Hungarian europessimism include an exclusive focus on Hungarian interests, concern for the potential negatives of EU membership, negative stereotyping of European actors, ignorance regarding EU decision-making processes, & domestically centered agendas. Europessimistic attitudes persisted after Hungary's 2004 entry to the EU. Following this, the Hungarian mainstream media gave European issues much attention, & it is contended that the confused nature of the medias coverage makes it appear as if Hungary never entered the EU, a phenomenon that might be attributed to media owner efforts to enhance mass media political influence, a response to media infotainment business pressures, &/or the ideological bias of media elites to act as opinion leaders. It is then asserted that, rather than educating the public on the realities of EU membership, politicians focused on accession process & entry conditions, while parties engaged in a debate on which was best equipped to represent & protect national interests. A balance sheet indicates that Hungary's EU membership has been, in general, a positive experience, although much work remains to be done to dispel soft but pervasive europessimistic attitudes among the public & elite. D. Edelman