Media Events

A Critical Contemporary Approach

Bianca Mitu, Stamatis Poulakidakos, Bianca Mitu, Stamatis Poulakidakos

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781137574275
• eBook ISBN: 9781137574282
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Media Events: A Critical Contemporary Approach proposes an interdisciplinary and multicultural approach of Dayan and Katz's theory of media events (1992) by applying it to contemporary situations. The contributing authors come from a range of countries (UK, USA, Mexico, Germany, Finland, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Ukraine) and analyse the theory of media events from different perspectives, incorporating social media and offering a re-positioning of Dayan and Katz's theory of media events. By bringing new perspectives into this field, the proposed volume is an important contribution as it grounds the intervention and rethinking of the theory into further empirical research. This volume has the potential to function as a 'cross-generational' link between one of the 'early classics' of media and communication studies on the one hand and the present generation of researchers on the other.

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Introduction: Media Events – A Never Ending Story

Bianca Mitu and Stamatis Poulakidakos

With increasing means of mediatization, the media events theoretical framework remains a relevant field of research. After the introduction of the concept by Dayan and Katz in 1992, some years ago, in 2010, there was a second ‘wave’ as ‘disruptive’ and ‘popular cultural’ media events became more common. During this second wave, the theory of media events was reformulated and extended (including by Dayan and Katz themselves). By bringing new perspectives into this field, this book is an important contribution, as it grounds the intervention and rethinking of the theory in further empirical research. Why another volume on the media events theory? Because, while it continues to excite attention in scholarly journals, there has been no comparable text since Media Events in a Global Age (Couldry et al., 2010). Furthermore, while the book by Couldry et al. was considerably more influential from a conceptual perspective, this volume has the advantage of being able to incorporate social media, which may prove to be of immeasurable importance for further development of media events theory.

Our era is not unique in being ‘informational’. Even so, nowadays the dissemination of information through the mass media is of seminal importance for the construction of reality. When Dayan and Katz first introduced the notion of ‘media events’, they opened up a new field for academic discussion, through study and extensive research on the crucial role of information and the media in contemporary societies.

According to Weber, contemporary society, since the emergence of modernity, has taken a bureaucratic organizational form (Barker, 2005, p. 444). Bureaucratic control and the administration of contemporary society presupposes the constant production and dissemination of information (Roth and Wittich, 1978, pp. 274–276; Pleios, 2011, p. 17); hence, information is perceived as the reference point of contemporary society (Poster, 1990, p. 7). Placed at the epicentre of modern social organization, information is the basic ingredient for the creation of social structure (Bell, 1978; Schiller, 1984; Poster, 1990; Castells, 2004): it is modern civilization.

The significance of information is confirmed by the pervasive presence of a plethora of symbols and signs in our daily life (Webster, 2006, p. 228), disseminated by many kinds of media, from video streaming to cable television, from advertisements to fashion, from tattoos to graffiti. All these different forms of media create a ‘sea’ of symbols and signs. The bulk of information regarding the perception and evaluation of contemporary reality by the people reaches individuals through the mass media (Webster, 2006, p. 186).

Each medium of mass communication can, in a given society, accomplish a series of functions – gathering, recording and disseminating information to mass audiences, exchanging messages over distance, supporting the evolution of cultural and political practices, guiding specific thought processes, entertaining, socializing, intervening in the function of institutions or members of society (Komninou and Lyrintzis, 1989, pp. 15–19; Mystakidou, 2003, p. 12).

Within media content circulate emotions and ideas comprising two basic ingredients: values and ideology, occupying the majority of the public sphere and making the most significant contribution to its formation (Fowler, 2003; Meyer and Hinchmann, 2008, pp. 24, 53). Media are not only words, symbols or codes; rather, they are centres of targeted selectiveness implemented through a variety of expressive means. In the contemporary era, ‘the fact that no one can imagine our world without media of mass communication and information networks signifies their importance for the construction of social reality’ (Demertzis in Thompson, 1999, p. 7; Burr, 2006).

An audience relies heavily on media discourse as a source of information related to what takes place in the world (McQuail and Vidal, 1991, pp. 118–121). As Postman puts it, ‘we don’t see reality the way it is, but in the way our languages are. And our languages are the media. Media are our metaphors. Our metaphors create the content of our cultures’ (Postman, 1985, p. 14).

Hence, contemporary societies can be characterized as ‘media societies’, due to the relevance of media in the production and dissemination of information. Information is not only the fact – outside the media domain – that is being reported; it is also its formation as a media event (Pleios, 2011, p. 206).

Following this rationale ‘reality is a scarce resource’ and ‘the fundamental form of power is the power to define, allocate and display that resource’ (Carey, 1989, p. 87, in Couldry, 2000, p. 7). That power lies within the media (Poster, 1990; Debord, 1994: Berkowitz, 1997; Couldry, 2000; Luhmann, 2000; Meyer and Hinchmann, 2008) and media events bear witness to that power.

The purpose of the present volume is to provide a multidimensional contemporary framework for the analysis of media events. The authors that have contributed to this volume analyse media events from various perspectives. While some might consider that many of the contributors are junior researchers, this should not be seen as negative; the field of media events research needs stimulation from new scholars, too. This volume has the potential to function as a ‘cross-generational’ link between one of the ‘early classics’ of media and communication studies and the present generation of researchers. This volume is presented in three parts: Disruptive Media Events, Ceremonial Media Events, and Media Events in the Digital Era.

Disruptive media events

The ‘limited’ number of public events that can be characterized as media events according to the initial description from Dayan and Katz (1992) has been contested by various scholars, since a wide variety of events – either planned or spontaneous – can act as media events (for instance, disasters, terrorist acts, wars, political unifications, and other events that are popular with audiences). While not being ‘ritual’ as defined by Dayan and Katz, these events nevertheless contribute significantly to the processes of constructing the ‘mediated centre’ in contemporary cultures and societies (Couldry et al., 2010, p. 8), whether or not the rationale is reconciliation. Our first section examines these ‘disruptive’ media events that, though they are not staged, influence the perception of social reality.

In Chapter 2, Julian Matthews perceives terrorism as a media event and examines how reporting templates produce social drama. This chapter focuses on the reporting of terrorist events and explores the role that journalists play. He suggests that recognizing the importance of reporting templates in the process not only moves forward our theoretical understanding of the production of these ‘media events’, but also provides a more nuanced overview of the continuous social drama reported in the aftermath of terrorist incidents that occur on ‘home’ soil. Focused on the London bombings of July 2005, the author argues that UK newspapers produce coherent and marked repertoires in response to a terrorist event on home soil. They also produce reconstructions of the terrorist event that include the voices of significant societal actors and represent society in action. These writings invite readers to share understanding of the incident and its aftermath, witness condemnation and representations of solidarity, and become aware of the efforts of law enforcement and ordinary citizens to manage the crisis.

In Chapter 3, Johanna Sumiala and Lilly Korpiola approach the Tahrir Square protests as a media event by dividing it into different ‘scenes’. They conclude that Tahrir was created and maintained as a global media event by news media that unfolded the events by telling a story of people rising against their ruler. The protestors’ efforts to make themselves heard were reported in the global news media against the attempts of the ruling elite (Mubarak) to maintain its power – a narrative which, briefly, brought together the people in Tahrir Square and those who were following the events on their screens, ‘seducing’ them all with the utopia of hope, freedom and a better future.

Focusing on the 2013 EuroMaidan events in Ukraine, Chapter 4 by Galina Miazhevich analyses the framing of EuroMaidan by the BBC and Russia Today (RT), and examines how these media outlets covered the ‘winter of discontent’ in Ukraine. The author argues that particular attention should be devoted to the role of transnational media transmitting information about this media event. By comparing available archival coverage of the protest by two international broadcasters – RT and the BBC – the author explores their construction of the dynamic media event of EuroMaidan in the context of multiple uncertainties and increasing competition for the global audience post-broadcast. The author presents a detailed analysis of the contrasting approaches of the two networks and critically assesses the differences in the reporting of the BBC and RT.

Chapter 5 deals with the coverage of opposing events by juxtaposing Brazil’s preparation for sporting mega-events with host community civil protests. In 2013, a series of civil protests during the FIFA Confederations Cup tested Brazil’s ability to host high-profile events. A section of the population demonstrated opposition to the amount of public money spent on new sports infrastructures, believing instead that investment should be made in the health and transportation sectors. Public activism during the event led to concerns about the forthcoming success of impending sporting mega-events also hosted by Brazil: the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The chapter explores how media coverage of such civil protests may hamper the success of high-profile events. Research results emphasized the role of the media in covering the conflicting sides where hosting a sporting mega-event is concerned. Brazil’s sporting mega-events have also raised questions on the mega-events model of organization and on the media events ‘syntax’, ‘semantic’ and ‘pragmatic’ dimensions.

Chapter 6 focuses on the Finnish Independence Day media event and the so-called ‘Gatecrashers riots’ that took place on 6 December 2013. The chapter uses the concept of circulation to understand which social imaginaries were sustained, challenged or created during the media event. They suggest that a new dialogical media event may be taking shape. By using their own media outlets, the Gatecrashers attempted to use the social imaginary of the ritualistic celebration of Independence Day to evoke sympathy for their cause: that of greater equality. At the same time, the mainstream media remained in the ritual mode of the ceremonial celebration with journalists conforming to the consensual value of reconciliation. However, the silencing of the dissident views was neither complete nor uniform. Meaningful dialogue and circulation of meanings took place between the rioters, professional journalists and social media users, transgressing physical boundaries, media genres and media platforms.

Ceremonial media events

In Chapter 7, Dennis Lichtenstein, discusses the impact of transnational media events on the image of countries situated at the EU’s periphery. Media events and mental map theory are combined with questions concerning the expansion of the EU. Defined as geopolitical imaginations that are constructed in the media, mental maps form the cultural basis for citizens’ acceptance of expansion of the EU. Mental maps can be changed by a country’s self-presentation in the spotlight of transnational media events. The chapter examines the potential influence of three specific types of events: risk events such as the Olympic Games, crisis events such as war, and popular events such as the Eurovision Song Contest. A country’s self-presentation is most likely to be successful if the event is depoliticized and reduced to a media spectacle. Therefore, popular events offer the best opportunities.

In Chapter 8, Mariaeugenia Parito seeks to analyse the Euroelections as a European media event, discussing the notion of media events and its function in relation to the European elections. In a mediatized scenario, the elections are occasions when media enable a significant shared experience at society’s centre, a ritual of democracy that sustains social integration. But this vision is focused on a national view and it is not easily adaptable for the supranational scenario that originated with EU integration. The political system and the media system are used in combination to consider Euroelections as national competitions through which the citizens live the same event but not in the same symbolic arena. The Euroelections have not yet stimulated the shaping of a supranational mediatized ritual. This lack of ritual neither supports a Europe-wide public debate nor feelings of belonging and solidarity.

Chapter 9 links the past to the present, since Stamatis Poulakidakos deals with the aftermath of a media event and the journalistic ambivalence on the Olympic heritage of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Ten years after these Games, Greece is in the middle of political, economic and social turmoil. The economic crisis that emerged in late 2009 was the cause and starting point for a series of transformations in the political and social domains of the country. Old ‘sinful’ practices were re-evaluated, the ‘promise’ of a course of constant development and prosperity has collapsed and public opinion has become rather more ‘sensitive’ on issues of public expenses. This context kept alive an already existing public debate about the ‘damages’ and the ‘benefits’ caused by the Olympics, though not that intense compared with the first years after the Games.

In this perspective, the total expenses and investments made on behalf of the Greek state so as to stage this mega-event are still under financial scrutiny. Additionally, in contrast to other former host cities, which have celebrated several anniversaries since hosting the Olympics (e.g. Barcelona’s 10th anniversary), Athens seems to have long forgotten the 2004 Olympics, since no festivities were organized to celebrate hosting this mega-event, which stand as a milestone in recent Greek history.

According to Dayan and Katz (1992), the Olympics are considered one of the most characteristic examples of media events. The current research tries to shed light on the articles of two of the most important contemporary Greek daily newspapers (Kathimerini and To Vima) referring to the post-Olympic period in Greece. The research deals with the 10-year period immediately after ‘the lights went out’, seeking to explore their stances towards the Games and their consequences in contemporary Greece, and the way these two media contributed to the public debate on the post-Olympic era.

Andrew Fox, in Chapter 10, focuses on the contest element of Katz’s (1980) definition of media events by analysing a specific sporting occasion. Media events are ‘epic contests of politics and sports, charismatic missions and the rites of passage of the great – what we call Contests, Conquests and Coronations’ (Dayan and Katz, 1992, p. 1). As the event concerned a surprising series of results, there is a crossover with the conquest element of Dayan and Katz’s (1992) definition. The chapter argues that information is disseminated more rapidly when social media networks augment the broadcasting of traditional media outlets. It is possible for an event to become a news story and turn into a media event, the longevity of such event being subsequently increased by continued discussion by the media in tandem wit...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figures
• Notes on Contributors
• List of Abbreviations
• 1. Introduction: Media Events – A Never Ending Story
• Part I: Disruptive Media Events
• Part II: Ceremonial Media Events
• Part III: Media Events in the Digital Era
• Index