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Media construction of social
reality.
Moral panic.
Pseudo-events.
L 10
Ing. Jiří Šnajdar
2014
What does “media construct reality” mean?
From an ontological to an empirical understanding
of construction.
It has very quickly become textbook wisdom: “media
construct reality.”
But what does that mean?
Did they always do that?
Or are they doing it more and more?
Or even both of those?
Which level are we talking about?
Does reality construction mean a factual statement
within a theory of knowledge?
Or a conscious strategy?
Is it simply that we (journalists as well as
percipients) cannot not construct or can one decide
for or against the construction of reality?
The discussion about “reality construction” has
become, in the meantime, inflated – and not only
throughout the entire arts, social and cultural
sciences but also in disciplines such as
mathematics, biology, physics or architecture.
It appears as if it is a central discovery of
postmodern science that more or less ‘everything’ is
constructed – space and time as well as
xenophobia; sex and gender as much as the reality
of mass media.”
One can only understand the fascination of the
catchword “reality construction” when one realises
which thoughts are meant to be replaced by it in the
first place: reality so-called.
By and large it concerns a new version of the
discourse in Western philosophy which has been
going on for the last two thousand years as to
whether the world ‘out there’ really is ‘there’ or is
only constructed by us. In the history of philosophy
there are many ‘isms’ which are connected with this
discussion: essentialism and nominalism,
materialism and idealism, and of course recently,
realism and constructivism.
In all of these schools of though the concern is with
the basic question whether an agent or unit X (this
can be a person, an observer, a brain, a social
system in various forms, the entire culture, the
whole society, the media as a whole etc.) that
believes that it knows reality has created it or only
depicted it.
Realism starts from the position that it is more likely
that it is reality or it is only reality which has an effect
on the agent (and not the reverse); while
constructivism asserts that it is more likely or only
the agent that, in the act of perceiving reality,
creates it.
And the classic questions between realism and
constructivism are thus:
Is reality a discovery or an invention?
Do media reflect reality (exactly or distortedly) or to
they construct it in the first place?
Is the world a projection or a design?
Do we represent something or are we (and always
have been) constructs?
Do we depict reality or build it up?
One does not have to be an expert in constructivist
discourse to understand that the majority of
constructivist have become involved in these
philosophically crucial questions and have reacted
to the realist generalisation—“everything is
depiction”—with a constructivist generalisation—
“everything is construction”.
The majority of constructivists nowadays
(unfortunately) propose that the constructive nature
of our reality and world is the conditiosine qua non
of knowing. In other words: Man cannot not
construct, one ‘always’ has done that, ‘we’ always
come too late and can’t decide for or against
construction as a precondition and mode of
knowing.
Call this form of constructivism—which is to be
persistently found in all the above-mentioned
variations of constructivist though—ontological
constructivism.
The assertion “everything is construction” becomes
caught in the well-known logical dilemma
of the infinite regression: if “everything” is
construction, then this sentence is also etc. etc.—
but what knowledge of value does the sentence
contain in addition?
But how can we ever know if reality is constructed
by the brain? Who has ever seen (and with what)
brains in a (non-constructed, real) reality?
Alexander Görke:
“ Mass On the Reality of Media”
Talk about the functional system of mass media is
based on the observation that also mass media and
journalism too construct reality sui generis.
For theoretical considerations of the systém this
raises the question of how this specific form of
creating social order is possible and that means how
the mass media system distinguishes itself from its
surroundings.
Siegfried J. Schmidt:
cont…
All of this pre-supposes socially regulated and
culturally programmed discourses within the social
system. In this respect these processes organise
the reality construction of themselves and thus
create their own ordering of realit(y)ies.
The statement “media construct reality”
This would be a processual or empirical variation of
constructivism that would appear substantially more
plausible/ probable.
The objection of the orthodox, ontological
constructivists is that an observation like this is
logically incompatible with constructivism and leads
back to realism.
And in point of fact, the statement that “media
construct reality more and more, more frequently or
more often” more in keeping with realism since
construction is more likely to be understood as a
conscious strategy.
Applied to media it means nothing more than not to
assume the dualism of media (as a reality
generating and/or depicting agent) and reality (as
the product and/or precondition for media reporting)
without questioning it i.e. to ontologise (learning about
being) it.
Current modalities of reality construction in the
(primarily audiovisual) mass media –
distinguished by reference to reality (proximity to
reality decreases from 1 to 8)
1. Reality TV / Realtime TV / Eyewitness News (real
deployment of firemen, ambulance, police etc. with
accompanying camera, with live broadcasting when
possible).
2. Classical information journalism ( world events
with only a short time lapse, usually almost no
reconstructed
scenes as well as almost no direct media
intervention in events)
3. ‘Narrative Reality Television’ ( ‘real’ events are
reconstructed as in “Aktenzeichen XY”,
“Emergency” etc. programmes.
4. Entertainment and tabloid journalism (increase in
media staged and constructed stories as well as an
increase in conscious media agenda-setting).
5. PR journalism (conscious and intentional image
and brand bias of the reporting, increasing lack of
labelling).
6. ‘Performative Reality Television’ (‘’ actors in the
context of staged action and thus within the
paradigm ‘game’. Examples: “Big Brother”, “Taxi
Orange”, “Outback” etc.
7. Faction Journalism, Journalistic (feature)film
fakes, inter alia, escalation of the constructive
principle in journalism. (Michael Born, Tom Kummer
etc.)
8. Classical Entertainment formats (Daily soaps,
feature films etc.) and Advertising.
The moral panic
A moral panic is an intense feeling expressed in a
population about an issue that appears to threaten
the social order.
Moral panics are in essence controversies that
involve arguments and social tension, and in which
disagreement is difficult because the matter at its
center is taboo.
The media have long operated as agents of moral
indignation, even when they are not consciously
engaged in crusading.
Reporting the facts can be enough to generate
concern, anxiety or panic.
The term first appeared in the English language in
1830 in The Quarterly Christian Spectator.
Marshall McLuhan gave the term academic
treatment in his book Understanding Media, written
in 1964.
According to Stanley Cohen, author of a sociological
study about youth culture and media called Folk
Devils and Moral Panics (1972), a moral panic
occurs when " condition, episode, person or group
of persons emerges to become defined as a threat
to societal values and interests".
Those who start the panic when they fear a threat to
prevailing social or cultural values are known by
researchers as moral entrepreneurs, while people
who supposedly threaten the social order have been
described as "folk devil's ".
British vs American
Many sociologists have pointed out the differences
between definitions of a moral panic for American
and British sociologists.
In addition to pointing out other sociologists who
note the distinction, Kenneth Thompson has
characterized the difference as American
sociologists tending to emphasize psychological
factors while the British portray moral panics as
crises of capitalism.
British criminologist Jock Young first used the term
in his participant observation study of drug taking in
Notting Hill between 1967 and 1969. In Policing the
Crisis: Mugging, the State and Law and Order
(1978), Stuart Hall and his colleagues studied the
public reaction to the phenomenon of mugging and
the perception that it had recently been imported
from American culture into the UK.
Employing Cohen's definition of moral panic, Hall
theorized that the "rising crime rate equation"
performs an ideological function relating to social
control.
Crime statistics, in Hall's view, are often
manipulated for political and economic purposes;
moral panics could thereby be ignited to create
public support for the need to "police the crisis.„
Characteristics
Moral panics have several distinct features.
According to Goode and Ben-Yehuda, moral panic
consists of the following characteristics:
Concern – There must be belief that the behaviour
of the group or category in question is likely to have
a negative effect on society.
Hostility – Hostility towards the group in question
increases, and they become "folk devils". A clear
division forms between "them" and "us".
Consensus
– Though concern does not have to be nationwide,
there must be widespread acceptance that the
group in question poses a very real threat to society.
It is important at this stage that the "moral
entrepreneurs" are vocal and the "folk devils"
appear weak and disorganised.
Disproportionality
– The action taken is disproportionate to the actual
threat posed by the accused group.
Volatility
– Moral panics are highly volatile and tend to
disappear as quickly as they appeared due to a
wane in public interest or news reports changing to
another topic.
Examples
Moral panics are considered to include some
persecutions of individuals or groups, such as the
Reign of Terror and Stalinist purges.
More recently, various Muslim groups have
demonstrated concern due to claims that some
actions in Western countries following the
September 11 attacks affecting Arabs, Muslims (or
those mistaken for them) have comprised a moral
panic.
Some American sociologists have also viewed
responses to these attacks as moral panics.
Criticism
In a more recent edition of Folk Devils and Moral
Panics, Cohen outlines some of the criticisms that
have arisen in response to moral panic theory. One
of these is of the term "panic" itself, as it has
connotations of irrationality and a lack of control.
Cohen maintains that "panic" is a suitable term
when used as an extended metaphor.
Another criticism is that of disproportionality. The
problem with this argument is that there is no way to
measure what a proportionate reaction should be to
a specific action.
In "Rethinking 'moral panic' for multi-mediated social
worlds", Angela McRobbie and Sarah Thornton
argue "that it is now time that every stage in the
process of constructing a moral panic, as well as the
social relations which support it, should be revised".
Their argument is that mass media has changed
since the concept of moral panic emerged so "that
'folk devils' are less marginalized than they once
were", and that 'folk devils' are not only castigated
by mass media but supported and defended by it as
well.
The British criminologist Yvonne Jewkes has also
raised issue with the term 'morality', how it is
accepted unproblematically in the concept of 'moral
panic' and how most research into moral panics fails
to approach the term critically but instead accepts it
at face value.
Jewkes goes on to argue that the thesis and the
way it has been used fails to distinguish between
crimes that quite rightly offend human morality, and
thus elicit a justifiable reaction, and those that
demonise minorities. The public are not sufficiently
gullible/ naive to keep accepting the latter and
allowing themselves to be manipulated by the media
and the government.
a pseudo-event
According to Boorstin, a pseudo event is ...
not spontaneous. It comes about because someone
has planted it or incited it;
planted primarily, but not always exclusively, for the
purpose of being reported or reproduced, and its
occurrence is arranged for the convenience of the
reporting or reproducing media.
Ambiguous / indefinite in terms of its relation to the
underlying reality of the situation. Whether it is "real"
or not is less important than its newsworthiness and
ability to gain favorable attention.
Usually intended to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Pseudo event is certainly not a popular term among
public relations practitioners, especially those who
frequently rely on special events to generate news
coverage for their clients, but it is a perspective
would-be practitioners need to be aware of and be
prepared to address.
One of the most frequent and effective ways public
relations practitioners control situations and the
circumstances surrounding an organization's
interactions with its publics is by conducting "special
events."
Instead of waiting for happenstance to provide a
situation in which the organization and its publics
encounter one another and which may or may not
turn out positively, they orchestrate a situation that
occurs when the organization wants it to and
proceeds in ways that favor the organization.
Public relations practitioners and their clients are
enthusiastic and laudatory about special events.
And, for the most part, the publics who participate in
them are also fairly accepting, and sometimes highly
appreciative, of them.
A media event, also known as a pseudo-event, is an
event or activity that exists for the sole purpose of
media publicity. It may also include any event that is
covered in the mass media or was hosted largely
with the media in mind. Media events may center on
a news announcement, a corporate anniversary, a
press conference in response to a major media
event, or planned events like speeches or
demonstrations.
Instead of paying for advertising time, a media or
pseudo-event seeks to use public relations to gain
media and public attention.
The term pseudo-event was highlighted by the
theorist and historian Daniel J. Boorstin in his 1961
book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in
America: “The celebration is held, photographs are
taken, the occasion is widely reported”.
The term is closely related to idea of hyperreality
and thus postmodernism.
In recognizing the differences between a pseudoevent and a spontaneous event, Boorstin states
characteristics of a pseudo-event in his book titled
"Hidden History."
He says that pseudo events are: dramatic,
repeatable, costly, intellectually planned, social,
cause other pseudo-events, and that one must know
about it to be considered "informed".
Similarly, Elihu Katz outlines the defining
characteristics of a media event as:
immediate (i.e., it is broadcast live), organized by a
non-media entity, containing ceremonial and
dramatic value, preplanning, and centering around a
personality, whether that be a single person or a
group.
A news conference is often held when an
organization has an announcement and wants
members of the press to get the announcement
simultaneously. The in-person events may include
interviews, questioning, and show-and-tell.
Media events like news conferences can come to be
expected, especially before, during, and after
sporting events.
Award ceremonies, red carpet events and celebrity
photo opportunities are all considered a type of
media event, where the event is orchestrated for the
sole purpose of introducing certain narratives into
the media.
Sex tapes when created with the intention of being
'leaked' are a form of pseudo event because their
only purpose is to generate media attention.
A protest may be planned almost exclusively for the
purpose of getting media attention to an issue or
cause.
Press releases, such as a planned presentation or
speech about company earnings or the President's
State of the Union Address is a form of media event.
Nikita Khruschev visit to the USA in 1959 was highly
influential, and has been cited as the first example
of media events being utilised in Politics.
The media events began in the middle 19th century,
as Morse radio introduced same-day news cycles.
The emergence of the internet led to many media
stories being published Live from the media event,
real-time Twitter coverage, and immediate analysis
of televised media events.
Douglas Kellner identified the September 11, 2001
attacks as a media event orchestrated by terrorists
to use the press to sow fear in the American public.
According to Boorstin, a pseudo event is ...
not spontaneous. It comes about because someone
has planted it or incited it.
Planted primarily, but not always exclusively, for the
purpose of being reported or reproduced, and its
occurrence is arranged for the convenience of the
reporting or reproducing media.
Ambiguous in terms of its relation to the underlying
reality of the situation. Whether it is "real" or not is
less important than its newsworthiness and ability to
gain favorable attention.