Power of Scandal

Semiotic and Pragmatic in Mass Media

AvP. Johannes Ehrat, SJ

Inbunden, Engelska, 2011

Del i serien Toronto Studies in Semiotics and Communication

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Beskrivning

Are there events that are inherently scandalous? Power of Scandal finds that the very idea of 'scandal' is derived not from an event, but from public opinion - which, in turn, is construed by media narratives. Scandal is powerful because of its ability to challenge institutions by destabilizing their legitimacy. The media plays an integral role in the creation of scandal because it interprets real events as purposeful actions for the public. Examining the ubiquity of scandals in today's mass media, Johannes Ehrat's conclusions are fresh and surprising.Ehrat applies classic semiotic and pragmatic thought to contemporary media issues, mainly moralist discourse from sex abuse cases to the phenomenon of televangelism. Arguing that sociological and communications studies of scandal have ignored the media's constructed nature, Ehrat focuses on how meaningful public narrative is produced. By examining the parallel worlds of media and public opinion, Power of Scandal uses an alternative heuristic for understanding mass communication that is both rigorous and sophisticated.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2011-03-05
Mått:161 x 236 x 30 mm
Vikt:760 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Toronto Studies in Semiotics and Communication
Antal sidor:432
Förlag:University of Toronto Press
ISBN:9781442641259

Utforska kategorier

Medievetenskap inom Samhälle och politik

Mer om författaren

Johannes Ehrat is a professor extraordinarius in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Pontificia Università Gregoriana.

Innehållsförteckning

PrefacePART 1: A Theoretical Approach to the Nature of Media Scandal How Scandal Research tends to treat the Achievement of Media ScandalsScandal as Logic: Ideal and SanctionScandal as industrial Product and institutional PracticeMedia scandals and what they are notVideo-truthsComprehending Media Scandals from MediaPublicity Narrative as Precondition of ScandalsPART 2: What is Publicity, the Public Sphere? Publicity as methodological ConstructPublicity as SimulacrumPublicity and Meaning as SubsistenceSemiotic as Theory of formal and concrete MeaningPART 3: Semiotic of Publicity Publicity as TeleologyLegitimacyPublic Opinion as historical-cultural role relationPublic Opinion as TheatrePublic Opinion operates by constructing the Role of Enunciation InstancePART 4: Publicity in Media Theory Media functional or semiotic?Is there a Need for a separate Semiotic Media Theory?Signs of SocietyFunctions of the Three Correlates in the Media SignTechnological Determination or Sign Process: the case of TelevangelismGodcasting: Meaning Apparatuses of Religious Self-displayPART 5: From Jubilation to Scandal Religious Meaning outside of Public OpinionTelevision Studies and Aesthetic FormMedia Construction of Religious Space and TimeThe 'Call Forward'WitnessingPrayTV yields to PreyTV: Acts of Televangelist AuthorityPrimordial Scandal ReligionPART 6: Judgement: Bringing into a Scandal-Position Scandal TechniqueInvestigative Journalism and ObjectivityMetatexts: Simplifying Sanctions in Public Opinion TextsMetatext I: The Permission to ActMetatext II: The Scale of Self-RealisationDeduction of Classes of ScandalScandal of DestinationScandal of ActionPART 7: The Course of the Scandal Pro-Gramme Media Scandal MethodsEvent: How Destination in the Shanley story created the ScandalThe role structure of the Shanley-storyTwo discursive Scandal Constructions Reality: News Practice between Reality Determination and satirical alienationPART 8: Effect and Reality of Scandal Scandal as Objectivity EffectObjective Scandal EffectsScandal as EffectCritique of Subjectivity Approaches and FunctionalismScandal Effect as SemioticInstitutions as pragmatic Predetermination of PurposeDe-Legitimization of an Institution as Purpose of Media Scandals ConclusionIndexBibliography