Nordicom Review summary: Communication Research Trends

Nordicom Review

Nordicom Review. ISSN 0349-6244. Published by Nordicom; Göteborg University, Sweden.

Vol. 24(1), June 2003

Jansson, Andre. "Lifeworlds Under Siege? A study of Mediatization as Intrusion and Restraint." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 3-17. The study explores the omnipresence of mediated message and how they virtually construct our reality and identity. The study also delves into three specific aspects of the what the author terms "identity threats" which are depthlessness, manipulation, colonization and alienation that result from the media flow into our lives.

Lund, Anker B. "Ambivalent Views on Political News." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 19-26. The article reviews the tense relationship between political institutions and the news media, which the latter had originally ought to have had a checks and balances affect on the political arena in representative democracies. The author primarily reviews the Nordic countries via current studies and surveys of citizens, newspeople and politicians to get their impressions of "the role of journalism in a representative democracy."

Kock, Christian and Hansen, Flemming. "Evaluations of Public Spokespersons." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 27-31. The study aims to get at the true correlation or relationship between a speakers ability to handle himself well on TV and to what extent this person appears "credible" and capable at his job (ex: politician or businessman) in people's perceptions.

Hellsten, Iina. "Promises of a Healthier Future. Medical Genetics on Finnish Television News 1987-2000." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp.33-39. "This paper traces the uses of metaphors and visual images in the construction of popular images of medical genetics." The study bases inself heavily on premis of these phenomena on Finnish television news during the years 1987-2000.

Horsti, Karina. "Global Mobility and the Media. Presenting Asylum Seekers as a Threat." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 41-54. Author evaluates the Finish news'/media's biased reporting and presentation of Roma asylum seekers by picking the themes of "flood, illegitimacy, lax policy, and fortress building" to dileneate them and their endeavors. Also the author examines the cause and effect relationship between the news media and government/ politics.

Pekka Isotalus, Anni Palossari and Hanni Muukkonen. "Links with the Past. Reading News from PDA and Comparing it to Other Media." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 55-62. Article expresses interest in the link between the eagerness to adopt new technology and the attachment of the user to the features of a previous object of technology. The author observed and recorded this by reviewing the terms which the subject used to describe the new technologies.

Sparre, Kirsten. "Shared Emotions and a Forum for Gossiping. Nuances in Danish Celebrity Journalism." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 63-70. The author delves into the matter that is the concern of many journalists: the purportedly "declining" standard and quality of journalism and the ambiguous gain of the public from being exposed to a swiftly increasing number of celebrity stories. Also examines whether the extent of the factual nature of an article is a determining factor of whether it is good or bad.

Tufte, Birgitte. "Girls in the New Media Landscape." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 71-78. This article looks at how the various forms of media, their messages and technologies have affected, shaped and intruded into the lifes and the development of gender identity in adolescents. The focus remains especially on female identity, since it seems that females are exerted the most influence over and pressure from the media.

Pietilainen, Jukka. "Media Audiences in a Russian Province." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 79-87. The author picks the Russian province of Karelia as a sample to examine the factors which determine the popularity of a newspaper in a formerly Soviet location and to review the structure of the current newspaper market in this area.

Asbjornsen, Dag and Solum, Ove. "'The Best Cinema System in the World'. The Municipal Cinema System in Norway: Historical and Comparative Perspectives." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 89-105. The authors here are evaluating the slogan 'Norway has the best cinema system in the world' to see if it holds true to the standards of the "public service" claim of municipally controlled broadcasting.

Sundholm, John. "Narrative Machines, or, from 'Bottom to Top'. Early Discourses on the Novel and Film." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 107-114. Author tries to go about proving that an interdisciplinary study of early film historiography is a more consummate and appropriate approach to the study of this subject matter than that of the perspective from a single discipline.

Halkier, Bente. "The Challenge of Qualitative Generalisations in Communication Research." Nordicom Review. 24 (1), June 2003. pp. 115-124. Author delves into the logistically challenging field of the correctness of making qualitative generalizations in communication studies based solely on specific quantitative results. .