ECREA16-Abstract

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Saturday, November 12

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MED07 Theoretical Advances inMediatization Research: Socio-Cultural and Ethical Perspectives

PP 632

Mediacity, Meaning and Materiality: Beyond Transparent Immediacy and Opaque Hypermediacy

J. Fornäs

School for Culture and Education / Södertörn University, Department of Media and Communication Studies, Huddinge, Sweden

This paper investigates relations between culturalisation and mediatisation: social transforma¬tions involving an increasing importance of signifying prac‑

tices on one hand, and expanding media uses on the other. Its responds to some intriguing questions asked by Nick Couldry (2012) about how to define

the concepts of culture and culturalisation in a meaningful way for cultural theory, and how to relate them to the debate on mediatisation. The paper

begins by discussing definitions of culture and showing how a hermeneutic concept of culture goes beyond binary dualisms and instead focuses on me‑

diations such as those between meaning and materiality. The concept of communication is used to link culture and media, and hints are given as to how

contemporary anti-hermeneutic challenges can be met from a critical-hermeneutical perspective. In the next step, culturalisation is described and related

to mediatisation. It is shown how they run parallel, reinforce each other, but also sometimes counteract each other and thus are themselves contradictory

processes. One facet of mediatisation is for instance the ex¬pand¬ing plurality and complexity of mediations, where an increasing number and di¬vers¬‑

ity of textual and interactive devices are used for social activities and the human world gets a higher degree of mediacity. Communi¬ca¬tion processes

become more and more complex, involving a greater number of chan¬¬nels, codes and technologies. These multiplied mediations tend to make today’s

communications seem almost opaque, as it is easy to get stuck in the hypermediacy of the material technologies of media¬tion themselves, losing sight

of meanings they once sought to convey or decipher.This has fuelled a counter-response in form of an urge for simplicity, directness and transparent im-me‑

diacy, to escape the seemingly endless spirals of interpretation (Bolter & Grusin 1999). It is suggested that mediatisation thus challenges the hermeneutic

concept of culture, but also offers a welcome opportunity to rethink and refine it, in order to meet these critical challenges in a productive way. The paper

concludes by summing up the key arguments and suggesting ways forward in response to Couldry’s important questions.

PP 633

The Development of the Concept of Media Saturation

K. Kopecka-Piech

University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw, Social Communication and Media, Wroclaw, Poland

The aim of the paper is to present preliminary metatheoretical considerations of the development of the concept of media saturation which might be

complementary to a broader theory of mediatization. Media saturation is usually treated residually and intuitively. It is said to be that we live in a world

saturated by media; that mediatization occurs due to media saturation. Meanwhile, media saturation is actually observed, it is possible to isolate, conceptu‑

alize and investigate it empirically: qualitatively and quantitatively. With this analysis we can learn what is the degree of media saturation of places, spaces

(open and closed), objects etc.; and how it affects the socio-cultural life, generates psychological and health problems and influences natural environment.

On the other hand, it seems reasonable to conduct research on the saturation of mediated processes, and thus the nature of saturation of daily activities and

actions. Research on mediatization focus usually either on the impact of media on a specific sphere, social area; or - in the non-mediacentric approach - try

to capture the relationships between diverse metaprocesses, spheres of human life. However, the purpose of media saturation research would be to define

the relations between the degree of saturation, specific processes of media technology saturation and the nature of mediatization. This could determine

the directions of further media research within psychological, medical, sociological, cultural, political or economic studies. The paper, among others, would

initiate a reflection on the relationship between technological saturation (of tools, infrastructure, radiation, etc.), data saturation and subsequently the sat‑

uration of information (discoursive saturation). It would also take the issue of the relationships between saturation and desaturation, and thus between

mediatization and demediatization. Another emerging area of media saturation research is the analysis of the triad ‘media - space – culture’ and studies

on changes generated with a certain degree and type of media saturation. Preliminary research shows there are quantitative and qualitative differences

between saturation of open and closed spaces; saturation of buildings and everyday objects, etc. what determine the specificity of stimulated mediatiza‑

tion. Finally, it seems important to place the concept of media saturation properly within the mediatization theory. Media saturation appears as an element

or sometimes condition of mediatization. The question is, what are the relationships between the quantitative and qualitative changes in saturation and

changes within the mediatization of human life. How could it be captured? How could it be measured quantitatively and explained qualitatively? The paper

would be guided by the desire to begin a discussion on the directions of development of the concept, which provides opportunities for in-depth and com‑

prehensive, interdisciplinary studies on media saturation.

PP 634

The Other Side of Mediatization: Shielding as a Facet of Adaptations to Media Logic

A. Scheu

, D. Noelleke

, T. Birkner

University of Muenster, Department of Communication, Muenster, Germany

The study is part of mediatization research and researches adaptations of individual and collective actors from different social fields to media logic. How‑

ever, our aim differs from most studies in the field. Instead of adaptations that serve to increase actors’access to media publicity (offensive mediatization),

we focus on adaptations that serve to shield actors from media attention (defensive mediatization). Based on a secondary analysis of existing empirical

research, the study theoretically conceptualizes defensive mediatization. Mediatization refers to structural adaptations towards perceived media logic.

These media-related changes are “home-made” and serve to fulfill a fields’ specific functions better. Consequently, social fields, organizations and indi‑

viduals adapt to perceived rules of the media (“media logic”) in order to contol media coverage. Adaptations to perceived media logic do not necessarily

entail the need to increase media coverage. As actors within social fields may conclude that media coverage is disturbing and has the potential to dam‑

age the field’s performance, they might also take measures to protect themselves from media coverage or dysfunctional adaptations. We consider these