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clarified, and the nature and significance of the conceptual dispute which is currently unfolding in the literature. In their probe into the makeup of the con‑
cept and its explication, Deacon and Stanyer primarily appeal to the semantic-analytic tradition of Giovanni Sartori – and on that basis, they suggest that
'mediatization”may be a 'pseudo-general”of no consequence. This is not the only means of conceptual inquiry available; the toolbox ought to be expanded
by explorations of realist and interpretivist approaches to concept formation and revision. Here, however, I will focus on the viability of pursuing a distinctly
pragmatist method of concept evaluation, which recognises three stages of conceptual clarification (familiarity of use, analytical explication, pragmatic
elucidation), connects abstract concepts to habits of action, and ultimately links the significance of conceptual scrutiny to potential habit-modification
rather than to mere semantic definition or explication. In part, this discussion concerns the justifications for conceptual generalisation and the introduction
of new terms into a field such as media and communication studies; but it will also cast light on the conceptual dispute at hand. I will show that the mediati‑
zation debate is at present not a case of 'essential contestation”(inW. B Gallie’s sense), but rather a clash concerning a hotly or intensely contested technical
concept. Being firmly grounded neither in ordinary habits of language use nor in concrete representations, the appeal of 'mediatization” lies largely in its
'sensitizing”power. But the future survival or demise of the concept should be bound to its potential capacity to embody and produce consequential habits
of interpretation and research.
PP 105 A Working Theory of Journalismness
A. Bogdanic1
1 Banja Luka College of Communications Kappa Phi, Communication studies, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Identifying and conceptualizing journalism has always been elusive. In the age of media conversion and changing practices of journalism it has become
even more elusive. Still, regardless of the media used, some journalism seems to maintain certain principles, as well as practices (Kovach & Rosenstiel,
2014). These principles and practices may constitute a certain paradigm (Thomas & Hindman, 2015). This paper posits and describes the main features
of a specific journalistic paradigm. The paradigm comprises three major characteristics – an attitude towards social reality, journalistic language, and
newsworthiness – each of which with further features that define them. Furthermore, journalistic texts can be viewed as discourses defined and guided
by the paradigm. Thus the paradigm can be operationalized as a three-pronged method for the content analysis of media texts. In other words, it can be
practically applied to evaluate news media in terms of their 'journalismness.”Taken together, this approach comprises a working theory of journalismness.
For example, in a recent project the concept of journalismness was used in several studies (Bogdanić, 2015).The approach can be used in the analysis of both
traditional and emerging media. The paper discusses the theory in terms of its applicability, further development and the dilemmas it poses. (References:
Bogdanić, A. (Ed.). (2015). Medijska slika: Istraživanja o odgovornom novinarstvu [A media picture: Studies on responsible journalism]. Banja Luka, Bosnia
and Herzegovina: Fakultet političkih nauka Univerziteta u Banjoj Luci; Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2014). The elements of journalism: What newspeople
should know and the public should expect (3rd ed). New York, NY: Three Rivers Press; Thomas, R. J., & Hindman, E. B. (2015). Confusing roles, uncertain
responsibilities: Journalistic discourse on JuanWilliams, NPR, and Fox News. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 92, 468–486.)
PP 106 The Role of Property Types in Interpreting and Evaluating Photographs
Z. Bátori1
1 Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Sociology and Communication, Budapest, Hungary
In this paper I argue that Kendall Walton’s system of the aesthetic property types of artworks serves as an excellent philosophical starting point when
accounting for important aspects of the processes of interpreting and evaluating photographs. My explanation is applicable for photographs regardless
of their artwork status. I am interested in Walton’s system from the point of view of recognising photographs as belonging or not belonging to specific
photographic categories or genres. I argue that this recognition is an often-neglected first step in interpreting and appreciating photographs, and I provide
an account of photographic relevance on the basis of the discussed property types. Walton suggests that we need to distinguish standard, variable, and
contra-standard aesthetic properties. These properties are recognised by us in the specific socio-historical context of our art making and appreciating
practices. Standard properties, like the motionlessness of paintings, establish the artwork status in a given category. We perceive and recognise the work to
belong to the category by virtue of perceiving and recognising standard properties of the category, and the lack of a standard property tends to disqualify
the work from the given category.Variable properties, like the presence or absence of particular shapes or colours in a painting, are irrelevant from the point
of view of belonging or not belonging to a given category. Contra-standard properties tend to disqualify a work from a given category.The lack of a standard
property and the presence of a contra-standard feature may both qualify as having a contra-standard property. If flatness is a standard property of paintings
for us, then the presence of a three-dimensional object in the painting is a contra-standard property. Individual artists and movements have often relied
on the shocking or provocative artistic communicative effect of contra-standard properties for voicing their disagreement about previously established
“rules”(that established and prescribed what was standard, variable, and contra-standard). I suggest that the presence or absence of properties belonging
to these types also influence the interpretation and evaluation of photographs. For instance, until about the nineteen seventies most photographers used
black and white film simply because that was the technology available to them. By 2016, however, colour technology has been available for decades.
Colour in photography has been established as a standard long ago. Opting for the now contra-standard property of black and white today carries extra
meaning; the choice is to be noticed, and the contra-standard is to be interpreted. Another example is the practice of staged photography to create images
that seem to record spontaneous moments. While this is acceptable (variable) in some photographic genres, like fashion or fine art photography, it is highly
contra-standard (to the extent of being forbidden) in other genres, like photojournalism and wild life photography. In my talk I use a number of further
examples to demonstrate how we can incorporate the system of standard, variable, and contra-standard properties into an account of relevance for photo‑
graphic interpretation and evaluation. The account applies to both artistic (fine art) and non-artistic photographic genre categories.