‘Real Pictures of Current Events’

Objectivity has been regarded as a central ideal of American journalism in the early twentieth century. The concurrent emergence of photography in the press is rarely associated with this development. The article explores the photographic legacy of journalistic objectivity by discussing a crucial phase in the development of reproduction media for images, the transition from wood engravings to halftones. The former was the dominant mode of ‘illustrated journalism’, the latter became the dominant mode of reproducing photojournalism in print in the twentieth century. The halftone process introduced an equivalence between photographs and their reproductions, obliterating the mediation that had taken place in a code of reproduction that was almost imperceptible. In the contested adoption of the halftone process, it is argued, a shifting valuation of photographs can be observed that prefigures the formulation of objectivity as a transparent code of mediation in journalism.     

Is it Real or is it Virtual?

Abstract

Digital facsimiles of the Netherlands viewable over the Internet or available on CD-ROMs-as an example of what may be available for other countries-are the focus of this article. The first part of the article discusses facsimiles generally, both analog and digital, as well as the way digital facsimiles have been produced, facilities and places where to find digital reproductions of maps and atlases.     

Manufacturing Authenticity: The Rhetoric of “Real” in Women's Magazines

Discourses of authenticity are symptomatic of an era of destabilized communication hierarchies, participatory media, and reality television programming. Women's magazines are an apt site to examine articulations of authenticity given the genre's traditional emphases on aspirational consumption and “making up” the external self. This study explores constructions of authenticity in the advertising and editorial content of two top-ranked publications, Glamour and Cosmopolitan. Drawing on a qualitative textual analysis of these magazines, the author conceptualizes three overlapping tropes of authenticity: (a) promoting natural, organic products; (b) the celebration of ordinary-looking women; and (c) the encouragement of inner-directed self-discovery. These striations of real products, real external beauty, and real internal beauty, respectively, allow authenticity to seep throughout the texts without fundamentally disrupting their traditional commercial function.     

The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: Radio’s Real Second Chance

This introductory essay serves to frame this special public radio symposium that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, on November 7, 2017. Drawing from his earlier writings on public broadcasting history, the author tells the story of how educational radio got its start and continued to struggle for survival until the fledgling enterprise could be reborn as public radio, a result of what may be the most significant piece of communications legislation of the second half of the 20th century. The author argues that despite the enterprise’s marginalized roots and repeated political attacks that span a half century, public radio, in one form or another, will survive well into the future.     

Real or fake? Resources for teaching college students how to identify fake news

Abstract

Fake news has captured the world’s attention. Educational survey research has highlighted the difficulties students and adults have in determining how to identify valid sources. Psychology can help us to understand why it is difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. The authors describe how to identify fake news from digital sources and ways faculty and librarians can teach information literacy skills using the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework, websites, LibGuides, worksheets, and other resources shared in the extensive appendix.     

Reinvention,Revolution and Revitalization: Real Life Tales from Publishing’s Front Lines

Over the past 10 years the publishing industry has undergone major changes with the shift from format driven print publishing to the dynamic delivery of information to users in a variety of digital and printed formats. These changes have affected all aspects of the publishing business including the technology platforms and product development processes. This paper will survey these areas and discuss (1) The principals of the information delivery platforms powering the new generation of products; (2) Strategies for innovation and product development including; (a) Innovation Hubs: enabling new products while maintaining the core; (b) Data driven publishing: the complete picture of your users and markets; (c) Contextual delivery to better deliver information beyond the traditional touch points of publishing and research. These strategies will allow publishing and information provider organizations to reinvent themselves in the continuing digital revolution and are key to bringing new vitality to the ever-changing role of publisher and information provider.     

Do Users Experience Real Sociability Through Social TV? Analyzing Parasocial Behavior in Relation to Social TV

The purpose of this study is to explore the ways in which users build parasocial relationships via social TV, and the implications for sociability and usability in future media. Focusing on parasocial behavior, this study examines how sociability and usability influence the attitudes and intentions of social TV (STV) users. The findings from experiments and a user survey indicate mediating and moderating roles of parasociability in the effect of performance on intention. The results showed that STV viewing and interaction were positively associated with parasocial experience. Parasocial relationships and interaction, in turn, were positively associated with the viewers’ perception of usability and sociability, and intentions. This study reveals the links among an emerging media experience, social TV, and users’ interaction with mediated realities.     

When all You've Got is “The Real Thing”: Museums and Authenticity in the Networked World

As networked informatio proliferates, museums are finding that their role as the sole interpreter of their collections is being challenged. Rather than responding defesively, museums need to work together to improve access to their collections, and to differentiate their sites from the private museums created by enthusiasts. Cross-linking at all levels will enable the creation of a trusted cultural heritage web, that enables users to follow themes and associations, free of the boundaries of historical collecting patterns. In this way, museums can offer a unique interpretation of authentic material culture to a generation comfortable in an immaterial world.     

Recent Romanian Cinema: Is It a Real New Wave or Just a Splash in the Water?

This article demonstrates that recent Romanian cinema manifests the features of a new, coherent, and strong film movement that was correctly tagged as a late new wave in the context of postcommunist significant changes that have shaped the Romanian society and its artistic milieu over the past two decades. By discussing the general characteristics of new waves and the legacies of the most influential cinematic movements of the 20th century, several common features are highlighted, as is the Romanian directors’ capacity to integrate and restate these influences through innovative techniques and an original approach to reality. The analysis is exemplified through the exploration of some of the most representative films of the recent Romanian cinema, prizewinners at prestigious international film festivals.     

Reframing the Domestic Angel: Real Simple Magazine's Repackaging of the Victorian-Era “Angel in the House” Narrative

In this essay, I argue that a contemporized version of the “Angel in the House” narrative is present in Real Simple magazine. I demonstrate that nineteenth-century domestic themes have been reframed in Real Simple so that the home is no longer identified as a site intended for the pleasure of men; instead, it is identified as a personal sanctuary for the contemporary woman's respite and pleasure. I contend that while this revamped notion of the domestic angel may provide the reader with agency to privilege her own needs and desires, the modified narrative nevertheless reinforces the ideological notion of separate spheres—that the home is a woman's domain.     

Why Can’t Students Get the Sources They Need? Results from a Real Electronic Resources Availability Study

Availability studies are used to estimate the proportion of items in a library collection that are available to users, and the proportion of items in a library collection that are unavailable to users as a result of system and/or human errors. Sanjeet Mann of the Armacost Library at the University of Redlands used a series of availability studies to more accurately understand and troubleshoot the e-resources access errors that keep undergraduate students at the university from obtaining the full text of electronic resources. In this presentation, Mann shared the details of his process, his results, and the implications of those results for improving local search systems as well as a conceptual model of e-resource availability errors based on the results of his research.     

Organizational Communication Researchers Meet the Real World: A Case Study of the Cancer Information Services Research Consortium∗

This essay focuses on consortial relationships between researchers and practitioners that are used increasingly to address intractable societal problems. I use the Cancer Information Services Research Consortium (CISRC) to illustrate my major substantive points. I explore what both parties have to gain and lose from these relationships. In the end we need to confront and understand the researcher-practitioner relationship to produce better research, more useful research, and more well-rounded graduates of our programs.     

Balancing Evolving “Real” and “Virtual” Patron Needs: A Challenge for Access Services in Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

Academic libraries are at a crossroads, facing increasing competition from other student services within their institutions and from commercial entities that duplicate their services. Examining some broader trends in education leads to suggestions as to how libraries might re-examine legacy services and assumptions and consider new directions. Specifically, the contributions that might be made by areas traditionally considered part of access services are considered. An annotated bibliography is included.