The Texas professoriate and public political discourse before and after 9/11

Robert Jensen's critique of the participation of academic intellectuals in Texas in public political discourse after the 9/11 terrorist attacks underestimates what professors have done to inform a politically apathetic public about warfare, American foreign policy, civil liberties, and cultural and humanitarian issues. Jensen undervalues non‐confrontational political strategies and broader forms of intellectual political engagement. Confrontational strategies mobilize citizens inclined to activism, but less overtly political strategies invite larger numbers of citizens to think seriously about politics. Jensen's locally famous post‐9/11 Houston Chronicle editorial is analyzed as rhetorically egocentric and alienating, and ultimately counter‐productive in the post‐9/11 political environment.     

Group Affiliations,Opinion Polarization,and Global Organizations: Views of the World Trade Organization Before and After Seattle

Group affiliation plays a key role in shaping individual opinions on public policy issues. Understanding group-related differences may be important for global organizations that depend on broad public acceptance of their policies. Research indicates that people's opinions become polarized to match perceived opinions of their group and that media reports may signal normative opinions group members should adopt. Surveys administered before and after the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 1999 meeting in Seattle indicated significant differences in opinion by group affiliation. Respondents overall held negative views of the WTO before the meeting, and more negative views after the meeting. Business and civic group members were more positive toward the WTO than were human rights and environmental and union group members, reflecting their self-interests. However, contrary to public opinion theory between-group differences in opinion in many cases became less polarized, whereas attention to media coverage served to further polarize only the opinions of union group members.     

Neutralizing Protest: The Construction of War,Chaos, and National Identity through US Television News on Abortion-Related Protest, 1991

This paper examines how US TV news on abortion-related protest forecloses possibilities for democracy and political action. Representing abortion-related activism as a battle, news segments portray activists, correspondents, and viewers as villains, witnesses, and victims in a tale of a nation decimated by civil war. While activists describe their work militaristically, the news's war is not the war that activists describe. News discourse represents activists as threatening the American family/community/nation. Applying Hannah Arendt's and Mary Douglas's work shows how the news eclipses public spheres by mapping a pollution narrative onto those who threaten myths of national homogeneity and proper citizenship.     

Assessing the Radical Democracy of Indymedia: Discursive,Technical, and Institutional Constructions

This study examines the radical democratic principles manifest in Indymedia's discursive, technical, and institutional practices. By focusing on a case study of the Seattle Independent Media Center and contextualizing it within theories and critiques of radical democracy, this article fleshes out strengths, weaknesses, and recurring tensions endemic to Indymedia's internet-based activism. These findings have important implications for alternative media making and radical politics in general.     

Back-ups for the future: archival practices for data activism

Literature on activist archiving theorises the power of recordkeeping to give voice to marginalised communities. However, missing from this archival literature are analyses about the political practice of preserving data as an act of grassroots resistance. Simultaneously, existing scholarly literature on grassroots data activism analyses the creation of new statistical representations to challenge official ones. This literature has largely ignored what will happen to this data over the long term, nor has it treated data archiving as an activist project in its own right. This theoretical article seeks to close the gap between literature on archival activism and literature on data activism, in hopes that both sets of research can draw productively from each other. There are clear affinities between activist archives and data activism: both address the failure by mainstream institutions to account for marginal voices, both have the power to make issues visible and legitimate within the public sphere, and both experiment with traditional forms of memory and statistical evidence. The authors believe that these two powerful forms of activity have much to learn from each other, particularly as the need to steward data over the long term will only grow.     

Public Libraries Development Reconsidered: The Case of Egypt

This paper advances a new interpretation of the development and current decline of public libraries in Egypt based on the study of international influences which helped to shape national discourses about development and provided the context for policy making and resource allocation in Egypt. After 1945 UNESCO encouraged fundamental education and the development of public libraries as operational tools of "education for development". Public libraries witnessed remarkable growth, but then, in the late 1960s, the dominant international discourse about development shifted under the influence of dependency theory to emphasize the need for developing countries to develop from within. Information for development became a self-evident requirement, but the new priority displaced public libraries in favor of specialized information systems for decision-makers. Traditionally, public library decline is attributed to local factors and issues of scarcity. In the case of Egypt, however, factors of scarcity are better interpreted as symptoms than as underlying causes of decline. This paper maintains that the current state of decline of public libraries in Egypt is primarily a consequence of public policy choices precipitated by a shift in international as well as national development priorities, not of factors inherent in the country's political, social and cultural fabric.     

Examining libraries as public sphere institutions: Mapping questions,methods, theories,findings, and research gaps

It is common in the literature to see libraries characterized as public sphere institutions, but the exact processes by which libraries support and engage in the public sphere remain under-explored. Based on a systematic review of the research literature on libraries as public sphere institutions, this study maps the questions, methods, theories, and findings of those scholars and librarians who have examined this topic. This research finds that discussions of libraries as public sphere institutions orient around five themes: Community, management and funding, institutional structures and practices, new tools and services, and knowledge organization. Compared to existing research, more focused and stringent research designs are necessary to enhance the understanding of libraries as public sphere institutions. A focused research program can create theoretical and actionable knowledge for knowledge-based policies, strategies, and activities at the international, federal, state, and community levels.     

Undermining Mothers: A Content Analysis of the Representation of Mothers in Magazines

Mother wars, the pitting of at-home and employed mothers against each other, dominate public discourse. Mother roles are contested and, as a result, mothers are inundated with contradictory messages that affirm a particular mother role and simultaneously condemn a mother for achieving it. This content analysis explores 4 maternal contradictions in contemporary women's magazines: (a) mothers are selfish/selfless; (b) mothers should foster independence/dependence in children; (c) mothers who succeed/fail in the domestic sphere, fail/succeed in the public sphere; and (d) mothers are natural, instinctive, intuitive/need expert help. The messages, and the characterization of these contradictions as double binds, have implications on the empowerment of mothers and the perpetuation of patriarchal systems.     

Covering the world‐class downtown: Seattle's local media and the politics of urban redevelopment

Local disputes over land use and urban development generate some of the most heated struggles in American politics. Yet the role of local media organizations in covering debates over urban development has been woefully understudied by media scholars. To address this soft spot in the critical media literature, this article offers an investigation of how the local press covered a particularly bitter debate over one urban redevelopment proposal in Seattle during the mid‐1990s. Drawing on Hallin, who predicts that reporters will abandon professional codes of neutrality and balance when they perceive the political field to be unified around a single position, an examination of sourcing patterns in the Seattle case suggests that local reporters cover debates over urban development from a spurious assumption of “consensus”—an assumption that privileges the voices of downtown business leaders and pro‐development public officials. A concluding section offers suggestions for future investigation into the intersection of local media and urban development politics, drawing particularly on Bourdieu's notion of “symbolic capital” to explore how such presumptions of consensus are cultivated, maintained, and contested within the local public sphere.     

A New Archival Model?

Abstract

The Downtown Collection's holdings expansively redefine traditional archival models enabling us to rethink key elements of archival theory, methodology, and practice. Further, its commitment to documenting non-traditional subject matter and maintaining dynamic relationships with artists, donors, scholars and the public mirrors the post-structural influence that is felt in the collection. Ultimately, the Collection's efforts to open up the content of its subject-the Downtown New York scene from 1975 to the present-as well as its holdings and follow the material's lead in pushing the limits of library structures, produces an expanded archival model that houses rich forms of material, better intellectual access, and even, for some, social activism.     

The new central public library for Veria,Greece

A new central public library is being planned for the town of Veria, Greece, to open in 1995. The building, funded by the Ministry of Education, will have its design selected as the result of a limited architectural competition. In addition to the library benefits for Veria, it is hoped that the building and the planning process related to it, will serve as a model for other Greek public library building projects.The article describes the author's involvement as consultant to the Veria project, working with the librarian on the preparation of the brief. Following short accounts of the Greek public library scene; the community to be served by the Veria library; the drawbacks of the present building; the site for the new library, and aspects of the brief, the writer ends with a discussion of the difficulties and constraints faced by the consultant advising on an overseas project.     

Public Libraries Development Reconsidered

Abstract

This paper advances a new interpretation of the development and current decline of public libraries in Egypt based on the study of international influences which helped to shape national discourses about development and provided the context for policy making and resource allocation in Egypt. After 1945 UNESCO encouraged fundamental education and the development of public libraries as operational tools of "education for development". Public libraries witnessed remarkable growth, but then, in the late 1960s, the dominant international discourse about development shifted under the influence of dependency theory to emphasize the need for developing countries to develop from within. Information for development became a self-evident requirement, but the new priority displaced public libraries in favor of specialized information systems for decision-makers. Traditionally, public library decline is attributed to local factors and issues of scarcity. In the case of Egypt, however, factors of scarcity are better interpreted as symptoms than as underlying causes of decline. This paper maintains that the current state of decline of public libraries in Egypt is primarily a consequence of public policy choices precipitated by a shift in international as well as national development priorities, not of factors inherent in the country’s political, social and cultural fabric.     

Policy,Pop, and the Public: The Discourse of Regulation in British Commercial Radio

This paper examines the language and practices of regulation that have constructed the idea of British commercial radio. It concludes that the regulator's definitions of its purpose and practice are characterized by variability because of the attempt to draw simultaneously from repertoires of definition established in Britain's public service, commercial, and community traditions. In turn, it is noted that this discourse of regulation does not seem to be shared by those who run commercial radio stations. The paper explores the way that the dominance of a particular public service ideal is negotiated with the increasing influence of commercial orders of discourse, and the marginalization of concepts of community broadcasting.     

Networked counterpublics and discursive contestation in the agonistic public sphere: political jamming a police force Facebook Page

Drawing from agonistic public sphere perspectives, this study examines the jamming of the Hong Kong Police Force Facebook Page by users from its establishment in October 2015 to March 2016. 203 posts accounting for 96,791 comments were analyzed using a mixed-method approach. Findings showed that the early posts were heavily jammed with three types of counterpublic comments: (1) calls for justice regarding alleged police brutality during the Umbrella Movement one year prior, (2) emotional statements with impolite tone, and (3) accusations of comment deletions by the Page administrators. But, the relative intensity of the three types of counterdiscourses diminished over time. Moreover, despite the extensive use of embedded YouTube videos as counterdiscourses in the comments, there were few URL linkages to Hong Kong's dynamic counterpublic sphere. This study highlights the opportunities and constraints of Facebook's technological architecture for activists and networked counterpublics to challenge dominant discourses in situ.     

For the Public Good or Just Good Publicity? Celebrity Diplomacy and the Ethics of Representation

Celebrities in recent years have taken on a more active role in communicating global humanitarian crises to the American public. This role at times shifts between journalist, advocate, philanthropist, and personal publicist. This article evaluates how three of the most well-known celebrities in this genre in the United States—Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, and Bono—differ in their method of speaking about these issues, focusing on how their public discourse adds to, or detracts from, citizens' abilities to understand, discuss, and respond to the issues presented in the public sphere. Through critical discourse analysis, similarities and differences are teased out and placed within the context of previous research on celebrity diplomacy and humanitarian crises, in order to evaluate the usefulness of such performances for the U.S. public as democratic citizens and for the victims of foreign suffering the celebrities purport to represent.     

Social media,legacy media and gatekeeping: the protest paradigm in news of Ferguson and Charlottesville

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the site of intersection between legacy and social media, whereby it asks how local legacy media (St Louis Post-Dispatch and Richmond Times-Dispatch) invoked social media (Facebook and Twitter) discourse within their coverage of the Ferguson (2014) and Charlottesville (2017) events. It thus explores how gatekeeping is manifested and, consequently, how the protest paradigm emerged in a news landscape of proliferating social media. Thematic textual analysis indicates that coverage of Charlottesville and Ferguson clearly relied on indulging the social media sphere in important ways. Common themes of social media as multipurpose platforms, as interfacing with law and order, and as reconciling material and digital modes culminating in social activism were revealed. The study shows that the protest paradigm that has long characterized legacy media’s coverage of social protest is not as “pure” as it may once have been, since a social media component is helping define the contours and content of legacy media’s landscape.     

Time's up. Or is it? Journalists’ Perceptions of Sexual Violence and Newsroom Changes after #MeTooIndia

ABSTRACT

The #MeToo movement, which engulfed much of India's news and entertainment industry in October 2018, was projected by many as a watershed moment for Indian journalism. Driven largely through social media activism, it created significant public discourse and outcry, leading to the “outing” and resignation of many journalists. This paper explores the perception of #MeTooIndia in regional and national newsrooms. Drawing on Manuel Castells's ideas of networked social movement, we consider the origins of #MeTooIndia, including its mediation on private and social networks. We then draw on 257 semi-structured interviews with journalists working in 14 languages across India to explore the “cause” of the campaign—the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in workspaces—before turning our attention to the impact, or potential for impact, that journalists saw in it. We find most journalists felt the movement was “good”, but did not think it influenced their environment or newswork in any meaningful manner. Regional journalists expressed more pessimism about the #MeTooIndia, men more so than women.     

On Misfits and Margins: Narrative,Resistance, and the Poster Child Politics of Rosie O'Donnell

This essay addresses why Rosie O'Donnell's “coming out” as a lesbian, as a gay parent, and as an advocate for gay adoption generated such little and lukewarm response, arguing that O'Donnell's lesbianism was rationalized in the public discourse by powerful preexisting narratives that constructed her as both maternal and childlike. These narratives converged with the narrative alterity of O'Donnell's homosexuality in such a way as to sharpen and strengthen established heteronormative discursive margins. The O'Donnell case contributes to an understanding of how dominant narratives negotiate competing narratives of resistance and offers an opportunity to examine mediated representations of “coming out.”     

Scolding John Q.: Articulating a Normative Relationship between Politics and Entertainment

The 2002 hostage drama John Q. triggered a discussion among journalists, the public, and the policy community about the proper relationship between politics and entertainment. In this debate the criteria for good journalism and good political discourse were frequently invoked to evaluate this Hollywood film. This discussion, which spilled out of the film criticism pages into news and commentary pages, shows how public-sphere models of political discourse are privileged even though they may not be a good fit for fictional media. John Q.’s success in triggering public discussion and awareness about health policy issues seems to illustrate DeLuca & Peeples’s (2002) DeLuca, K. M. and Peeples, J. 2002. From public sphere to public screen: Democracy, activism, and the “violence” of Seattle. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19(2): 125–151. [CROSSREF][Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] claim that the “public screen” is a more useful metaphor for thinking about politics than the public sphere (Habermas, 1989 Habermas, J. 1989. The structural transformation of the public sphere, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.  [Google Scholar]). John Q. seemed to particularly raise the ire of critics because of its unambiguous critique of domestic policy and its implicit suggestion that collective solutions are needed.