For the last decade, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (TDS), a (Comedy Central) cable comedy show, has been increasingly seen as an informative, new, even revolutionary, form of journalism. A substantial body of literature appeared, adopting this view. On closer inspection, it became clear that this view was tenable only in specific circumstances. It assumed that the comedic structure of the show, TDS' primary text, promoted cognitive polysemy, a textual ambiguity which encouraged critical inquiry, and that TDS' audiences perceived it accordingly. As a result I analyzed, through a dual - encoding/decoding - analytical approach, whether TDS' comedic discourse educates and informs its audiences in a manner which encourages independent or critical reading of the news. Through a multilayered textual analysis of the primary and tertiary texts of the show, the research presented here asked, "How does TDS' comedic narrative (primary text) work as a vehicle of televised political news?" and "How does TDS' audience decode its text?" The research identified flaws in the existing literature and the limits inherent to any similar endeavors. It became apparent that, due to TDS' comedic discourse and its host's political transparency, the primary text does not promote cognitive polysemy, because it offers one dominant reading that is easily deciphered. Furthermore, due to its specific comedic structure, the primary text does not encourage dissenting or critical reading of the show's presentation of the news. Close reading of specific audience-authored tertiary texts indicated that TDS offered a dominant encoded reading which was either easily accepted or slightly negotiated, according to the views of the news outlet presenting the TDS excerpt.

Defamation law‘s truth defence – the oldest, most obvious and principal defence – has failed Australian media defendants. Few who mount the defence succeed. Many, discouraged by the defence‘s onerousness, do not even attempt it. As a consequence the journalistic articulation of matters of public concern is stifled. This thesis argues that the limitations of the Australian truth defence are inconsistent with established freedom of speech ideals and the public interest in having a robust media. As a result society is constrained from enlightened participation in public affairs. This thesis proposes reforms to alleviate the heavy demands of the defence so as to promote the publication of matters of public concern and to strike a more contemporary balance between freedom of speech and the protection of reputation. These reforms employ defamation law‘s doctrinal calculus to reposition the speech-reputation fulcrum. While defamation law has for decades attracted reform attention, the truth defence has languished by the wayside. This thesis steps into the breech. The cornerstone of this thesis is a proposal to reverse the burden so that the plaintiff bears the burden of proving falsity of the defamatory publication where: the complainant is a public figure; the matter complained about is a matter of public concern; and the suit involves a media defendant. While this proposal is likely to dramatically alter the prevailing Australian freedom of speech/protection of reputation equilibrium, other measures are proposed to serve as a bulwark against the wanton destruction of reputation.

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This thesis explores the shape, the dynamics, and the main reasons for media capture and collusion in Croatia since the second transition in 2000. Using principal-agent theory to refer to the basic relation-ship between politicians, media and citizens, I intend to explain why politicians make use of particularism - behaviour aiming at the limitation of horizontal accountability - to force the media into cooperation with politicians (media capture) or to engage in an illicit, mutually agreed deal (collusion). Located in the literatures on democratization, party research and media studies, I aim to connect these fields in arguing that intra-party dynamics such as party leaders' rootedness, contestation and the institutionalization of rules play an important role in incentivizing executive politicians to capture or collude with media outlets. The empirical outcome of the study showing drastic failures of horizontal accountability contradicts dominant narratives of Croatia's high level of democratic consolidation between 2000 and 2014 and therefore challenges the suitability of indicators primarily designed to capture the institutionalization of institutions rather than the institutionalization of particularism. Croatia is a particularly appropriate case to study in this context since none of the traditional incentives such as Europeanization, inter-party competition, a strong civil society or economic modernization can fully explain shifts in the way politicians limit or reinforce horizontal accountability of the media. In order to address this puzzle I adopt a two-pronged research strategy based on both qualitative and quantitative elements in order to reliably and validly measure the shape and development of media capture and collusion.

No description available.

The construction of journalistic professionalism in Zimbabwe has stirred debate among scholars. Critics have argued that professionalism has been compromised by the stifling media laws in Zimbabwe as well as the extra legal measures the state has enforced to control the press. Some have also argued that a new kind of journalism must be emerging in the Zimbabwean newsroom as journalism try to cope with the political and economic pressures bedeviling the country. Much of this criticism however, has not been based on close interrogation of professionalism from the perspective of the journalists in any particular newsroom. It is against this background that this study examines the constructions of professionalism at the Financial Gazette. In particular it explores the meaning of professionalism through interrogating the journalistic practices the journalists consider during the process of news production in the context of overwhelming state power. In undertaking this examination, the study draws primarily on qualitative research methods, particularly observation and multi-layered individual in-depth interviews. As the study demonstrates, the interrogation of professionalism from the perspective of newsroom practices uncovers the complex manner in which professionalism is negotiated in the Gazette’s newsroom located in a country undergoing transition in Democracy. The study establishes that when measured against normative canons of journalistic professionalism the Gazette is deviating from such tenets as public service and watchdog journalism. As the study indicates, perhaps unbeknown to the respondents, the ruling ZANU PF party hegemony is reproduced at the Gazette through choice of news values such as sovereignty and patriotism all euphemisms for ruling party‘s slogans.

During Zimbabwe’s 2008 harmonised elections the country’s media laws had a direct impact on the way editorial cartoonists expressed themselves. Although the online newspapers were unregulated and the print media published under Zimbabwe’s media laws, Public Order and Security Act and Access to Information and Protection of Privacy act - the editorial cartoons from both sources show deliberate bias towards one candidate and contempt towards the main rival. The study contextualises the understanding of the editorial cartoon, as practised in an environment of freedom of speech and defined by the four categories identified by Press (1981) and Manning and Phiddian (2004), and delineates the effect of media laws on the newspaper industry in Zimbabwe. The four categories of editorial cartoons identified are descriptive editorial cartoons, laughing satirical editorial cartoons, destructive satirical editorial cartoons, and savage indignation editorial cartoons. The study reviews eight editorial cartoons, read using a semiotic framework investigating non-verbal communication, as defined and suggested by Du Plooy (1996), and a text and language grid, as suggested by Leech (1974), according to the criteria of symbols/metaphors, exaggeration/distortion, stereotypes, caricature, irony, captions, and background knowledge, as developed by Fetsko (2001). A comparative analysis of the cartoons reveals that objectives and functions of the unregulated zimonline.co.za and the regulated the Herald newspapers are the same. They constitute propagandistic representations of Zimbabwean politics that are more an extension of political ideology than they are a reflection of the country’s sociopolitical landscape.

This investigation deals with a change of congressional attitude concerning violence in entertainment media, from noninterference to investigation to initiation of research. The data are primarily from official government records. This study first examines a period of congressional reluctance to interfere with the violent content of movies and radio in 1929-45. Next examined is the period 1945-68, when Congress actively investigated media violence,, focusing on television. Finally, the study examines congressional activity concerning television violence in 1968-74 and the Surgeon General's report on television violence. This report concludes that, by 1955, the pattern of congressional interest in media violence had turned from reluctance to activity, -and discusses the likelihood of future control of television program content.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

1.\ / Doctorat en droit / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished