This paper is dealing with media reflection (manipulative activity that is trying affect form of media texts for its own profit) which is manifesting itself in representative selection of audiovisual works. This has arisen in period from second half of the ninetieth years of 20th century to present day (namely: movies Wag the Dog, Thank You for Smoking and serial House of Cards). This paper assumes that through the analysis of this reflection is possible to learn how knowledge of possible influence of spin doctoring effects interpretation activity of audience and whole media communication. In opening, there is a definition of spin doctoring, brief outline for its history and examination of its contact points with a propaganda. After that there is narrative analysis of selected audiovisual works, comparison of spin doctor strategies in movies with existing methods of public relation and examples of manipulative influences. After that there is breakdown of media reflection of spin doctoring from position of three different theories of representation and final topic of influence of a semiotic power on form of interpretation which anticipates manipulative technologies.

The erotic website SuicideGirls.com can be viewed in the context of striptease culture. The term was coined by the sociologist Brian McNair in 2002 in order to describe the tendency to openly theme the human sexuality within media content. Simultaneously with the metaphorical and literal exposing, the intimacy is being constructed within the discourse as an expression of true self and, as Feona Attwood develops McNair's claims speaking about sexualization of culture, the representation becomes the selfrepresentation. The SuicideGirls present themselves especially on soft-pornographic photographs through a significant alternative stylization, mostly tattoos and piercing. While for example Megan Jean Harlow (2009), a feminist critique representative, considers the style-creating elements of tattoo as an expression of distinctive practices, according to Shoshana Magnet (2007) the soft-pornographic mode of representation reduces the distinctiveness of SuicideGirls to a certain form of standard pornography. The semiotic and psychoanalytical interpretation of SuicideGirls.com focuses on softpornographic symbolic of the distinctiveness perceived by the community. Jacques Lacan's mirror stage concept explains the principles of subject's identification with his or her specular image. It is also important to...

This thesis deals with comics in the Czech news and cultural magazines after the year 2000. A new generation of comic creators emerged after the year 2000, so called Generation zero. These new creators are different from the older authors - especially from authors of Generation 89 - in many aspects. Using a semiotic analysis this thesis focuses on comics in contemporary periodicals: it attempts to uncover how various comics exist in news magazines (which are intended for a broad scale audience) and to what extent these comics match with the profile of the magazine. Additionally, in order to see a potential difference in results, cultural periodicals were also thoroughly analyzed. Included in the analyzed material are news magazines such as Reflex and Respekt and cultural periodicals like Art+Antiques and A2. In addition, it focuses on theoretical discussions regarding a proper definition of the word comic and on the relationship between linguistic and visual levels of comics because this relationship is essential in this form. Finally, the means of visual language in comics and the history of the Czech comics are discussed in the theoretical section as well.

This work deals with the concept of theatricality in media and with the usage of media content in theatre. The task is to find out the possibilities of journalism by means of theatre work and at the same time to describe the representation of theatricality in media. The methodology was made on the basis of the combination of semiotic and content analysis. The work also introduces the knowledge of theatre studies in the environment of media studies. The theatre is used as an example when during the reproduction of the communication all the participants know the fact that it is an interpretation. Similar approach is used for media contents. Also the terms actor's character and dramatic character helped to distinguish the real persons represented in media from their media image. The audience often does not realize this difference and accept the offered interpretation from the media and media image of the public life persons as a part of their understanding of public affairs. Dramatic situations are made up in the news service and the goal is to attract attention of viewers and readers. The composition of such situations produced by media is similar to the ones in dramatic art.

The thesis studies the consumption of tobacco as a specific cultural phenomenon owing to the fact that since a tobacco plant has been brought to Europe; its use has spread over other continents and has rooted in many developed civilizations. From the theoretical standpoint, the thesis argues that as cultures are not constant entities, the same applies for public opinions regarding tobacco, from the firm belief that tobacco has positive effects on our health to the stigmatization of tobacco. The paper has four parts. First three parts discuss smoking in marketing communication and further identifies key topics; the final part presents the semiotic analysis of tobacco advertising from the selected periodicals printed (from newspapers and magazines) in the former Czechoslovakia from twenties to fifties of the twentieth century. The main objective is to specify both verbal and visual motives that ad makers used to use in order to create ideological implications of their ads (decoding symbols and interpretation of their meanings). Further, the thesis describes the former advertising style for tobacco products ( brands, targeting, products). The methodology of the work is partly based on the work of Jan Stern (2005, Latent meaning of advertisement text), further some of his terms are being applied in...

The diploma thesis "Media Construction of the Past: Image of the Period of Normalization in the Czech Non-fiction Television Shows after the Year 2006" looks into media construction during normalization period in television shows, which mark themselves as journalistic. The two following methods are used to analyze chosen thematic units broadcasted between the years 2007-2012: quantitative content analysis and semiotic analysis. Content analysis besides other things provides information about the frequency of occurrence of specialists in the field of social sciences, both movies and period footage as well as Slovak speaking people in non- fiction television shows such as Retro, Historie.cs, Víkend and Střepiny. Semiotic analysis notices denotative meaning of two examined units as well as opening jingle of Retro and Historie.cs shows and subsequently interprets used components. Based on this interpretation myths associated with construction of both normalization and the past are deciphered. Chapters dedicated to research are complemented by methodological part, which familiarizes with the technique of researches and explains differences between quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as the theoretical part, which brings insight into media representation, media construction, and relationship...

The significations found in content aren't only explicitly present in the surface structures, but they're also built deep inside human mind as the basic semes - the minimum units with a signification. In the diploma thesis "Internet Marketing Influence on Internet Media Content and their Users at Czech Media Environment" we use a qualitative analysis method composed of the semiotic and the narrative analysis to describe and interpret the chosen samples of internet marketing content. The semiotic analysis helps us to interpret both the basic surface and deep significations present in the visual and text code of the interpreted samples. The narrative analysis unravels a narration the act is constructed from followed by interpretation. The application of both the methods allows us to identify myths in the narratives. The aim of application of both methods is to describe specific and repetitive deep significations and narrations individual communicates are built from and thus characterize internet marketing media discourse. The narratives form a basis of the interpersonal communication; they allow us to preserve and communicate significations through them. All the narratives of the interpreted samples of content were constructed with a basic conflict (or contradiction) and presented to the public...

The diploma thesis "EYOWF 2011 and mythologization of the commercial strategies in a market campaign" deals with a semiotic analysis and mythologization of the promotional video for 10th European Youth Olympic Winter Festival 2011. This study is drawn up as semiotic analysis comprised of the theories of symbolic interactionism and mythologization as a secondary narrative. The thesis is based on theories of the meaning construction and the terminology of the linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, a French semiotican Ronald Barthes and a triadical concept of the sign by Charles Sanders Peirce. The study works on the construction of a commercial message, market communication and use of the specific sign as a primary structural element. An analyzed sample is an audiovisual commercial - 2 minutes and 52 seconds which contents the elements of the entire communicative campaign. The used method is a semiotic analysis which offers insights via description and interpretation of the particular encoded signs. The main focus is concentrating on the camera take and cuts, graphics, colour, characters and the entire mythologization process.

The diploma thesis called Visual Style of the National Geographic Magazine (1914, 1964, 2014) is focused on the visual part of this American monthly magazine, that is renowned for its long-standing photography tradition. In the theoretical part the historic development of the National Geographic monthly magazine is summarized, characteristic features of its photographs are defined and compared to the different photographic genres. With relation to the magazine, issues of visual gatekeeping are discussed. The theoretical part is accompanied by examples of published photo manipulations and a chapter about the image-text relation is provided. The analytical part aims at the development of photographic techniques and photographic content in the selected years 1914, 1964 and 2014. Using the method of content analysis this work deals with over 1000 photographs and allocates them in different coding categories. It is explored which category or characteristic features were typical for each period, for example in connection with gender, locations or the way of capturing the image. The results of content analysis are put into context by semiotic study which is based on the methods of philosopher Roland Barthes. In addition to that, the analytical part is supplemented with the analysis of selected visual...

This diploma thesis will focus on music, film, literature and visual arts of Islamic coun-tries, as a material that leaves the original cultural and religious context and is being "sent" to be received in the context of the stabilised Western culture. Guided by her own judgment, the author of this diploma thesis shall select the most important and inte-resting artists who were born or are still living in one of the Islamic countries. And she will further interpret their work in terms of their influence and impact on the Western culture. As to the methodological approach, this diploma thesis is based on the concept of the cultural transfer, as it has been examined and defined in cultural studies in recent decades.