C o n t e n t a n a l y s i s a n d t h e m e d i a

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Giuseppe Tipaldo Ph.D. Department of Culture, Politica e Società

University of Turin Italy

Agenda

• The sociological view

• Some tips ‘bout the media

• The Methodology stuff

• How to analyse different media

• Workin’ n’practice

Some tips ‘bout the media

Magic bullet, today

The cultural industry 2.0

Agendas, culture and pseudo-environment

RECAP

Oct. 30th 1938

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Oct. 30th 1938

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Oct. 30th 1938

DRAMATISATION

LIKELIHOOD

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’50 - rigged quiz shows scandal

For the 2nd time in history American television audience realizes to have been "hoodwinked"

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Anni 2000 - Striscia vs Affari tuoi

“In merito all'insolita frequenza che vede i super-pacchi da 500 mila euro e 250 mila euro di "Affari Tuoi" in gioco fino all'ultimo, si dà ragione agli esperimenti statistici organizzati da Codacons e Adusbef: "l'esperimento compiuto alla presenza di un notaio, il diverso risultato statistico che emerge in trasmissioni televisive che usano l'identico format di 'Affari Tuoi' (ad esempio in Spagna), sono tutti dati obiettivi la cui divulgazione al pubblico è funzionale non già a gettare gratuito discredito, ma a dare spiegazione, contenuto e fondamento alla tesi critica rivolta alla trasmissione".

"il comportamento tenuto dalla concorrente Pelafiocche nella trasmissione 'Affari Tuoi' in onda il 4 dicembre 2006, appare illuminante ai fini della definizione della presente vicenda. Le immagini sono chiare: si vede che la concorrente, ripetutamente, guarda e legge un qualcosa all'interno dei palmi delle sue mani, qualche volta la destra, prevalentemente la sinistra. Addirittura, attraverso il fermo immagine poi riproposto da 'Striscia la notizia', si vede chiaramente che la Pelafiocche ha effettivamente una scritta nera sul palmo della mano destra. Mentre la Pelafiocche sta applaudendo con il palmo della mano sinistra aperto in favore di telecamera, sembrano evidenziarsi alcune scritte, almeno tre, all'interno della sua mano sinistra. Appare del tutto consequenziale che il telespettatore medio possa trarre il forte sospetto, se non addirittura il convincimento, che quanto la concorrente andava leggendo durante la trasmissione all'interno delle sue mani era in qualche modo legato allo svolgimento del gioco”

in una trasmissione televisiva in cui vengono distribuiti premi in denaro e che dichiaratamente ambisce ad assumere di fronte al pubblico crismi di serietà e trasparenza, tanto da prevedere in studio la presenza di un notaio, occorre che la casualità del gioco sia garantita non solo sul piano della sostanza, ma anche sul piano dell'apparenza. Non si vedrebbe altrimenti la ragione di tenere un notaio in studio, peraltro constantemente chiamato in causa dal conduttore". "E' dunque onere dei responsabili del programma - conclude il primo punto del provvedimento - scongiurare provvedimenti tenuti in trasmissione dal pubblico e dai concorrenti, idonei a ledere l'immagine di serietà e regolarità del gioco”.

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key elements:I. Plato’s cave

II. media as FILTER > new “Maya’s veil”

III. Dissonances, displacements and disappointment as the effects of the tear in the veil

IV. Sense of guilt: the cheated audience feels "silly" to have acted as if the message was true

V. Loss of the naivety of the “neophyte”: at least temporarily, the audience develops "antibodies" to a particular style and narrative register, increasing the chances of recognizing within the messages it receives media texts instead of a calque of true reality

VI. Saturation and chronic distrust effects: repeated negative experiences can saturate the reception (and reactive) capability of the public, squandering issuer's trust assets in the medium to long term

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Some tips ‘bout the media

Magic bullet, today

The cultural industry 2.0

Agendas, culture and pseudo-environment

RECAP

Frankfurt school and the Critical theory

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Media logic media logic is quite close to that of

commercial companies

goals are profit-oriented: mass production of simbolic (cultural)

goods for a wide audience (blockbusters and economies of scale)

Frankfurt school and the Critical theory

yesterday

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today

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today

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today

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oggi

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tomorrow

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today

Key features:I. Mass, standardisation, consumerism and false needs, trivialisation and flattening: cultural products are meant to be for a wide audience and easy-to-consume II. Trivialisation, flattening, mass control by the power èlites and annihilation of an autonomous capability of critics as social effects of mass consumerism, false needs, false idols, trends

III. Culture of the Self and Self Image (selfie…) tend to get the same thing, in a way that the first is undermined by the latter in a hedonistic drift of the society

IV. Loss of the sacred aura of talent and artwork (see Benjamin)

V. Antisocial effects: an extremely individualistic society is meant to implode, losing essential civic ingredients (see Tocqueville, Democracy in America)

1. bullet 2. industry 3. agendas 4. RECAP

Some tips ‘bout the media

Magic bullet, today

The cultural industry 2.0

Agendas, culture and pseudo-environment

RECAP

1. bullet 2. industry 3. agendas 4. RECAP

...

http://www.mediatenor.co.za/smi_AS_approach.php

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“Pseudo-environment”

“Man is learning to see with his mind vast portions of the world that he could never see, touch, smell, hear or remember” (p.18)

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“Pseudo-environment”For the real environment is altogether too big, too complex, and too fleeting for direct acquaintance. We are not equipped to deal with so much subtlety, so much variety, so many permutations and combinations. And although we have to act in that environment, we have to reconstruct it on a simpler model before we can manage with it.

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1. the issue of reality and reality’s representation

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II. The issue of facts and news

b. newsmaking: only a poor 20% of facts and bla bla ...

c. newsworthiness criteria

d. media = “quick guide” to find paths in an increasingly complex reality

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a. mediatisation of experience

e. the turning table by the rise of new media (and personal media) (see live twitting, etc.)

III. the issue of sources

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b. the problem of authenticity (we’ll see it soon…)c. the problem of di veracity and accuracy: 1. can the source say the truth? 2. does it want to?

d. uncertainty and distrust

a. mediatisation of experience: see the Maya’s veil

e. for a non naive use of media sources

IV. the issue of language

b. systemic effects of mediated communication: 1. language: simplification, trivialisation, quickness, dramatisation, spectacularisation, emphasis, emotivity; II. attitudes and opinions not only what to think about but also how to think it

a. general effects of mediated communication: agendas and frames

c. systemic effects within specific social dimensions: 1. personalisation of narrative structures and octantal roles; II. leaderisation; III. winnowing effect of personae (not people) and èlites (see political communication)

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Agenda

The sociological view

Some tips ‘bout the media

The Methodology stuff

How to analise different media

Workin’ n’practice

Agenda

Social research

Source criticism

Definitions

Theory of interpretation

!What is social research?

«The term 'social research' designates the scientific research conducted in the domain of the social sciences».

Cardano, M., 2003, “Tecniche di ricerca qualitativa”, Roma, Carocci.

!

«Scientific research is a creative process of discovery that is developed according to a predetermined itinerary and according to established procedures that have been accepted within the scientific community».

Corbetta, P., 1999, “Metodologia e tecniche della ricerca sociale”, Bologna, Il Mulino.

METHODS TECHNIQUES

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

1/ research design

(hypothesis or research questions, definitions, etc.)

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

2/ set up of empirical documentation

(different sub phases depending on the research style: qualitative/quantitative; survey/etnography/case study…, techniques, etc.)

3/ data analysis

(qualitative content analysis: full reading of corpora, manual or CA tagging, etc.; quantitative: quantitative semantics, data reduction and other statistic measures)

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

4/ writing and publication

(goals, relevance and data interpretation; results connected to the research questions; no under/overinterpretation; full and transparent methodological report)

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

“I’d rather date them to skip the LAZARSFELD’S scheme for measuring concepts”

Any sane students, anywhere, at any time

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

unfortunately, they said

Oggettivismo-PositivismoOggettivismo-Positivismo

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

From complex concepts to variables (Lazarsfeld’s scheme)

http://www.academia.edu/4410560/Handbook_of_TV_Quality_Assessment._A_socio-semiotic_approach_for_Prix_Italia_jurors

Agenda

Social research

Source criticism

Definitions

Theory of interpretation

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Historical Reality

Events as objects for historical reality Historiographical facts

historical events independent from observer

scientific reconstruction of historical events

ontology

ontological interpretations

realism

epistemology

embeddedness

criticism

Detective story

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

!“che i testimoni non debbano per forza esser creduti sulla parola, i più ingenui fra i poliziotti lo sanno bene. Salvo poi a non ricavare sempre da questa conoscenza teorica le debite conseguenze. Parimenti, è molto tempo che ci si è resi conto che non si possono accettare ciecamente tutte le testimonianze storiche. Ce l’ha insegnato un’esperienza antica quanto l’umanità: più di un testo si spaccia di una provenienza diversa da quel che sia in realtà. Non tutti i racconti sono veridici e persino le tracce materiali possono essere truccate” !

[Bloch 1998, 62]

Detective story1 AUTHENTICITY

2 CREDIBILITY

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

a. general b. pragmatic

c. proper d. fontologic

a. Full (accuracy) b. Personal (trustworthiness)

Detective story

Critically consider to whom text is addressed (Model Reader, see Eco) !

Critically consider aims and narrative strategies (Model Author and Phatic function see Eco and Jakobson) !

within TRADITIONAL MEDIA: analyse text considering the physical space it’s in and its context

(i.e. dimension, collocation within a page and/or a TV schedule, actors on the scene, etc.) !

take into account the complex relations of power between media system, political system and public opinion (no “pure” publishers, control of newspapers and TVs by economical and political élite, presence / absence of state intervention in the

publishing market, etc.).

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

PRAGMATIC AUTHENTICITY

Circumscribe the set of cognitive questions to which the text can answer truthfully and by what authority

AREA OF AUTHENTICITY (Topolski, 1973: 501)

Detective story

Critically consider to whom text is addressed (Model Reader, see Eco) !

Critically consider aims and narrative strategies (Model Author and Phatic function see Eco and Jakobson) !

within NEW MEDIA: analyse text considering the physical space it’s in and its context

(i.e. dimension, collocation within a page and/or a TV schedule, actors on the scene, etc.) !

take into account the complex relations of power between media system, political system and public opinion (no “pure” publishers, control of newspapers and TVs by economical and political élite, presence / absence of state intervention in the

publishing market, etc.). !

+ CHECK MORE AND MORE YOUR SOURCES!

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

PRAGMATIC AUTHENTICITY

Circumscribe the set of cognitive questions to which the text can answer truthfully and by what authority

AREA OF AUTHENTICITY (Topolski, 1973: 501)

Detective story

Critically consider to whom text is addressed (Model Reader, see Eco) !

Critically consider aims and narrative strategies (Model Author and Phatic function see Eco and Jakobson) !

within NEW MEDIA: analyse text considering the physical space it’s in and its context

(i.e. dimension, collocation within a page and/or a TV schedule, actors on the scene, etc.) !

take into account the complex relations of power between media system, political system and public opinion (no “pure” publishers, control of newspapers and TVs by economical and political élite, presence / absence of state intervention in the

publishing market, etc.). !

+ CHECK MORE AND MORE YOUR SOURCES!

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

PRAGMATIC AUTHENTICITY

Detective story1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

PRAGMATIC AUTHENTICITY

AUTHENTICITYTHE CASE OF THE FORMER ITALIAN MINISTER OF JUSTICE

MASTELLA AND HIS RESIGN POETRY…(WTF)

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

AUTHENTICITYTHE CASE OF THE FORMER ITALIAN MINISTER OF JUSTICE

MASTELLA AND HIS RESIGN POETRY…(WTF)

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Agenda

Social research

Source criticism

Definitions

Theory of interpretation

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

(c) Tipaldo (2014)

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

(c) Tipaldo (2014)

Agenda

Social research

Source criticism

Definitions

Theory of interpretation

INTERPRETATION

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

INTERPRETATION

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Eco (1990) I limiti dell'interpretazione Eco (1992) Interpretation and overinterpretation

Interpretation of a text is the cognitive activity that the reader is required to make advancing hp of sense and

subjecting them to a process of textual verification and refutation

INTERPRETATIVE GUESS

INTERPRETATION

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Eco (1990) I limiti dell'interpretazione Eco (1992) Interpretation and overinterpretation

Interpretation of a text is the cognitive activity that the reader is required to make advancing hp of sense and

subjecting them to a process of textual verification and refutation

COOPERATION +ABDUCTION (inference)

INTERPRETATION

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Eco (1990) I limiti dell'interpretazione Eco (1992) Interpretation and overinterpretation

“A text remains as a parameter for its acceptable interpretations”

NO RELATIVISM NO UNLIMITED SEMIOSIS

INTERPRETATION

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Eco (1990) I limiti dell'interpretazione Eco (1992) Interpretation and overinterpretation

3 TYPES OF “INTENTIO”

Intentio AUCTORIS Intentio OPERIS

Intentio LECTORIS

INTERPRETATION

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Eco (1990) I limiti dell'interpretazione Eco (1992) Interpretation and overinterpretation

What is a CORRECT

INTERPRETATION

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Eco (1990) I limiti dell'interpretazione Eco (1992) Interpretation and overinterpretation

a Popper’s-falsifiability logic

not to assess correct i. whereas

apply a method to find out those definitely unacceptable

INTERPRETATION

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Eco (1990) I limiti dell'interpretazione Eco (1992) Interpretation and overinterpretation

CONSISTENCY + ECONOMY CRITERIA

not to assess correct i. whereas

apply a method to find out those definitely unacceptable

INTERPRETATION

1. research 2. source criticism 3. definitions 4. interpretation

Eco (1990) I limiti dell'interpretazione Eco (1992) Interpretation and overinterpretation

CONSISTENCY: check for topics to find proper isotopies

ECONOMY: do not exceed in surprise and astonishment for non-systematic details

+=

Method for sifting (un)acceptable i. Method for avoiding OVERI.