Mia-Marie Hammarlin
Universitetslektor
Media Scandals and Emotional Expression
Författare
Summary, in English
Media scandals is one of the areas within the media field with high passion potential. The emotions within politics, that otherwise may be covered by rational arguments and cultural codes, are often in full bloom when a scandal takes place on the political scene (which as we know is a mediated scene).
However, after a few decades of media scandal-research, a scientific convention seems to have arisen around how the phenomenon is studied. The focus has largely been on measuring and defining what a media scandal is, e.g. by evaluating the diverse terms assigned to the phenomenon, determining its time-based events, creating media-scandal typologies, and launching new names for it. Understandably, this has led to quite anonymous, if not anemic results. My point is that a media scandal is a highly emotional event and should be analysed on basis of this premise.
This paper is therefore based on the results of qualitative, in-depth interviews using open-ended questions with twelve respondents (Swedish): nine had been personally subjected to a media drive (four men and five women) and three were close relatives of people who had been exposed to such a drive (one man and two women). It contributes new perspectives to media scandals by illuminating the personal experience of being at the centre of such an event. It focuses on how the scandal is experienced by the protagonist of the media hype through an analysis of the emotions the interviewees express.
Additionally, the journalists start to use their repertoire of metaphors and allegories when a scandal breaks out. Strong emotions are flowing in the papers, and one of the main questions that I want to answer – through text analysis – is whether, or perhaps how, these strong emotions correlate with the emotions expressed by the ”victims”.
However, after a few decades of media scandal-research, a scientific convention seems to have arisen around how the phenomenon is studied. The focus has largely been on measuring and defining what a media scandal is, e.g. by evaluating the diverse terms assigned to the phenomenon, determining its time-based events, creating media-scandal typologies, and launching new names for it. Understandably, this has led to quite anonymous, if not anemic results. My point is that a media scandal is a highly emotional event and should be analysed on basis of this premise.
This paper is therefore based on the results of qualitative, in-depth interviews using open-ended questions with twelve respondents (Swedish): nine had been personally subjected to a media drive (four men and five women) and three were close relatives of people who had been exposed to such a drive (one man and two women). It contributes new perspectives to media scandals by illuminating the personal experience of being at the centre of such an event. It focuses on how the scandal is experienced by the protagonist of the media hype through an analysis of the emotions the interviewees express.
Additionally, the journalists start to use their repertoire of metaphors and allegories when a scandal breaks out. Strong emotions are flowing in the papers, and one of the main questions that I want to answer – through text analysis – is whether, or perhaps how, these strong emotions correlate with the emotions expressed by the ”victims”.
Avdelning/ar
- Journalistik
- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap
- Administration
Publiceringsår
2013
Språk
Engelska
Dokumenttyp
Konferensbidrag: abstract
Ämne
- Media Studies
Nyckelord
- media scandal, emotions
Conference name
Media and Passion, International Conference 2013
Conference date
2013-03-21 - 2013-03-21
Conference place
Lund, Sweden
Status
Published
Projekt
- Mediedrevets mekanismer och aktörer (finaniserat av HT-fakulteterna/financed by the Faculties of Humanities and Theology, Lund University