Katz and Dayan MEDIA EVENTS. - Academics

Media Events:Mega Spectacle and the LiveBroadcasting of HistoryDaniel Dayan & Elihu Katz

Media Events? What’s New?

Bit-o-background• Elihu Katz– Sociologist– Focus: the interplay between media, conversation, opinion,and action in the public sphere– Mentored by Paul Lazarsfeld (Columbia University)–intersection between mass and interpersonal communication.– With Markle Foundation and UNESCO funding in the mid-70s,inspired by Anwar Sadat’s peace-making initiative (btwEgypt/Israel), Katz and Daniel Dayan began assembling alibrary of those live broadcasts of historic occasions thatenthralled a whole nation or the world.• Daniel Dayan– Social scientist born in Casablanca. He is Director ofResearch at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique,Paris– Focus: visual forms and mass media. It covers threeinterrelated areas. (1) the aesthetics of cinema (2) theanthropology of television, (3) the sociology of journalism.

Daniel Boorstin & Pseudo-EventsDaniel Boorstin, American Theorist, World Historian,Background:Books:Lawyer and Professor at the University of Chicago for 25 yearsLibrarian of Congress (Presidental Appointment) Wrote over 25 books on topics of American media, history,exploration, genius, creativity, art, etc. Pulitzer Prize 1974.• The Mysterious Science of the Law (1941)• The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson (1948)• The Genius of American Politics (1953)• The Americans: The Colonial Experience (1958)• America and the Image of Europe: Reflections onAmerican Thought (1960)• A Lady's Life In The Rocky Mountains: Introduction(1960)• The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America(1962)• The Americans: The National Experience (1965)• The Landmark History of the American People:From Plymouth to Appomattox (1968)• The Decline of Radicalism: Reflections of AmericaToday (1969)• The Landmark History of the American People:From Appomattox to the Moon (1970)• The Sociology of the Absurd (1970)• The Americans: The Democratic Experience (1973)• Democracy and Its Discontents: Reflections onEveryday America (1974)• The Exploring Spirit: America and the World, Thenand Now (1976)• The Republic of Technology (1978)• A History of the United States with Brooks M.Kelley and Ruth Frankel (1981)• The Discoverers (1983)• Hidden History (1987)• The Creators (1992)• Cleopatra's Nose: Essays on the Unexpected (1994)• The Seekers (1998)

Boorstin: The Image (1961• Book (1961) The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America– Focus: The Role of Mass Media in American Social and Political Life• Important ConceptPseudo-Events:– Def#1: An event or activity that exists for the sole purpose of media coverage orpublicity. It may also include any event that is covered in the mass media or washosted largely with the media in mind.– Def#2: pseudo events are: dramatic, planned, repeatable, costly, intellectuallyplanned, social, cause other pseudo-events, and that one must know about it to beconsidered "informed.“• Types of pseudo-events– A press release issued by a company or organization to drum up ideas or language formarketing/branding value– A news/press conference is often held when an organization has an announcement andwants members of the press to get the announcement simultaneously. The in-person events mayinclude interviews, questioning, and show-and-tell.– Photo ops are considered a type of media event, where the event is orchestrated for the solepurpose of photography for the media.– An interview, if conducted for the purpose of generating media coverage of a particular person,event, or issue.– A protest or rally may be planned almost exclusively for the purpose of getting media attentionto an issue or cause.– A planned presentation or speech such as on company earnings or the President's State ofthe Union Address is a form of media event.

Why study MEDIA EVENTS?Anthropology of Ceremony + Global Mass Media• MEGA SPECTACLES – Global Audiences – GlobalHistory/Ceremony/Ritual– Attracts the largest audiences in the history of the world– These MEGA SPECTACLE + GLOBAL MEDIA Events are Increasing– GLOBAL SPORTS function as a central catalyst for mega media events (Olympics,World Cup, Cricket).– Overcoming conventional geo-politics– Intense Public opinion/involvement– History in the Making• Media Framing and AGENDA SETTING– Reality is uprooted– Framing of narrative spectacle on a Global Scale – Hegemony– Neo-romantic desire for HEROISM– Media Events become civil ceremonial/ritualistic “Holidays” with the power to conquertime & space• The POWER of New Media Technologies & Techniques– Realization of the potential of electronic/digital media– Preview of the Future of Global Television/Media• Interpretive Communities & media “cultures”– Social integration of people/communities of the highest order– Creation of social/cultural communities and networks– Transformative re-examination of the status quo– Privilege the Home

The Key CHARACTERISTICS of MEDIA EVENTSGenre/Formula1. Reverence and Ceremony: Funerals, Hearings,Weddings, Revolutionary Changes, Sporting Events2. “Normative” viewing = “MANDATORY viewing”3. Symbolic SPECTACLE Acts = Reflect certain COREvalues and RULES of society4. Interruptions of daily life and media routine = cancellation ofregular media and life routines5. Suspension of the critical Tend to be objects ofSELF-WORSHIP6. Monopolistic Hegemonic7. Live events (en-direct), but HIGHLY STAGED and rehearsedand preplanned8. “Outside of the studio” locations (CONTROL)9. Collusion btw Organizers (Public, Govt, other) and Broadcasters10.Reconcilliation + Celebration = Renewal of Loyalty toculture, media, each other.

Media Events? What’s New?

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Media Event?BBC Story Link

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Media Event?In June of 2013, a former CIA contractor named Edward Snowden exposed a massivesurveillance program named PRISM operated by the United States, Great Britain, Canada, NewZealand, and Australia. PRISM includes the storage of information collected from Internet history,telephone calls, and texts. With the help of The Guardian (London), Snowden has published acollection of articles indicating that major telecom companies have been sharing metadata forcalls made between private U.S. citizens with the government.