The Schedule of New Media (Studies). Young European Researchers Seminar 2009

17th November 2009

Institute of Journalism and Social Communication

Wroclaw, ul. Joliot-Curie 15



9.00-10.00 Welcome
(room: Kameralna Zachodnia)
10.30-12.30 Seminar – part I
(room: Section "A": 222, Section "B": 223)
12.30-1.00 Break
1.00-3.00 Seminar – part II
(Section "A": 222, Section "B": 223)
3.00-4.00 Break
4.00-5.00 Videoconference
(room: Wielka Zachodnia)

Schedule

Welcome(9.00-10.00)
Professor Adam Jezierski
Vice-Rector for Research and International Relations of the University of Wroclaw,

Professor Aleksander Woźny
Head of the Division of Media Studies, Institute of Journalism and Social Communication

Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech, Institute of Journalism and Social Communication,
Convergence culture: new roles of new media users

Seminar - part I (10.30-12.30)
Section "A"
:

- Christian Katzenbach, Freie Universität Berlin, Institute for Media and Communication Studies
Technology and Social Communication. Exploring the Gap between Technological Determinism and Social Constructivism

- Pedro Filipe Xavier Mendonça, University of Lisbon, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Technology and Rhetoric, toward a rhetoric of the useful function

- Karina Cicha, University of Wroclaw, The Institute of Journalism and Social Communication, Media in Cultural Theory

- Magdalena Dyła, Collegium Civitas, New media - a new society?

Section "B":


- Ionela Carmen Boşoteanu, Universitatea "Petre Andrei" din Iasi, Facultatea de Stiinte ale Comunicarii, The impact of the socializing site-s

- Adriana Ștefănel, University of Bucharest, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Politicians or/and bloggers? Imagological analysis of Romanian politicians’ blogs

- Marta Klimowicz, Marcin Drabek, University of Wroclaw, Institute of Sociology, Microblogging — New Space In New Media

- Anna Poczobutt, University of Adam Mickiewicz, Department of Art History, How exposition exposes itself. The role of New Media in creating a vision of the World on EXPO

Seminar – part II (1.00-3.00)
Section "A"
:

- Justyna Kucharska, Katarzyna Stanisz, Silesian University, Department of Cultural Communication, Intercultural communication in the digital era

- Georgi Nikolaev Savchev, Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski", Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, Department "Radio and Television", The New Radio - Anthropology of Minimalist Listening

- Jakub Parnes, University of Lodz, Faculty of International and Political Studies, Institute of International Studies, The Local Internet Media: Their Contribution to the Process of the Development of Civil Society in Poland

Section "B":

- Aoife Lenihan, University of Limerick, ISSP Government of Ireland Scholar, Centre for Applied Language Studies, Department of Languages and Cultural Studies, Is Facebook’s ‘Translations Application’ an example of ‘bottom-up’ language policy in the new media?

- Karol Piekarski, University of Silesia, Google's Algorithm. From Searching for Information to Posthumanism?

- Dorota Czepik, University of Wroclaw, Institute of Journalism and Social Communication, The content of Internet comments as an auxiliary text in the media content analysis– internauts’ discussion on reemigration from Great Britain.

- Karolina Woldan-Kośniewska, Opole University, News titles; a lure for clicks. How internet news portals use titles to gain advertisements


Videoconference (4.00-5.00)

- prof. Göran Bolin (Södertörns University)
Digitization, multi-platform texts, and audience reception
In my presentation I want to reflect on some of the consequences of digitization for multiplatform media production, the ways in which it affects textual expressions, and how this might have a bearing on changing audience roles. I am going to argue that multiplatform media texts challenge our conceptions of categories such as work, text, program, etc., and, following from that, also challenge our notions of audience activity and engagement.

- prof. Mark Deuze (Indiana University, Leiden University)

Participants of Young New Media Researchers Seminar 2009

Ionela Carmen Boşoteanu, Universitatea "Petre Andrei" din Iasi, Facultatea de Stiinte ale Comunicarii,
The impact of the socializing site-s

From their appearance on the market, the socializing sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Cyworld and Bebo have attracted millions of users among whom many of them have added these site among those they use daily. There are hundreds of socializing sites which offer a large variety of technological opportunities sustaining a lot of interests. The technology used is the same but the cultures which gather around these sites are very different. Most of the sites accept to sustain the previously sustained socializing networks. Some others help foreigners to remain in contact with common interests such as the political points of view. Some sights have different types of audience while others attract people who belong to the same identity such as :ethnic, maternal language, religion, nationality. The sites may also differ according to the way of informing people, (mobile connectivity, blogging and photo sharing).
The present paper is an empirical one because it is based on a study about the impact of the sites of socializing in general, but especially upon teenagers. I have noticed that in time, the socialising sites have got a greater impact, but not always in the positive way. Most of the time, the users browse the internet exactly in order to meet people – sometimes just to satisfy different fantasies and last but not least, in order to find out more about a product.

Ionela Carmen Boşoteanu:I graduated the Faculty of Letters, the Department of Journalism and Public Relations of "Al. I. Cuza" University from Iasi (2000-2004). In 2006, I graduated the M.A. of "European Integration" within the same University, and presently I am following the doctoral studies at the Faculty of Philosophy, the specialization of Communication Sciences, Ist year. Between 2006 and 2008, I was a university preparatory, and currently I am a university assistant at "Petre Andrei" University from Iasi, the Faculty of Communication Sciences.
Also, I have participated at the Conference Organized by EUPREPA “Institutionalizing Public Relations and Corporate Communication” – Public Relations in Private and Public Universities – poster session, Italy (16-18 October 2008).

Karina Cicha, University of Wroclaw, The Institute of Journalism and Social Communication,
Media in Cultural Theory

Modern theory of communications refers to the development of the technical media. The best methodology for consideration the ways of passing information is the one proposed by Marshall McLuhan. By media McLuhan understands not only today’s mass-media, but also any symptom of cultural communication between human beings: from script, through print to interactive media. The main issue for cultural theory is not only how people communicate, but what is the status of reality in communication process. Does the real life pit against fiction or maybe the line between reality and virtual reality has been crossed or taken? Also the question is what is the situation of reception of message’s cultural contents. In my presentation I would like to focus on cultural theory and its usefulness in the discussion about new media methodology. I will try to show the place and role of media in cultural theory and – what will be based on many different examples (film, website, computer games) – how media can communicate cultural matters.

Karina Cicha: Graduate of the Department of Polish Philology within the scope of the film theory, television and the media culture at UAM in Poznań, now doctoral student in the Institute of Journalism and Social Communication of the Wrocław University. Doctoral dissertation devoted to the new South American cinema written under direction of prof. dr hab. Andrzej Zawada. Scientifically she is interested in a semiotics of the film, a psychoanalysis and cultural studies. As a hobby she is doing photographs and she is dealing with the computer graphics. She is cooperating with the local newspaper as the cultural journalist. Avid for extreme experience she is writing reviews for “Znaczenia” in Wrocław and she is organizing films screenings for prisoners of the Prison in Rawicz.

Dorota Czepik, University of Wroclaw, Institute of Journalism and Social Communication,
The content of Internet comments as an auxiliary text in the media content analysis– internauts’ discussion on reemigration from Great Britain

Media texts analysis, including Internet texts, enable researchers e.g. to answer the following questions: which issues are important for the media, in what contexts they appear and how they are communicated to people. Additional comments analysis relating to the analised Internet texts gives an opportunity to collect and process a lot of supplementary information omitted in the main text, which facilitate its analysis and often throw new light on the problem described.
In the case of Internet comments to articles relating to Polish reemigration from Great Britain, it could be noticed that places where they are posted transform into forums of current or former emigrants’ opinions and experiences exchange. Among many threads that appear during such discussions (often very emotional or not directly connected with the analysed subject), researchers can find essential information, assisting in understanding the described problem (e.g. motivations, expectations, hopes of Polish emigrants, their reactions to govermental activities aiming at encouraging them to return to Poland, etc.) and its context.
The author of the paper will demonstrate opportunities and advantages of the use of Internet comments as an auxiliary text in media content analysis on the basis of her own research into internauts’ discussions on reemigration from Great Britain.

Dorota Czepik is a graduate in journalism and social communication from the Faculty of Philology at University of Wroclaw. She also studied international relations at UWr. In the Insitute of Journalism and Social Communication she is currently working on a doctoral thesis on the image of Poland and Polish immigrants in the British press after 2004. She is a PR Specialist in Centrum Doradczo Szkoleniowe DPF MALON. Her current research interests include public relations, international PR, image of Poland and Poles in British papers and media communication.

Magdalena Dyła, Collegium Civitas,
New media - a new society?

My paper is an introduction to sociological research into the impact of a new media on culture. I would like to show, how does a new media change our human being in the world and everyday habits.
Technological environment modifies our social life and the human condition. The ways of actions in areas like communication, professional sphere, leisure, education, policy, economy are still transformmed under the influence of the development and the dissemination of a new technological solutions, especially ICT (information and communication technology), which are base for a new media working.
The main subject of my study is the proccess of the transformation of the lifeworld by new media. I try to describe and explain the following issues: individuals as the media, participatory culture, changes in everyday life and the problem of the community, which is constituted by new rules.

Magdalena Dyła: Z wykształcenia jetem socjologiem (dzienne magisterskie studia na kierunku socjologia ukończyłam w 2005 na Uniwersytecie Jagiellońskim w Krakowie). Po studiach rozpoczęłam pracę jako wykładowca (prowadziłam ćwiczenia z antropologii kultury i antropologii społecznej Europy) w Zachodniopomorskiej Szkole Biznesu w Szczecinie.
Od roku 2006 pracuję w R&D Centre w Telekomunikacji Polskiej, zajmując się badaniami trendów społeczno-kulturowych, które mają wpływ na rozwój rynku telekomunikacyjnego. W 2007 byłam kierownikiem międzynarodowego projektu badawczego po stronie polskiej, którego celem były badania porównawcze w zakresie społeczno -kulturowych tendencji w obszarze wykorzystania nowych technologii informacyjno -komunikacyjnych w Polsce, Francji, Hiszpanii i Wielkiej Brytanii.
Prowadzę badania jakościowe (IDI i grupy kreatywne) a także różnego rodzaju analizy desk researchowe.
Od 2008 jestem doktorantką Collegium Civitas na kierunku socjologia.
Moje zainteresowania badawcze: socjologia kultury szczególnie socjologia technologii, interesują mnie relacje pomiędzy nowymi technologiami telekomunikacyjnymi i nową kulturą życia (nowym ekosystemem społecznym), która kształtuje się pod wpływem ich rozwoju.



Christian Katzenbach, Freie Universität Berlin,Institute for Media and Communication Studies
Technology and Social Communication. Exploring the Gap between Technological Determinism and Social Constructivism

Social Communication is increasingly realized through media technology. Features and configurations of media technology itself therefore play a crucial role: they structure and frame social communication (Krotz 2007; Höflich 2003). On the one hand, this view appears implicitly to be common sense in communication research. On the other hand, theoretical accounts of the relationship between technology and social communication are strongly dominated by constructivist approaches that emphasize the varieties of appropriation and domestication – in short: the construction of – media technology. Communication research lacks a theoretical approach that tackles the “agency” of technology. But how can we take account of the formative role of media technology and its characteristics without walking into the trap of technological determinism?
The aim of this project is to sketch a sound theoretical account of the role of technology for social communication. Media technology needs to be understood as an integral element of society that is both object of communicative, social and political negotiation processes as well as a formative part. This project can draw
upon approaches and results of science and technology studies (STS) (Bijker/Law 1994;
MacKenzie/Wajcman 1985), especially theories of co-evolution of technology and institutions (Dolata 2009; Lynn et al. 1998; Nelson 1996), and historical accounts of the interplay between the evolution of media technology and social communication (Anderson 1983; Eisenstein 1979; Giesecke 1991). A further theoretical angle to capture this relationship is the governance perspective: In recent years, the
focus of communication policy research has shifted away from the state as central actor and legislation as central means to more heterogeneous regulatory structures. Media governance as an analytical perspective draws attention to the emergence, consolidation and transformation of structures and processes that facilitate
and constrain as well as coordinate the range of behaviour of actors in a specific field (Donges 2007a). This view allows conceiving technical architectures as formative and at the same time shapeable elements of the institutional environment that facilitates and constrains the range of behaviour (and preferences) of
actors (Donges 2007b). The adaption of these theoretical approaches to communication research, their refinement and combination, will help to conceptualize the interplay of technology and social communication by exploring the gapbetween technological determinism and social constructivism.

Christian Katzenbach is a research associate and Ph.D. candidate at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin. He has studied media and communication science, philosophy and computer science in Berlin, Potsdam and Madrid. During these years he worked as a student assistant at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) in projects on internet governance and technology assessment. His M.A. thesis analyzed weblogs and public spheres and forms of publicness that build upon this format. Current research deals with online communication.

Marta Klimowicz, Marcin Drabek, University of Wroclaw, Institute of Sociology,
Microblogging — New Space In New Media

During last months microblogging has become new powerful space, used by PR and marketing specialists, journalists, geek and average internauts. What is so interesting in posting one’s thoughts in less than 140 signs? Why do people want to write and read microblogs?
We would like to concentrate on the case of Polish microblogging service called Blip. It is not only one of the biggest one In Poland, but also one of the most interesting. Blip is widely used by Polish tech specialists, which influences its shape and specificity. Blip’s users create very vital community: it has its own language (with special tags), norms, values, organize meetings face to face and special competitions and actions (eg. #blipkrew in which Blip’s users voluntary donate blood). But, most of the all, they like interacting with each other, chatting (by sending private and public messages) and reacting to ones posts.
What kind of people use Blip? Why do they do this? What is important for them in their microblogging? Those are the questions we would like to answer in our paper.

Marta Klimowicz is a PhD candidate in Institute of Sociology at the University of Wrocław. She is focused on the fields of social aspects of internet. Her mainly scientific interests are weblogs,microblogging, social networks and online communities. She has written dozens of articles concentrated on those topics, published in scientific books and online magazines.

Marcin Drabek is a PhD candidate in Cultural Studies at the University
of Wrocław. He is focused on the fields of visual culture, urban studies and the history of culture. Regardless of the academic area,main issue of his research is the intersection between the images,values and the ways of seeing. Currently participates in a multidisciplinary project "The Invisible City" ("Niewidzialne
Miasto"), held by the Institute of Sociology at UAM in Poznań, and which aims to uncover forms of spontaneous activity in the urban space. Contributes to "Kultura Popularna" and "Format".

Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech, University of Wroclaw, Institute of Journalism and Social Communication,
Convergence culture: new roles of new media users

The dynamic process of media convergence and participation culture change roles of new media users. They become prosumers, co-creators sendceivers. The status of new media user becomes the result of creative industries strategies. In convergence culture people create media and become media (we media). They play an important role in modifications and integration of them. The subject is how interactivity and intermediality change the position of new media users, how transmediality creates new kind of culture.
In the first part of study I define the communication role and single out some types. There are expected roles – projected through creative enterprises in their strategies of programming, Public Relations, marketing: especially advertisement. And there are created roles, spontaneous and grassroot. Negotiated roles are shape among ideal types. The submitted study focuses on some selected expected roles.
The methodology is multi- and transdisciplinary. The basic ideas come from media ecology, networks theories, cultural studies, sociological concepts of social roles and the theory of utterance. I introduces also some terms from the theory of art. The proposed formulation unites the subjective and system orientation.

Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech: PhD candidate at Institute of Journalism and Social Communication, University of Wroclaw, lecturer.
MA in journalism and social communication (CMC and the Competence), alumna of Collegium Invisibile and “Artes Liberales” Academy; Research Assistant at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford (2008/2009).
My principal research interests lie in the field of new media and technology, especially the media convergence (technological, economical, social and cultural aspects). I am currently investigating specific aspects of this process in Polish media environment for my dissertation.

Justyna Kucharska, Katarzyna Stanisz, Silesian University, Department of Cultural Communication,
Intercultural communication in the digital era

The paper will elaborate on the issue of intercultural communication in new media. Some definitions of intercultural communication such as “third culture” by Casmir or “transculturality” by Welsch will be presented as a starting point to the discussion of the presence of diasporas and minorities on the Internet. Issues gaining attention of the authors will include, among others, the digital divide and challenges of ICT inclusion as users and producers of cultural contents. The authors will focus on specific cases illustrating the existence of diasporic and minority groups in real and virtual realities, the idea of transgressing boundaries between the real and the virtual and between virtual formations and on the influence that such an existence has on traditional communities the groups derive from. The Internet will be analyzed in the context of classical definitions of intercultural communication to which a new level of the signified – the dialogue between the real and the virtual – will be added.

Aoife Lenihan, University of Limerick, ISSP Government of Ireland Scholar, Centre for Applied Language Studies,
Department of Languages and Cultural Studies,
Is Facebook’s ‘Translations Application’ an example of ‘bottom-up’ language policy in the new media?

Existing research on the interaction of minority languages and new media has focused on the potential for greater linguistic diversity afforded by the Internet. In this presentation, I would like to move the focus from the issue of linguistic diversity on the Internet to the issue of language policy, language policy being understood here as existing on ‘all levels of decision making about languages’ (Shohamy, 2006: 48). In particular, I want to examine how ‘bottom-up’ language policy is created, taking Facebook and its ‘translations application’ as my main example.

The social network site (SNS) Facebook was only available in English until February 2008, when it announced its localisation (http://www.facebook.com/press/ releases.php?p=16446). As of April 2009 it is available in a hundred and three languages, including some minority or regional languages, such as Irish and language dialects, for example U.S. English (www.facebook.com). Facebook employed developers who created the ‘translations application’, which enables users to translate the SNS themselves. It works through a network of ‘translators’, submitting translations and the language community then approving them via a voting system. This has now been extended as mentioned and I will investigate the translation of Irish in this presentation, using virtual ethnographic methods (Hine, 2000).

Aoife Lenihan: BA New Media and English, University of Limerick.
Registered for a Ph.D. Programme in Applied Language Studies – The Interaction of Language Policy, Media & New Technologies (Working Title.
Researcher in media strand of Northern Multilingualism project - http://www.northernmultilingualism.fi/
Research Interests: sociolinguistics, language policy and planning; particularly in relation to minority languages, media discourse, minority language media, new media, web design.
Recent Presentations:
• Lenihan, A. 'The Interaction of Language Policy, Media & New Technology' - CALS Research Day, 4 June 2009.
• Lenihan, A. 'Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla 2003 / Official Languages Act 2003: An example of a Language Ideological Debate' [Poster] - Language Policy and Language Learning, University of Limerick, 18-20 June 2009.
• Lenihan, A. 'New Media Forms and Language Revitalisation' - 3L Student Conference on Language Documentation and Description, School of Oriental and African Languages, University of London, 3 July 2009.
• Lenihan, A. 'Facebook - An example of 'bottom-up' language policy in the new media?' - Language in the (New) Media: Technologies and Ideologies, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, 3-6 September 2009.

Pedro Filipe Xavier Mendonça, University of Lisbon, Instituto de Ciências Sociais,
Technology and Rhetoric, toward a rhetoric of the useful function

Acknowledging the need to think technology (specially the digital ones) not only at a systemic level but as well at a particular one, the present paper has the goal to consolidate the investigations about useful technological objects developing the notion of rhetoric of the useful function. It conjectures this notion as the result of a rhetorical intention that exists at the business environment of innovation, which has the objective to put functionalities on the product destined for sell – a persuasive process. The consequences are not merely symbolic but specifically functional (Latour), justifying the suggestion of a non representative rhetoric.
The present consideration suggests, side by side with technical intention that exists at the stage of object invention (Gille), a rhetorical intention that is present at its innovation level. It proposes the articulation between the latter and the conception that thinks that technological objects produce a program (Flusser, Akrich, Latour), although refusing determinism and the view of the object as an actor. It defends, as well, that the creator’s intentions (technique and/or rhetoric) has consequences in the use of the objects (Gell) - a technique and/or rhetorical program over users.

Pedro Mendonça has a degree in Philosophy and a masters in Communication, Culture and Information' Technologies.
At this moment, he is a PhD student in Social Sciences, specialty in Sociology, by the Social Sciences Institute of the Lisbon University.
His previous researches were focused on the enchantment of technology and the ways it is increased in publicity. His current ones try to understand the technical, social and rhetorical configurations of the production of technology, in which 'marketing' is the persuasive field that can establish a relation with the consumer and influence the innovation process.

Jakub Parnes, University of Lodz, Faculty of International and Political Studies, Institute of International Studies,
The Local Internet Media: Their Contribution to the Process of the Development of Civil Society in Poland

The aim of this presentation is to analyse the special role of the local new media in the development of the civil society in Poland. One factor is the use of the internet technologies (including in particular the mechanisms of the so-called Web 2.0), allowing the so-far-passive recipients of the media message to become “prosumers” and play an active role in the social flow of information. Thereby, these media not only encourage citizens to participate in public life and provide them with the information necessary for that purpose, but they also give everybody the opportunity to co-create their content, which then becomes one of the forms of such social activity.
Simultaneously, this group of new media retains its very local nature with the model of relations between the recipient, the sender and the message significantly different from the one characteristic of the nationwide media. The difference is primarily caused by the fact that members of local communities perceive the issues raised by the local media as having a direct impact on their everyday life and as being relatively susceptible to the grassroots citizens' initiatives. Consequently, the citizens are more eager to contribute to the content of this group of new media.

Jakub Parnes received his MA in International Relations from the University of Lodz. He is currently PhD student in the Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz, where he is working on his dissertation on the Polish local internet media. His research interests are primarily in contemporary tendencies in Polish local and regional media and social aspects of new media. His other academic interests include: the British media system, the Polish internal and foreign policy and the contemporary popular Hindi cinema. He is working as a journalist for several Polish political, economic and social web portals.

Karol Piekarski, University of Silesia, Google's Algorithm. From Searching for Information to Posthumanism?

An ongoing development of information technology has had an impact on the emergence of a new cultural paradigm. In order to store and process a large amount of data there is a need to use automated tools. One such tool is Google's search engine. Transforming an obscure and disorganized space of the Web into intelligible hierarchies of search results (with the help of so called collective intelligence), it defines knowledge and social reality. In this process natural language is losing its function as a „meaning-generating machine” and is being repleaced by computer code (interactivity). This provokes examination of Google's role in „algorithmization” of society. What are the assumpions of search engine producers? To what extent is the role of traditional authorities changing? Does Google broaden the scope of freedom of individuals and society? The aim of this article is to answer these questions.

Karol Piekarski obtained his MA degree in Culture Studies (thesis: Google: Freedom and Control in the Information Society) from the Department of Culture and Communication, University of Silesia. He is interested in new media, intercultural communication, art and design. His current areas of research include history of computing, interactivity and transhumanism. He is an organiser of International Conference New Media Days in Katowice. As a member of Foundation for Culture and Art in Tarnowskie Góry he oranizes cultural and educational events.

Anna Poczobutt, University of Adam Mickiewicz, Department of Art History,
How exposition exposes itself. The role of New Media in creating a vision of the World on EXPO

The main issue of the speech is to point the main tendences that are visible in the rich history of International Expositions, showing the evolution of both – aims and ways of presentation.Although the initial idea of presentation that was developed in the begining of the Universal Exposition will be shortly mentioned, the main issue discussed will be the after-war progress in use of the mass-media on EXPO. Henbce, the global progress and changes that can be clearly noticed in this period, especially the development and popularization of the techniques of spreading the information, will be held as the most important facts that influenced the evolution of the modern exhibition idea. The exposition, which is not the only source of the newest-world-ideas knowledge, and has no longer the monopoly for the popularization of innovations, uses the new media to speak about global issues during EXPO. Just as it has happened, EXPO has become the perfect frame for thr multimedial broadcasting.

Georgi Nikolaev Savchev, Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski", Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, Department "Radio and Television"
The New Radio - Anthropology of Minimalist Listening

Unlike the early years when radio was the most preferred media, today's listener doesn't change his habits in order to track a certain broadcast in a certain time. Instead, the radio - highly formatted or at least in accordance with its auditory's agenda - adjusts to the listeners' habits. Still, a big part of the Old Media's messages surprisingly even today are taken as if spoken by an institution and with far less hesitation than printed media, virtual media, and television.
And even though we have seen for a long time a sort of "minimalist listening" of radio (for a very short time; as scattered sounds in a dynamic workplace; music background in cafes), the power of the messages given by radio hosts, the implications of the selected music and the advertising spots don't have a minimalist effect at all.
The contemporary ways of listening, despite their temporal limitations, successfully create an illusory notion of completeness and syncretism of the fragments of a program.
As of today, the auditory's pretence spans to the limited "galloping" through the FM-range, avoiding ads, annoying radio hosts, choosing a better-liked song, but with the advance of digital receivers and virtual radio the communication between a few listeners and a strictly specialized media will not be paradoxical at all.

Georgi Savchev graduated Radiojournalism (BA) and Electronic Media (MA) at the faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication in the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". Presently he is Deputy Chief Editor of the electronic daily paper Dnes.bg and radio columnist for the "Culture" weekly newspaper. Regular PhD student in the Sofia University, faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, department "Radio and Television". His research experience is connected with the development of contemporary radio feature, radio theatre, and the fields of mystification in media discourse. He is interested in researching media anthropology, contemporary ways of listening to radio, as well as the changing status and identity of the radio host in format radio.

Adriana Ștefănel, University of Bucharest, School of Journalism and Mass Communication,
Politicians or/and bloggers? Imagological analysis of Romanian politicians’ blogs

The virtual public space in Romania is constantly expanding in the last 5 years, a fact which determines increasingly more and more politicians to resort at means of communication characteristic to it :blogs, personal, campaign or party site, etc.
The legitimation of blog as a political tool of political communication occurred along with Ion Iliescu’s decision (former president of Romania, important member of the Communist Party, considered by his political opponents as a relic of a baleful era of Romania) to join blogosphere, win recognition of the blogger’s community, and even more to participate at their meetings. His success in this domain, determined the other politicians to resort to this kind of unconventional tool of communication with the electorate.
The aim of this paper is an analysis of the self-image built by the important politicians through personal blogs. The analysis corpus will be composed of the 10 most read blogs of the Romanian politicians and the method used will be both the analysis of content (quantitative) and the speech analysis (qualitative). Both methods will be adapted to this new means of communication.

My name is Adriana Ştefănel, I am a sociologist and currently I am working on my PhD thesis Mediated Political Imaginary and the Collective Imaginary at the University of Bucharest, one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in Romania. For two years I am an academic assistant at the Faculty of Science of Communication of the Ecological University and since last year until now I am an associated teacher at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Bucharest.
Since 2004 I am researcher at the Media Studies and New Communication Technologies Center, lead by Ioan Dragan Phd, the person who also is my PhD thesis’ Scientific Adviser. With Mr. Ioan Dragan and the others researchers from the Center we published in the autumn of last year the paper called TeleRomania in 10 Days. Together with this team we have realized a number of studies, at the requirement of National Audiovisual Council, about media consumption (including the Internet) regarding the children and teenagers from Romania. I have also participated to the elaboration of a study regarding the way the journalists perceive their profession and the media from Romania. Another research to which I took part and which resulted in a book was the subject of gender discrimination within the Romanian media.

Karolina Woldan-Kośniewska, Opole University,
News titles; a lure for clicks. How internet news portals use titles to gain advertisements

Ethical aspects of building news’ titles scheme in the new media. Creating readers’ attention by news portals. Advertisement value of a web portal depends on a click through rate (CTR) of adverts placed there. The CTR level increases when the interest of portal readers is kept for a longer period of time. Attractive title of news helps to achieve it. It is often a temptation for journalists to create misleading titles which do not correspond with the news content. It makes journalists face new ethical dilemmas. The speech presents results
of studies on major Polish news portals regarding popularity of misleading news usage

Karolina Woldan-Kośniewska: gradutaed from Journalism and Social Communication at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. Her B.A. paper researched the topic of ethics in press journalism. Her MA paper researched the topic of ethics in investigative journalism. Her interests focus on journalist’s ethical problems, social communication, issues of televison journalism. Right now she studies for the doctor's degree. She conducts classes for students on television journalism at the Opole University. She works in a local tv as a news journalist. She is also a happy wife and a mother of 5months old Kasia.

New Media (Studies) 2009 Invitation

NEW MEDIA (STUDIES)
YOUNG EUROPEAN RESEARCHERS SEMINAR

Wroclaw, 17th November 2009
• NEW MEDIA
• NEW METHODOLOGIES
• NEW RESEARCH METHODS


The Institute of Journalism and Social Communication at the University of Wroclaw and European Association of Media Education are pleased to invite European PhD students for the inter- and multi-disciplinary seminar on new media, new media methodology and research methods.
The seminar aims to establish a dialogue between PhD candidates from a variety of academic disciplines in order to explore the phenomenon of new media and exchange various research experiences. What is new in new media? What is new in new media studies?
The seminar will be held on 17th November.
There is no conference fee for invited guests. Foreign participants will be offered free accommodation from 16th to 18th November. The organizers will not cover the cost of travel and meals.
Important dates:
• closing date of submission: DEADLINE EXTENDED: 14th June 2009
• notification of acceptance of abstracts: 26th June
• publication of schedule of the meeting: 6th July
• 17th November – seminar in Wroclaw

Please send your abstract for a 30 minute presentation to organizers: newmedia@onet.eu
Presentations may take form of papers, readings and multimedia presentations.
Abstracts may be in Word or RTF formats, following this order:
a) author(s), b) affiliation, c) email address, d) title of abstract, e) keywords, f) body of abstract (max. 200 words), g) technical requirements for the presentation, h) special needs.

We hope to see you in Wroclaw – the Meeting Place: http://www.wroclaw.pl/ms/english/