Bourdieu and the journalistic field

[anne mareck]

Hello all--

This interesting discussion about Bordieu makes me think that perhaps it
acceptable to ask for ideas about my research. ; ]  So here goes!

I'm also a phd student developing a dissertation-- and I'm working on the
function of anonymity in technical communication. To me, technical
communication (technical writing both visual and alphabetic) is a powerful
conveyer of ideology. Much tech comm is published without notation of
specific authorship. So, it carries the aura of "Truth" Also, tech comm is
often produced collaboratively, so authorship and thus accountability recede
even further. Such collaboration, focused on project outcome, invest the
text with whatever ideologies are congruent with company goals, conceal
identity, and make contradiction fairly impossible. 

A few of the texts I'm considering include van Dijk (Ideology), Fairclough
(Power&Language), Chouliarke&Fairclough (Discourse in Late Modernity)and
Rorty (Social Hope).

I wonder if anyone on this list might have ideas of other sources to
consider? Interesting texts to analyze? Functions of passive voice? Function
of anyonmity in any sort of discourse?  

Thanks for any ideas you may offer.

Take good care,

ani

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Salimos de la ignorancia y llegamos asi nuevamenta a la ignorancia, pero a
una ignorancia mas rica, mas completa, hecha de pequenas e infinitas
sabidurias.
                         ----Ernesto Sabato, Sobre Heroes y Tumbas

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*


-----Original Message-----
From: CDA-DISCUSS Discussion List
[mailto:CDA-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of John E
Richardson
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2005 8:05 AM
To: CDA-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
Subject: Re: Bourdieu and the journalistic field

Dear Wafa'

your PhD sounds very interesting; I'd like to be kept informed of your
progress, if that's ok. If you are looking for articles exploring how
different newspapers process/package the same event, then Ron & Maggie
Scollon have written a piece on exactly this subject that I think was
published in the journal 'Text'. They compare how an event is reported
in a number of different Hong Kong newspapers. Are you familiar with
this article? (It might be a good one for the list to look at
actually...) Also, I am currently writing a book on News Discourse that
may be some use to you. I can let you have it once it's finished, if you
want.
I imagine that the Bourdieu book will be useful for you, perhaps as part
of a chapter on the social and discursive practices that surround and
run through journalism. For your info, here's the URL of the publisher,
where you can buy the book:
http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=0745633870

And here's their description of it:

'Bourdieu and the Journalistic Field is an exciting new text which
builds on and extends Pierre Bourdieu's impassioned critique of our
media-saturated culture.

Presenting for the first time in English the work of influential
scholars who worked with or were influenced by Bourdieu, this volume is
the one and only book for Anglophone scholars seeking a more detailed
elaboration of field theory in relation to the mass media.

In his short book 'On Television', Bourdieu provided a powerful critique
of the 'journalistic field', but what exactly does he mean by this? How
does the journalistic field relate to external economic and political
pressures? And what kind of autonomy can, or should, journalists expect
to maintain?

Such questions are taken up in case studies of such diverse phenomena as
media coverage of the AIDS-contaminated blood scandal in France, U.S.
youth media activism, and political interview shows on both sides of the
Atlantic. Chapters by both American and French scholars also demonstrate
methods for measuring field autonomy and spatially mapping journalistic
fields, or discuss the similarities and differences between field
theory, new institutionalism, hegemony, and differentiation theory.
Rejecting all forms of dogmatism, the authors in this volume demonstrate
why field theory remains a "work in progress," and indeed, a research
paradigm whose promise has only begun to be tapped.'

And here's the book contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction: Field Theory as a work in Progress - Rodney
Benson and Erik Neveu

PART I: THEORETICAL ORIENTATIONS

Chapter 2 The Political Field, The Social Science Field, and the
Journalistic Field - Pierre Bourdieu

Chapter 3 The Double Dependency: The Journalistic Field Between Politics
and Markets - Patrick Champagne

Chapter 4 Sub-Fields of Specialized Journalism - Dominique Marchetti

PART II: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES

Chapter 5 Mapping Field Variation: Journalism in France and the United
States - Rodney Benson

Chapter 6 The Contaminated Blood Scandal: Reframing Medical News -
Patrick Champagne and Dominique Marchetti

Chapter 7 Economic Journalism in France - Julien Duval

Chapter 8 Media Consercration of the Political Order - Eric Durras

Chapter 9 Channeling into the Journalistic Field: Youth Activism and the
Media Justice Movement - Eric Klinenberg

PART III : CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

Chapter 10 Bourdieu, the Frankfurt School and Cultural Studies: On Some
Misunderstandings - Erik Neveu

Chapter 11 Autonomy from What? - Michael Schudson

Chapter 12 Two Approaches to Comparative Media Research: Field Theory
and Differentiation Theory - Daniel C. Hallin


hope this helps

all the best
John


>
> Dear John ,
>
> I am a PhD student of English Linguistics working on my thesis which
is entitled A Discourse
> Analysis of Different Versions of Reality in English Newspaper
Reporting . In this work i would like to examine different views
expressed on the same event or issue ( linguistically ) and I would like
to ask you whether the book you are referring to might be of help to me
and if yes how could I get a copy of it ? as i am badly in need of
recent references .
>
> Best of luck
> Wafa'
> Univ. of Mosul / Iraq
>
> John E Richardson <johnerichardson at CDS-WEB.NET> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I seem to remember a discussion on the subject of social theory, the
> habitus & 'the media' recently. Some of you may therefore find this book
> interesting:
> Benson, R. & Neveu, E. (2005) Bourdieu and the journalistic field.
> Polity Press: Cambridge (UK) & Malden, MA (USA)
>
> I only bought it today, but on first glance it looks very good. An
> excerpt from the introduction, for example, explains the concept of the
> habitus in an immensely straight forward way that I have not seen
> before. Quoting Bourdieu: "Habitus is a socialised subjectivity." Going
> on, they state "the notion of the habitus expresses a reasonable
> hypothesis: that individuals' predispositions, assumptions, judgments
> and behaviors are the result of a long-term process of socialisation,
> most importantly in the family, and secondarily, via primary, secondary
> and professional education. Habitus is not unchangable. In fact, it is
> constantly being modified. Nevertheless, early experiences and
> practices, shaped by one's location in the social class structure, shape
> those that follow" (p.3)
>
> They then go on to explain economic and cultural capital, their
> relations to habitus and the position of 'the journalistic field' in all
> this (not least the way that journalistic discourse affects the
> assumptions, judgments and behaviors of the general public). As I said,
> it looks like a good collection & one that seems to draw on the range of
> concepts that the list has been discussing over the past few weeks
> (perhaps with the exception of doctor-patient discourse...)
>
> best
> John
>
> John E Richardson
> Dept of Journalism Studies
> Sheffield University
>
> 		
> ---------------------------------
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>  Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses.
>

John E Richardson
Dept of Journalism Studies
Sheffield University