Faculty of Mass Media Communication UCM in Trnava invites you to International Scientific Conference

14th – 15th April 2015

Smolenice Castle

Media Farm - totems and taboo

DATE

ORGANISER

PLACE

MEGATRENDS AND MEDIA 2015

CONFERENCE DATE AND LOCATION:14th – 15th April 2015, Smolenice Castle

CONFERENCE FEE: • 179,- € – conference papers submitted in En-

glish (aiming to be indexed by prestigious da-tabases or published in foreign scientific jour-nal indexed in SCOPUS),

• 79,- € – conference papers submitted in Slo-vak, Czech, Polish or other languages (to be published in standard reviewed conference proceedings).

The conference fee covers rent of premises, prin-ting conference materials and publication of re-viewed conference proceedings, refreshment and evening banquet. Please note that the fee is paid only cash, during the registration procedures at the conference. In case this form of payment does not suit you, do not hesitate to contact us via the conference e-mail. Please note that the fee does not cover the costs for lunch and accommodation.

The international scientific conference held annually by the Faculty of Mass Media Commu-nication UCM in Trnava has become a traditional event with support and attendance of mass media communication theorists and researchers as well as media professionals. The goal of the conference is to present and exchange the current knowledge and experience reflecting media and trends con-nected to them nowadays (for more details, please see annotations of the individual sections).

SCIENTIFIC AND PROGRAMME COMMITTEE:prof. PhDr. Miloš Mistrík, DrSc.prof. PhDr. Nataliya Panasenko, DrSc. (UA)prof. Dr. Peter A. Bruck Ph.D. (AT)prof. Diab Al-Badayneh (JO)prof. PhDr. Slavomír Gálik, PhD.prof. dr. hab. Iwona Hofman (PL)prof. Małgorzata Łuszczak (PL)prof. PhDr. Dušan Pavlů, CSc. (CZ)prof. Jozef M. M. Ritzen (NL)prof. Dariusz Rott (PL)prof. Mgr. Art. Božidara TurzonovováDr. h. c. doc. Ing. Jozef Matúš, CSc. doc. PhDr. Ľudmila Čábyová, PhD.doc. PhDr. Slavomír Magál, CSc. doc. PhDr. Dana Petranová, PhD.doc. PhDr. Hana Pravdová, PhD.doc. Mgr. Art. Jozef Sedlákdoc. Mgr. Norbert Vrabec, PhD.PhDr. Marek Hrubec, Ph.D. (CZ)PhDr. Andrea Koltaiová, PhD.PhDr. Jakub Končelík, Ph.D. (CZ)Mgr. Juliána Mináriková, PhD.PhDr. Peter Murár, PhD.Mgr. Ondřej Roubal, Ph.D. (CZ)Dr. Iulian Rusu (RO)JUDr. Mgr. Martin Solík, PhD.PhDr. Ján Višňovský, PhD.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:JUDr. Mgr. Martin Solík, PhD.Mgr. Juliána Mináriková, PhD.PaedDr. Eva Habiňáková, PhD.Mgr. Martin Klementis, PhD.Mgr. Dáša Mendelová, PhD.Mgr. Dáša Mužíková, PhD.PhDr. Jana Radošinská, PhD.Mgr. Magdaléna Ungerová, PhD. PhDr. Ján Višňovský, PhD.Mgr. Ľubica BurianováMartin Ďurko, MBAMgr. Peter KrajčovičMgr. Eva KretikováMgr. Michal MendelMgr. Paulína PetkáčováMgr. Ľuboslav BlišákMgr. Lukáš Grib Mgr. Martin GracaMgr. Monika Hossová

DISCUSSION SESSIONS WILL BE DIVIDED INTO THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS:

TRANSFORMATION OF THE MEDIA GARDEN

TRANSCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA ART

MEDIA AND MARKETING GAMES OF THE OLIGARCHS

FROM WORD TO GENRE AND ITS CURRENT VARIATIONS

LEGAL FRAMEWORKS OF THE MEDIA

CONTACTS:e-mail: megatrends-media@fmk.sk JUDr. Mgr. Martin Solík, PhD. Mgr. Juliána Mináriková, PhD. Mgr. Ľubica Burianová

Fakulta masmediálnej komunikácie Univerzita sv. Cyrila a Metoda v Trnave Nám. J. Herdu 2 917 01 Trnava

IMPORTANT NOTICE: We would like to inform the conference par-ticipants that the annotations of papers will be assessed by the scientific committee of the con-ference. Please note that the annotations have to meet the scientific, linguistic, stylistic and ethical criteria related to publishing academic texts of this kind.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS AND PAPER ANNOTATIONS: 20TH MARCH 2015 Applications as well as paper annotations are submitted via the electronic application form available at: http://bit.ly/megatrends2015. In case you encounter any trouble filling and submitting the electronic application form or we can be of any other assistance, please do not hesi-tate to contact us.

SUBMISSION OF PAPERS: Please, send your papers in English, Slovak, Czech or other language (max. 20 standard pages) including abstracts, key words (abstract and key words must be submitted in two language ver-sions – mother language and English), illustrations, charts and bibliography in text editor MS Word by the date mentioned above at the latest to the e-mail address: megatrends-media@fmk.sk We kindly ask you to use the pre-set paper tem-plate available at fmk.sk/megatrends-and-media/

FOOD: • 14th April 2015 – lunch = 10 €

• 15th April 2015 – lunch = 10 €

Please note that fees for lunch are paid only cash, during the registration procedures at the con-ference. Lunch is optional; expressing your interest in having lunch is a part of the electronic applica-tion form. Other snacks and drinks throughout the conference including banquet dinner are free of charge.

ACCOMMODATION: Smolenice Castle: 1 person = 35 €/ 1 night

Please note that the fee is paid cash during the registration procedures. In case you are inter-ested in this service, please express your interest by choosing this option included in the electronic application form.

CONFERENCE OUTPUTS:• Selected papers written and submitted in Eng-

lish will be published in the scientific journal European Journal of Science and Theology in-dexed in the SCOPUS database. The journal will perform selection of the best texts in coopera-tion with the scientific committee of the confer-ence and selected works will be published by the end of 2015.

• The conference proceedings in English submitted for evaluation to databases SCOPUS and Web of Science (please note that the selected texts have to meet the requirements for scientific papers written in English; the highest quality of profes-sional translation is required).

• Conference proceedings including the papers submitted by authors who wish to publish their contributions in Slovak, Czech, Polish or other language except for English.

TRANSFORMATION OF THE MEDIA GARDENChairs: doc. Mgr. Norbert Vrabec, PhD. prof. PhDr. Slavomír Gálik, PhD.

At present, elitist views and efforts of the media pro-ducers to appeal to well-educated segments of the media audiences are marginalized remarkably. Tabloid media and – increasingly – also elite media try hard to attract and hold the attention of the mainstream recipients. Intellec-tual, cultural or economic elites are not among their target audiences. On the contrary, in the best-case scenario, these audience groups are subjected to ignorance and disinterest, the worst-case scenario makes them the most convenient objects of scandalization, negativism and satisfaction of the voyeuristic traits of the mainstream audiences. Another subsidiary sign of this development is related to stereotyp-ing and standardization of human needs, wishes, desires and preferences that allow the media to employ more flexible and effective ways of commodifying the attention of the audience members as well as selling this – artificially gener-ated – attention to advertisers. The elite, as a positive role model, is continually losing its attractiveness and the media producers find it interesting mostly in negative contexts that are able to appeal to human emotions while satiating curios-ity, jealousy or mischievousness of the “mass recipient”. On the other hand, very specific “non-elite” role models whose only ability is often associated with massive amounts of un-justified self-confidence and exhibitionism are placed in the centre of attention. The abilities to critically assess the me-dia content, media organizations as well as various related processes and relations are an important part of the media literacy. Acquiring a certain level of media literacy is crucial in case of children and adolescents as well as in case of other segments of the media audiences. Media recipients need to gain insight, self-consciousness and proper skills related to necessary co-existence with the world of media that is be-coming even more complicated. Therefore, the need for in-tense development of media competencies must be fulfilled by ways and methods that lead the audience members to identify and eliminate the influence of calculated, deliberate persuasive strategies as well as effectively use an immense potential of media technologies and information sources to both their personal development and cultivation of the social environment. Therefore, the section strives to reflect media literacy as an important factor of social changes and indi-vidual transformation. Well-prepared media literate persons should be able to think critically and creatively – these abili-ties allow them to integrate to the society and face a whole lot of challenges associated with living their lives. How can we define the cultural, political, technological, educational and other aspects of challenges and new trends that are re-lated to media users? To what extent and in which forms are the media audiences transformed, taking into account the influence of stereotyping and standardization of the media content? Is this – increasingly aggressive – commodification of attention of the audiences acceptable in terms of ethical norms, human rights and principles associated with freedom of expression? Are the media able to contribute to the critical reflection on social phenomena or do they function mostly as tools designed to distract the audiences from topics and problems that are actually relevant?

MEDIA AND MARKETING GAMES OF THE OLIGARCHS

Chairs: doc. PhDr. Slavomír Magál, CSc. doc. PhDr. Hana Pravdová, PhD.

More than a half-century ago, Conrad Black, the former owner of The Daily Telegraph, pointed out: What would a man gain, if he owned a newspaper and could not influence its content? This quote has not lost its relevance since then; on the contrary, such a question has been relevant in any era that is (or was) dominated by the media – namely in the eras of press, radio, television or new media. The essential mean-ing of the quote stays the same even if we take into account changes in political environment, ownership relations or metamorphoses of the creative principles in terms of media production. It places emphasis on the basic principle related to biased, narrow-minded and manipulative ways of process-ing information, on the acquisitive intentions of ownership structures. A few decades ago, in the times of big autocratic regimes, we witnessed the application of unconcealed cen-sorship practices that resulted in the possibility of producing an outright propaganda of the centralised power; at present, in the era of democracy, we witness a contradiction between two different realities. On the one hand, we reflect almost dogmatically spread, textbook ideology associated with freedom of the media, non-censorship policy, independence of the media subjects and producers, and strict respect for ethical codes related to journalism, etc. On the other hand, an increasing amount of professionals and academics critically re-evaluate the activities and agenda of contemporary – es-pecially commercial – media. These experts place emphasis on dangers resulting from the influence of ownership struc-tures on decisions made by media managers as well as they point out various defects of current media production and journalistic work. These defects include servility in relation with the owners, corrupt behaviour, employment of several sophisticated techniques of manipulation associated with processing information, plagiarism, deliberate spreading of unverified rumours, keeping important facts from the audi-ences, defamation, insults, etc. Interested authors also pay attention to considering the relevance and meaning of vari-ous, so far unanswered questions that result from the works of Aldous Huxley and George Orwell: Although we live in so-ciety saturated by information, are we really able to access them freely? Are we systematically manipulated in order to see the world in accordance with the ideas and intentions of the media producers? Are we – as a result of contemporary informational chaos – passive, disoriented, egoistic? The sec-tion aims to provide a space for discussing possible answers to the questions of revealing the causes and consequences of manipulation methods and techniques, their practical use as well as political, economic and cultural backgrounds of the contradiction between two realities outlined above.

Section 1 Section 2

TRANSCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA ART

Chairs: prof. PhDr. Miloš Mistrík, DrSc. PhDr. Marek Hrubec, Ph.D.

Global era has brought the interaction between various cultures, shaping their relationships to global civilization. These tendencies demand a very intense in-tercultural communication that may prevent many con-flicts and wars from happening. We also have to point out that the mass media enable transcultural commu-nication. The same statement may be also applied to media art, which represents all positive and negative features related to the transcultural and global under-standing of the world. The media art originates in cy-bernetics and informatics; the language of media art is based on signs, its aesthetic value and function are added subsequently, determined by a creative artist as well as by its perception. What are the basic traits of the media art and such kinds of media communication that may be defined not only as transcultural, but even as cosmopolitan? Are there any related contemporary or local variations? Does the media art have any crystal-lized forms? Does it create its own language that is com-prehensible at the transcultural level? In which ways is media art able to demonstrate the impulses originating from classical cultural forms and genres? While perceiv-ing media art, are we able to see its predecessors or rather just an object of possible incorporation of liter-ary, fine-art, music, theatrical or any different reality into the virtual reality created by electronic audiovisual image? Traditional aesthetic function allows us to cre-ate a work of art; are we able to say the same in case of media artworks since their other significant function is to communicate? What are the most important fea-tures of intercultural and transcultural communication?

FROM WORD TO GENRE AND ITS CURRENT VARIATIONS

Chairs: PhDr. Ján Višňovský, PhD. PhDr. Andrea Koltaiová, PhD.

Current forms and contents of journalistic genres are a result of their historical development in the context of specific geopolitical, social and cultural conditions of the journalistic work. Newspapers in liberal-democratic countries have become – quickly and more or less natu-rally – an arena that witnesses political clashes, a tool designed to shaping public opinions, a part of huge busi-ness of the media industry. On the contrary, our news-papers has gone through radical transformations that result from social and political changes back in 1989, stepping towards the path of modern democracy and ceasing to be just servants of the official state power. The section pays attention to discussing relevant is-sues associated with theory and practice of journalistic genres, not only in terms of journalism and linguistics, but also in contexts of economy, law, ethics and tech-nology. Such discussions open a communication space for interdisciplinary reflections on the nature and form of contemporary journalistic genres that, thanks to ongoing development of information and communica-tion technologies, has moved from the newspaper and magazine pages to the virtual space of the Internet. In order to achieve that, they had to adapt to this new, online communication environment. The influence of economic factors on journalism and its displays cannot be understated. Commercialization and concentration of the print media, the questions related to ownership and management as well as their adaptation to eco-nomic indicators and “dictatorship” of the market, may negatively influence the function of journalism as a tool for objective dissemination of information about public occurrences and also its purpose as a free space that enables circulation of opinions. Social and cultural con-ditions associated with everyday lives of the readers, their preferences and values, are changing constantly. The readers increasingly prefer non-demanding, en-tertaining “soft” news. Genres, influenced by economic and technological developments, are going through processes of hybridization that contributes to crossing boundaries between elite press and tabloids. The goal of the section organised in relation with project KEGA 023 UCM-4/2014 Structure and Composition of Journalistic Genres Written in English is to offer an interdisciplinary discussion related to history, theory and contemporary practical realization of Slovak and foreign genre studies in the contexts of current transformations of economic, technological and social reality.

Section 3 Section 4

LEGAL FRAMEWORKS OF THE MEDIA

Chairs: PhDr. Peter Murár, PhD. JUDr. Mgr. Martin Solík, PhD.

Virtual space created by information technologies – especially on the Internet – has brought the society into completely new situations that force us to re-think our definitions of what is right and wrong. The Internet blurs the boundaries of our physical world, clouding it with a mist made of new opportunities, virtual essence of commodities, individual consumerism deprived of any kind of social control, and anonymity. While us-ing objects and properties that belong to someone else without consent of the owner is not tolerated in our common everyday life, such practices are quite or-dinary on the Internet. As we might say, what the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over; in addition, we often do not even realize that the boundaries have been crossed. Online behaviour is, in fact, the same as any other behaviour, but many of our virtual activities do not have any relevant parallel in the real world. How are we supposed to perceive activities such as online watching movies and television shows that do not origi-nate from the official, authorized sources? Who is le-gally responsible for the embedded content? Can we use any freely available photographs and images and publish them anywhere online? Do the service provid-ers have the right to collect data and information on our online activities? Is the online piracy still piracy or is it changing to become a new form of marketing, whose practical implementation has been understood only by a small percentage of “the chosen ones”? Many of these questions might be addressed through trivial answers, but the pressure to find effective solutions within the online environment is becoming stronger. The section provides the conference participants with a space to discuss complex and urgent issues of the digital era that are not easy to be reflected on time, whether by legisla-tion and law or, even less so, by the general public. We strive to put emphasis on the legal determination of our virtual doings and draw attention to the facts that need to be considered while looking for possible barriers to our virtual behaviour and “updating” our consciousness in terms of using the Internet.

Section 5Centre of Global Studies (Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic)

Polish Academy of Sciences (Branch in Katowice)

The Institute of Political Science of the Slovak Academy of Sciences

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences (Czech Republic)

Center for Innovation, Technology Transfer and Development Foundation of the University of Silesia (Poland)

European Journal of Science and Theology (Romania)

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME:Tuesday 14th April 20158.00 – 9.00 Registration of participants 9.00 – 10.45 Opening ceremony and main part of the programme 10.45 – 11.00 Coffee break 11.00 – 12.30 Discussion sessions12.30 – 13.30 Lunch13.30 – 15.15 Panel discussion 15.15 – 15.30 Coffee break 15.30 – 18.00 Discussion sessionsfrom 18.30 Banquet with entertainment programme Wednesday 15th April 20158.00 – 9.00 Registration of participants 9.00 – 10.30 Discussion sessions10.30 – 10.45 Coffee break 10.45 – 12.30 Discussion sessions12.30 – 13.30 Lunch13:30 Closing ceremony

The participants will be provided with the de-tailed schedule of discussion sessions and pro-gramme at the registration.

SCIENTIFIC PARTNERS:

SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DATA AND INFORMATION:• 20th March 2015 – deadline for registration of

participants,

• 25th March 2015 – deadline for submitting pa-pers written in English that may be included in the conference proceedings, which will be sent to Web of Science, Scopus and other databases for evaluation; as well as deadline for submit-ting papers that aim to be published by Euro-pean Journal of Science and Theology (indexed by Scopus database),

• 10th April 2015 – deadline for submitting con-ference papers written in Slovak, Czech, Polish or other languages

CONFERENCE FEE:• 179,- € – conference papers submitted in English

(aiming to be indexed by prestigious databases or published in foreign scientific journal indexed in SCOPUS),

• 79,- € – conference papers submitted in Slovak, Czech, Polish or other languages (to be published in standard reviewed conference proceedings).

Please note that the fee is paid only cash, during the registration procedures at the conference.

ACCOMMODATION AT SMOLENICE CASTLE: 35 €/NIGHT/1 PERSON • To be paid cash on-the-spot; in case you are in-

terested in this service, please express your in-terest by choosing this option included in the electronic application form.

FOOD (LUNCH): 10 €/1 PERSON (14TH APRIL 2015); 10 €/1 PERSON (15TH APRIL 2015)• To be paid cash on-the-spot. Lunch is optional;

expressing your interest in having lunch is a part of the electronic application form.