I

16 The social origins and uses

of media and communication

researchKIaus Bruhn jensen

types of'theory' which s.a of the normotive of media.a description of media and communication research as a social institution.a comparison of the main applications of media research in policy and politics.a discussion of both ethics and logistics as aspects of the relations between researchers, the academic

community, respondents. and wider social communities.

THEORIES INTO PRACTICE reflexivity about the role of media in society.~

M k. br In offering their perspectives, researchers parti-a Ing pu IC cipate in a double hermeneutic (Giddens 1984):

This final chapter returns to a number of the they reinterpret the 'lar theories' (Furnhamissues which motivate media students and re- 1988) of 'ordinary' social agents, and feedsearchers in the first place. Indeed, why study those reinterpretations back into society. Forthe media? (Silverstone 1999). Individual re- example, citizens' lay theories of the categorysearchers' are prompted, in part, by the same of 'public opinion' vary widely (Herbstconcerns which bring major economic and 1993), mar differ from those of political andpolitical agents to focus on the afea. The mod- media theorists, but are, nevertheless, informedern media are sources of power as well as over time by scientific theory, in part, throughof meaning -mediated meanings can have media. In addition, programming decisionspowerful social consequences. Accordingly, this by television executives have been centrallychapter examines the three-way relationship shaped by new research on the 'active' audiencebetween the media, research, and the rest of the (Eastman 1998).social system. Media studies, like their object of Alvesson and Skoldberg (2000: 248) haveanalysis, originate from a particular social and gone on to suggest several additional types ofhistorical setting. Part of the relevance of media hermeneutics. For instance, a 'triple' hermeneu- double andstudies is tha:t they mar contribute to the social tics would be performed by critical theory with trip!e hermen-

eutlcsconditions under which communication will the specific aim of exposing and ending rela-take place in the future. tions of social dominance. Thegeneral point of

Like the media themselves, then, university hermeneutics in this regard is that all socialdepartments and other research organizationsmar be understood theoretically as institu-. ..media research as second-order mstltutlon-to-thmk-

tions-to-think-with, enabling (second-order) with -Chapter 1, p. 6

-

1274 Saciar arigins and uses af researchpractice is informed by 'theories,' defined as them. A distinction between 'politics' andgeneralized conceptions of what the world is 'policy' further helps to specify different kindslike, and how things can be done. As concluded of interchange between research and media -by one early founder of the media field, Kurt from an instrumental alliance to an adversarialLewin, 'Nothing is as practical as a good relation challenging the media as they nowtheory' (Greenwood and Levin 1998: 19)0 It is existo While both quantitative and qualitativeparticularly through an interchange with other methodologies enter into studies from policy astypes of theory -as held by media profession- well as political perspectives, the methodologi-als, legislators, and the general public -that cal boundaries, to a degree, dissolve in thecommunication theory and research mar make social uses of media research. In conclusion, thea difference in practiceo chapter reviews a number oí. practical, ethical,Having thought matters through within and professional issues in planning student pro-their institutions, media researchers publish jects as well as research programs.publication: their findingso Publication in academic settings,knowledge however, is only one way of making public lOtfthinto social rOur ypes O eorypractice the knowledge which is generated by researchprojectso To make public is to make findings Applying an extended understanding of theoryavailable for social practice. The interested con- as plans of action to the media field, McQuailstituencies mar be large or small, specialized or (2000: 7-9) has made a useful distinctiongeneral, representing dominant or oppositional between tour types of 'theory':interests, and mar operate in either the shortor the long historical termo One centtal con- 1 Scientific tbeory. The most common under-stituency is media businesses that are willing to standing of the term is that theory coÍlsists inpar not only to have studies conducted, but to 'general statements about the nature, workinghave the results kept away from any significant and effects of mass communication, based onpublic for competitive reasons. systematic and objective observation of mediaAn extended category of 'publication' clears and other relevant factors' (p. 7)0 In this sense,the ground for an examination of how differ- both qualitative and quantitative studiesent forms of research relate to other social insti- provide explanatory concepts and models thattutions, as allies as well as adversaries. In order apply to a range of empirical instancesoto assess the present and future relevance of2 N .tbWh'l..fith. ..ormattve eory. le sclentl c eonesmedia research, it is Important to conslder bothh I II b d .-.J'..ave a so norma y een un erpmnt3U, m oneits scientific methodologies and ItS social prac-th b .

d I f h th d .

..way or ano er, y I ea s o ow e me latices. While publicatlon m journals, conferenceh .. h .thd.bkIIIoug t to operate m soclety, t e normatlve e-procee mgs 00 s as we as more popu ar . f o o ., .'. ones represent a separate afea o mqulry mtoformats remams a necessary mfrastructure andh d f ... dfit e ways an means o orgarnzmg an nanc-a procedure legltlmatmg the sclentlfic mstltu-.d.d .. Dt'f.mg me latefommurncatlono a mg romjtion, researchers and students are well advIsedhh.thh.t e seventeent century, normatlve eory as - to conslder other channels and contexts of .dIhghtdbremame centta t rou to curren e ates impact -including the unanticipated conse-b blo .bd.dh...a out pu IC servlce roa castmg an t equences of thelr research actlvltyoIfi..fIffnternet. Following a de rntlon o severa orms o'theory,' this chapter elaborates on the so-called 3 Operational tbeoryo Media professionalsnormative theories, which fueled the early rige command a repertoire of procedures thatand subsequent transformations of the modero amount to operational theory, from practicalmedia, and which still motívate much contem- rules-of-thumb to ingrained ethical and ideo-porary research. An overview of current media logical positions regarding the purpose andand communication research as an institution, status of their work. Reflecting its interested andnext, notes its main academic and commercial practical nature, professional knowledge over-varieties and the intellectual cultures driving laps with both normative and everyday theoryo

Theories into practice 275

ANALYSIS BOX 16.1 THE SIGNS OF SCIENCE

Media and communication researchers reir on varied means of representation and expression inarder to arrive at an understanding of the empirical field themselves, to share findings and issueswith colleagues, and to present their studies to an interested publico While other sections of thischapter consider both different ways of 'making public' and the relevant audiences, the purposeof this brief element is to reflect on the signs of science -the concrete means of communicat-ing research. This can be an important way of keeping research self-reflexive, scientifically as wellas socially. As noted, for instante, in the discussion of rhetoric in Chapter 2, signs and numbersare never innocent, but carry implicit premises (see further Barrow 1992).

Models and other means of display have been integral to the development of media studies(for additional referentes on scientific illustration, see Lee and Mandelbaum 1999; McQuail andWindahl 1993; Shore 1998). Whereas tables and figures mar be associated specifically with quan-titative traditions of research, Chapter 14 noted how visual display, coding, and modeling are alsoan important part of qualitative analysis.

Throughout this volume, a number of verbal, mathematical, and graphic forms have been usedto communicate different points. In review, so me of the main types mar be described as follows:

.literature reviews and theoretical arguments in all chapters in verbal discourse;

.conceptual models of a partían of the field, as represented in either graphic displays (e.g.,Figure S.2) or in multiple-field matrices (e.g., Figure 7.2);

.analytical examples (e.g., the analysis boxes, such as Box 14.1), employing prose, graphicdisplays, and images to represent the object of analysis and aspects of the analytical process(e.g., Chapter 8 on The Big S/eep);

.tables summarizing findings in terms of a numerical distribution (e.g., Table 13.1);

.scattergram, indicating correlations between data elements concerning, for instance, opinionsand media preferentes (Figure 9.4);

.time line, locating shifting technologies and institutions of communication in relation to eachother (Figure 2. 1).

(Other common formats of presentation include bar charts, histograms, line graphs, and pie charts.(See further Deacon et al. 1999: 93-98.»

4 Everyday theory. Finally, the public's inter- economic sector, and a political institution inaction with media as consumers, citizens, and, their own right, the technological media haveoccasionally, sources of information is guided generated a large proportion of commerciallyby a number of everyday or cornmon-sense motivated as well as socially concerned re-notions of what media are, how they opera te, search. From its initiation, the field was part andand in whose interests. parcel of the emergente by the 1930s of what

Beniger (1986) termed 'the control society' -the controlOther chapters in this volume have emphasized characterized by a greatly intensified surveil- societythe scientific theories which constitute the aca- lance of society, both by individuals through thedemic media field. The professional and every- media, and by private as well as public agenciesdar theories that enter into media production through, for example, market research andand reception have also, in part, been addressed. opinion polling. Several of the early 'milestones'This chapter shifts the emphasis toward norma- of media research~ were produced in responsetive theory, examining, as well, its interrelations to perceived social problems (e.g., violence,particularly with scientific theory.

Being a strategic cultural reS'ource, a major ..milestones of media research -Chapter 10, p. 158

276 Social origins and uses of research

propaganda) which were associated with the allowed to disseminate information on any

media as well as with the new urban and inter- social scale, being subject, as well, to censor-

national realities embedding them -a different ship, and their audiences were just that -recip-

culture of time and space (Kern 1983). ients of messages from political and religious

The mediatization of (Western) societies is authorities who knew better. While rarely

perhaps best understood as one element of the advocated as such, being the unspoken doxa of

processes of bureaucratization and rationaliza- the medieval, feudal order, the authoritarian

tion that were then taking place as aspects of theory provided the contrast against which

modernization in politics and economy. ~ A key most later theori~s defined themselves.

role of media became that of facilitating the 2 L ob o h 1 l ob I hII bol o d O. f o o I I ertarlan t eory. t was I era t eoryoyera sta lit Y an mtegratlon o mcreasmg y h. h . h f b h l o o

dI o I C o b ' Th w IC , m t e areas o ot po ItlCS an com-comp ex socia systems. UI onOf e nor- o o o o

o o. .murncatlon, challenged authorltarlan models.matlve theorles provlded a framework of Ideas L Ob l o o f d h I h °ft f dd O' o o I era Ism m orme t e arger s I rom tra -an Ideals for addressmg Issues of ~oclal power, o o o o

I od o d l o o I d I I Itlonal to modern social structures, as eplto-persona I entlty, an po Itlca an cu tura o d o h bl o h ~ N Io

h o l . d o d o o mlze m t e pu IC sp ere. ~ ot on y wererlg ts m re atlon to me late commurncatlon. h d fi d d o h I o

humans e ne as en s m t emse ves, Wlt

certain inalienable political, economic, and cul-

NORMATIVE THEORIES tural rights; they were al so conceived as ratio-

o o o. nal animals with the ability collectively toThe entlre set of normatlve theorles Illustrates d fi d d O. h ogh O ofy °

h od o h I h o o e ne an a mmlster suc rl ts. ne urn mgow leas Wlt a ong Istory are sometlmes

b ol o d f o I h o o I metaphor became the 'marketplace of ideas,'mo I Ize or partlcu ar Istorlca purposes. oC . f h o o d f suggestlng that the market for goods and

ertam o t elr constltuents ate rom o o .oR o d E l. h od I d servlces would also empower mdlvlduals to

enalssance an n Ig tenment I ea s an , o o. d d f h S o d o I promote thelr politlcal interests and culturalm ee , rom t e ocratlc la ogue as a means o

f o ogh d f d o h o II Ideals through the press (or to establish oneo true msl t, an o omg w at IS mora y o

d H h o h o themselves). The resultmg competition of ideas,goo. owever, t e normatlve t eorles were

o I d ofi II h d o fi Id o presumably, would benefit society as such.artlcu ate specI ca y to t e me la e m

the context of the Cold War. AIso in this emerg- 3 Totalitarian theory. The occasion for formu-

ing academic field, the period pitted differ- lating the normative theories, as noted above,

ent models of society against each other. The was the Cold War, specifically the implementa-

classic publication identified tour theories, tion of a totalitarian or communist theory of the

with special reference to the printed press press in a number of countries following World

(Siebert et al. 1956): War 11. The distinction between totalitarian

and authoritarian theory (and their relation to

1 Authoritarian theory. A traditional model of fascism during the 1930s) can be, and has

publicity took for granted a social and religious been, debated. Still, it was characteristic that the

cosmology which mar be described as a central control of communist regimes over

pyramid or chain of being. ~ Here, everything media was officially conceived as a means of

had its righful place, and 'information' tIowed fundamentally restructuring society, rather than

top-down from the monarch, being the repre- preserving any social pyramid. Centralized

sentative of divine authority on earth. Far from control, moreover, equaled state or government

beinga means of oppression, the pyramid could control over all means of production, whether

be understood as a framework that enabled it was meaning or material goods being pro-

individuals to tIourish on the road to their duced. Following the breakup of communist

destiny. Only especially reliable persons were systems in Europe from 1989, in the People's

Republic of China the development of new

journalistic practices still takes place within a

..modernization -Chapter 11, p. 143

..the great chain oí being -Chapter 2, p. 21 ..the public sphere -Chapter 1, p. 7

J-

Normative theories 277

relatively fixed political-economic system (e.g., to gain a hearing in world media, and to deter-Pan 2000). mine the shape of their own media systems.

S o1 ob ol o h A h °ft o Debate was further complicated by the fact that4 ocla responsl I ley t eory. s I m o

o references to Ideal s such as 'free flow' and 'self-emphasis, from liberalldeals toward an under- d o o, Id f oh fdo f h d h d o etermmatlon con serve as ronts, elt er orstan mg o t e press an ot er me la as o o o

o o economlc expanslomsm or for governmentstrustees or representatlves of the publlc, has o h 1 b d d oo promotlng t emse ves a roa an repressmgtaken place in the Western world partlcularly h o .o h A d b h.o. t elr Cltlzens at ame. s suggeste y t esmce 1945. For one thmg, the growmg con- k f h M B .d (1980) C o. h..wor o t e ac n e ornrnlSSlon, t ecentration and conglomeratlon of the media o h d offi 1 f 1 oo. " Issues ave proven I cu t to ormu ate m anysector mcreasmgly undercut any simple notlon h o o h b o.compre enslve normatlve t eory, ut contlnueof a 'free press.' For another, some new media o.

1 d b 11.o o to generate mternatlona e ate as we asforros, especially radio and televlslon, at least h F 1 H b d (1996) ho O" researc. or exampe, us an asfor a penod were lImlted m number for tech- . d d h . f ' . h b d h . ho .mtro uce t e notlon o a ng t to e un er- t e rlg t to

nologlcal reasons. Furthermore, all technologl- d ' o h 1o h o bl ' h be under-.stoo m t e mu tI-et mc pu IC sp ere.cal media require economlc resources and stoodprofessional skills on a scale which promotes 6 Democratic-participant theory. Particularlylarge organizations and concentration gener- in the Western world, the 1960s witnessed aally. Whereas references to social responsibility second type of upheaval around media, associ-accordingly have been witnessed in several ated with the political mobilization and culturalmedia types, European public service broad- critique by anti-authoritarian movements.oo4 Oncasting represents a particularly elaborate and the one hand, the social responsibility of theinstitutionalized expression of social responsi- mainstream media, their political and cultural

bility theory.oo4 diversity in practice, was challenged. On theother hand, information and communication

Apart from the inherently controversial status technologies appeared to offer the means of aof normative theories, later commentators have novel forro of political as well as culturalnoted that the tour types fail to capture several democracy. Moving beyond the liberal anddevelopments in media over the past tour responsibility theories, democratic-participantdecades. In particular, media systems in the theory proposed steps toward ensuring publicdeveloping world and the growth of media involvement, by structural means and notforros with increased public participation -merely by individual initiative (Enzensbergerfrom local radio to the Internet -have led to 1972 [1970]). It is this participatory ambitionthe formulation of two further positions (see which, in part, has fueled 'grass-roots' mediaalso McQuaiI1983): (e.g., Downing 2000; Glessing 1970), and it

continues to inform ideals regarding Internet5 Developmenttheory.Inthecontextofdecol- communication (e.g., Rheingold 1994).

onization, the 1960s witnessed intensifyingdebates about media in relation to the 'Third In continuing debate and research, severalWorld' (while the other two 'worlds' were con- additional varieties of normative theory havefronting each other in the Cold War). The issues been outlined (see Nerone 1995; Nordenstrengincluded an imbalance in the flow of news in the 1997), some of which are outgrowrhs or closeworld and the possible international as well as allies of scientific media theories, for example,national, local means of redressing ir. Attempts on intercultural or postcolonial issues.oo4at developing a comprehensive theory in this Broadly speaking, however, most normativeregard had to weigh conflicting interests -a (and many scientific) theories rodar emphasizegenerally desirable 'free' flow of information inthe world versus the right of individual cultures

..anti-authoritarian movements -Chapter 3, p. 56

..intercultural and North-South communicarion -..public service broadcasting -p. 283 Chapter 11, p. 177

~.~

~

278 Social origins and uses of research

either critical-reformist or pluralist-functional- Against this historical background, the 'four-ist criteria -a conflictual or consensual model plus-two' normative theories remain relevantof society -in evaluating media performance. A points of reference by articulating political,related opposition between 'state' and 'market' economic, and cultural ideal s which still enteris commonly referred to in policy discussions of into contemporary public and policy debates.how to enSille the 'freedom' of media. (On issues of justice, with largely unexamined

Part of the difficulty of debating the real implications for media, see Rawls 1999.)conflicts and high stakes in the afea beyond The normative 'theories' have been sup-simple oppositions has been the ambiguity of ported primarily by abstract reasoning and

from negative the concept of freedom in sociopolitical and, principled argumento Nevertheless, they amount

to.~ositive later, communication theory. Different accounts to strongly held beliefs on which whole societiesdefimtlons of ..freedom tend to assume either a negative defirntion have been prepared to act, to use pragmatlst ter-

(freedom (rom state interference in communi- minology (Joas 1993), and, indeed, to plancation) or a positive definition (freedom to their entire system of communication. A centraldemand certain media provisions as a civic role of media research, approximately since theright). Habermas (1989 [1962]) traced this 1956 statement of the normative theories, hasambiguity to shifting notions of how state or been to differentiate and strengthen the socialgovernment agencies should interact with bases of reasoning, argument, and action invarious sectors of economic and other social relation to the media. Media and cornmunica-life. The modero period was inaugurated by tion research has developed at the crossroads ofthe negative definition of freedom, as the new several social sectors and intellectual currents.middle classes asserted their political and eco-nomic rights vis-a-vis the state. However, a pos- MEDIA RESEARCH AS A SOCIALitive redefinition of rights, involving economic INSTITUTIONregulation and social services along Keynes-ian principies, followed from world crises in l t 1, t I It.n e ,ec ua cu uresthe late nineteenth century and especlally the1930s. It was this reorganization of the society- A modero locus classicus regarding the relation-state nexus which presumably preserved the ship between theory and practice (Lobkowiczlarger system of industrial capitalism and repre- 1967) -between knowing that something is thesentative government. case and knowing how to act accordingly -was

One should constantly keep in mind that cur- the statement by Karl Marx in bis Theses onrent debates about normative mediatheory take Peuerbach (1845), that 'The philosophers haveplace in the context of highly regulated political only interpreted theworld, in various ways; theeconomies -at least in the Western world, and point, however, is to change it.' Whether or notdespite measures of deregulation particulatly individual scholars have drawn either revolu-since the 1980s. Any reference to a negative tionary or reformist consequences from such adef1nition of media freedom ('less state interfer- view, it is undeniable that, at the institutionalence, more freedom of expression') is likely to level, research participates in actively shapingserve rhetorical, not analytical purposes. The and maintaining modero societies in countlesssubstancial point of contention is the particular ways. This has been evident not least withinforms in which the regulation of technologically science and technology during the twentiethmediated cornmunication will take place -from century (for an overview see Biagioli 1999).nacional laws affecting film production to the In a structural sense, then, basic research basic andinternacional assignment of Internet domain also eventually comes to be~. Compared, applied

h." researcnames. Also in the future, the questlons that however, to a wldespread rnneteenth-centurymedia researchers will be asked to study and notion of sciences as means of both materialcomment on involve conflicts and compromises and cultural progress, much twentieth-centuryregarding who will benefit most from the de research found itself struggling to come to(acto positive definition of social freedom. terms with its sense of a mission. The complic-

J!

,-

r¡:

°Á.r!nbu! :Jg!:¡u~!:Js }O s~lnp~:Jold pue S~¡d!:JU!ld f J~¡dl1q:) ~ Á¡ln;)l1j ;j:Jl1Jl1d~S Sl1 S~;)U~!;)S 111!:JOS .

Ál~A ~q:¡ U! p~U!e~U! S! ~sodlnd lO!l~:¡¡n ue :¡eq:¡ ~J °d 'z J~¡dl1q:) -Á¡!SJ~A!Un q;)Jl1~S~J UJ~pOW ~q¡ .

s~!¡dw! S:¡S~l~:¡U! ~~P~¡MOU~ }O :¡d~:Juo:J ~q.L

Q It661: q:J:¡IA~lnD pue ÁA~l~~s M~IAl~AO U~ lO}) 'aUlldl;)SIP S'~S'a.la~UI asipalMOUJI' .I ... o P¡~g Áleu!¡d!:>S!Pl~:¡U! ue lO '~U!¡d!:JS!p ~U!~l~W~ JO Play

lO p~qs!¡qe:¡s~ ue ~:¡m!:¡suo:J s~!pms e!p~w

O~~P~¡MOU~ :Jg!:¡U~!:Js }O SPU!~ le¡ l~q:¡~qM S! s~:¡eq~p ~u!nu!:¡uo:J ~q:¡ }O ~uO-n:J!:¡led Áq p~Al~S ~le S:¡S~l~:¡U! ¡e!:Jos le¡n:J!:¡led O~Wn¡OA S!q:¡ U! P~M~!A~l

l~q:¡~qM }O uo!:¡s~nb ~q:¡ uo p~l~:¡U~:J Ápu~nb~l} se 's0861: ~q:¡ ~U!lnp wmu~wow p~u!e~ SUO!:¡

~Aeq s~:¡eq~p l~:¡:¡e¡ ~s~q.L °q:Jle~s~l ~U!OP }O s:J!:¡ -!pel:¡ :J!:¡s!uewnq pue :Jg!:¡u~!:Js-¡e!:Jos U~~M:¡~q-!¡od ~q:¡ l~AO s~:¡eq~p U! os ~lOW U~A~ sdeql~d ~:JU~~l~AUO:J }O ss~:Jold e 'sOL61: pue 0961: ~q:¡

pue '~:Ju~!:Js }O ÁlO~q:¡ pue 1..20¡Opoq:¡~w U!q:¡!M u~~M:¡~q ~u!~e:¡-~:Jo:¡s pue ¡eAe~qdn ¡e:J!~o¡ow~:¡Ápu~u!W°ld p~rn~g seq 's~:Ju~!:Js ¡elmeU ~q:¡ -s!d~ se II~M se ¡e:J!:¡!¡od ~q:¡ ~U!MOIIOd °S~lOM

q:¡!M lIe ~Aoqe p~:¡e!:Josse se ,'poq:¡~w :Jg!:¡u~!:Js -~Wel} ¡e:J!:¡~lo~q:¡ pue s~lnp~:JOld ¡e:J!:IÁ¡eue

~q:¡, 'II!:¡S .ou lO ~¡q!:¡edwo:J 's~:JO¡q ~u!p¡!nq l!~q:¡ ~U!S!A~l pue ~U!:¡elO~!AU!~l Áq 'ss~:Jold

¡e:J!:¡~lo~q:¡ ~q:¡ P~P!AOld ~Aeq :¡eq:¡ s~:Ju~!:Js ~q:¡ U! 'pue Á.rO:¡S!q ¡e!:Jg}o pue s:¡le q~!q pUOÁ~q

¡e!:Jos pue s~!:¡!uewnq ~q:¡ S! :¡! 'pe~:¡suI .u~W~¡~ le} s~u!¡d!:Js!p p~qs!¡qe:¡s~ ~q:¡ }O sl~uew :¡:J~!qns:Jg!:¡u~!:Js-¡elmeU ~¡q!~!¡~~U e peq seq le} os ~q:¡ ~u!puedx~ Áq q:Jle~s~l e!p~w o:¡ SUO!:¡

P¡~g e!p~w ~q:¡ 's:¡:J~dse ~U!l~~U!~U~ pue S~!~O¡OU -nq!l:¡uO:J :¡ue:¡Jodw! p~led~ld Ápe¡!w!s 'Á.rO:¡S!q

-q:J~:¡ ~u!¡qeu~ s:¡! }O M~!A U! Á¡~u!s!ldlnS sdeql~d pue 's:J!:¡s!n~u!¡ '~lmel~:¡!¡ 'W¡g ~u!pn¡:Ju! 's:¡u~wIt °d) ,s:¡S!:¡u~!:Js ¡e:J!sÁqd ~q:¡, pue ,s¡em:J~II~:¡u! -:¡Jed~p s~!:¡!uewnq 's~pe:J~p ~wes ~s~q:¡ ~U!lna

Álel~:¡!¡ ~q:¡, Áq p~:¡u~s~ld~l se 'S~lm¡n:J ¡em o~:Ju~nJJu!}o s:¡X~:¡UO:J ¡e!:Jos s:¡! ~:¡ep!¡osuO:J o:¡

-:J~II~:¡U! OM:¡ p~g!:¡u~P! (t961:) MOUS 'e!w~pe:Je pue '1..20¡Opoq:¡~w pue Á.ro~q:¡}O Ápoq ~:¡elt1d~s

U!q:¡!M SUO!S!A!P}O :¡uno:J:Je p~:¡!:J u~:jjO S!q uI e ~:¡e¡nwn:J:Je o:¡ ue~~q q:J!qM '(L661: wwelq:JS

o(qOOOZ u~su~f) :¡X~:¡UO:J ¡e!:Jos ~U! ~~s M~!Al~AO ue lO}) ~:Ju~!:Js ¡t1!:>os ue:J!l~WV

-~ueq:J e o:¡ 'u!e~e ~:JUO 'S~!:¡!Sl~A!un }O ~SUOdS~l U! Á¡qe:¡ou 'p~lln:J:>O Uo!:¡ez!¡eUo!:¡m!:¡su! ¡em:Je

¡elm:JnJ:¡s ~q:¡ ~q II!M s:¡u~uodwo:J ¡e:J!~O¡OU ue :¡eq:¡ 'l~A~MOq 'SOS61:~q:¡ ¡!:¡un :¡ou seM:¡I

-q:J~:¡ pue ':J!:¡s!uewnq ':Jg!:¡u~!:Js-¡e!:Jos ~s!ldwo:J (.u~WdO¡~A~P S!q:¡ }O sUO!:¡e!leAq:J!qM ~lm¡n:J pue Uo!:¡e:J!unwwo:J }O s~!:¡¡n ¡eUo!:¡eu ~U!ple~~l S~:JU~l~}~l S~P!AOld 1: o 1: 1: xoq

-:Je} :¡eq:¡ ~u~ew! o:¡ p~q:J:¡~}-le} Oo:¡ le~dde :¡ou ~:Jlnos~"M) 01:001: ~ln~!d }O ,s~UO:¡s~¡!W, ~q:¡ Áq

s~op :¡! 'P~~puI °s~pe:J~p ~U!WO:J U! Á¡~~!¡ sw~~s p~SS~U:¡!M se 'sOf61: ~q:¡ WOl} p~~l~W~ s~!pms

UO!:¡el~~:¡U! pleMO:¡ ~AOW e 'l~A~MOq 's~dÁ:¡ e!p~w (ssew)}o J.:¡¡e!:J~ds ~¡qez!U~O:J~l V ~OS~!:¡

OM:¡ ~q:¡ SU!O!~l 's:¡:J~dS~l U!e:¡l~:J U! 'q:J!qM 'UO!:¡ -!uewnq ~q:¡ ~P!s~Uo¡e ,J.:¡¡n:Jt1}, ~:¡eled~s e se

-e:J!unwwo:J p~:¡e!p~w-l~:¡ndwo:J }O q:¡MOl~ ~q:¡ s~:Ju~!:Js ¡e!:Jos ~q:¡ }O :¡u~wqs!¡qe:¡s~ ~q:¡ p~ss~uq:¡!& 19661: z:¡ueD pue ~!d) s!sÁ¡eue ¡e:J!:¡!l:J -:¡!M peq Á.rmu~:J q:¡u~~:¡~U!U ~:¡e¡ ~q:¡ ~'sO081:

pue 's~!pms ~A!:¡~ldl~:¡U! '~:Ju~!:Js ¡e!:Jos ~u!:¡u~s Ápe~ ~q:¡ U! J.:¡!Sl~A!Un q:Jle~s~l ~q:¡ }O ~u!puno}-~ld~l 's~lmel~:¡!¡ p~u!e:¡uo:J-}¡~S Á¡~A!:¡e¡~l ~~lq:¡ ~q:¡ ~U!MOIIOd °s~!:¡¡e!:J~ds ~s~q:¡ }O q:Je~ U! ~u!:¡e

}O ~:Ju~:¡S!X~ ~q:¡ :¡s~~ns suo!:¡e:J!¡qnd ¡eUlno! }O -npe~ s:¡s!¡e!:J~ds Áq ~}!¡ ¡e:J!:¡:Jt1ld U! p~~euewUO!¡l1;) s~sÁ¡eue 'IJ:Jle~S~l uo¡:¡e:JlUnwwo:J ssew UITQIM ~qo:¡Pue 'SPOTQ~WPue ÁlO~TQP~zl¡el:J~ds -Iunwwo;) , ...,. , , o.

.ssew 'SA os¡e 'puo:J~S 0(6661: Sl~~O"M) Á¡~A!:¡:J~ds~l uo!:¡e:J Á¡~U!Se~l:JU! q~noJ1{:¡ p~!pms ~q o:¡ 'su!ewopI11UOSJadJa¡u! -!unwwo:J SSEW pue ¡euosl~dl~:¡U! uo ~u!sn:>o} ~¡qe~~euew pue ~¡qeq:Jle~s~l o:¡U! P~Uo!:¡!:¡led

'q:Jle~s~l }O s~!:¡¡e!:J~dsqns ~:¡eled~s Á¡~A!:¡e¡~l ~U!~q J.:¡!¡e~l}O Á.ro:¡S!q e '~su~s ~UO U! 'S! (t861:

OM:¡ }O s:¡S!SUO:J 1I!:¡s ,Ápms Uo!:¡e:J!unwwo:J, :¡eq:¡ Ápn"M) Á:¡!Sl~A!Un Ul~pOW ~q:¡ }O ÁlO:¡S!q ~q.L

s:¡s~~ns q:Jle~s~l :J!l:¡~WO!¡q!q ':¡sl!d °sno~u~~ol~ 11:091: xoq ~:Jlnos~"M U! SM~!Al~AO ¡e:J!lo:¡S!q ~q:¡

-:¡~q SU!eW~le~le ~q:¡ :¡eq:¡ p~z!seqdw~ ~q p¡noqs ~~s) S~lm¡n:J ¡em:J~II~:¡u! ¡el~A~S U~~M:¡~q ~lm

:¡! 'SS~¡~q:¡l~A~N o~:¡eq~p :J!¡qnd U! SUO!:¡U~Al~:¡U! -:Jun! ~q:¡ :¡e St61: l~:jje J.:¡!Sl~A!Un ~q:¡ U!q:¡!M p~

snonu!:¡uo:J pue 's~!:Jue:¡¡nsuo:J 'S~:JU~l~}UO:J -~l~W~ q:Jle~s~l uo!:¡e:J!unwwo:J pue e!p~w

'S¡eUlno! 's:¡u~w:¡Jed~p J.:¡!Sl~A!Un ~le slo:¡e:J!pu! °U~A!~ e :¡ou seM Á:Jew!:¡!~~¡ s:¡! :¡eq:¡ :¡ue~w ~U!l~~

~q.L °Uo!:¡m!:¡su! ¡e!:Jos e se ~:Ju~s~ld :¡u~uew -U!~U~ ¡elm¡n:J pue ¡e!:Jos }O SWlO} ~¡qeuo!:¡s~nb

-l~d e seq q:Jle~s~l e!p~w :¡eq:¡ :¡qnop ou S! ~l~q.L pue 'ws!¡e!Uo¡o:J 'sleM ppOM U! q:Jle~s~l }O J.:¡!

6Ll UO!~~15U! IE!:>OS E SE 4:>JEélSaJ E!PélW

-~

~

280 Social origins and uses of research

RESOURCE BOX 16.1 HISTORIES OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION RESEARCHAS A FIELD

ayer the past decade, more historical accounts of the development of media studies have begun )

to appear. Presumably, this follows, in part, from the fact that media and communication researchis now an established institution in society and a relatively mature field of inquiry. The secondgeneration of researchers, now occupying university chairs, mar al so perceive a need to revisitand reassess their roots, partir in response to convergence.

At one level, the development of the field is the outcome of interventions from the social sci-ences and the humanities, as traced in Chapters 2 and 3, in response to the central raje of mediain modem societies. At a more specific level, different national cultures -in universities, in poli-tics, and in the media themselves -have produced a range of forms in which research and teach-ing are organized. The references in Box 11.1 cover some of these aspects.

Given its longer history as well as its centrality and resources generally, the North Americanresearch community has produced some of the more elaborate historical accounts (e.g., Oelia1987). At the same time, different accounts of the U.S. experience bear witness to quite differentconceptions of both historiography and politics. As such, they are instructive, not only regardingcontroversial issues within U.S. research, but al so for the writing of histories of the field else-where. The following references are indicative, both of relatively more administrative or criticalperspectives, and of their different sources in the history of ideas:

.Hardt 1992 -a monograph with review and discussion, emphasizing critical and interpretiveaspects of U.S. communication studies, and linking these to pragmatism and the widerintellectual history of the U.S.A.

.Oennis and Wartella 1996 -an edited collection with contributions from several of thecentral figures of U.S. research, including accounts of its roots in Europe and in ChicagoSchool sociology. In a review, Hardt (1999) found that this 'remembered history' by keyindividuals served more as a professional position statement than as an analyticalhistoriography, implying that it mar be a Whig history written from the still largelyfunctionalist perspective of the victors.

.Schramm 1997 -a retrospective account by the researcher who is normally considered tobe the central figure in institutionalizing communication studies in the U.S.A., supplementedwith perspectives supporting this conclusion, by Steven M. Chaffee and Everett M. Rogers.Hardt (1999), in his turn, argued that 'Wilbur Schramm had failed to forge a discipline,' andthat instead 'mass communication research was legitimated intellectually by the centrality ofcommunication in social theory and cultural studies' (p. 239).

Importantly, these interests are different in kind kinds of media research, and to clarify issues offrom, albeit related to, researchers' personal knowledge and power which have come to theconvictions and questions of how research is tole in recent decades.funded or situated institutionally. The category The concept was formulated as such byof knowledge interests provides a framework Habermas (1971 [1968]), who distinguishedfor examining the relationship between social three types of knowledge interest. Each is asso-ends and scientific means in a more nuanced ciated with the characteristic subject mattersfashion than is often the case, for example, in and social functions of three faculties of study:accounts simply contrasting commercial andacademic research. Knowledge interests begin 1 Control through prediction. In the case ofto address the relative autonomy of different natural sciences, a central purpose of inquiry is

I

~"c",,'Ci,.c'~,~,,' .~

Media research as a' social institution 281

to be able to plan future activities in the material living conditions that are not oftheir own mak-world, in detail and with confidenceo Predictions ing. (Media example: Participatory models ofand hypotheses make for human intervention communication.)into nature under controlled circumstances.By developing and accumulating criteria for These three forms of knowledge interestanticipating physical, chemical, and biological must be understood as ideal types that are sub-phenomena and processes, the modero sciences ject to variation and combination in scientifichave mastered the natural environment to an practice. However, Habermas (1971 [1968])unprecedented degreeo This has facilitated the further argued that the different methodologicalhuman management of resources, time, and and theoretical requirements do not transferspace as well as extensive social planning, well from one domain of research to another.notably in agriculture and industrial production. In particular, he concluded that the emancipa-(Media example: Quantitative surveys predict- tory potential of social sciences tends to be losting the preferences of audienceso) if one imports, and gives priority to, the 'techni-

2 C " d d ' I h h cal' knowledge interest of the natural sciences.ontemplatlve un erstan mg. n t e uman- Th ' f '1' f d '

o ..e argument IS ami lar rom some me laItles, scholarshlP has revolved around cultural h h. h h d . d d.f f . h. h b. d researc WIC as eplcte au lence surveysorms o expresslon w IC are su jecte to ., ..

l ... hr h .and televlslon meters as (quantltatlve) means ofcontemp atlon -mterpretatlon t oug mtro-

I I I ( An 1991). A h . k f, Id b cu tura contro e.g., g .spectlon. est etlc wor s, or one, cou e I .. h o

h h I.t IS Important to emp aslze t at t e e ementunderstood as ends m themselves that should f .. d f II f h l .o I...o crItique oes not o ow rom t e po Itlca -be analyzed for thelr mherent meamng and.I H ' .

I f, h . h b Ideologlcal attltude of the Individual researcher.va ue. Istonca events, or anot er, mlg t ear Wh '1 . h ..

.o I e a commltment to t e emanclpatlonwltness to unIversal, even eternal aspects of the f ' fi ' ..

11b ho .., .o specI c socloeconomlc groups WI e t ehuman condltlon, even If the rehglous overtones . I l .. h d " .

ff l . h d II b d typlca persona motlvatlon, t e Istmctlve ea-o contemp atlon ave gra ua y een own- .., .

1 d B d ... h . ( )0 tures of cntlcal research are found m Its prac-p aye. y Issemmatmg t elr re mterpreta- ... l . d . h .... f 1 d h.. d bl ' tices, Its eplstemo ogles, an m t e mstltutlonstlons o cu ture an Istory to a WI er pu IC ,. .

o .' ensurmg ItS relevance to the rest of SOCletyohumamstlc scholars carne to serve, not least, as A .,

I d h dh.o o competent CrItica stu y, tus, a eres sys-the professlonal keepers of cultural tradltlono . II . I h d I .

I d.o ..tematlca y to partlcu ar met o o oglca an(MedIa example: Quahtatlve textual studles ex- h . I h h I 'k I h00 ...t eorenca approaces t at are ley to aveplormg media representanons of social reahty.) .. I C " I h .

an emanclpatory potenna o finca researc IS3 Emancipation through critique. If the natllral al so concerned with rese~rchable, rather thansciences procured the material and collective merely debatable or normative issues.bases of modero society, whereas the humanitiesaddressed the individual's life experiences, the

S t f h, o .ec ors o researcsocial sclences were called upon to examInematerial as well as experiential, collective as well The different intellectual currents which mar beas individual conditions of sociallifeo While this summed up, for convenience, as knowledgeambiguous status is in evidence in the two para- interests are found to varying degrees in thedigms of media research, ~ Habermas suggested social institutions and sectors that perform orthat social-scientific inquiry does have a distinc- reir on media research. From the early begin-tive knowledge interest, at least potentially, nings of the field, an awareness of the differentnamely emancipation. By performing a critique purposes of research has been reflected in itsof the prevailing forms of social organization, terminology. The classic distinction was intro-and by clarifying alternatives, the social sciences duced by Lazarsfeld (1941):can promote the emancipation of humans from

.Administrative research refers to the kind of..two paradigms oí media research -Chapter 15, goal-oriented and instrumental studies whichp. 255 resolve specific issues, typically for the purpose

~

282 Social originsand uses of research

of planning some media production or activity. mental interests might narrow the theoreticalStudies in this vein 'solve little problems, gen- scope of projects, curtail their later uses, and,erally of a business character' (p. 8). in the long term, undermine the intellectual.Critica! research addresses the wider soci- freedom of researchers to choose their researchetal, cultural, and historical issues of mediated questions and methods. Readers of the last. sen-communication, often in a reception perspec- tence of Lazarsfeld's article mar have felt con-tive, from which 'the public interest' mar be firmed that critical research was being assignedassessed. Here, studies take up 'the general role the role of generating bright ideas to beof our media of communication in the present exploited (financially and ideologically) in thesocial system' (p. 9). administrative mainstream of research: 'there

is here a type of approach which, if it wereWhen Lazarsfeld (1941) described the critical included in the general stream of communica-variety of research, he did so, inpart, under the tions research, could contribute much in termsinfIuence of the 'first generation' of Frankfurt of challenging problems and new concepts

the Frankfurt School scholars who had fIed Nazi Germany useful in the interpretation of known, and inSchool for the U.S.A. While highly suspicious of the the search for new, data' (Lazarsfeld 1941: 16).

'culture industry' (Adorno and Horkheimer On closer examination, the t.wo varieties1977 [1944]) they encountered there, their exhibit similarities as well as differences, andresponse went beyond a normative rejection. have combined in various research traditionsOne of the points that they introduced to media and organizations. Both reir on qualitative asstudies was an analytical, Kantian notion of well as quantitative methodologies. (The mar-critique that seeks to explicate the conditions ginalizing of qualitative studies as preliminaryof belief, which are themselves one of the con- pilots, perhaps surprisingly, seems more preva-ditions of the social status quo (Hammersley lent in academic contexts.) In both cases, more-1995: 30). By reflecting on the media as they over, projects mar be reactive or proactive, reactive andnow exist, and by uncovering alternatives, crit- evaluating what already is, or shaping what is proacti~eical studies outline what might be. In this not reto Critical projects can be the most instru- researc

regard, Lazarsfeld recognized the creative, mental of all, since they design research ques-theoretical potential of critical research. Haber- tions and methods, for example, to exposemas, who is normally seen as the main repre- inequalities in the availability of communica-sentative of a 'second generation' of the Frank- tion resources, or to develop such resources.furt School, in bis turn specified critique as one Recently, researchers within cultural studiesof several knowledge interests. have advocated more focused social uses of this

When making the distinction bet.ween criti- tradition in policy contexts (Bennett 1992), andcal and administrative research, Lazarsfeld a greater reliance on quantitative evidence as(1941) found that the t.wo types, largely syn- well (Lewis 1997).onymous in bis description with basic and .In all cases, research projects and their find-applied research, could and should cross-fertil- ings should be assessed with some reference toize. His own accomplishments, centered in the their social infrastructure -their funding, organ-Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia ization, time trames, and anticipated uses -University, seemed to suggest as mucho In addi- over and above their theoretical models andtion to early 'milestones' in media research, he methodological approaches. This infrastructureand bis collaborators pioneered several general conditions the reflexivity which researchersapproaches, from the panel methodto focused mar exercise on behalf of themselves, theirinterviewing. Many critical researchers, how- colleagues or clients, particular sociopoliticalever, including European expatriates who, like constituencies, or the public at large. DespiteTheodor Adorno, found a temporary borne in national and cultural variations, it is possibleBureau projects, were highly unsympathetic to to identify certain main types of media researchthe implications of administrative research institutions, as displayed in Figure 16.1.(Delia 1987: 52). Commercial andother instru- A central divide separates private enterprise~

Media research as a social institution 283

Commercial University Independent Documentationcompany department research institute center".".

,.".Funding Income from Public funding Commercial income Commercial income

clients and/or public and/or public

funding funding

Organization of Management Autonomous Board of trustees Board of trusteesresearch activity hierarchy researchers and management and management

within hierarchy hierarchycollegialgovernment

Time trames Days to years Years to decades Days to decades Years to centuries

Anticipated uses Strategic Description Descriptive as well Description andof results planning and and critique of as proactive documentation of

product past and analyses media contentsdevelopment present media and uses

forms

Examples Marketing Media studies Research bureaus Archives withsections; departments; and ad hoc centers; proprietary and/orAdvertising Schools of Thinktanks public (museum)agencies; communication accessConsultancies

Figure 16.1 Types of media research organization

and public service, also in the world of research. 'state' and 'market' and attracting clients fromThis is suggested by the first two types -uni- both sides of the divide. The fourth type -doc-versity departments and cornmercial companies. umentation centers -has more commonly beenAlthough reliable measures of the relative size associated with historical, arts, and otherof each of these main sectors are difficult to cal- humanistic archives than with empirical re-culate, it is safe to say that commercial projects search on contemporary culture and societyoutdistance academic ones in terms of both (although some film institutes have filled thisfinancial resources and the number of single role). At present, such entities are gaining impor-studies. Any simple divide between public and tance, both as a strategic resource in media pro-private research, however, is complicated by the duction and planning, and as support for thefact that university departments, in many coun- affiliated research activities. ~tries, increasingly depend on cornmercial spon- (It is worth adding that public service broad-sorship to fund their research. Furthermore, casting and public domain research representcommercial research is frequently subcon- comparable conceptions of the social organiza-tracted outside the media organization in ques- tion and dissemination of knowledge. In bothtion, sometimes to academic institutions. The cases, knowledge is understood as a 'publicresearch entities of public service media occupy good' (Samuelson 1954), in relative autonomyan additional middle ground. from market forces. In the case of broadcasting,

The third type -independent research it is this understanding that has been challengedinstitutes -has been a staple feature of mediaresearch since Lazarsfeld's Bureau, avoidingsome of the negative connotations of both ..museums and archives for media research -p. 285

,,~ j

---

284 Socia! origins and uses of research

under the heading of deregulation (see, e.g., house as well as cornmissioned research toBlumler and Gurevitch 1995; Garnham and support their business. Studies address not only organizational

Locksley 1991).) audiences, but also the internal development of co~muni-catlonIn the end, it is the different time trames content and the strategic placement of the

which, most of all, distinguish the social roles of organization in relation to competitors, regula-each type of research organization. Whereas tors, and the general public (e.g., Grunig 1992).commercial projects typically are scheduled 2 P bl' , ' c d h 'fi' , u IC pJannmg. ampare to t e specI cfor short-term Instrumental purposes, acadeffilc 1, ' f d ' b ' bl ' 1, d' " po ICles o me la USlnesses, pu IC po ICY e-studies mar suggest a course of actlon In the 1, h 1f k ' h. h d ', Ineates t e genera ramewor In w IC me la(very) long termo If research IS defined surnmar- A ' 1 f ' fl f d '" operate. typlca arena o In uence or me laily as the representatlon of reahty for a purpose, h h b ' , k 1 d ', , researc ers as een commlsslon wor ea Ing statethe practlcal queStlon becomes when, where, and , d ' , . h ' h 1"

1 commissionsh h ' , d Sh d 1 Into ecIslons Wlt In t e po Itlca system, as

ow t IS purpose IS enacte. ort- an ong" , d b ' 11 f d d' sometlmes supporte y specla y un eterm purposes mar also be expressed In terms of d' T l 'fy E ', , , , stu les. 10 exemp 1 , most uropean countneselther pohcy or pohtlcal uses of research. d ' h 1980 d 1990 .

dunng t e s an s wltnesse a greatdeal of commission work and research regard-

POllTICS VERSUS POllCY ing satellite and cable technologies and their

implications for public service broadcasting.Policy contexts , ,

3 Non-governmental orgamzatlons. BeyondPolicies are codified plans of action. The impor- and between the business and state contexts,tance of policy in both public administration citizens' groups, thinktanks, and other organi-and commercial companies is one structural zations regularly develop or advocate particu-consequence of increased complexity, internally lar media policies. They do so with a view notin modero organizations as well as in the only to legislative frameworks, but also to the

larger social contexto Collective and coordi- role of media, for example, in the educationalnated action requires deliberation and plan- system. In addition to commissioning research,ning, and, because of their scale and cost, the these organizations serve as audiences for polit-resulting policies further call for evaluation and ically motivated and socially concerned mediaadjustment. Both the nature of the deliberations studies.and the criteria of evaluation follow largelyfrom predefined organizational goals. Accord- It is not by coincidence that the three policyingly, policy research is focused within existing contexts correspond to elements in the domi-institutions, and on agendas ser by those insti- nant model of contemporary society, as laid outtutions. The arca has beengrowing since 1945, in Figure 1.3 -the spheres of private businesses,one key figure being the communication state agencies, and civil society. It is by engag-scholar, Harold D. Lasswell (e.g., Lerner and ing these institutions that research can address

evaluation Lasswell 1951). The expanding sector of eval- the structural conditions of meaning produc-research uation research mar be understood as one sub- tion. It is in these main contexts, for better or

variety of policy studies in this broad sense worse, that the future of mediated communi-(e.g., Partan 1990). carian is being shaped most concretely.

From its inception, media research has con-tributed to planning and evaluating the media's P l.t. I01 Ica processesperformance. Because these uses are relativelyfamiliar, they can be described more briefly A second ser of approaches to applying mediathan the following types. At least three policy research socially bracket present institutionalcontexts can be identified: agendas and look to the future. Compared to the

delimited contexts of policy, these approaches1 Business administration. Within private shift the emphasis toward less well-defined,enterprise, practically all media employ in- but potentially more far-reaching processes of

i

.J

~

Politics versus policy 285

change. (As in the case of policy contexts, both self-reflexivity of media, as they address issuesqualitative and quantitative methodologies are such as political 'spin doctors' or lifestyleof relevance for such political processes.) advertising. In a case such as the public jour- public

By insisting on the autonomy of the research nalism movement in the U.S.A., a more ambi- journalism

institution, and by resisting a hegemony of tious aim has been for research to support aother institutionallogics, much academic work reinvigoration of both the press and politicalmar be said to adopt a long-term strategy of participation (for an overview and referencesinterchange with other social institutions. In see Haas 1999).some cases, the strategy entails the countering. o .

f ofi l o o oh I o l o o I .MedIa educatlon. Beyond thelr own gradu-o specI c po Icles Wlt a ternatlve po Itlca

o o F I do d .ate and undergraduate students, media andvlewpomts. or examp e, me la stu les mar o o o

h h"dd k I d d o commumcatlon researchers have contnbuted toexpose t e I en or unac now e ge mterests .o .o o

f oh o I l o o I the democratlzatlon (or relatlvlzatlon) of theo elt er commercla or government po Icles. nho d d " d " d o cultural standards and 'texts' of curricula at

t IS regar, aca emlc me la an commumca- "o h f h 1 " most educatlonal levels. In addition, the field

tlon researc ers carry on aspects o t e c aSSlC, ." I I o o I I f h o 110 o (M h " has been successful, m a number of countries,crItica ro e crItIca ro e o t e mte Igentsla ann elm" o , o 'o

, , of t~e 1976 [1922]: 136-146). I~ argumgo the need for a component of medIa medIa Ilteracy,ntell,gentsla C (1991) h od ofi d " 11 I hteracy' m general education (Masterman

orner as I entl e two mte ectua o o o oo o d" h " o II 1985; Messans 1994; Potter 1998). Thls IS m

proJects m recent me la researc , orIgIna y ooh" . I o b " h I I splte of the fact that the exact purpose and

Wlt m receptlon ana YSIS, ut Wlt equa re e- o.f h f d O h placement of medIa educatlon (as a separate

vance or ot er afeas o stu y. n t e one "h d h fi Id h h b o d subJect or within other subjects) remain

an , t e e as suc as een commltte "O"t E lo h od I o h d debated. Wlth the mtrodUCtlon of computer-o n Ig tenment I ea s concermng t e emo- o" o o.

bl' " obOl O f blo k 1 d h h supported learnmg, a redefimtlon of (medIa) ht-pu IC cratlc accessl I Ity o pu IC now e ge t roug o o 10k Ikno lede " f eracy IS agam I e Y to occur. wog vanous actual genres. From propaganda re-proJect

search to decoding studies of news, an import- .Museums and archives. As suggested inant research question has been how well Figure 16.1, documentation centers constituteaudiences are able to process mediated infor- an increasingly strategic resource for mediamation, and to employ it in the political process. production as well as research. AIso from polit-On the other hand, the last couple of decades in ical and public perspectives, the preservationparticular have witnessed both textual and and documentation of contemporary mediaaudience research rehabilitating the value and pose important issues (Jensen 1993b). The

popular relevance of popular culture, especially fiction point is not only to enable future scholars toculture ( ) o d o ho

o genres. re wnte me la Istory, or to assess contempo-proJect

Compared to the policy contexts of rary research models and findings. Only if theresearch, its wider political arenas of influence breadth and depth of media, including theirare centered around the public sphere as a everyday uses and audience experiences, remainforum of social reflexivity and intervention. In available and documented -alongside the highaddition, the interventions of media research cultural forms that still reign supreme inaddress related institutions within, for instance, museums and archives (and among employededucation and politics: archivists) -will coming generations have the

possibility of assessing and learning from their.Public debate. Most generally and uncon- past, our presento The Payne Fund (Jowett ettroversially, media research contributes to (and al. 1996) and Mass Observation (Richards andoccasionally initiates) debates in the public Sheridan 1987) studies of the 1930s providedsphere, its political as well as cultural compo- indications of the kinds of evidence needed. Thenents (Figure 1.3). The contributions range challenge has been taken up in at least somefrom popular publications at the conclusion of recent work (e.g., Day-Lewis 1989; Gauntletta project to syndicated commentaries. In the and HiII1999).process, researchers mar promote the general

""'.'

"\ ---,

286 Social origins and uses of research

Standpo;nt ;ntervent;ons ' 1 f 'socia system ( or an overvlew see Levy 1992).

A third, heterogeneous group of research strat- Against such more traditionalist concerns, crit-egies -beyond policy and politics -are united ical researchers have reiterated that neither

by an explicit commitment to social and cultural 'professionalism' nor 'science' are innocent cat-change, perhaps on a revolutionary scale. This egories. Asante (1992: 141), for Que, has coun-is in comparison to the more reformist orienta- tered that the charge of 'political correctness'tion of the political processes reviewed in the represents 'a peculiar mixture of notions aboutlast section. (Beca use they tend to explore polit- freedom of speech, affirmative action, sexism,ical and epistemological alternatives, studies and the decline of white male privilege in a plu-here reir largely on qualitative approaches.) ralistic society.'

The orientation of these strategies might At least three types of interventions involvebe defined as being versus institutions -they a concerted commitment to social changenot only bracket social agendas, but actively through research.

oppose major social institutions and, occasion-ally, the very institutionalization of society. Feminist methodologyFurthermore, their analyses sometimes call for The term 'standpoint' has been related to standpointa radical break with the methodological and methodology and theory of science by feminist epistemology

epistemological premises of other research. A research, as elaborated especially by Hardingfrequent implication is that alternative social (1986). The point of departure is that all know-arrangements must be outlined through alter- ledge is produced from a socially situated stand-native epistemologies. As theorized most influ- point, and that the life experiences of women -

entially by Foucault (1972), this implication arguably silenced in much of the history of ideassometimes leads on to a stronger position of -provide a necessary corrective to other science.questioning the legitimacy of any and all forms Thus, feminism might enable a 'strong objectiv-of knowledge. ity' by allowing both women and mea to tran-

Within media research, it is especially the scend classic canoas of objectivism and to takecultural studies tradition~ which has advanced a (more) reflexive position in the researchthese issues and generated debate with other process (see also Alcoff and Potter 1993;

research traditions (e.g., Ferguson and Golding Harding 1987).1997). Since the 1970s, much work has taken Compared to the biological essentialism ofprevious social and culturalresearch to task for Irigaray (1997 [1977]) and others, standpointarticulating and promoting interests associated feminism represents an attempt to historicizewith the Western world, the economic middle the nexus between knowledge and power. Inclass, the political mainstream, and with a per- practice, however, the pendulum swings easilyvasive patriarchal mode of social interaction. to another extreme of 'sociological essential-One counter-strategy has been to treat know- ism.' Some writings seem to suggest that femi-ledge in the plural, also terminologically, ex- nism and other cognate traditions, standing onploring alternative 'knowledges' in the interest the shoulders of the disempowered, necesssar-of the disempowered. ily offer more insightful theories as well as

Some of these debates have crystallized in better empirical bases of change. In mediapolitical the notion of 'political correctness.' The impli- research, this tendency is found in work assert-

correctness .. h h I'ng th t d ..d 1catlon IS t at researc questions, findings, and .a , ~ompare to certam recogrnze c as-

explanatory frameworks are perhaps not being SI~S, ~t~dles of women's culture, of ethnicassessed by their scientific or professional mmontles, and of marginalized youth subcul-merits, but by their immediate relevance and roces not only have a contribution to make, butlegitimacy, for instance, in making up for past are unrecognized origins of key ideas regardingand current silences and injustices in the wider the place of media in everyday life (Drotner ~1996: 41).

, The orientation of feminist methodology

~ cultural studies -Chapter 2, p. 39 and epistemology is toward the very long termo '

Politics versus policy 287

By reshaping the research institution, feminist Given its disregard for other social practices,studies mar, in turn, help to reshape those other textual deconstructionism is most likely tosocial institutions that are affected by research. make an impact within the educational system,In doing so, feminist research links up with the which mar trickle clown or disseminate thewider feminist movement and its struggle for ideas. A second afea of impact is the mediaequal rights..04 themselves, where notions of postmodernism

have been widespread, and where programTextual deconstructionism developers have taken specific inspirations fromThis second position for change shares with deconstructionism (e.g., CaldweI11995).much feminism the ambition of challenging aunified concept of knowledge. Deconstruc- Action researchtionism, however, is almost entirely focused on A third type of intervention mar be describedtexts as the locus of both dominance and briefly as action research, although the tradi-change. Departing from poststructuralist theo- tion recognizes several participatory andries of discourse and postmodernist conceptions applied variants (for overviews see Greenwoodof culture,.04 many textual media studies oí, for and Levin 1998; Reason and Bradbury 2001).instance, film and television seek to expose Like the two positions above, action studieseither misrepresentations or reified representa- challenge established institutions, normallytions of reality. in cooperation with, or initiated by, interest

Neither empirical audiences, however, nor groups within the institution. Unlike the otherthe concrete social contexts in which texts take types, action research presents an operationaleffect, have much of a place in these studies. strategy for social change, for example, withinInstead, deconstructionist works mar be seen industrial democracy or community develop-to perform an interpretive reworking of media mento Ideally, studies become 'co-generative'texts, and to offer their reinterpretations to (Greenwood and Levin 1998: 109) by havingno constituency or context in particular. At 'everyday theorists'.04 as partners in the formu-least some key publications leave readers with lation of research questions as well as empiri-the impression of an inverse relationship be- cal strategies.tween quite revolutionary ambitions and less In media and communication studies, actionthan concrete political strategies (e.g., Kristeva research has apparently been less widespread1984). (For a critique of the associated termi- than in some other fields. However, 'develop-nology concerning the 'social construction' of ment communication' programs included somereality, see Hacking 1999.) involvement of the communities and cultures

Deconstructionism dissolves boundaries, that were end-users of the technologies beingnot only between text and reality, but between diffused..04 More recently, some communitythe text being studied and the study itself. Like media work (e.g., Jankowski 1991) and studiessome art criticism, media criticism in this vein of computer-mediated communication (e.g.,might be understood as another artwork in its Preece 1994) have relied on participatoryown right. The work of Richard Rorty has strategies.been influential by promoting a definition of Like other political and policy strategies,science as story-telling (e.g., Rorty 1979, 1998). these various 'standpoint' interventions leave aResearch mar be taken as one of many contri- number of political and epistemological ques-butions to 'the conversation of humankind.' tions to be addressed in future research prac-Some recent qualitative work has algo proposed rice and debate. To conclude, the final sectionto expand the range of genres in which science presents some of the additional practical astells stories (e.g., Denzin and Lincoln 2000). well as ethical considerations which arise in

..feminism -Chapter 2, p. 34

..poststructuralism and postmodernism -Chapter 2, ..everyday theory -p. 275

p.33 ..development cornmunication -Chapter 11, p. 179

288 Social origins and uses of research

RESOURCE BOX 16.2 KEY STUDIES AND REFERENCE WORKS FORINDIVIDUAL MEDIA

Books

.Vincent 2000 -a comprehensive overview of the development of literacy in modern

Europe. with reference to books and other media of communication. and to their social

uses;

.Radway 1997 -a recent study of books as a medium that continues to serve as a central

ingredient of popular culture.

Newspapers.Habermas 1989 [1962] -still an essential resource regarding the historical development

and current functions of the press;

.Schudson 1978 -a classic social history of the U.S. press. in this respect complementing

the European focus of Habermas;

.Curran and Seaton 1997 -a historical analysis of the British press, with many references.

Film.Andrew 1976 -a salid introduction to the main classic film theories;

.Mast et al. 1990 -an anthology of classical texts in film studies. covering the range of

traditions;

.Bordwell and Carroll 1996 -an important intervention contrasting cognitive and other film

theory.

Radio.Crisell 1994 -one of the first comprehensive introductions to an under-researched

medium;

.Hendy 2000 -another broad overview of the medium. including its changing technologies

and its place in, for instance. African and Latin American cultures;

.Scannell and Cardiff 1991 -an exemplary social history of radio. with implications for

current studies of broadcasting.

Television.Williams 1974 -the classic study which defined television (and radio) in terms of their

characteristics of 'flow';

.Ellis 1982 -a redevelopment of the understanding of television flow, and a comparison of

television with film, al so in terms of the audience experience;

.Newcomb 1997 -a three-volume encyclopedia and study resource on most aspects of

television.

Computer media.Mayer 1999 -a collection of key texts contributing to the definition and study of the

computer as a medium;

.Castells 1996 -a comprehensive analysis of the relations between information and

communication technologies and the social and cultural practices which they enable.

j

The social triad of research practice 289

planning both student projects and research Research subjects

programs. To begin with a seemingly trivial premise,

research subjects are just that -subjects. UnlikeTHE SOCIAL TRIAD OF RESEARCH rocks or books, subjects mar be harmed a greatPRACTICE deal, both socially and emotionally, by empiri-R h " b d d cal media studies. And, while self-determination

esearc practlce mar e un erstoo as a par-." " .." I k. d f I d " l ." IS the prerogatlve of any (research) subJect, It IS

tlCU ar m o ru e-governe socia mteractlon. "" " " .1 " I "" II the responslblhty of the researcher to antlclpate

t mvo ves, mmlma y:and prevent harm. Research competence thus

h h requires an awareness of ethical pitfálls, as.t e researc er. .h " /h P d t ( h f estabhshed m previous research, as well as

.IS er res on en s or ot er sources o"d ) empathy and respecto (Perhaps surprisingly,

evI ence. th "ty f 11 h organizations such as the International Associa-e commum o co eagues w o, sooner or

I t "11 th I "t f fi d " d tion for Media and Communication Researcha er, WI assess e qua I y o n mgs anf f " I d t and the International Communication Asso-

o pro esslona con uc .ciation have not developed codes of research

This triad operates across all the different ethics.) " " "sectors and intellectual cultures of media In prehmmary terms, the req\llrements marstudies. It cumulates a body of theory and evi- be stated as practical rules of thumb: 'Do asdence and it enacts the institution of research you would be done by' and 'Leave things ason a dailY basis. you find them' (Deacon et al. 1999: 385).

Most of this volume has, in the nature of The firs"t pri~ciple is. a varia~ion on the Kantian the categoricalthe matter, emphasized the researcher's per- categoncal Imperatlve, whlch accepts a stan- imperativespective as a professional and social subject. dard of conduct only if it amounts to aThe encounter with 'ordinary' people, and with reversible or general rule. The sec9nd principiecolleagues, presents additional and concrete specifies the right of research subjects to self-challenges and choices. Such encounters acutely determination. Researchers should not inter-involve the perspectives and rightsof others. vene proactively unless this has been part otan

A common denominator for researchers' explicit agreement as in, for instance, a~tionrelations with respondents and colleagues is research.

research research ethics (for an overview see Resnik Depending on the research question and theethics. politi~s. 1998). The category of ethics blends into concrete field of analysis, empirical researchers

morallty f I d"1 F" 'h 'b fpolitics: politics formulates rules of collective ace severa I emmas. Irst, arm mar e o

conduct in society, whereas ethics addresses different types, and mar only manifest itself instandards of individual conducto The ethics that the longer termo Although empirical mediaapply to a given domain of social activity, studies rarely become life-threatening, com-further, overlap with the more general stan- pared to, for instance, medical research, the dis-dards of morality that are prevalent in a his- closure of, for instance, documents concerningtorical period and cultural setting. product development from within a media

Some aspects of research ethics are codified organization mar produce significant losses,in legislation (as is politics and morality), and financially or in terms of legitimacy. Similarly,are subject to enforcement by legal as well as the publication of politically charged debatesexecutive authorities. Whereas the ethical and within focus groups without sufficient anonym-legal frameworks of media and communication ization mar result in participants losing socialresearch vary between countries, the main status or 'face' in their community.issues mar be laid out, as they relate to research Second, these two examples suggest howsubjects and the research community (see algo research subjects have different potentiallevelsDeacon et al. 1999: 365-387; Priest 1996: of vulnerability, and should normally be treated207-230). accordingly. In their reception study of women

-

~

290 Social origins and uses of research

viewing mediated violence, Schlesinger et al. result because readers of a report are able to(1992) exercised special cace in screening and identify a particular individual through adebriefing their respondents, some of whom rich, contextual description. In both of thesehad been physically abused in their own cases, the problem is not so much that the infor-lives. By comparison, in production and other mation is publicized. (Such problems ariseorganizational studies, informants are normally when information is proprietary, typically forapproached as representatives of an organiza- commercial reasons, and hence confidential.)tion or profession, who are aware of this role The problem is that the information can beand, to a degree, of the nature of research. linked to its original source. In fact, neitherNevertheless, ethical dilemmas algo arise qualitative flor quantitative methodologiesregarding what informarion should be provided depend for their explanatory value on suchor withheld in the attempt to complete a study. a link being made. From the researcher'sA case in point is the Glasgow University Media perspective, the source is of interest not as aGroup's undercover work within British tele- unique entity with biographical (and biological)vision (1976, 1980). characteristics, but as a social and cultural

A standard procedure in professional codes prototype, or as a representative specimen ofinformed of ethics is 'informed consent' (Resnik 1998: a social segmentoconsent 133). Its purpose is to enable subjects to agree From the sources' perspective, they have a

or decline to participate in a study. Their deci- right not to be associated with the informationsion should be based on information about the they offered in the context of research. Theircomponents of the study, its potential conse- right mar be understood as a 'reverse copy- reversequences for themselves, and its likely social right': the social contract of most media studies copyrightuses. Informed consent is one key element of implies that research subjects speak as types,the Nuremberg Code (1949), a ser of protocols not tokens -as anybody, not somebody. Thefor research on human subjects which was principies of reverse copyright, and of doubleestablished during the Nuremberg Trials on insight, can be understood as responses to theNazi war crimes that algo included scientific ambivalent status of media and other social andexperimentation. While debated as to its suffi- cultural research between nomothetic and idio-ciency and practical implementation, informed graphic research -between laws and cases. ~consent represents an important and applicable Analysis box 16.2 outlines a ser of guide-principie conceming what (not) to do with lines for empirical student projects, which algoresearch subjects. Compared to the procedure have relevance for the planning of larger

double-blind of 'double-blind' experiments in, for instance, research programs.and double- medical science (neither patient nor therapist

Inslght k h h . d b . dProcedures nows w o gets t e active rug emg teste, Th h .t" e researc commum yand who gets the placebo), informed consentmar be said to aim for a procedure of 'double Another ser of issues is located along the secondinsight' involving, ideally, both sides. leg of the research triad, which connects

In next reporting their studies, researchers researchers with their professional peers. Asconfidentiality face issues of confidentiality in general, and an abstract ideal, science calls for the completeand anonymity anonymity in particular. These issues mar be dissemination of all potentially relevant infor-

stated in terms of information and communi- mation among the intemational community ofcation theory. Most important, it is the ethical scholars. As an interested social practice,obligation of empirical researchers to preserve research requires that individual scholars weighrespondents' anonymity by withholding infor- this ideal against, for instance, anonymitymation. In quantitative studies, a potential requirements, but algo against more materialabuse is the recycling and recombination of considerations, such as intellectual propertyseveral datasets, so that individuals mar be tar-geted in subsequent marketing campaigns. In ..idiographic and nomothetic research -Chapter 15,qualitative research, harm is more likely to p. 255

The social triad of research practice 291

ANALYSIS BOX 16.2 TEN RULES FOR EMPIRICAL STUDENT PROjECTS

I First make sure to ascertain the rules and procedures in your social and cultural contextand academic institution regarding review of research involving human subjects,

2 Always treat the people under study as people, They are neither things nor texts, Astandard procedure for ensuring their rights and preventing harm is 'informed consent.'

3 Exercise caution and concretion, Be prepared to give up a question (or an entire study) if, incontexto it violates the ethical, cultural, or personal limits of the people involved, Beprepared to explain concretely the relevante of any question to informants and others,

4 Practice re(/exivity, The analysis of (cautiously collected and concrete) data begins in theempirical field, In qualitative as well as quantitative projects, supplementary evidente andnotes will support both the respectful use of respondents' contributions and theexplanatory value of later interpretations,

5 Safeguard the anonymity of people and the confidentiality of information throughout theresearch process,

6 Be honest about the sources of ideas informing a study and the contributions of peers indeveloping and conducting it.

7 A research report includes accounts both of process and outcome, and of successes andfailures in each respecto

8 Two key requirements of a research report are a systematic documentarían of evidente andan explication of the bases of theoretical inference.

9 Explore several different publicarían formats, including a means of feedback to the peoplecontributing to a study.

10 Consider what's next -further research, the social relevante of findings, and the possible

unanticipated consequences of the research,

rights and the protection of their own careers or not occuro Next, the basic criteria of ethicaltheir clientso The research community is itself a research include intellectual honesty in the pre-social system of checks and balances, privileges sentation of the sources of ideas, a completeand sanctionso The chief issues in this arca can accounting of successes and failures in databe reviewed with referente to the different collection and analysis, and a systematic docu-stages of the research processo mentation of evidence and the bases of theo-

Especially in academic research, an early retical inference (see Resnik 1998: 53-95). Anand decisive juncture is the approval of an overriding concern is the link between the con-empirical project by a national or institutional texts of discovery and justification,oo4 explicat-

institutional review board (IRB). In some countries, such ing and substantiating the relationship betweenreview boards approval is required before any study can be research as process and as producto

undertaken with human subjects, and officially At their conclusion, most research projectson behalf of a university. While debated along face a second review, typically in the form of athe same lines as the informed consent proce-dure, an initial review process provides some ...cont xt f d' d ' t ' fi t ' Ch pt 15e s o Iscovery an JUS I ca Ion -a er ,assurance that gross ethical misconduct will p. 258

292 Social originsand uses of research

peer review peer review -an anonymous (double-blind) communication research. A recent internationalevaluation by experienced researchers. This has example centered on the work of Noelle-been standard procedure in many fields since Neumann (1984) on 'the spiral of silence.' Thethe mid-twentieth century, and determines point is that if people perceive their views to bewhether a study will be published in major in the minority, as represented, for instance, injournals. Once again, peer review has been the the media, they are less likely to state theseobject of criticism, for example, for favoring views. As a result, they participate in a circleentrenched traditions. Still, the procedure pre- or spiral that is potentially vicious for democ-sents itself as one of the least worst alternatives racy. One of Noelle-Neumann's specific argu-in the inevitably controversial enterprise of ments has been that a predominance of left-evaluating the standards of research projects. wing views among German journalists andIn a next step, access to the empirical datasets media has helped to silence right-wing politicalof other researchers is a way of keeping the views in that country.research cornmunity critically reflective and in Noelle-Neumann herself has been quitedialogue. An example of debates arising from explicit regarding her right-wing political posi-such a secondary data analysis was Hirsch's tion and her work as a strategy adviser for the(1980, 1981) questioning of Gerbner and col- German Christian Democratic Party. An acri-leagues' cultivation hypothesis.'" monious debate, however, began when Simpson

Despite such specific conflicts, and despite (1996) drew attention to her apparent sym-stand-offs between qualitative and quantitative pathies with the Nazi party during World Wartraditions, it mar be concluded that media ll. Most centrally, Simpson linked her conclu-studies have entered the new millennium as a sions in the present with a ser of theoreticalfield in communication with itself. Certainly, assumptions and methodologies which were

culture wars what is sometimes denoted 'the culture wars' originally developed for her research during theover the aesthetic ideals of traditional Western war. In a similarly fierce response, Kepplingerhigh art has continued to occupy and occa- (1997) suggested, in essence, that the critiquesionally divide media studies. Moreover, 'the was ad hominem. His counter-argument was

science wars science wars,' which flared up following Alan that the quality of methodologies as well as find-

Sokal's hoax in a 1996 paper (reprinted in ings can be judged independently of their his-Sokal and Bricmont 1998) -the publication of torical origins and contemporary applications.a deliberately nonsensical article in a major This particular debate mar be especiallyjournal in order to expose the lack of scientific controversial and painful against the back-rigor in postmodern cultural studies and related ground of world war atrocities. However, thetraditions -have been in evidence in some of underlying questions are of a general nature.the political and epistemological debates out- They concern the relations between knowledge,lined in this chapter. In both types of 'wars,' interest, and power. They have no simplehowever, some of the most vehement interven- answers, and will require continuous engage-tions have originated within the traditions in ment in media studies.question. Morris (1990), for one, put culturalstudies on trial for its banality, its solemn THE END OF COMMUNICATIONtextual paraphrasing of the fact that culturesand societies are complex and contradictory The political and epistemological issues ofphenomena. Ritchie (1999), for another, ques- 'doing research' mar be summed up in a fantasytioned the validity of much survey and other involving two key figures in American sociol-quantitative research because of its ambiguous ogy: C. Wright MilIs and Paul F. Lazarsfeldconcepts of 'probability.' (cited in Gitlin 1978: 223). The first sentence

Intellectual conflict with social implications of Mills's The Sociological Imagination (1959)is part of the ongoing business of media and reads, 'Nowadays men often feel that their

private lives are a series of traps.' The fantasy..cultivation research -Chapter 9, p. 15 imagines Lazarsfeld as replying: 'How many

l

:

The end of communication 293

men, which men, how long have they felt this What Habermas carne to neglect is the fact thatway, which aspects of their private lives bother all communication inevitably comes to an endthem, do their public lives bother them, when (see further Jensen 1995: 185-191).do they feel free rather than trapped, what Political democracy is a case in point. Askinds of traps do they experience, etc., etc., etc.' suggested by Schudson (1997), it is necessary

What these two different scientific and to distinguish between 'sociable' and 'problem-

political temperaments arguably share, never- solving' communication in modern societies.theless, is a realization that research responds 'As far as democracy is concerned, the responseto contemporary concerns and realities. Mills's to the familiar rhetorical question, "Can't wesweeping statements and Lazarsfeld's more just talk about it?", should be: No' (Jensenmundane operationalizations both assumed 2001: 94). It is the conclusion of mediated com-that, by describing and interpreting social and munication and its regulated transformationcultural conditions, research can make a differ- into concerted social action that is the hallmarkence in social practice. of democracy, not an interminable process of

The orientation toward social action is communication. The end of communicationsomething that research shares with communi- serves the ends of democracy.cation. Both media research and mediated com- A similar argument mar be made for researchmunication have ends, whether explicitly or about mediated communication. Researchimplicitly. This realization is an important inevitably comes to an end. The end of thecorrective to one of the most influential con- research process is the beginning of other socialtemporary theorists of cornmunication, Jürgen practices. By keeping itself aware of its origins,Habermas. Following his early historical work, its uses, and its potential unanticipated conse-Habermas's (1984 [1981]; 1987 [1981]) later quences, media and communication researchtheory of communication carne to insist on an can finally claim the status of a scientificallyabstracted 'ideal speech situation' as the source mature and socially relevant field of study.of genuine human interaction and insight.

'/;.)

~~Bit::,1Jí) jt¡[[,~.. /';"11

'~!.'.I,

" ., "c

~~:"_Cc."~-~" ,."",."...",.c,"'"~~ ,:!;