Law and the Media: The Future of an Uneasy Relationship

by Gies; Lieve

• ISBN13: 9781845681012
• ISBN10: 1845681010
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-02-01
• Publisher: Cavendish Pub Ltd

Summary

This book introduces readers to the study of law, media and popular culture by identifying four specific areas in which there is scope for further development. In its current state, the literature predominantly focuses on crime, neglecting the way in which the media portray less spectacular, more run-of-the-mill legal topics. Secondly, it is primarily fiction that has captured scholars' attention, with remarkably less attention being paid to representations of law (other than crime) in factual media. Thirdly, textual analysis continues to be the preferred method in the study of law and the media, which accounts for the lack of audience research determining how people actually interpret popular images of law. Finally, the literature is dominated by a fear of corrosive media effects, while the potential of the media and popular culture to improve public legal knowledge, facilitate access to justice, and promote legal change remains largely undocumented. The book critically re-examines the assumptions underpinning existing research and suggests a range of alternative foci that are applied in the shape of three original case studies featured in the second part of the book. The book argues that the study of law, media and popular culture should be embedded in the sociology of everyday life. It draws on media and cultural studies for a more production-oriented approach to the study of media representations of law, including the role of audiences in the production of meaning. The book also seeks to understand the often uneasy relationship between law and popular culture from specific socio-legal perspectives, including systems theory, semiotics of law and legal pluralism.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Journal acknowledgements	p. xi
Anatomy of a troubled relationship	p. 1
Pillars of (received) media wisdom	p. 1
Everyday life and the popular, or, understanding the mystery of the Italian traffic lights	p. 4
Case studies	p. 6
Making method and theory matter	p. 8
Law and the media spectacle	p. 11
The quicksand of terminology: public and media	p. 13
Overview of book content	p. 16
Media, everyday life and legal consciousness	p. 19
Introduction	p. 19
The conceptual framework of law and everyday life	p. 20
Theories of the quotidian: a brief sketch	p. 20
Law and the rationalisation of everyday life	p. 23
Legal consciousness	p. 26
Media, legality and identity	p. 29
Conclusion	p. 35
Reality TV and the jurisprudence of Wife Swap	p. 39
Introduction	p. 39
Reality TV and everyday life	p. 41
Law and reality television	p. 43
Wife Swap	p. 46
Wife Swap as watercooler TV	p. 46
Renegotiating the sexual contract	p. 48
Wives at war	p. 50
Rule changes	p. 52
Promoting traditional womanhood?	p. 53
Conclusion	p. 55
Method, audience and social practice	p. 57
Introduction	p. 57
Studying law and popular culture: method and reflexivity	p. 59
From passive dopes to the active audience	p. 61
Cultural studies: crisis and critique	p. 65
Capturing the wider picture: the 'holism' of media practices	p. 68
Conclusion	p. 71
Cultures of legal self-help	p. 73
Introduction	p. 73
Legal self-help in mass media	p. 75
Self-help as a lifestyle choice	p. 75
'There is life after a break-up': a case study	p. 78
Legal self-help and cyber-advice	p. 80
The internet and the delivery of legal services	p. 80
Online legal self-help forums: lawyers as lifestyle experts?	p. 83
Users-turned-experts	p. 86
Conclusion	p. 88
Law and the media: liberal and autopoietic perspectives	p. 91
Introduction	p. 91
Liberal media doctrine	p. 92
The glorious 'Fourth Estate'	p. 92
The interdependence of legal institutions and journalism	p. 94
Bias and legitimacy	p. 97
Law and media as autopoietic systems	p. 99
Truth and autopoiesis	p. 99
The 'make-believe' worlds of law and the mass media	p. 102
Media threats to law's autonomy: dedifferentiation	p. 106
Conclusion	p. 108
Press judges and communication advisers in courts	p. 111
Introduction	p. 111
Judges under pressure: problems and solutions	p. 113
The emergence of the press judge in Dutch courts	p. 115
A transmission or orientation role?	p. 119
Pre-emptive strikes and embattled empires	p. 125
Law and the media: in whose favour are the scales tipping?	p. 129
Collapsing boundaries?	p. 129
Technological futures	p. 131
Everyday legal experience: from public confidence to public participation	p. 134
(Inter) disciplinary futures	p. 137
Notes	p. 141
References	p. 151
Index	p. 163
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