Media and Values

by Morrison, David E.

• ISBN13: 9781841501833
• ISBN10: 1841501832
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-15
• Publisher: Intellect L & D E F A E

Summary

Media and Valuesinvestigates the moral performance of the media. Based on an exhaustive number of focus groups, surveys, and interviews with senior media staffers in the United Kingdom and Europe, this book charts the changing status of the media as a moral voice. The authors argue that television has lost the authority to espouse a single vision of the proper way to live, and instead reflects the norms of a variety of social groups. This groundbreaking volume addresses the lack of moral certainty reflected both in television programs and their audiences. "There are great riches here: from the interviews with senior media executives . . . to the discussion of popular television culture's celebration of celebrity."John Lloyd,Prospect "This profoundly original and learned book creatively illuminates citizens' moral reasoning about the media, culture, and government. A tour de force of nuanced interdisciplinary scholarship,Media & Valuesoffers wide-ranging insights into the responsibilities of the communication industry, the justifications and consequences of telecoms regulationand the nature of the good society itself."Robert M. Entman, J. B. and M. C. Shapiro Professor of Media & Public Affairs, George Washington University "This is a very important booka 'must read.' The intellectual scope is astonishing: the problem it addresses is quite crucialnamely the moral incoherence of the contemporary world and the way that this shows up in empirical research into individual attitudes/opinions/tastes/judgements. It is clearly a cumulative critical reassessment of the implications of research going back to the sixties. It's original, powerful, thoughtful and spot-on as a diagnosis of the times and the very real issues we confront today. A major piece of work."Paddy Scannell, Department of Communication Studies, University of Michigan

Author Biography

David E. Morrison is professor of communications research,
Matthew Kieran is a senior lecturer,
Michael Svennevig is a senior research fellow,
Sarah Ventress is a research officer, all at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Prologue	p. 1
Introduction	p. 9
The Philosophical Underpinnings
The Need for a Moral Language	p. 25
The Historical Context: The Moral Void
The Question of Regulation: The Absence of a Moral Language	p. 61
Cultural Contestation
Culture in Practice	p. 89
Moral Decline and the Rights of the Individual
What Constitutes Social and Anti-Social Behaviour? Views of Authority - Voices from Focus Groups	p. 113
What Constitutes Social and Anti-Social Behaviour? Views of Authority - Voices from Surveys	p. 155
The Transgression of Privacy
Privacy and the Construction of Self	p. 191
Interviewing the Industry
The Problem of Privacy	p. 207
The Public and the Private: The Self-Monitoring of Behaviour
Clarifying the Conceptual Problems	p. 259
The Idea of Privacy
What are the Limits of the Private? Voices from Focus Groups	p. 279
What are the Limits of the Private? Voices from Surveys	p. 341
Epilogue	p. 374
Appendix	p. 381
Bibliography	p. 389
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