Category: Paper

By Thomas Birkner | The interrelations and interactions between politics and the media have been broadly discussed in communication studies, and mediatization has become a popular and fruitful concept for empirical research. However, the concept of mediatization has not yet been applied broadly within journalism studies. This conceptual and theory-based article argues that the challenges that affect journalism today are interconnected with processes of mediatization, and the paper aims to integrate mediatization research into journalism studies. Therefore, this paper elucidates its argument in four consecutive steps. First, journalism is located in its interactive media ecosystem; second, the analytical concept of mediatization is explored, including the differentiation of its two main theoretical traditions – in German differentiated as Medialisierung and Mediatisierung. In a third step, the distinct traditions of mediatization are expanded and integrated into a matrix of mediatization. In a fourth step, the fields of the matrix are filled with already existing empirical journalism research, systemizing the interrelations and interactions between mediatized social systems such as politics, science, and sports and journalism and opening up perspectives for future research.

By Christina Fleischanderl | The data published in Germany’s annual police criminal statistics for 2022 leaves no room for doubt: In 80.3% of all cases of domestic violence, the victim was a woman. Intimate partner violence increased – it is clear who is the perpetrator and who the victim. But how should this violence against women be reported? This paper uses an analysis of national German and Austrian newspapers to determine the status quo of reporting on violence against women. Expert interviews provide insight into deficits and opportunities for improvement. Starting from the concept of constructive journalism and a frame analysis of selected articles, the paper goes on to develop recommendations for holistic reporting on violence against women, both in breaking news and in background reporting.

By Walter Hömberg | In early April 1899, a new magazine appears in Vienna. Its bright red cover shows an enormous torch in front of a silhouette of the city. In the introductory article, the editor underscores its combative approach: »The political ma­nifesto of this newspaper thus appears sparse; it has chosen as its theme not a sounding ›what we feature‹ but an honest ›what we kill off.‹« The editor of Die Fackel, Karl Kraus, is well known to press history experts to this day. Some revere him as the greatest satirist of the 20th century, a brilliant diagnostician of the time, a sensitive poet and clear-sighted playwright. For others, he is a merciless polemicist, a ruthless scorner, hopelessly egocentric, a know-it-all, a querulant and nest fouler. The Vienna literary man Hans Weigel gave this assessment: »His criticism was sacrosanct – criticism of him was lèse majesté.«