In 2013, Marcus Bölz published a volume on football journalism in Germany. This work in media ethnography gave insight into the way sports journalism in regional newspapers is becoming professionalized and commercialized, given the media transformation, the crisis facing newspapers, and the audience’s fixation on entertainment/football.
reviewed by Julia Lönnendonker / “Gendering War and Peace Reporting” examines the role of gender in war reporting. Reporting on war has traditionally been dominated by men. The editors consider whether the increasing presence of women – both as war reporters and as actors in the military and politics – has changed reporting from the front and whether the female perspective has led to a greater focus on the victims of war, rather than the technical and strategic aspects that dominated in the past. continue to article
reviewed by Guido Keel / Journalists make mistakes, just like any other profession. But long-serving Mainz-based communication studies expert Hans Mathias Kepplinger believes that these errors are more significant than most. In his view, they contribute directly to the loss of trust in the media – a problem for a democratic society that relies on its citizens being able to trust the media. continue to article
reviewed by Konrad Dussel / When covering the history of broadcasting, most writers limit themselves to cultivating a niche that understandably attracts little attention outside its narrow boundaries. But with her prize-winning dissertation under the supervision of Frank Bösch, Anna Jehle has now written a book that deserves broader appeal. continue to article
reviewed by Katherine M. Engelke / Why should we listen to journalists? According to Matt Carlson, the answer to this question lies in their journalistic authority. Having found only superficial reference to this topic in the literature up to now, (cf. 3), Carlson addresses both it and another question – Where does journalism get its authority from? – in his book. continue to article
The numerous authors in the anthology “Journalistic genres” provide portraits of 36 of these different attitudes, approaches, methods and concepts of journalistic work. The designations they propose for these are introduced in an unusual way with significant deficiencies. Many of the approaches, intentions and functions also overlap. continue to article
Do the media deliberately hide negative facts about refugees and Muslims? Did they have reasons for painting President Putin as the bad guy in the Ukraine conflict? Are they the mouthpiece of some kind of elite and just taking the public for a ride? To find answers, communication studies researchers Irene Neverla and Volker Lilienthal presented 16 perspectives from academia and practice in a lecture series aimed at ordinary citizens at the University of Hamburg. They then brought these perspectives together in an easy-to-read volume: Lügenpresse. Anatomie eines politischen Kampfbegriffs [Lying press. Anatomy of a political battle cry]. continue to article
In their compact book Wirtschaft from the Basiswissen für die Medienpraxis series, Barbara Brandstetter and Steffen Range investigate the question of why business journalism is so unpopular. But the authors do much more than merely answering this question and providing tips for how to improve the situation. Instead, they provide a clear, concise map of business journalism in Germany. continue to article
In his dissertation Fotoreporter im Konflikt: Der internationale Fotojournalismus in Israel/Palästina [Photo reporters in conflict: International photojournalism in Israel/Palestine], Felix Koltermann examines the production conditions faced by Israeli, Palestinian and international photojournalists. continue to article
The idea of the ‘Nordic model’ has long been popular in debates on political, economic and social issues in continental Europe, and especially in Germany. Clear similarities are also seen in the media systems and the ways journalists are trained in those countries. The edited volume reviewed here also focuses on the education of journalists in line with an identifiable Nordic model. continue to article
