Page 351 - Kotnik, Vlado. 2018. Medijske etnografije: K antropološki imaginaciji medijev in komuniciranja. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem
P. 351
summary
of transitional social differentiation. At the core of fashion as a mode of so-
cial distinction is a ceremonialized and spectacularized display of cultur-
al differences within a society. Elites have been caught in the social obliga-
tion of constant invention of novelty, in order to create the necessary social
difference from the non-elite or the masses. Namely, difference itself has no
wider social value if there is no one to notice or desire it. This article meth-
odologically authenticates the conclusions through the analysis of specific
media perceptions and an ethnography conducted among actors on these
levels: producers of fashion as social distinction (the elite) vs reproducers of
fashion as social distinction (the media) vs consumers of fashion as social
distinction (the audience).
The mass media have a key role in the formation of perceptions and re-
production of territorial and imaginary borders and identities in areas pop-
ulated by national minorities. They were one of those agents that in the past
provided solid collective instrumentalizations to political, economic, eth-
nic, cultural and other borders and boundaries. The aim of the fourth study
The Media in the Eyes of a National Minority: Ethnography of the Slovenian
Minority Population in Italy as a Media Subject is therefore to identify, doc-
ument and comment upon certain aspects of the relation between the me-
dia and national minorities by taking into account the Slovenian national
minority living in Italy. The anthropological field method was used in or-
der to ensure appropriate ethnographic records for an analytical confron-
tation of perceptions. The aim of the analysis was to upgrade the results of
previous analyses of the Slovenian minority media by leaving the floor to
important minority players and by pointing out their reflections on the me-
dia production of “their minority”. The use of semi-structured interviews
undermined the myth about unified understanding of the phrase “com-
mon Slovenian media area” as a guarantee of prosperity or development of
the minority. Ethnography suggests that such a political phrase can con-
tribute only to more intense cross-border cooperation and communication
and not to actual national recognition of a minority.
The fifth study The Newspaper and Its Readers: Ethnography of a Local
Producer and Consumer Habitus introduces us into the discourse analy-
sis of the media ethnography of a concrete Slovenian newspaper, Primorske
novice, and its readership as well as users of other media. This study deals
with the problem of the unambiguous and complex social aggregate re-
lationship between newspapers and readers. The discussion is introduced
into the presentation with five exemplary studies and their main findings
351
of transitional social differentiation. At the core of fashion as a mode of so-
cial distinction is a ceremonialized and spectacularized display of cultur-
al differences within a society. Elites have been caught in the social obliga-
tion of constant invention of novelty, in order to create the necessary social
difference from the non-elite or the masses. Namely, difference itself has no
wider social value if there is no one to notice or desire it. This article meth-
odologically authenticates the conclusions through the analysis of specific
media perceptions and an ethnography conducted among actors on these
levels: producers of fashion as social distinction (the elite) vs reproducers of
fashion as social distinction (the media) vs consumers of fashion as social
distinction (the audience).
The mass media have a key role in the formation of perceptions and re-
production of territorial and imaginary borders and identities in areas pop-
ulated by national minorities. They were one of those agents that in the past
provided solid collective instrumentalizations to political, economic, eth-
nic, cultural and other borders and boundaries. The aim of the fourth study
The Media in the Eyes of a National Minority: Ethnography of the Slovenian
Minority Population in Italy as a Media Subject is therefore to identify, doc-
ument and comment upon certain aspects of the relation between the me-
dia and national minorities by taking into account the Slovenian national
minority living in Italy. The anthropological field method was used in or-
der to ensure appropriate ethnographic records for an analytical confron-
tation of perceptions. The aim of the analysis was to upgrade the results of
previous analyses of the Slovenian minority media by leaving the floor to
important minority players and by pointing out their reflections on the me-
dia production of “their minority”. The use of semi-structured interviews
undermined the myth about unified understanding of the phrase “com-
mon Slovenian media area” as a guarantee of prosperity or development of
the minority. Ethnography suggests that such a political phrase can con-
tribute only to more intense cross-border cooperation and communication
and not to actual national recognition of a minority.
The fifth study The Newspaper and Its Readers: Ethnography of a Local
Producer and Consumer Habitus introduces us into the discourse analy-
sis of the media ethnography of a concrete Slovenian newspaper, Primorske
novice, and its readership as well as users of other media. This study deals
with the problem of the unambiguous and complex social aggregate re-
lationship between newspapers and readers. The discussion is introduced
into the presentation with five exemplary studies and their main findings
351
