Dresden
The first session of the 56th annual International Communication Association conference has started now - and as always I'll do my best to report what I see. There may be some delays in getting this out, though - surprisingly, it looks as if the only Internet access made available here to conference delegates is by way of a handful of machines in the Cybercafe. No wireless - a very disappointing start to this event... I should also note that of course there's a plethora of papers being presented here - so what I cover may not at all be representative for the conference as such.

Investigating Arts Journalism

Gemma Harries and Karin Wahl-Jorgensen start with a study of the self-understanding of arts journalists. This is based on in-depth interviews with arts journalists in the UK, as a very specific sub-group of the journalistic profession. Indeed, arts journalists see themselves as a group somewhat distinct from mainstream journalists - they feel they are better than regular news reporters, especially in relation to objectivity and in the need to communicate the transformative nature of the arts.

They distinguish themselves discursively from mainstream reporters, but this also engenders a sort of anxiety and defensiveness amongst arts journalists; many of them, of course, work in temporary or free-lance positions. They hold a feeling that the arts are important and should receive more coverage, especially in comparison to celebrity and sports news; for them, the arts are definitely not soft news. The arts transcend normal news agendas and schedules, in their opinion; they are also seen as vital to the economy and of long-term historical relevance. Any requests to cover celebrity or pop star news are seen as anathema to these journalists' interests, and in fact this pushes arts journalists in a position where they need to state their disdain for 'low arts' or 'popular culture'; they are quite proud of this high arts status.

Further, arts journalists see themselves as more than mere reporters of fact - instead, they feel they are moral crusaders for the arts. Reportage seen from this angle need not follow traditional conventions of objectivity, and indeed arts journalists themselves often use quasi-religious metaphors to describe their work - they are arts evangelists. This also creates a kind of martyr status for these journalists; they see themselves as exceptional, as journalists-with-a-difference.

Iraqi Warblogging

Next up is Chad Tew, with a study of Iraqi warblogging which particularly focusses on Salam Pax - perhaps the obvious choice. He poinbts out the significant differences in the use of the Internet between the U.S. and Iraqi populations - the emergence of a Salam Pax was all the more significant given the much lower participation rate amongst Iraqi citizens. He rose to celebrity status in part because of this, but also because of his very good command of the English language and his good knowledge of Western culture, making his blog very accessible to Western readers. Further, Pax was able to build a good deal of connection through his social and mediated interaction with individuals and Western media outlets; later on, indeed, Salam Pax further branched out into newspapers, books, and documentaries, thus becoming an even more significant media phenomenon.

Chad now describes the development of Salam Pax's blog - a move from establishing the channel of communication by directly addressing his friend Raed to establishing his style of communication by adopting a relatively light tone, and further to filling in the back story to his persona as a secular, gay Iraqi of both Sunni and Shi'ite background. But as questions to his identity were raised, a crisis emerged, and Pax deleted most of his original postings, which today only remain in an archival format. Finally, Pax's true identity is revealed from the personal information he discloses over time. What this case study shows is the complex interaction between the technological features of blogs as a communication technology, and the social and medial aspects of the forms of communication employed by Salam Pax.

Beach Volleyball Coverage

Andrea Holt and Kimberly Bissell are next, studying the commentary and camera angles used in the coverage of women's beach volleyball uring the 2005 Summer Olympics. They point out the increased focus on a sexualisation of female athletes in the lead-up to the 2004 Olympics (focussing mainly on U.S. atletes here). Similar trends also emerged in women's football and women's golf in the U.S., with discussions about introducing more 'sexy' clothing.

In this, beach volleyball is particularly prominent - the clothing is already fairly skimpy, and the game moves and player interaction are similarly relatively sexualised, which has generated increased media coverage. But the trend also continues in other sports, if mainly in 'socially accepted' sports (gymnastics, figure skating, etc.) rather than those which are less traditional women's sports. Andrea and Kimberly did a detailed analysis of women's beach volleyball coverage involving the first-ranked U.S. team at the Olympics, and found that comments did not specifically gender-stereotype the athletes - there was only an overall focus on athleticism and power. On the other hand, though, camera angles were extremely sexualised - with a preponderance of close and tight shots on players and body parts, including especially clothing adjustments and shots depiting the players from behind. In other words, sexualisation appears through the visuals rather than the commentary.

Technorati : ICA2006, arts journalism, journalism, sports news, warblogging
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