22 и 24 мая состоятся лекции профессора Университета Вебстер (Вена, Австрия) Михаэля Фройнда (Michael Freund)

22 мая 2013 г., ауд. 219 

10.10 – 11.40: "Fake News – The Rise of Comedy TV as a Source of Information among US Audiences" 

Over the last decade, there has been growing dissatisfaction among American audiences with the mainstream news. In addition to print in decline (and therefore decreasing as a trusted source of infoemation), broadcast news, especially the big networks, have modified their evening program to deliver fewer hard-hitting reports and more „soft“, human-interest stories. Enter the comedians and the partisan commentators. They appeal in particular to a younger, more highly educated audience (e.g. students). They combine satire, comedy and a serious intention to deconstruct or unmask what goes on in the regular news shows. This works to a good extent through quoting the original material and commenting on it. The effect: learning how to “read” the news and how not to take reporting and commentaries at face value. Visuals: Excerpts from The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and other critical or “fake” news shows. 

11.50 – 13.20: "A New Czar? A New Right? A New World Power? – The View of Russia in Selected Western Media" 

This lecture is not directly part of Professor Freund's research agenda, but a general presentation of his views as a print journalist concerning the subject. It will be based on archival records, interviews and an historical overview of the image of Russia in Austria (as part of former Western Europe, though officially neutral). A guest discussant who can contribute a critical Russian perspective is invited (confirmation pending). 

11.50 – 13.20: "The End of Quality Journalism? – An Analysis of Newsreporting by Print and Broadcast Media in the Digital Age"

 Basis of this lecture are the Pew Report on Excellence in Journalism (2013), the Columbia Journalism Department Report on The Future of Media (2012), and personal observations about the changes in newsreporting. The changes discussed are part of a global development, i.e. the shift to a digital/online of communicating, doing business, receiving information, entertainment etc. In this respect, the media are similarly concerned everywhere in the more developed world (and probably in all other countries too). At the same time, there are national and regional differences as far as the markets, the laws, Internet use and media consumption habits are concerned. Within this context, quality journalism has many options. Some of them will most likely help it survive. The question is, which ones? No one knows, everyone wants to know. A young man interviewed by The New York Times a few months ago said: “If the news is that important it will find me.” Since then, media managers and publishing executives have been trying to figure out how to find the young man. Excerpts from Page One, a video documentary about the workings of The New York Times , may be shown. 

14.05 – 15.35: "Is Cable TV the New Hollywood? – The Wire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad etc: The Migration of Talent to Very Long Visual Epics on Television" 

How and why is high-level entertainment moving from movie theaters to the tube? In the US, increasingly also in Europe, and probably beginning in Russia and other Eastern European countries, money and talent (producers, directors, scriptwriters, actors) have used television as a channel for a fairly sophisticated creative output. It began with cable channels such as Home Box Office (HBO). Freed from the constraints of the networks (commercials, moral limits etc.), they produced more “adult” programs for people who were willing to pay for it. Although one of the first series to receive this kind of fame, The West Wing , was still produced for network TV (NBC), its producer and writer later moved his productions to cable TV. Movie directors and scriptwriters like Martin Scorsese began to work for series such as Boardwalk Empire. Mad Men brought the world of sixties advertising to life with a stylish production, intricate plots – and intelligent references to the political and media spheres then. Girls is a much more realistic and gritty follow-up to Sex and the City – and there are several more examples (which I would like to coordinate with what has been aired in Russia). Visuals: DVD excerpts of several new TV series. (supplied by lecturer) 

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