Topical Seminar on New Digital Technologies

10.06.2022

eeeee.pngNew topical seminar featured talks by Dr. Anna Krasavina (South Ural State University) and Dr. Daria Vyugina (Lomonosov Moscow State University).

Dr. Anna Krasavina spoke about storytelling as the most powerful communication tool based on narrative, which is further enhanced by immersive technologies. Storytelling and VR work together to capture imagination and appeal to emotion, acting in accordance with the primary mission of all media – social impact. Thus, the researchers are unanimous about the emergence of new VR-driven creative environment, which can provide key tools for creating empathy and thereby regulate social processes. However, current VR journalism projects are mostly of a pilot nature, and such technologies are yet to be adapted to the needs of journalism. VR is based on game principles and involves artistic methods, such as drama, which makes VR journalism a combination of three different areas in need for its own unique language.

Dr. Daria Vyugina theorized media space through Foucault’s concept of dispositive and the concept of digital space. Media dispositive stands for the environment in which media consumption occurs and should be conceptualized within the three-level framework: the extensional level describes rules that influence the environment people exist in, intentional level represents connected social technologies, while strategic level is focused on networks. Digitalization of media space implies adoption of platform approach when the main aim is to keep the platform running as a comfortable digital space for consumers, who are simultaneously content makers. Thus, media space can be defined as a digitally open space in which media company operates with no clear boundaries between producer and consumer.

The Dean of the Faculty of Journalism, RAE Academician, Professor Elena Vartanova thanked the participants and announced that topical seminar meetings will resume after the summer break.

Topical seminars are of utmost importance both for the integration of national research studies into international academic environment, and for the conceptualization of distinctive features of Russian media studies. The Faculty of Journalism invites everyone to sign up for the seminar and hopes that the issues, touched upon in the course of the event, will trigger productive scientific discussion.