Topical seminar on liquid journalism was conducted on May 4

07.05.2021

image-11-05-21-12-54.jpegThe third topical seminar, held on May 4, was focused on liquefaction processes in modern media industry. Basing on Zygmunt Bauman’s theory of liquid modernity, speakers collected empirical evidence to study current liquefaction trends in different media contexts.

The first to provide an insight into the context of this phenomenon was Professor Mark Deuze, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam’s (UvA), Faculty of Humanities, media expert with a vast experience as a journalist and media researcher. The scholar started by briefly outlining the essence of liquid modernity theory, which basically implies that the rate of change is faster than people can handle, leading to a state of permanent confusion, beautifully described as ‘permanent impermanence’.

After introducing the problem, Professor Deuze went on to specify the way such dynamics influences media industry and spoke about four trends observed on different levels. The level of industry is marked by the process of fusion, with traditional media industries, tech companies and telecom giants all merging into a single economic sector. Netflix, a global giant, being simultaneously a media provider and an original content producer, serves as an illustrious example of this new trend.

Referring to the next level, which is a level of organization, Professor Deuze drew attention to a two-way process of media concentration and media de-concentration, with companies constantly swallowing up and giving away at the same time, earning money through mergence and acquisition. The dominant trend observed on the level of production follows logically from the already outlined dynamics and consists in a big shift from producing specific content to becoming a part of global industry, without distinction between different types of media. The practical implication is that producers are supposed to make content for a variety of platforms at once, as it is likely to be streamed through different media channels, which means that the product should be extremely flexible and adaptive.

The last level discussed by Professor Deuze was a level of labour, whose dynamics reveal an increasing level of precarity, which is a huge problem faced by media workers. However, Mark Deuze advocates an optimistic stance, seeing an enormous potential in the current situation, and encourages media researchers to investigate the ways it can be turned to the benefit of independent media workers.

Concluding his speech, Professor Deuze outlined other research prospects, saying that it is crucial to investigate the ways to rapidly adapt to the ever-changing environment and mitigate the consequences of liquefaction-induced stress.

Discussion was continued by Doctor Anna Gladkova, Leading Researcher and Director of International Affairs Office at the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, vice-chair of IAMCR’s Digital Divide Working Group, IAMCR Ambassador in Russia and member of the IAMCR International Council. Doctor Gladkova presented more narrowly targeted research, studying the way liquefaction processes influence ethnic journalism. She emphasized that a crucial change of institutions is clear, since they all function in the fluid and ever-changing environment, influenced by the ongoing processes of digitalization, consolidation, etc. However, her study revealed that ethnic journalism can be characterized as rather stable compared to mainstream journalism, which can be explained due to variety of factors.

One of the factors contributing to stability of ethnic journalism is audience specifics, since the readership is mostly constituted by elderly people, who are not confident internet users and do not tend to favour changes. Other factors include digital divide, which certainly affects journalistic work in ethnic regions, impeded also by common challenges for ethnic media, such as circulation decrease, as well as strong involvement of the state, which is also likely to hinder natural development processes.

However, according to Doctor Gladkova, it is incorrect to say that ethnic journalism is not responsive to transformations, and a clear impact of ongoing processes can be observed in ethnic journalism, which, despite all the restrictions, evolves towards the digitalization, rise of new convergent platforms, and increased user participation. For instance, production and distribution processes are marked by a discernible trend towards a mixture of traditional and digital formats. In this context, ethnic journalism faces similar challenges as mainstream journalism: lack of digital skills, call for new professional competencies, which would allow adapting to new journalistic norms.

Concluding her speech, Anna Gladkova suggested several questions for consideration, which could contribute to planning further research on the topic. She invited future researchers to look into methods of assessing liquidity in ethnic journalism, as well as further investigate the concept of liquidity in ethnic journalism, with a special regard to factors and consequences.

The presentations triggered an academic discussion, with many interesting questions addressed to the speakers concerning their innovative researches. The Faculty of Journalism regards these meetings as a vital opportunity to exchange research experiences among prominent scholars from all over the world. Seminars are to take place every month; access is available to those registered in advance.