The past decade hasn’t been kind to the media world, with regular mass firings of media staff and online media struggling to gain a foothold. Things will only get worse, and that’s a threat to the informed citizen.
Times are hard for the traditional media, but actually even harder for the new online media. For them, bare survival is a success in itself, new research suggests. This can have consequences for democracy.
Computer games have left their imprints on a variety of media. TV series such as 24 and Lost, and movies such as Inception and Lord of the Rings are clearly inspired by narrative techniques used in computer games.
The popular Danish TV series ’Borgen’ and ’The Killing’ are highly complex fictional series with elements of reality. This explains why viewers around the world prefer them to one-dimensional series without multiple layers.
Obesity among European pre-schoolers is hitting record levels. TV-watching and computer games should be replaced by active play, both at home and in the day cares.
Originally, the newspaper industry was designed to produce print newspapers. Today the same industry is built around companies that mediate and coordinate information, news and products.
In Oslo Courthouse, terrorist Anders Behring Breivik presents ideological references that bounce in all directions. The commentators might inadvertently construct a comprehensive ideology out of mishmash.
Researcher Lars Arve Røssland is charting the media’s coverage of the ongoing trial in Oslo of the right-wing extremist who killed 77 persons last summer. “This trial differs from anything the Norwegian media has ever encountered,” he says.
