Werktreue and Regieoper

Werktreue (faithfulness to the original) or Regietheater (director’s theatre) continue to be at the centre of discussion, in academia and journalism, of opera and theatre productions. Werktreue is defined as the extent to which the director is faithful to the original; related terms are traditional and orthodox. Regietheater is the apparent disregard for the original work: the director’s ideas in relation to the original work dominate production decisions; traditionalists are not able to see those decisions as resulting from, or as intrinsic to the work, but as superimposed arbitrarily on the work and thus artificial. Regietheater, however, is also considered as dynamic, associated with ideas, provocation and confrontation (Balme 43), whereas Werktreue can be regarded as a thing of the past, as fundamentalist in nature even if necessary for the discussion of opera and theatre (Balme 43). In the current debate, Regietheater and Werktreue are defined as binary opposites. This definition limits the usefulness of the concepts, rendering them unproductive and preventing further progress in understanding, and production practice, of opera and theatre. The chapter is designed to reassess the current definitions of Werktreue and Regietheater with reference to selected 2010-12 productions of selected operas by Wagner. The resulting new definitions of Werktreue and Regietheater will, in the short term, end the stagnation in research and production practice caused by the traditional definitions of these concepts. Medium and long-term impacts include the reinvigoration of innovative, rigorous and original research into the performance of opera and theatre, and the launch a new wave of imaginative opera and theatre production practice

What’s New about Whatsapp for News? A Mixed-Method Study on News Outlets’ Strategies for Using WhatsApp

Recent reports show that users increasingly use smartphone messenger applications such as WhatsApp for news. Media outlets have started to provide news via WhatsApp in addition to other platforms. In journalism scholarship, the routines of messenger app journalism are still little understood. Building on the Diffusions of Innovations theory, this paper explores whether newsrooms treat WhatsApp similar to other social media, which they have used for a longer period of time, or whether they have developed new practices that respect WhatsApp’s roots in mobile and interpersonal communication. Focusing on Germany as a case study and drawing on an analysis of 3745 messages sent to WhatsApp channels of news outlets and on an online survey of journalists working with social media (N=111), this study shows that journalists utilize the innovative possibilities of WhatsApp for news to a varying degree. While some characteristics of mobile communication are considered in news outlets’ strategies, engagement with the audience is often neglected. The results highlight the challenges for relational innovations in the editorial process

Gewaltbilder in den Medien: Vertretbar oder verwerflich? Argumentation in der Wissenschaft, unter Journalisten und beim Deutschen Presserat

Täglich erreichen Gewaltbilder aus der ganzen Welt die Redaktionen. Als Gatekeeper müssen Journalisten abwägen: Können, sollen, dürfen oder müssen wir diese Bilder zeigen? Entscheiden sie sich für die Publikation, wird ihnen schnell Sensationsgier unterstellt. Jedoch verlangt der journalistische Auftrag, auch in Bildern über Gewalt, Leid und Tod zu berichten. Die Journalisten stehen vor einem bildethischen Dilemma. Der Beitrag nimmt sich dieser Problematik an und fragt, welche Argumente für und gegen die Veröffentlichung von Gewaltbildern in den Massenmedien sprechen. Betrachtet wird dazu der bildethische Diskurs in der Kommunikationswissenschaft, unter Journalisten und beim Deutschen Presserat. In einem kurzen Exkurs wird auch die Haltung der (katholischen) Kirche eingegangen. Es wird deutlich, dass Kontext und Funktion von Gewaltbildern als entscheidende Faktoren für die moralische Angemessenheit der Publikation gelten. Dabei zeichnet sich ein Argumentationsmuster ab: Die Pro-Argumente berufen sich auf den gesellschaftlichen Wert von Gewaltbildern, die Contra-Argumente pochen mit Blick auf die Abgebildeten, deren Angehörige und Rezipienten auf den Schutz des Individuums. EnglishChristian Ströder/Nikolaus Jackob: Violent Images in the Media: Acceptable or Reprehensible? Argumentation in the Communication Sciences, between Journalists and at the German Press CouncilViolent images from across the entire world arrive daily at editorial offices. As gatekeepers, journalists must consider: Can, should, may we or must we publish these pictures? If they decide for publication they are quickly accused of sensationalism. However, the journalistic mandate also requires that violence, suffering and death be reported upon using pictures. Journalists are confronted with a pictorial-ethical dilemma. The following contribution addresses this issue and questions the arguments which speak for and against the publication of violent images by the mass media. Thereto, the pictorial-ethical dialogue within the communication sciences is considered, between journalists and at the German Press Council. In a short excursus the position of the (Catholic) Church is also looked into. It becomes clear, that for the moral acceptability of their publication the context and function of violent images apply as decisive factors. Thereby, a pattern of argumentation stands out: the pro arguments claim the societal value of violent images while the contra arguments insist in view of the depicted, their immediate family and users, on the protection of the individual

The past becomes the present : German national identity and memory since reunification

History and national consciousness are central to the creation and sustaining of national identity. Although much has been written on German national identity, there has been little examination of how the 60th anniversary of the Allied air campaign or expulsion of ethnic Germans are remembered from the perspective of the Germans as victims. Reflecting the changing status of the National Socialist past as it continues to affect the present, this thesis argues there were significant disparities between official and popular perceptions of national identity and memory. Presenting a focussed examination of current developments in German society and politics from a German perspective, this thesis examines why many in Germany have rejected a national identity based on a constitutional patriotism and collective atonement. Debates conducted by prominent intellectuals, journalists and academics in leading newspapers and magazines have been compared to statements from Ministers and official reports in order to ascertain the extent to which elite conceptions of national identity find resonance within Germany. Providing fresh evidence from periodicals, archive publications, eyewitness testimonies and books, this informative and arguably compelling thesis makes a significant and original contribution on how German history and identity are now being perceived and represented in Germany. Competing perceptions of the past and present warrant urgent recognition because so long as a disparate national identity and culture of remembrance continues there can be no effective reconciliation with either the German elite or with others. A greater understanding and recognition of the themes addressed however could not only encourage greater toleration, but also perhaps dispel the increasing sense of bitterness concerning recent aspects of the country's past.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo