Creative Nonfiction in Social Science: Towards More Engaging and Engaged Research

The paper aims at identifying, explaining and illustrating the affordances of “creative nonfiction” as a style of writing social science. The first part introduces creative nonfiction as a method of writing which brings together empirical material and fiction. In the second part, based on illustrations from my ethnographic research of European “crisis reporters,” written in the form of a novel about a fictional journalist, but also based on a review of existing social science research that employs a creative method of writing, I identify several main affordances of creative nonfiction in social-scientific research. In particular, I argue that creative nonfiction allows scientists to illustrate their findings, to express them in an allegorical way, to organize data into a narrative, to let their pieces of research act in the social world, and to permeate research accounts with self-reflexive moments. I also discuss some apparent negative affordances: challenges that creative nonfiction poses to readers and to the institutionalized academic discourse. Finally, I suggest that writing about sociological problems in the style of creative nonfiction can help to produce more engaging and engaged texts, and I discuss the ethical implications of the approach

Što je na prvom mjestu – korištenje novih medija ili građanska participacija kroz nove medije? Preispitivanje uloge novih medija u građanskim praksama u Češkoj

The article discusses qualitative research on the mundane civic practices of some Czechs, with a specific focus on the role of new media. It works with a context-oriented approach in order to avoid media-centrism. Our research is focussed on the ways in which civic practices are structured by immediate and wider social and political contexts and how they are experienced by post-socialist citizens from villages and large cities. The role of new media and the place of civic practices in everyday life is analysed with respect to these contexts. The research based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 22 politically and publicly active citizens indicates that Czechs experience a similar crisis in relation to institutional politics as their counterparts in long established democracies and it reveals tell-tale differences between the social spaces of villages and cities both in participatory practices and in civic uses of new media. However, the study does not indicate a radical, new media-driven transformation of citizenship, rather it suggests subtle shifts in practices and a pragmatic mixing of face-to-face communication and traditional media (print, public address systems, noticeboards) with new communication technologies.U članku predstavljamo kvalitativno istraživanje svakodnevne građanske prakse dijela Čeha, s posebnim naglaskom na ulogu novih medija. Temi smo pristupili tako da smo se orijentirali na sadržaj, a ne na medije. U fokusu našeg istraživanja jesu načini na koje su građanske prakse strukturirane u užem i širem društvenom i političkom kontekstu te kako te kontekste doživljavaju postsocijalistički građani iz sela i velikih gradova. Uzimajući u obzir navedene kontekste, analizirali smo ulogu novih medija i građanske prakse u svakodnevnom životu. Istraživanje se temelji na polustrukturiranim dubinskim intervjuima s 22 politički i javno aktivna građanina, a pokazalo je da se Česi suočavaju sa sličnom krizom u institucionalnoj politici kao što je to slučaj i u starijim demokracijama. Istraživanje je također otkrilo razlike u načinu informiranja između sela i gradova, kako u participacijskim praksama tako i u načinima kako građani koriste nove medije. Međutim, istraživanje nije dokazalo da su novi mediji radikalno transformirali građanstvo, već je pokazalo da je došlo do suptilnih pomaka u praksi i do pragmatičnog miješanja komunikacije licem u lice i tradicionalnih medija (tiskani mediji, sustavi razglasa, oglasne ploče) s novim komunikacijskim tehnologijama

Što je na prvom mjestu – korištenje novih medija ili građanska participacija kroz nove medije? Preispitivanje uloge novih medija u građanskim praksama u Češkoj

The article discusses qualitative research on the mundane civic practices of some Czechs, with a specific focus on the role of new media. It works with a context-oriented approach in order to avoid media-centrism. Our research is focussed on the ways in which civic practices are structured by immediate and wider social and political contexts and how they are experienced by post-socialist citizens from villages and large cities. The role of new media and the place of civic practices in everyday life is analysed with respect to these contexts. The research based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 22 politically and publicly active citizens indicates that Czechs experience a similar crisis in relation to institutional politics as their counterparts in long established democracies and it reveals tell-tale differences between the social spaces of villages and cities both in participatory practices and in civic uses of new media. However, the study does not indicate a radical, new media-driven transformation of citizenship, rather it suggests subtle shifts in practices and a pragmatic mixing of face-to-face communication and traditional media (print, public address systems, noticeboards) with new communication technologies.U članku predstavljamo kvalitativno istraživanje svakodnevne građanske prakse dijela Čeha, s posebnim naglaskom na ulogu novih medija. Temi smo pristupili tako da smo se orijentirali na sadržaj, a ne na medije. U fokusu našeg istraživanja jesu načini na koje su građanske prakse strukturirane u užem i širem društvenom i političkom kontekstu te kako te kontekste doživljavaju postsocijalistički građani iz sela i velikih gradova. Uzimajući u obzir navedene kontekste, analizirali smo ulogu novih medija i građanske prakse u svakodnevnom životu. Istraživanje se temelji na polustrukturiranim dubinskim intervjuima s 22 politički i javno aktivna građanina, a pokazalo je da se Česi suočavaju sa sličnom krizom u institucionalnoj politici kao što je to slučaj i u starijim demokracijama. Istraživanje je također otkrilo razlike u načinu informiranja između sela i gradova, kako u participacijskim praksama tako i u načinima kako građani koriste nove medije. Međutim, istraživanje nije dokazalo da su novi mediji radikalno transformirali građanstvo, već je pokazalo da je došlo do suptilnih pomaka u praksi i do pragmatičnog miješanja komunikacije licem u lice i tradicionalnih medija (tiskani mediji, sustavi razglasa, oglasne ploče) s novim komunikacijskim tehnologijama

Toward a Theory of Atypical Media Work and Social Hope

Most media work today takes place under atypical conditions, i.e. media professionals such as journalists, musicians, filmmakers, advertising creatives and game developers generally work without open-ended contracts. In this essay, a theory of atypical media work is outlined highlighting this way of working and being at work from the current culture of capitalism. Further, it also throws light on how dualisms, dominating the discourse on media work – such as contracted versus freelance labour, primary and secondary sector employment, good versus bad jobs, paid versus unpaid work – are not as useful as they seem to be is shown. It also delves into the different ways of making precarity, precariousness, constrained autonomy and lack of agency and highlights themas the key problematic features of atypical work – productive (beyond productivity narratives). Throughout the argument, the reasons and motivations for (doing and studying) atypical media work are articulated with a distinct sense of shared social hope

Book Reviews

Pasi Väliaho, Biopolitical Screens: Image, Power and the Neoliberal Brain; Christian Fuchs, Social Media: A Critical Introduction; David Bartram, Maritsa V. Poros and Pierre Monforte, Key Concepts in Migration; Amy B. Jordan and Daniel Romer (eds), Media and the Well-Being of Children and Adolescents; Angus Phillips, Turning the Page: The Evolution of the Book; Suzanne Franks, Women and Journalis

Mapa audiovizuálního pole v České republice z hlediska digitalizace a strategie pro jednotný digitální trh

Výzkumná zpráva popisuje stav audiovizuálního pole v ČR, tj. základní struktury, klíčové aktéry a praxe v produkci, distribuci a spotřebě audiovizuálních děl. Mezi struktury audiovizuálního pole řadíme technickou infrastrukturu, právní normy, obchodní (tj. produkční a distribuční) modely, základní socioekonomické parametry pracovního trhu v audiovizuálním průmyslu, státní kulturní politiku a širší sociokulturní kontext. Mezi aktéry audiovizuálního pole zahrnujeme jednak aktéry hodnotového řetězce, kteří se podílejí na vývoji, výrobě a šíření audiovizuálního díla, a jednak samotné spotřebitele.The research report describes the state of the audiovisual field in the Czech Republic, i.e. the basic structures, key actors and practices in the production, distribution and consumption of audiovisual works. Among the structures of the audiovisual field we include technical infrastructure, legal standards, business (i.e. production and distribution) models, basic socio-economic parameters of the labour market in the audiovisual industry, state cultural policy and wider socio-cultural context. Among the actors of the audiovisual field we include, on the one hand, actors of the value chain who participate in the development, production and distribution of audiovisual works and, on the other hand, consumers themselves

Crisis Reporters, Emotions, and Technology

This open access book explores the emotional labour of crisis reporters in an original style that combines fictional and factual narrative. Exploring how journalists make sense of their emotional experience and development in relation to their professional ideology, it illustrates how media professionals learn to think and act within crisis situations. Drawing on in-depth interviews with journalists reporting on wars, terror attacks and natural disasters, the book rethinks traditional concepts in journalistic thought. Finally, it reflects on the specific, contemporary vulnerabilities of industry professionals, including the impact of new technologies, specific forms of precarity, and a particular strain of cynicism central to the industry. Combining comprehensive, empirical research with the fictional narrative of a journalist protagonist, Crisis Reporters, Emotions and Technology establishes an innovative approach to academic storytelling

Crisis Reporters, Emotions, and Technology

This open access book explores the emotional labour of crisis reporters in an original style that combines fictional and factual narrative. Exploring how journalists make sense of their emotional experience and development in relation to their professional ideology, it illustrates how media professionals learn to think and act within crisis situations. Drawing on in-depth interviews with journalists reporting on wars, terror attacks and natural disasters, the book rethinks traditional concepts in journalistic thought. Finally, it reflects on the specific, contemporary vulnerabilities of industry professionals, including the impact of new technologies, specific forms of precarity, and a particular strain of cynicism central to the industry. Combining comprehensive, empirical research with the fictional narrative of a journalist protagonist, Crisis Reporters, Emotions and Technology establishes an innovative approach to academic storytelling