The echoes of grassroots media practices in Greece : a sociological approach

This thesis probes into grassroots media projects by addressing them in a broad theoretical framework that evaluates such projects in macro terms, along the interplay between 'public sphere' and 'civil society', as well as in micro terms, across the 'lived experience' of their practice, on the grounds of the expression and enactment of 'citizenship' correspondingly. From this perspective, the study researches media projects that are implemented `on the margins' in Greece, drawing both on their contribution to and intervention in the public and political life. By evaluating these projects in a resonant context the study prioritizes the 'agents', citizens/social groups, who are engaged in their practice. Using empirical evidence from fieldwork conducted in Greece in 2003 involving: indepth interviews with people engaged (forty four participants) in the practice of diverse, heterogeneous media projects - one newspaper, two periodicals, three pirate radio stations and three Internet sites - this thesis evaluates the limits and the challenges of the practice of such projects in terms of their contribution to the public sphere and their intervention in the sphere of 'the political'. It argues that while such projects constitute a realm for the representation of various social domains, collectives/social groups and their discourses, as well as, for their intervention in civic life, at the same time their practice is entrapped in traditional 'politics' that deter the expansion of these projects, and negate the potential their practice encompasses for the constitution of `the political' in the realm of everyday life as well.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Networking activism: implications for Greece

The outbreak of December 2008 against police brutality through a wave of demonstrations and street protests in Athens, which was strongly advocated by protest activities and practices across the world, addresses several issues in relation to the transformative potentials of mediated collective action. The paper critically evaluates different accounts of December events, probing then into thevery networking of that movement. From this perspective, it points out another aspect of the local-global interplay in protest culture along new mediating practices (beyond the creation of transnational publics), that of the implications of transnational networking for local social activism and identification, addressing relevant questions in the Greek context

The unbearable lightness of being alternative: Idealism‐realism and purism‐pragmatism in Greek alternative media

The article explores alternative media sustainability across a wide range of Greek projects. In this regard, it probes into a number of factors related to both the political economy (funding, organization) of these projects and the nature (real/‘imaginary’, broad reach/niche) of the relationship with their communities/audiences. The findings of the research reveal a dynamic and contradictory field regarding alternative media resilience in terms of the dialectical relationship of idealistic/realistic (on the production, organization level) and puristic/pragmatic (on the communication, reach level) features. The article concludes by highlighting the strategies employed by the most successful projects in terms of sustainability in relation to their positioning along the idealism/realism and purism/pragmatism nexus

Gezi Movement and the Networked Public Sphere: A Comparative Analysis in Global Context

The article draws on Gezi protests that took place in Turkey during the summer of 2013, inquiring the extent to which they were part of a global cycle of contention that has shocked the world the last 5 years. In this regard, concepts and constructs of social movement, new media, networking, and public sphere provide analytical tools to probe into the area. Issues that are addressed and critically discussed include the evaluation of the contemporary protest movements in terms of the global diffusion of neoliberal capitalism, the intersection of social media and collective action, and the critical reflection on the interplay between physical and mediated facets of action

Exploring sourcing patterns during the Covid-19 pandemic: A ‘lived experience’ perspective

When crises occur, people experience an increasing need for information and sense-making (Lowrey, 2004). The plurality, depth and credibility of the information conveyed by the media shapes public understanding and knowledge (Cushion, Morani, Kyriakidou & Soo, 2021). In the case of the coronavirus pandemic people used newsmedia to understand the disease itself, be aware of preventive steps taken by governments, comprehend the benefits and risks of proposed medical measures (Fletcher, Kalogeropoulos, Simon & Nielsen, 2020). Relevant work indicates that apart from being a health emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic comprises a communication crisis; misinformation and conspiracy theories were on the rise (Cushion et al, 2021), press freedom was constrained (Papadopoulou & Maniou, 2021), the economic and labour situation of many news outlets worsened (Nielsen, Cherubini & Andi, 2020; Posetti, Bell & Brown, 2020), while negative reporting emphasing statistics of infected and deceased, (Ytre-Arne & Moe, 2021) made people feel overwhelmed and switch off from the news (Nguyen et al., 2021). Despite growing literature on news media and the pandemic, less attention has been given to the sourcing practices and (emerging) values which shaped news production around Covid-19. The consequences of how journalists use sources is an enduring object of communication research; the question of who has voice and authority in mediated constructions of reality remains central when interrogating journalistic representations (Gans, 1979; Tuchman, 1978; Zelizer, 1990). Additionally, sourcing patterns are part and parcel of journalism’s claim to truthfulness (Curran, 2019). To address this gap, this study focuses on the sourcing practices of journalists to collect and verify information. Drawing upon literature on sourcing practices and Hall et al’s (1978) framework on primary definers and using 30 semi-structured interviews with journalists in Greece and Cyprus, the study goes beyond the mere identification of the types of sources used, to shed light on the factors which shaped professionals’ sourcing practices, the perceived effects of these practices on storytelling and how journalists evaluate their performance. The study contributes empirically to what Lewis (2020) calls the ‘lived experience of news production’ during the coronavirus crisis suggesting that journalism scholars should consider the complexity of the crisis, the trauma and psychological toll of covering a debilitating crisis with few resources amid pay cuts and layoffs

Newswork in crisis: Sourcing patterns during COVID-19 through a 'lived experience' perspective

During crises the newsmedia are expected to provide relevant and accurate information to help citizens comprehend the crisis and act upon it. As a source-driven practice, journalism relies on a variety of sources to validate news and provide perspectives. The disruptive nature of a crisis though raises questions about how journalists select sources and what these choices say about professional autonomy and criticality. Considering source choices as newsgathering venues and strategies, and drawing on semi-structured interviews with journalists in Greece and Cyprus, the study explores the factors that shaped journalists’ sourcing practices during the COVID-19 crisis. We find that journalists over-relied on political sources and selective authoritative voices compromising the tenets of verification and independence. The fear to convey inaccurate or ‘biased’ information amid disinformation flows, bolstered journalist's elite orientation. Professional precarity and economic pressures are found to further worsen the ‘lived experience’ of journalists limiting their ability to question and scrutinise power in times of crises