MISINFORMATION, LACK OF CULTURE AND MANIPULATION

In this age free journalism and the media, as well as the rights of individuals to have their opinion and opportunity to express them freely, can be described mainly in terms of ideal‐typical theoretical models. These are the models that are not founded on reality and practical merits. On one hand , we have the legislation, on the other , “real world” of the media with all its anomalies and questions; theory and practice with very little or nothing in common. These observations are made after analyzing numerous media texts on, “Report on the ownership and control of media in Serbia” and “Law on Public Information and Media of the Republic of Serbia”. In this paper, we try to see the essence of the problem concerning the media; more specifically, to answer the question to what extent information nowadays acquired trademarks and manipulative character, and what is our civil right to objective information? Whether, and to what extent, the public interest in informing replaced spinning and “storytelling” and who benefits from it, and who suffers from sensationalism and tabloid media? In search of answers to these questions, we will go from words that were once served Umberto Eco as the title for one of the most famous books which dealt with the semiological aspects of cultural phenomena: “Culture, Information, Communication”. We used these words as a point of reference in understanding the current media, social and cultural phenomenon and antinomy they produced. The word “cul‐ ture” was replaced with the word “uncivilized”, the word “information”, with the word “misinformation” and the word “communication” with the word “manipulation”. These three words, in our view, basically reflect the spirit of today and describe the state of free media and journalism in Serbia From our point of view these three words describe the state of free media and journalism in Serbia.Publishe

FROM ROMANTICISM AND TOURISM TO SNOBBISM

The paper analyses, from the stylistic and rhetorical aspect, the romantic stereotypes of the text about Zagreb in magazine “Hello”! The value of the tourist text is specified by its ability to cause the curiosity with the recipient, and to provoke clear and impressive desire for the immediate experience of the presented. Hence, the texts on tourism should have the characteristics of the best travel texts that trigger feelings, aesthetic activity and the spirit of searching. Instead, the text offers pathetic stereotypical content that gives the recipient an impression of snobbism. Both linguistic and stylistic and rhetorical analysis does not deplete the entirety of the phenomenon of modern tourism, but without such an analysis one cannot open the way of understanding the complex secrets of human migrations.Publishe

Zoran Đinđić's political oratory: Principle of utopia and logic of hope

Modern political oratory in Serbia during the re-established multiparty system (the nineties of the twenty century) is one of the most important means of political struggle, a way of placing political ideas, but also the manipulation of the public. At the same time, it is a special genre of speech because the formal-aesthetic dimension of shaping political messages can be viewed as a functional tool for the formation and spreading of political ideas. This paper explores Zoran Đinđić’s political oratory, who by his public actions advocated elucidating the complex political and state issues. By applying a comparative stylistic and rhetorical analysis of individual political words, we have singled out their common features and described in more detail the specifics rhetorical procedure that are characteristic of this speaker. His rhetoric is observed within the democratic paradigm of political rhetoric, which from 1990 to 2000 appears as a counterbalance to the dominant, authoritarian communication paradigm of political communicationPublishe

Političko besedništvo Zorana Đinđića - princip utopije i logika nade

The paper explores Zoran Đinđić's political oratory by placing emphasis on the rhetorical and style analysis of certain speeches, as well as on the verbal and non-verbal aspects of communication. On the grounds of the theoretical model on the existence of dominant communication paradigms: authoritarian, democratic and liberal-democratic ones, his political speeches have been observed within the democratic paradigm of political communication. To a significant extent, our interest has been directed towards determining genre models and genre specificities of Đinđić's political speeches and also towards recognizing the most important political ideas in the context of general geopolitical, historical, cultural and social changes. By applying comparative rhetorical and style analysis to certain Đinđić's political speeches, we have singled out their common characteristics and described in more details the specificities of oratory procedures characteristic for this speaker.U radu se istražuje političko besedništvo Zorana Đinđića, uz stavljanje akcenta na retoričko-stilsku analizu pojedinih beseda, te na verbalne i neverbalne aspekte političke komunikacije. Njegove političke besede se, na osnovu teorijskog modela o postojanju dominantnih komunikacijskih paradigmi, posmatraju u okviru demokratske paradigme političkog komuniciranja. Naše interesovanje je jednim značajnim delom bilo usmereno i u pravcu određivanja žanrovskih modela i žanrovskih specifičnosti Đinđićevih političkih beseda, a potom i na uočavanje najvažnijih političkih ideja u kontekstu opštih geopolitičkih, istorijskih, kulturnih i socijalnih promena. Primenom komparativne stilsko-retoričke analize pojedinih političkih beseda Zorana Đinđića, izdvojili smo njihova zajednička obeležja i detaljnije opisali specifičnosti besedničkog postupka koje su karakteristične za ovog govornika

Gde počinje rijaliti - tamo gde počinje rijaliti završava se slobodno društvo

Today, one can speak more about how reality shows are made and how they are maintained, about their chameleon perspective and their own view inwards and outwards. And it is only there that an answer to the question of where reality TV begins and where it can end can be sought. Reality TV involves a special creative uncertainty and a certain moral decay. Reality shows also involve a matter of choice: who will participate, how will they react, who will watch and evaluate the reality of the reality show and the conditions that have led to it? In reality programmes, things are always viewed from the reduced and stripped point of view of the organizer. Have fun and make money. If the rhetorical points of view that affect different perspectives of reality shows are properly considered, the effect is, in the end, always in the political field.U čije ime se odvija rijaliti? Kako gledaocu može biti zanimljivo netto što podseća na dramu, a nije drama; na film sa različitim žanrovskim oznakama, a nije film; na vodvilj, groteskni smehotres, vašarsku zabavu, a da se u tome ne nalazi gotovo nikakva estetska vrednost? Zašto su gledaocima uopšte potrebni takvi sadržaji? Šta se dešavau ljudskom iskustvu ako se svakodnevno bavi životima drugih (običnih i moguće je poznatih)? Hipoteza podrazumeva preispitivanje uticaja skrivenog političkog gledišta na rijaliti program i uticaja rijaliti programa na političko stanovište savremenog gledaoca. Rijalitijima se smišljeno prekida svakodnevni životni tok pojedinih ličnosti sa obećanjem da mogu da reše svoja materijalna pitanja i druga pitanja koja se, ponekad, doživljavaju kao "životna". Od izbora jelovnika do izbora vremena za "žurku", sve je unapred određeno. Uobičajeni tokovi se prekidaju i junaci počinju da se bave nečim drugim što malo ili nimalo zavisi od njihove volje. Ništa predviđeno ne pripada autentično njihovom životu, ali ipak postoje uporišne tačke u paralelnoj stvarnosti. Paralelna stvarnost zamenjuje političku, stvarnu. Na toj simulaciji se zasniva i nova poetika rijalitija. Sve je na simuliranoj "energiji" i "podgrevanju" emocija zasnovanih, najpre, na činjenici izdvajanja. Otuda je jedan od ključnih momenata odnos između nametnutih zadataka i tzv. opuštanja. Život se na taj način bitno siromaši i oduzima mu se pravi smisao iako se čini da je sve zanimljivo, na "posebnim zadacima", i puno smisla. Okvir tome daju namešteni aplauzi, izveštačeni smeh i isforsirane svađe. Umesto subjektima, osobe u rijalitiju se doživljavaju kao objekti pogodni za manipulaciju svake vrste, pa i medijsko-političku manipulaciju

Frequencies of mtDNA haplogroups in Southeastern Europe: Croatians, Bosnians and Herzegovinianas, Serbians, Macedonians and Macedonian Romani

Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms were analyzed in of 1,610 randomly chosen adult men from 11 different regions from southeastern Europe (Croatians, Bosnians and Herzegovinians, Serbians, Macedonians and Macedonian Romani). MtDNA HVS-I region together with RFLP sites diagnostic for main Euroasian and African mtDNA haplogroups were typed to determine haplogroup frequency distribution. The most frequent haplogroup in studied populations was H with the exception of Macedonian Romani among whom the most frequent were South Asian (Indian) specific variants of haplogroup M. The multidimensional scaling plot showed two clusters of populations and two outliers (Macedonian Romani and the most distant from mainland Croatian island of Korčula). The first cluster was formed by populations from three Croatian islands (Hvar, Krk and Brač) and the second cluster was formed by Macedonians, Serbians, Croatians from mainland and coast, Herzegovinians, Bosnians, Slovenians, Poles and Russians. The present analysis does not address a precise evaluation of phylogenetic relations of studied populations although some conclusions about historical migrations could be noticed. More extended conclusions will be possible after deeper phylogenetic and statistical analyses

Frequencies of mtDNA Haplogroups in Southeastern Europe - Croatians, Bosnians and Herzegovinians, Serbians, Macedonians and Macedonian Romani

Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms were analyzed in of 1,610 randomly chosen adult men from 11 different regions from southeastern Europe (Croatians, Bosnians and Herzegovinians, Serbians, Macedonians and Macedonian Romani). MtDNA HVS-I region together with RFLP sites diagnostic for main Euroasian and African mtDNA haplogroups were typed to determine haplogroup frequency distribution. The most frequent haplogroup in studied populations was H with the exception of Macedonian Romani among whom the most frequent were South Asian (Indian) specific variants of haplogroup M. The multidimensional scaling plot showed two clusters of populations and two outliers (Macedonian Romani and the most distant from mainland Croatian island of Korčula). The first cluster was formed by populations from three Croatian islands (Hvar, Krk and Brač) and the second cluster was formed by Macedonians, Serbians, Croatians from mainland and coast, Herzegovinians, Bosnians, Slovenians, Poles and Russians. The present analysis does not address a precise evaluation of phylogenetic relations of studied populations although some conclusions about historical migrations could be noticed. More extended conclusions will be possible after deeper phylogenetic and statistical analyses

HUMOUR, SATIRE, IRONY AND CARICATURE AS A MEANS OF DECONSTRUCTING MEDIA MYTHS

Zbornik radova sa naučnog skupa Jagodina–Končarevo, 6–8. septembar 2017.: In Serbian newspapers there are more and more columnists (Dragoljub Draža Petrović, Svetislav Basara, Teofil Pančić, Mirjana Bobić Mojsilović, Vojislav Žanetić...) that use a variety of different comic devices to destruct the so-called media myths. Making fun of linguistic deviations and linguistic humour (persiflage, irony, sarcasm, parody, contrast, oxymoron, antimetabole…) enables the formation of new genres that are being used to deconstruct the media world. The fact has an impact on people`s beliefs about the relativity of media norms and myths. Therefore it is necessary to describe rhetorical and stylistic characteristics of some forms of humour in the media discourse. It is also necessary to examine the effect of these types of humour to the process of reception. Our understanding of the relation between humour and media myths is based on disharmony between media abstractions and reality. The elements of humour are also hidden in the inconsistency of mechanistic representation of media myths. Dysfunctional repetition of media matrices conditions the irresponsibility towards language and causes many semantic downs, which is a good basis for fostering irony and other similar rhetorical devices. The travestied forms of media myths in these newspaper columns show a significant disharmony between the presented content and implied form. Inconsistency between pompous forms of the depicted world and insignificant repetitive contents allows columnists to effectively deconstruct media myths, exploring new possibilities of newspaper genresPublishe

THE TRAGEDY OF THE SELFIE

: The development of social networks, new media and communication platforms has reactivated the problem of loneliness of the contemporary man, but also contributed to the emergence of new phenomena that, although not directly, have to do with loneliness. One of them is death due to selfies. It is about activities and actions of individuals that lead to a tragic outcome, even though they are primarily intended as a game. It is almost possible to speak of a new media genre, the tragedy of the selfies, which, among other things, can be linked to the ancient tragedy as a theatrical genre. Every day we hear the stories of “tragic heroes” who lost their lives by taking photos with their phones, simply wanting to amaze the virtual audience with their “craziness” and uniqueness. At the core of their media-dramatic performance is playing with the categories of the real and the illusory, but also the need to attract attention and to impress others. The tragic fall of the “hero” of the tragedy of the selfies, as well as that of the “tragic man” in the theatrical scene in ancient dramas, is related to a certain recklessness or mistake that anyone can commit. Contemporary heroes and “mediocre characters” of the tragedy of the selfies, as well as those many centuries ago in Aeschyl’s works, can be blinded by the terrible Ate, the goddess of blindness, mental restlessness and deception, and lured into her networks and abysses. The paper seeks to explain the peculiarities of this media genre. It is argued that the modern man, although in a high-tech communication environment, is a victim of loneliness, and that our world is tragic and divided.Publishe

THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND SPINNING IN THE POLITICAL SPEECHES OF ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ

The power of storytelling and the persuasiveness of media narratives have attracted researchers’ attention from the 1930s to the present, and it is especially interesting to examine the relationship between faction and fiction in the contemporary media-mediated political process that is a combination of complex visual-narrative dimensions of communication. The development of the spinning industry has led to institutionalized forms of impression management and political promotion through mass media. Truth and objectivity in such an environment increasingly give way to manipulation and illusion, fictious or semi-fabricated stories and spins. Unless they are subjected to questioning and reflection, they become surrogates of reality and a special form of manipulation of public opinion. This paper deals with forms of fictionalization of the political process, spinning in politics and the role of media in conflict management, with the use of stylistic and rhetorical analysis of the political speeches of President Aleksandar Vučić, given during extraordinary press conferences. These political speeches are analysed in a wider theoretical framework of the media philosophy, as a part of a complex political stage performance and a propaganda machine characterised by significant manipulative techniques. The analysis is focused on “metamorphoses” of media narrative, as well as political spins, particularly the “putsch” spin, which President Vučić very often uses in his political speeches. The spin is given a new form in the “special” TV programme on the Pink Television and on the pages of the daily tabloid InformerPublishe