Ritual power

Illuminating the blind spot of births, deaths and marriages in news media research

Bibliographic Data

ID7478565
AuthorsKarl He (0000-0003-3027-7492, Deakin University, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume17
Issue4
Pages511-526
Publication date2015-02-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1464884915570419
OpenAlexW2078297482
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited28

This article conceptualises the role and place of the newspaper births, deaths and marriages column in Western societies and its relationship to news media. It identifies the births, deaths and marriages notices as a ‘blind spot’ within journalism and media research generated by powerful cultural norms and conventions shaping the field. This is exemplified by the ‘mythical’ divide between political economy and culturalist approaches to media studies that has created a gap where people’s everyday practices or the social value of ‘commercial’ content tends to be overlooked in discussions about news media. Drawing more deeply from cultural studies and scholarship around media power and rituals, the births, deaths and marriages column provides a compelling unique illustration of the ways newspapers – especially at the local level – continue to be perceived as central to the social in this changing media world. A qualitative research project into the future of small commercial newspapers in Australia provides rich data for exploring these key ideas

Journalism · Media studies · News values · Newspaper · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Scholarship · Social media · Social science · Sociology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Media Studies and Communication · Gender Studies · Law

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