Media Ritual and Identity

<p><em>Media, Ritual and Identity</em> examines the role of the media in society; its complex influence on democratic processes and its participation in the construction and affirmation of different social identities. <br>It draws extensively upon cultural anthropology and combines a commanding overview of contemporary media debates with a series of fascinating case studies ranging from political ritual on television to broadcasting in the third world.</p> Table of Contents List of Contributors Introduction 1. The Intellectual Legacy of Elihu Katz James Curran and Tamar Liebes Section 1: Media and Ritual 2. Mass Communication, ritual and Civil Society Jeffrey C. Alexander and Ronald N. Jacobs 3. Political Ritual on Television: Episodes in the history of Shame, Degradation and Excommunication James W. Carey 4. Televisions Disaster Marathons: A Danger for Democratic Processes? Tamar Liebes Section 2: Media and Identity 5. Minorities, Majorities and the Media Larry Gross 6. Particularistic Media and Diasporic Communications Daniel Dayan 7. The Dialogic Community: Soul Talks Among Early Israeli Pioneering Groups Tamar Katriel 8. The Dialectics of Life, Story and Afterlife Yoram Bilu 9. Broadcasting in the Third World: From National Development to Civil Society Danial C. Hallin 10. Public Sphere or Public Sphericules? Todd Gitlin 11. Crisis of Public Communication: A Reappraisal James Curran 12. Public Journalism and the Search for Democratic Ideals Theodore L. Glasser and Stephanie Craft 13. Promoting Peace Through the News Media: Some Initial Lessons from the Oslo Peace Process Gadi Wolfsfeld Section 4: Audience Research: Past and Future 14. Relationships between Media and Audiences: Prospects for Audience Reception Studies Sonia Livingstone