Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap - Volume 42, Issue 3, 2014

Beste lezer,

Met dank aan Wil Berben.

Het Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap zoekt een enthousiaste en stimulerende hoofdredacteur (m/v), die per 1 januari 2015 kan beginnen. De nieuwe hoofdredacteur is iemand die de goede reputatie van het tijdschrift verder kan ontwikkelen en tegelijk de relevantie voor het vakgebied bewaakt.

Evaluating books by their covers. The influence of realism and complexity in photography on the appreciation by tweens

This research is the first that examined tweens’ appreciation of the use of realism and complexity in photography on book covers for children. Additionally, the level of agreement between tweens’ preferences and what adults think tweens appreciate is explored. Data were obtained through questionnaires filled in by 49 younger tweens, 44 older tweens and 125 adults. The results partly confirm the hypothesis that tweens prefer realistic photographs on book covers to unrealistic photographs. Results on the appreciation of the use of complexity in photography on book covers offer suggestions for future research. Next to that, the results showed that adults correctly infer the preferences of younger tweens, but incorrectly for older tweens. Finally, scientific and practical implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.

Climate struggle: news coverage of climate change during the climate summit in Cancún in Flemish quality newspapers

This paper reports on the results of a qualitative content analysis of climate change coverage by two Flemish quality newspapers in the context of the Cancún climate summit. Important similarities as well as differences were found between both newspapers in terms of underlying assumptions regarding international relations.

The piversity paradox. Analyzing the changing relation between journalism and cultural diversity.

In this article we study the relationship between journalistic practice and the ideals of diversity and multiculturalism. By means of interviews with 61 Dutch journalists we demonstrate that the journalist’s practice is dominated by a ‘diversity paradox’. On the one hand, journalists seem to collectively reject the idea that ethnic minorities should receive a special treatment by the news media. Yet, on the other hand, the same journalists choose to explicitly name (issues related to) diversity when it comes to bad news. The analysis of the transcribed interviews shows that, even though journalists feel a certain responsibility towards covering diversity, in daily practice this ideal can easily conflict with other journalistic norms and values. As a result, in their everyday routines, the place of diversity is not determined by these (conflicting) journalistic ideals but rather by contextual factors such as personal preferences and time constraints.

Flemish newspaper coverage on cyberbullying

The amount of coverage on cyberbullying, as well as the way the issue is portrayed in the media, may influence the perceptions of policy makers and the public at large. However, few studies have paid attention to the media coverage on cyberbullying. The current paper tries to fill the existing gap by analyzing the articles on cyberbullying in six Flemish newspapers. This explorative quantitative content analysis shows that cyberbullying is a recurrent topic in the Flemish newspapers since 2005. The issue is presented as a societal problem (as indicated by research results), that is already being addressed by a wide range of actors and actions on different (local/Flemish) levels. Cases seem to become especially newsworthy when the cyberbullying is related to suicide. Future research might investigate how the amount and type of media coverage on cyberbullying influences the perception of this problem by youngsters, parents and the public at large.

Verbal and Visual Rhetoric in a Media World. H van Belle, P. Gillaerts, B. van Gorp, D. van de Mieroop & K. Rutten (2013). Leiden: Leiden University Press