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Ritual power: Illuminating the blind spot of births, deaths and marriages in news media research
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.
History
Journal
JournalismVolume
17Issue
4Pagination
511 - 526Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INCPublisher DOI
ISSN
1464-8849eISSN
1741-3001Language
EnglishPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal; C Journal articleCopyright notice
2015, The AuthorsUsage metrics
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