Victor Khroul, ICA Conference, Seattle, 26 May 2014 Communicating Christian "Good Life" Model in a Secular Public Sphere: a Case of Russia.

Victor Khroul,ICA Conference,

Seattle,26 May 2014

CommunicatingCommunicatingChristian "Good Life" ModelChristian "Good Life" Modelin a Secular Public Sphere:in a Secular Public Sphere:a Case of Russiaa Case of Russia

Christian model of "good life"well-articulated on dogmatic level as a “meta-

normative” model (Bible, Cathechisms etc);available and can be transmitted, discussed,

accepted or rejected in the process of mass communication,

butnot known well, corrupted and misunderstood

in the public opinion and social practises of Russians (Levada Center, 2000-2014)

because ofcontent? media (channels)? audience?

  Painted eggs 73

  Bought paschal cakes 50

  Baked paschal cakes 24

  Visited relatives/friends 24

  Visited cemetaries 23

  Received guests 22

  Went to the Church to bless cakes 21

 Cooked paschal food 11

  Made gifts to relatives/friends 9

  Attended Easter liturgy 6

  Other 2

  Did not celebrated Easter 9

Have you celebrated Easter and if so,what did you do during Easter time?

Source:Levada Center,

25-28 April 2014

Did you observe Lent?

No 70

Partly 25

Fully 3

No answer 2Source:

Levada Center, 25-28 April 2014

Do you agree that abortionis a legal killing?

definitely yes 10

rather yes 18

rather no 35

definitely no 16

Difficult to answer 20Source:

Levada Center, 15-18 November 2013

Content? Channels? Audience?1. Articulation - lack of production. Moral monitoring

of social life from a religious perspective is minimal..2. Communication - lack of channels to translate, so

the voices of Christian leaders are not heard in Russian public sphere. The agenda-setting process in media is not value-oriented. Stereotyped coverage of religious life in Russian secular media leads to the marginalization of Christian model of "good life".

3. Interpretation - lack of understanding. The translation not only words but also concepts and normative models from ecclesial language into secular is still problematic in Russia. Semiotic "conflict of formats" leads to conflicts in public sphere.

Pluralism – dialogue - consensusThe highest level for aggregate judgment on

what is good and what is bad (in particular, what is good life and what is bad life) is not the society of the entire country, but a united value-homogeneous community, and Christian communities are on this level.

On societal level axiological consensus understood as agreement on basic values with respect to differences.

Consensus is a result of interaction, dialogical processing of different opinions, positions, attitudes and beliefs.

(Dryzek, Niemeyer 2006)

Russian context Public sphere (in 'embryo' stage, multi-

normative, secular)Audience (low level of media literacy and

religious practice)Journalists (servile and obedient to power,

ignorant to ethics and social accountability)Media system (dependent on power and

business, monopolized and non-transparent)Power (controlling mainstream media)

The Public Sphere

‘the sphere [where] private people come together as a public […] to engage them in a debate over the general rules of governing relations in the basically privatized but publicly relevant sphere of commodity exchange and social labour.’

Habermas, 1989: 27

The logical and processing sequence “pluralism - dialogue - consensus” in contemporary Russian context has problematic fields located in the dialogue area.

Some of our observations of recent years, based on interviews with journalists and data analysis, lead to the conclusions of:

1) narrowing the debate on the Christian model of ‘good life’ in mainstream media

2) reducing the possibility for journalists to articulate the Christian model of ‘good life’ (for example, some journalists fired for expressing their anti-homosexual views)

3) removing of the dialogue on values and ‘good life’ into uncensored and free area of Internet resources, mostly - to blogs or forums of similar value orientations users.

Press freedom according to journalists

 Poland

%Russia

%Sweden

%

Decreased 26,2 46,8 23,8

Stays the same 33,8 31,6 43,8

Increased 31,2 17,2 10,2

Don´t know 8,8 4,4 22,2

Source: Anikina, Dobek-Ostrowska, Nygren, 2013

Christian concerns

Contemporary media:tend to legitimize or impose distorted

models of personal, family or social life;are subjecting humanity to agendas

dictated by the dominant interests of the day;

used for ideological purposes or for the aggressive advertising of consumer products;

present and support models of development which serve to increase rather than reduce the technological divide between rich and poor countries.

Journalists’ concernsAgenda setting – shifted up from journalists

to other media persons (top-managers)Social mission – unclear and reduced to

“infortainment” Responsibility – ignored and substituted by

obedience to media owners and top-managers

Quality of journalism according to journalists

 Poland

%Russia

%Sweden

%

Decreased 61,8 47,6 38,8

Stays the same 18,6 30,6 26,8

Increased 10,8 16,8 19,4

Don´t know 8,8 5 15

Source: Anikina, Dobek-Ostrowska, Nygren, 2013

The central rurpose of beinga journalist is to try to tell people the truthabout important things.

Nick Davies, the author of bestselling Flat Earth News

Public lecture at Coventry University.

sovereign

Towards a normative model…the ethical emptiness of mainstream economics

and its models of rationality…the lack of models of normative debate (Nick

Couldry) There is a time to rediscover the principles of the

values dialogue optimization (and the check-list for the evaluation of the condition for dialogue).

The proposed normative model presume certain expectations from the subjects of dialogue (actors) and journalists (media professionals) at all three stages (pluralism - dialogue - consensus).

PluralismSubjects of dialogue (actors):• try to ensure values transparency,

availability of texts representing their normative models;

• seek correct articulation of their values, use adequate symbolic systems, language and cultural codes;

Journalists (media professionals):• try to present complete spectrum of

values and normative models (with respect to minorities);

• optimize channels and information flows.

DialogueSubjects of dialogue (actors):• tolerate and respect to other value systems and

normative models they are not agree with;• use the framework of common cultural code;• commit themselves to participate in the dialogue,

send their experts to be active in the public sphere.

Journalists (media professionals):• organize and support the search for new subjects

of the dialogue , the presentation of new models in mass communication space, mediate, moderate, create forums for discussions;

• expand - quantitatively and qualitatively – the space for dialogue in various forms of communication.

ConsensusSubjects of dialogue (actors):• are seeking the common good ;• are optimizing the "preaching", the

presentation of the religious values from the perspective of consensus.

Journalists (media professionals):• consider consensus to be one of the most

important goals of journalism ;• are peacemakers during conflicts and

tensions;• develop professional solidarity.

‘I want my pen [keyboard, camera] to became a gun...’

[email protected]

Thank you for attention!