Media and old age – the agenda and research in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The Czech Republic has a long lasting tradition of research in geriatrics. In comparison Czech gerontology, social gerontology and sociology of age can be considered quite recent disciplines. Mainly due to the current demographic conditions these fields are gradually gaining on importance. Long-term low fertility rates (1.19 children per a woman in 1999; 1.18 in 2003 but 1.42 in 2007) and constantly improving mortality and morbidity rates lead to demographic predictions according to which in 2030 and 2050 the Czech Republic will occupy one of the leading positions among countries with the oldest populations in Europe as well as worldwide. If these prognoses are fulfilled then at the time 23% (respectively 31%) of the Czech population will be aged over 65. Social sciences have been preparing the Czech society for this case mainly in three areas: 1) theoretical-economic studies about the pension system, 2) studies dealing with social services (mainly social care) and 3) sociological research on general questions relating to the perception of ageing and old age in the society. However, the variability of research topics remains relatively low. Media studies have just begun addressing these issues and they involve mainly three channels – academic sociological research (including students' theses), commercial research and research supporting social activism. Yet in practice these channels overlap and the number of studies that we are aware of is fewer than half a dozen. All of them involve empirical studies without wider generalizations and theoretical contexts. We discuss these studies, published between 1993 and 2007, in terms of their findings. In the introduction we briefly describe the situation on the Czech media scene, concentrating on media targeting the senior population. The introduction is followed by an overview of thus far available findings of studies dealing with seniors as readers, listeners and viewers and in the second part we provide an analysis of media contents and representations of seniors and old age in selected Czech media.