TikTok has become a primary platform for Generation Z's political information consumption. The algorithmic mechanisms of the For You Page and live battles, combined with in-app gift features, create a unique dynamic where entertainment merges with political partisanship. This phenomenon shows that polarization is not only a result of algorithmic filters but also of digital rituals full of symbols and emotions. This article explains how TikTok's algorithms and gift features operate as social mechanisms that limit informational diversity and reinforce political polarization among Generation Z. Using a qualitative approach, the study conducted a thematic analysis of political live battle videos and in-depth interviews with eight Generation Z participants (18-24) in Bandar Lampung. The analysis highlights algorithmic curation patterns, the dynamics of gift-giving, and Generation Z's perceptions of political content. The study found that partisan content dominates live battles, with large gifts given by pro-candidate accounts as political support, while small gifts are used by ordinary viewers. Participants watched these battles more for entertainment than for information, yet they were consistently exposed to political partisanship. The findings demonstrate that TikTok's algorithm and gift economy jointly construct a digital political space based on emotion and symbols rather than substantive discussion. This study confirms that Generation Z's political polarization is rooted in both algorithmic curation and the logic of digital entertainment mobilized by political supporters.

The article is devoted to the soundtrack of the film The Lovers’ Romance (1974) by Andrei Konchalovsky. It studies the genre and stylistic genesis of the songs and compositions written by Alexander Gradsky, reveals the role of music in the plot of the film, and traces the signs of a rock opera in its musical and dramaturgical solution. Based on the extensive discussion of the film in the mid-1970s, the author examines the reasons for the difficult acceptance of its musical and dramaturgical features by both ordinary viewers and the professional community. It is hypothesised that most viewers, having succumbed to the supposed socialist realism of the plot, were unable to decode the true content of many of the songs in which religious, dissident and escapist motifs appear. The real subject of the film is the drama of disappointment of an ‘ordinary’ Soviet man in the ideals of collective existence, which is also manifested in the soundtrack. In particular, in the contrast between Gradsky’s explosive, dramatic, modern music and the Soviet retro-pop of the 1930s and 1960s which nobody listens to despite it being on TV and radio. In many ways, The Lovers’ Romance anticipated and foreshadowed the leitmotifs of perestroika films about rock musicians, but its sophisticated play with socialist realism did not let it enter the pantheon of the Soviet ‘rock cinema’.

This paper explores the ability of art generated by artificial intelligence (AI) to convey emotions and its potential impact on modern art theory and practice. Employing a mixed research method, this study first evaluates the differences in audience emotional responses between AI-generated art and traditional human art through quantitative analysis. Subsequently, qualitative interviews with art critics, artists, and ordinary viewers were conducted to delve into the uniqueness and limitations of AI art in emotional expression and perception. The study finds that while AI-generated artworks excel in visual complexity and novelty, they still have limitations in conveying deep emotions and personal experiences, affecting the depth of emotional resonance. Additionally, the study explores the application of AI technology in art creation and the potential changes it may bring to artistic creation methods and art market structures. This research not only provides a new perspective on the appli

In today's Russian mass consciousness, there is an attitude that contemporary art, primarily Western, embarked on the path of departure from canonical images and structures in relatively recent times –about a hundred years ago. Tracing the path of WesternEuropean painting since the Renaissance –and even earlier –since the theological discussion of the nature of the Tabor light in the mid-14th century, one can conclude about the continuity of the ideological line, the ontological essence between modern postmodern artists (such as the Belgian of Flemish origin Jan Fabre) and their predecessors of the New Age (the Dutch Peter Paul Rubens, Frans Snyders and many others). This article examines the key moments of the formation of the metaphysical paradigm thatdefines all types of visual aesthetic objects, as well as phenomena (in theater and cinema) in the West, records the stage of the artist's transformation at the time of the reduction of the liturgical space, which influenced all subsequent Western European aesthetics, and analyzes the perception of decadent contemporary art by Russian specialists and ordinary viewers who had the opportunity to visit exhibitions of popular Western culture in domestic museums and exhibition halls in 2014-2019.

The relevance of this study is due to the expansion of various concepts of cyber-theater in the contemporary performing arts. The examples of the stage embodiment of cyber-drama and digital-performances prove that each stage work raises extraordinary artistic issues, and each technological innovation is accompanied by the emergence of the new audience opportunities and competencies. However, due to the fact that communication between the creators of the super-modern stage content and the ordinary viewers currently isn’t sufficiently arranged, there are gaps in the perception of the artistic messages, difficulties with the audience’s empathy for the events and actors of cyber-drama and digital-performance. The authors aimed to explore the communication barriers associated with cyber-theater performances and to present ways to solve problems in this context. The following methods were used: complex analysis and synthesis, comparative and descriptive methods, technique of communicative approach. Peculiarities of creating cyber-drama and organization of digital-performance are revealed, similarity, difference and interdependence of their means of expression are characterized. The tendencies of further development of cyber-theater and cooperation between its creators and the audience are determined. Various studies in the field of creative industry on the impact of the effectiveness of the audience’s perception of cyber-theater performance are analyzed. As the results of the research, the emblematic digital-performances of the 2010s are described, the effectiveness of various artistic proposals at this stage and possible directions for further development of the industry are determined.

In 2023, the world's largest broadcast by the number of viewers of China Central Television "New Year's Gala Concert", timed to coincide with the Spring Festival, will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Since its launch in 1983 The "New Year's Gala Concert" has undergone many changes reflecting the global transformations of Chinese media and Chinese society as a whole. The object of our research was chosen by the PRC television, and the subject was the "New Year's Gala Concert", on the example of the evolution of which we analyze the formation and development of modern Chinese media in the context of national and global media processes. The author's main contribution to the study of the chosen topic is a unique selection of key events defining the history of the "New Year's Gala Concert", on the basis of which the main stages of the modernization of Chinese television were determined: the Taiwanese pop wave, the "cultural thaw" and the crisis of censorship of the CPC in the mid-1980s; the advent of the era of advertisers and the rapid commercialization of Chinese media of the 90s-00s; strengthening the role of the state and the activation of ordinary viewers in the formation of a nationwide media campaign of the 2010s. The stages of the evolution of the "New Year's Gala Concert" highlighted in the article characterize the historical process of development not only of Chinese television, but of the whole country as a whole.

The purpose of the article is to clarify the meaning and functions of illustration festivals and book fairs from a socio-cultural perspective, as well as to determine and summarize the level of Ukrainian illustration’s representation in the international space through participation in such events. Research methodology. Empirical method, method of analysis and synthesis were applied. Journalistic materials on international events containing locations for the presentation of illustrative works and professional communication between illustrators were subject to analysis. Scientific novelty. The article considers the theoretical aspects’ importance of professional exhibitions of illustrators at international book fairs, competitions and festivals in the field of illustration for the development of this sector of creative industries. It is determined that these events are a powerful socio-cultural phenomenon and an effective platform for social communication between the main players in the sector. The events also perform a compensatory and motivating function for both professional environments and ordinary viewers of illustration, and their festivity and positive public response increase the illustration importance as a creative industries’ sector among the population. Also, for the first time, the article synthesizes factual data on the awards and prizes of Ukrainian illustrators, which exist in separate news publications, in the chronology of each event. It turned out that the most attractive for the participation of Ukrainian illustrators is The Illustrators Exhibition – Bologna Children’s Book Fair, as the chronology of achievements at this event is the longest and largest. The most successful illustrators in terms of international awards are Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv («Agrafka»creative workshop). Conclusions. Over the last decade, Ukrainian illustration has been actively asserting itself internationally. The works created in 2010 correspond to world trends and attract the attention of foreign colleagues, publishers and critics. In recent years, the promotion and PR of illustrators have reached a much higher level, which increases the publicity of Ukraine’s achievements and strengthens the prestige of the sector in the public. The constant worldwide recognition of a narrow circle of Ukrainian illustrators in the presence of many talented authors raises the question of forming a culture of Ukrainian illustrators’ professional ambitions, when presenting themselves in international competitions and festivals, submitting their work should be understood as part of professional activity. The presentation of Ukrainian illustration in such events can be interpreted as a tool of cultural diplomacy of Ukraine in the international space.

In the neological space of cinematic discourse, a separate place is occupied by new lexemes that characterize films from a positive or negative side. This assessment depends on various factors (the cast, the quality of the acting, the semantic component or its absence in the film, the budget of the film, etc.) and is given, as a rule, by film critics or ordinary viewers – the recipients of the cinema. Evaluation can be objective and subjective, momentary or timetested. The starting point in evaluating films is a certain “average level” (zero rating), when compared with which films are characterized in a derogative or ameliorative manner. The paper examines two groups of cinematic discourse neologisms with axiological-interpretive potential – characterizing the genre / type of film and the participants of the cinematic discourse. The sources of neologisms of cinematic discourse with an evaluative component were Internet dictionaries, glossaries of film terms, and Englishlanguage articles of mass media. Based on the definitions of such neologisms of cinematic discourse, as well as Internet sources containing these neologisms, one can draw conclusions can be drawn about certain aspects that affect the positive or negative characteristics of the film. It is summarized that the neologisms of cinematic discourse with axiological-interpretive potential have a manipulative property, affecting the audience, influencing their assessment of the film, as well as the expectations of the film, which can affect not only the popularity and sales of the film, but, on the contrary, lead to his failure at the box office. Not always, however, the fact that a picture belongs to a certain cinema genre with a negative characteristic will alienate the viewer and negatively affect the return on investment of the picture, and the presence of positive characters will not necessarily attract a larger audience. Considering the popularity of films and TV series with socalled “difficult men” and the positively colored contextual field of this neologism, we can, on the contrary, conclude that negative, multifaceted characters appeal to the viewer much more than entirely positive screen types.

The article covers a new name in the modern opera theatre of Ukraine – opera director Armen Kaloyan outlining his search for his own creative style. Since 2016, he has held the position of Chief Director at Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University. Leading opera directors’ influence on his creative growth is revealed. His teacher was Alexander Barsegyan, Ukrainian director, general director at the Kharkiv’s Pushkin Academic Russian Drama Theater. Before taking on that position, Barsegyan had been working for three years as the head of Kiev Operetta Theater. Kaloyan’s work as an assistant of Stanislav Gaudasinsky, opera director at the Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg (Russia) and the head at the creative opera studio at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, became an extremely interesting school for him. An example of the joint work of Armen Kaloyan with another well-known opera director is the 2017 th project of the production on the Kharkiv stage of the beautiful opera by G. Bizet “The Pearl Seeker”, where he has worked in a team of Dutch designers led by director Marc Krone. Marc Krone has staged around 300 operas around the world and has his own theatrical school. He worked as an actor for ten years and he is familiar with current trends in the theatrical life of the world’s theaters. He witnessed experiments that determined the theatrical modernity of Western Europe. He has always given a lot of attention to performers’ stage movements, historical fencing and stage fights, and in 2001 received a diploma in the summer school in Sofia, Bulgaria, for performing arts in Rudolf Laban’s technique and contact improvisation in the Monika Koch classroom (London, UK). Among Kaloyan’s students are actors of the trendy elite theater group “Beautiful Flowers” (Kharkiv), which defines itself in new futurological theatrical techniques, in particular plasticity. Relevance of the study. In recent years, Kaloyan has seen through a number of remarkable opera projects, making him the talk of not only the opera community and journalists, but also ordinary audiences. In recent years, A. Kaloyan is seen through a number of remarkable opera projects and has become an object of publications not only in the opera community but also in journalistic circles. He causes delight in ordinary viewers. Such a bright turn in his career makes me look more closely at the figure of the young director, which is briefly covered in the media and largely outside the context of the development of the modern opera house. Armen Kaloyan’s performances have gained considerable popularity with the public, in particular with youth audiences. His success also grew after the guidance of such projects at the opera house as “Night in the Opera”, “Student Night”, Gaudeamus “Opera”, and open air performances: “Taras Bulba” by M. Lysenko in the square in front of Kharkiv Opera House, “Mazepa” in the village of Kolomak within the framework of the festival of Hetman glory. It is rather surprising that no reviews from professionals followed on these bright theatrical events. Nevertheless, every new work of A. Kaloyan’s provokes an active interest in the ordinary audiences and connoisseurs of operatic milieu: to a lesser extent, among the academic music community and music lovers, and much interest among the supporters of modern art. Access to the director’s “backstage” of Armen Kaloyan gives an idea of the nuts and bolts of the work done in his creative workshop. This understanding makes this scientific research really relevant. Main objective of the study. The purpose of the article is to comprehend the creative searches of director Armen Kaloyan in the array of opera performances he created while his artistic personality was being formed, and to identify the peculiarities of his idiosyncratic directorial techniques, or “handwriting”. Methodology. The opera “Carmen” by G. Bizet and “Mazepa” by P. Tchaikovsky are put under investigation. In “Сarmen”, plastic directorial leitmotifs were discovered, which allowed us offering a new reading of this usual opera. In the opera “Mazepa”, a detailed analysis of the libretto is made in terms of changing the concept of the opera in connection with its translation into the Ukrainian language. Conclusions. Armen Kaloyan’s creative search continues, he keeps on doing his studies, as now it is all about self-education and self-improvement in his profession. However, today it can be argued that the young director has found his unique “handwriting”. A. Kaloyan has his own concept of Opera Theater. He is a supporter of the acting theater. A. Kaloyan skillfully makes use of the stage space, thanks to a clearly pre-arranged stage sets and moves. In some cases, when a director comes to the musical scene who is experienced in the drama theater or in the cinema, the results are disappointing. In the case of Armen Kaloyan, on the contrary, opera is enriched, being given a new dimension.

Game of Thrones (GoT) has become the most popular way of referring to a universe that was previously known under the title A Song of Ice and Fire by fans of fantasy novels. Indeed, thanks to its huge success, the TV series is now the most common entry into what is today a complex narrative constellation. Game of Thrones began as a series of five novels written by George R. R. Martin (first published in 1996). It was adapted as a TV series by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for HBO in 2011, as a comic book series (2011—2014), several video games (Blood of Dragons, 2007; A Game of Thrones: Genesis, 2011; Game of Thrones, 2012; Game of Thrones Ascent, 2013; Game of Thrones, 2014), as well as several prequel novellas, a card game (A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, 2002), and a strategy board game (2003), not to mention the promotional transmedia developed by Campfire to bring the novels’ fans to the TV series. Thus, the GoT ensemble does indeed look like a form of transmedia, at least at first sight.Game of Thrones’ UniverseGenerally, definitions of transmedia assemble three elements. First, transmedia occurs when the content is developed on several media, “with each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole. … Each franchise entry needs to be self-contained so you don’t need to have seen the film to enjoy the game, and vice versa” (Jenkins 97-98). The second component is the narrative world. The authors of Transmédia Dans Tous Ses États notice that transmedia stories “are in some cases reduced to a plain link between two contents on two media, with no overall vision” (Collective 4). They consider these ensembles weak. For Gambarato, the main point of transmedia is “the worldbuilding experience, unfolding content and generating the possibilities for the story to evolve with new and pertinent content,” what Jenkins called “worldmaking” (116). The third ingredient is the audience. As the narrative extends itself over several platforms, consumers’ participation is essential. “To fully experience any fictional world, consumers must assume the role of hunters and gatherers, chasing down bits of the story across media channels” (Jenkins 21).The GoT constellation does not precisely match this definition. In the canonical example examined by Jenkins, The Matrix, the whole was designed from the beginning of the project. That was not the case for GoT, as the transmedia development clearly happened once the TV series had become a success. Not every entry in this ensemble unfolds new aspects of the world, as the TV series is an adaptation of the novels (until the sixth season when it overtook the books). Not every component is self-contained, as the novels and TV series are at the narrative system’s centre. This narrative ensemble more closely matches the notion of “modèle satellitaire” conceived by Saint-Gelais, where one element is the first chronologically and hierarchically. However, this statement does not devalue the GoT constellation, as the canonical definition is rarely actualized (Sepulchre “La Constellation Transmédiatique,” Philipps, Gambarato “Transmedia”), and as transmedia around TV series are generally developed after the first season, once the audience is stabilized. What is most noticeable about GoT is the fact that the TV series has probably replaced the novels as the centre of the ensemble.Under the influence of Jenkins, research on transmedia has often come to be related to fan studies. In this work, he describes very active and connected users. Research in game studies also shows that gamers are creative and form communities (Berry 155-207). However, the majority of these studies focused on hardcore fans or hardcore gamers (Bourdaa; Chen; Davis; Jenkins; Peyron; Stein). Usual users are less studied, especially for such transmedia practices.Main Question and MethodologyDue to its configuration, and the wide spectrum of users’ different levels of involvement, the GoT constellation offers an occasion to confront two audiences and their practices. GoT transmedia clearly targets both fiction lovers and gamers. The success of the franchise has led to heavy consumption of transmedia elements, even by fans who had never approached transmedia before, and may allow us to move beyond the classical analysis. That’s why, in that preliminary research, by comparing TV series viewers in general with a quite specific part of them, ordinary gamers of the videogame GOT Ascent, we aim to evaluate transmedia use in the GOT community. The results on viewers are part of a broader research project on TV series and transmedia. The originality of this study focuses on ordinary viewers, not fans. The goal is to understand if they are familiar with transmedia, if they develop transmedia practices, and why. The paper is based on 52 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2012 (11) and 2013 (41). Consumers of fictional extensions of TV series and fans of TV series were selected. The respondents are around twenty years old, university students, white, mostly female (42 women, 10 men), and are not representative outside the case study. Therefore, the purpose of this first empirical sample was simply to access ordinary GOT viewers’ behaviours, and to elaborate an initial landscape of their use of different media in the same world.After that, we focused our analysis on one specific community, a subset of the GOT’s universe’s users, that is, players of the GoT Ascent videogame (we use “gamers” as synonym for “players” and “users”). Through this online participative observation, we try to analyse the players’ attitudes, and evaluate the nature of their involvement from a user perspective (Servais). Focusing on one specific medium in the GOT constellation should allow us to further flesh out the general panorama on transmedia, by exploring involvement in one particular device more deeply. Our purpose in that is to identify whether the players are transmedia users, and so GoT fans, or if they are firstly players. During a three month in-game ethnography, in June-August 2013, we played Aren Gorn, affiliated to House Tyrell, level 91, and member of “The Winter is Dark and Full of Terrors” Alliance (2500 members). Following an in-game ethnography (Boellstorff 123-134), we explored gamers’ playing attitudes inside the interface.The Users, TV Series, and TransmediaThe respondents usually do not know what transmedia is, even if a lot of them (36) practice it. Those who are completely unaware that a narrative world can be spread over several media are rare. Only ten of them engage in fan practices (cosplay, a kind of costuming community, fan-fiction, and fan-vidding, that is fans who write fiction or make remix videos set in the world they love), which tends to show that transmedia does not only concern fans.Most of the ordinary viewers are readers, as 23 of them cite books (True Blood, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, Les Piliers de la Terre), one reads a recipe book (Plus Belle la Vie), and seven consume comics (The Walking Dead, Supernatural). They do not distinguish between novelisation (the novel adapted from a TV series) and the original book. Other media are also consumed, however a lot less: animation series, special episodes on the Internet, music, movies, websites (blogs, fictional websites), factual websites (about the story, the production, actors), fan-fiction, and cosplay.Transmedia does not seem to be a strong experience. Céline and Ioana respectively read the novels adapted from Plus Belle la Vie and Gossip Girl, but don’t like them. “It is written like a script … There’s no description, only the dialogues between characters” (Ioana). Lora watched some webisodes of Cougar Town but didn’t find them funny. Aurélie has followed the Twitter of Sookie Stackouse (True Blood) and Guilleaume D. sometimes consumes humoristic content on 9gag, but irregularly. “It’s not my thing” (Aurélie). The participants are even more critical of movies, especially the sequels of Sex and the City.That does not mean the respondents always reject transmedia components. First, they enjoy elements that are not supposed to belong to the world. These may be fan productions or contents they personally inject into the universe. Several have done research on the story’s topic: Alizée investigated mental disorders to understand United States of Tara; Guilleaume G. wandered around on Google Earth to explore Albuquerque (Breaking Bad); for Guilleaume D., Hugh Laurie’s music album is part of the character of Gregory House; Julie adores Peter Pan and, for her, Once Upon A Time, Finding Neverland, and Hook are part of the same universe. Four people particularly enjoy when the fictional characters’ couples are duplicated by real relationships between actors (which may explain all the excitement surrounding Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie’s real-life love story, paralleling their characters’ romance on GOT). If there is a transmedia production, it seems that there is also a kind of “transmedia reception,” as viewers connect heteroclite elements to build a coherent world of their own. Some respondents even develop a creative link to the world: writing fan-fiction, poetry, or building scale models (but that is not this paper’s topic, see Sepulchre “Les Constellations Narratives”, “Editorial”).A second element they appreciate is the GOT TV series. Approximately half of the respondents cite GoT (29/52). They are not fundamentally different from the other viewers except that more of them have fan practices (9 vs. 1), and a few more develop transmedia consumption (76% against 61%). To the very extent that there is consensus over the poor quality of the novels (in general), A Song of Ice and Fire seems to have seduced every respondent. Loic usually hates reading; his relatives have pointed out to him that he has read more with GoT than in his entire lifetime. Marie D. finds the novels so good that she stopped watching the TV series. Marine insists

Medijski govor (vsaj nacionalne radiotelevizije) uvrščamo med nosilce govornega standarda na Slovenskem. Zaradi njegove razmeroma velike razširjenosti in vplivnosti na govorne navade poslušalcev oz. gledalcev, tj. uporabnikov jezika, se zdi raziskovanje jezika v okviru medijskega govora utemeljeno. V prispevku na podlagi treh metodoloških pristopov ter s pomočjo programa za analizo govora Praat analiziramo eno izmed besedilnofonetičnih značilnosti – poudarek –, ki je v slovenskem jezikoslovju razmeroma slabo raziskana. Prispevek je usmerjen v raziskovanje poudarkov z vidika pogostosti pojavljanja, jakosti, osnovnega tona in podaljševanja glasov. V okviru dvournega korpusa desetih TV-oddaj s politično vsebino smo preverili tri teoretične hipoteze, 1) da je v govoru politikov/političark prisotnih več poudarkov kot v govoru voditeljev/voditeljic TV-oddaj, 2) da so poudarki politikov/političark v povprečju jakostno močnejši (dB) in imajo višji F0 (Hz) kot poudarki voditeljev/voditeljic ter 3) da ima pri slušni zaznavi poudarkov najpomembnejšo vlogo sprememba/povečanje jakosti govora, nekoliko manjšo pa povišanje F0 ali podaljševanje glasov.

Economic News and Householdds Decisions

Objectives: The aim of the paper is making an animation film using cheap animation software to present various problems and their solution faced by a physically challenged person. Methods: The current work to use user-friendly animation software to depict the thick and thin in the life of physically disabled persons. Another aspect of the present study is to use secure keyframe animation techniques which have been applied for smooth animations. High-quality lighting effects and camera controlling method is also employed. The image processing portions like image enhancement, noise reduction, and so forth have been accomplished in a photo editing software platform at the initial stage before animation. Findings: This paper presents the application of cheap animation software and other associated software for making an animated film with music composition, sound recording, video editing and image processing. All this software is used to project a story of a physically challenged young person and his mentor, and it has produced a video show of 105 minutes’ duration. The existing script of this animation film has been prepared regarding the obstacles faced by a teacher and a student both being differently abled persons i.e. physically challenged ones. The contemporary animation film appears to provide through each video frame, a comfort, and pleasure for viewing by humans. The tunes and melodies of the contemporary film are composed by a music synthesizer to impart a feeling of the physically challenged persons to ordinary viewers. The entire saga is kept confined within the reasonable time limit. Novelty/Improvement: In the present study, an attempt has been made to utilize cheap animation software to produce high quality rendered scenesKeywords: Online Shopping, Perceived Risk, Purchase Intention, Risk Reduction Strategies

A law referred to as Access to Information and Protection Act (AIPPA) and Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) have had a negative effect on the operations of media organizations and journalists. These acts were enacted immediately after 2002 presidential elections at a time when the private media had gathered momentum and was critical of government by exposing various ills and malpractices in both government and the private sector. Civic organizations and media personnel expressed frustration at the red tape they had to go through in order to access government information. BSA also made it difficult if not impossible to open more broadcasting stations in the country as this is evident on the ground by the fact that no private broadcaster has been registered since the law came into force. AIPPA has made it difficult for journalists to investigate corruption and the abuse of power while ZBC's monopoly over the air waves has led to poor quality of programs. As a result most Zimbabweans are resorting to watching DSTV, SABC, and other international channels that are broadcast through satellite. The research used a descriptive case study method to extract information from journalists and discuss through focus group discussions the challenges the journalists grapple with as they work in the media organizations. The views of journalists and ordinary viewers of media was that AIPPA and BSA laws contravene the Zimbabwe constitution that protects the right of citizens to freedom of association as well as freedom of speech. The majority of respondents believed that there is need to reform the media laws in order to let citizens enjoy their right to freedom of expression.

In recent years, since broadband communication networks have become widely available, it is possible for ordinary viewers to access video content easily at any time or place with the use of services that deliver video content in a wide diversity of genres. Content delivery services that use user-generated video content have also become popular [1][3]. As technology supports the creation of video content, video editing systems [4], computer graphics (CG) software [5], and the like are being put to practical use. However, technical expertise is needed to use these tools. Furthermore, these tools expect the content creators to take care of key directorial and production roles, such as deciding how the video should be shot, what sort of composition to use, and how to present this content to the viewers. Specialized skills and experiences are needed for these tasks. For ordinary people with no special skills or experiences, the creation of video content can be difficult.

This article examines the role of lifestyle advice television programming in Australia, Taiwan and Singapore. Lifestyle television in the Asia-Pacific region includes a range of ‘popular factual’ formats from cooking and health shows to reality-style make-over shows and consumer advice programmes. What unites these shows, from Singapore's highly popular Home Décor Survivor to Taiwan's Lifestyle Experts and Australia's Better Homes and Gardens is their concern with instructing their audiences in everyday life skills while showcasing the latest consumer products and services. In this article we argue that, in inducting ordinary viewers into the ‘art of living’ these increasingly ubiquitous forms of advice television are playing a significant role in shaping social identities, consumer practices and personal lifestyles in the region. The lifestyle format takes on particular significance in Asia with the emergence of ‘new’ formations of consumer-oriented middle classes characterised by lifestyle aspirations that are shaped in complex ways by national, regional and global influences. Drawing upon a ‘multiple modernities’ approach, this article examines the pedagogical role of lifestyle TV in three different cultural contexts, foregrounding the way in which it negotiates varied global and local formations of lifestyle culture and consumption.

Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1. Imperial Representation of Non-elites 1. Augustus's and Trajan's Messages to Commoners 2. The All-seeing Emperor and Ordinary Viewers: Marcus Aurelius and Constantine Part 2. Non-elites in the Public Sphere 3. Everyman, Everywoman, and the Gods 4. Everyman and Everywoman at Work 5. Spectacle: Entertainment, Social Control, Self-advertising, and Transgression 6. Laughter and Subversion in the Tavern: Image, Text, and Context 7. Commemoration of Life in the Domain of the Dead: Non-elite Tombs and Sarcophagi Part 3. Non-elites in the Domestic Sphere 8. Minding Your Manners: Banquets, Behavior, and Class 9. Putting Your Best Face Forward: Self-representation at Home Conclusions Notes Bibliography Illustration Credits Index

The emphasis on a seemingly inevitable process of secularization leading to «demoralization» as part of modernization has meant that sociologists have not felt it necessary to give much heed to Durkheim's call for the development of a sociology of morals. However, there has been some recent movement in that direction, stimulated by a revival of interest in Durkheimian sociology and Foucault's work on discourses and moral regulation. The analysis of controversies about representations of sexuality in broadcast television can reveal the varied range of moral discourses that are drawn on by ordinary viewers when they feel provoked to write to protest about representations that they find morally offensive. The attempts of the regulatory authorities to adjudicate between the different moral discourses reveals some of the difficulties and strategies involved in moral regulation in late- or post-modernity, with the regulators often having to retreat from moral reasoning to legal-technical rationality.

The television audience discussion programme is critically analysed as a cultural forum in which the viewer-as-citizen may participate in public debate. These programmes place experts and ordinary viewers face to face in a studio audience to discuss an issue of current social concern. The viewer thus plays a role as joint author of the text. The programmes raise issues of citizenship, political participation, the active viewer and the cultural forum. The genre is analysed using Goffman's participation framework to reveal the conventions of the genre and the role of the reader. It is argued that in some respects these programmes represent a `managed show', offering the illusion of participation, while in other respects, they construct a role for the active viewer which legitimates and celebrates ordinary understandings while simultaneously devaluing expertise.