A decade of media studies
The 7th Edition of the International Media-Business-Culture Conference. Pomerania 2021 has come to an end.
Over a hundred papers in thematic sessions, plenary lecture: "New Normal" or Paradigm Shift? Media Ecosystem in the Process of Adaptation to the Digital Age, two debates, including one celebrating the tenth anniversary of the discipline of social communication and the media with the participation of the most eminent media scholars from major centres from all over Poland, the gala of the Medi@stery competition for the best MA thesis on knowledge of the media, and almost two hundred participants. These are the outcomes of this year's conference titled: Media-Business-Culture. Pomerania 2021, which was held at the University of Gdansk under the slogan: "A decade of media studies". A post-conference, peer-reviewed monograph is being prepared.
Media-Business-Culture is an international conference addressed to the scientific community, business representatives, media employees and cultural institutions cooperating with the media. For several years, it has been one of the most significant meetings of theoreticians and practitioners and a forum for exchanging views on ethical, technological, cultural and market processes related to social communication and the media.
This year's conference had a special profile - it was held on the tenth anniversary of the discipline of social communication and media studies and the fifteenth anniversary of the faculty of Journalism and Social Communication at the University of Gdansk (UG).
The conference took place on 14 and 15 October 2021, and was organised by the Institute of Media, Journalism and Social Communication of the UG.
Dr hab. Małgorzata Łosiewicz, professor of the UG: During the two conference days, the University of Gdansk became a national forum for the discussion of social communication and media, and Media-Business-Culture offered an opportunity to discuss the possibilities for the development of a young scientific discipline and communication and media practices. We hope that the experts' voices have provided a better understanding and insight into the current challenges that not only researchers, but also the entire media environment face. We believe that the multitude of perspectives discussed, the intermingling of theoreticians and practitioners have inspired the discovery and identification of effective ways of responsible communication and journalism serving people, communities and their environment.
Due to the pandemic, the conference had a hybrid character. The gala opening ceremony, combined with the gala of the competition for the best MA thesis on the knowledge of the media Medi@stery, took place at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Gdansk. Debates, the plenary lecture and thematic papers were presented online. All events are available on the FB profile of the Faculty of Journalism and Social Communication at the University of Gdansk and could be followed in real time during the conference. They now offer an invaluable material not only for the archives – they constitute a collection of relevant information on the issues of current media studies:
https://www.facebook.com/dziennikarstwo.ug/
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Opening ceremony and gala of the Medi@stery competition
During the opening ceremony of the conference the Gala of the sixth and seventh edition of the Medi@stery competition for the best MA thesis on media knowledge was held, during which prizes were awarded. The winner of the 6th edition was Kataryna Savranska from the Jagiellonian University, who wrote a MA thesis entitled: "The Issue of Information Warfare in Russia's Relationships with Selected European Countries. Media studies perspective” (supervisor: professor Agnieszka Hess). The second and third place winners were Patryk Kukliński from the University of Warsaw (supervisor: dr Łukasz Przybysz) and Karina Veltzé from the Jagiellonian University (supervisor: professor Dominika Kasprowicz). The winner of the seventh edition was Agnieszka Wszołek of the Jagiellonian University, for her MA thesis: The condition of Polish foreign affairs journalism. Analysis of media coverage of the Venezuelan crisis in early 2019 (supervisor: professor Beata Klimkiewicz). The second and third place winners were: Krzysztof Nadratowski from the University of Warsaw (supervisor: dr Łukasz Przybysz) and Izabela Golonka from the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (supervisor: prof. Ewa Nowak-Teter).
The winners were present in the WNS Hall and their supervisors kept their fingers crossed for them online. The awards were presented by the initiators of the competition: professor Małgorzata Łosiewicz, Director of the Institute of Media Journalism and Social Communication UG and professor Anna Ryłko-Kurpiewska, Deputy Director of the Institute. The interviews with the winners were conducted by Stanisław Pawłowski, a student of Journalism and Social Communication at the UG.
The main prize in the competition is the publication of the first place winners' book in print. The publications are under the patronage of the Mayor of the City of Gdansk and are funded by the City Hall of Gdansk. All of them are available on the competition’s website: https://mediastery.ug.edu.pl/publikacje/.
The Gala ws traditionally concluded with the promotion of Kataryna Savranska's book (with the same title as the MA thesis) and the laureate read a selected fragment of the publication.
The Medi@stery competition is organised by the Media Institute of Journalism and Social Communication at the University of Gdansk and is an inspiration for further development of young media experts. The essence of the event is to encourage the winners to use in the world of media the knowledge they gained at university, whether they want to be practitioners, researchers or commentators. Works for the next, eighth edition of the competition can be submitted until 20 November; information is available at: https://mediastery.ug.edu.pl/.
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Plenary lecture and thematic sections
The scientific part of the conference was opened with a plenary lecture by professor Alicja Jaskiernia (University of Warsaw) – “The new normal” or a paradigm shift? Media ecosystem in the process of adaptation to the Digital Age. Professor Jaskiernia offered reflections on the current communication situation, which requires a new approach. She also listed the processes by which we can describe it, namely: the rooting of experience in digital space, the threat of manipulation and fake news on a much larger scale, the possibility of linking algorithms to content control and using them for unethical purposes, and the unprecedented technological race.
The thematic sessions were attended by distinguished media scholars representing all the leading scientific and research centres in Poland, as well as experts and practitioners dealing with communication on a daily basis. As in previous editions, researchers, practitioners, students and doctoral students shared their research during the four thematic sections: the media and the market, the media vs culture and society, the image as a medium of culture and communication, the language of the media - yesterday and today. 101 papers were delivered: 73 in the main sections and 28 in the student-doctoral section.
An important part of the conference, as every year, was the student-doctoral panel, in which young media scholars shared their research.
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Debate and expert panel
The audience was particularly interested in the debate and the expert panel, which was attended by around 150 people.
The debate entitled: "A Decade of Media Research", with the participation of the most eminent media scholars from leading scientific and research centres from all over Poland, was a summary of the experience to date of a discipline that has been functioning for ten years: social communication and media sciences. The discipline was founded in 2018 as part of the new system of scientific disciplines, related to the reform of higher education in Poland, but it has been functioning since 2011, when, after many years of efforts by the academic community, gathered around the Polish Communication Association, the discipline of media science was established for the first time in Poland. The following professors participated in the debate: Janusz Adamowski (University of Warsaw), Bogusława Dobek-Ostrowska (University of Wrocław), Tomasz Goban-Klas (University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow), Iwona Hofman (Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin), Tomasz Mielczarek (Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce), Jerzy Olędzki (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw) and Teresa Sasińska-Klas (Jagiellonian University). Moderated by dr Beata Czechowska-Derkacz (Institute of Media, Journalism and Social Communication, University of Gdansk). The debate concerned the directions of development of the discipline, its educational character, its interdisciplinary dimension, as well as the interpenetration of the fields of social sciences and humanities (the discipline currently combines the media sciences, the sciences of cognition and social communication, information science and bibliology).
Professor Iwona Hofman, Head of the Committee on Social Communication and Media Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, President of the Polish Communication Association and Director of the Institute of Social Communication and Media Sciences at Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin, was particularly significant. In her summary she said: The discipline of social communication and media sciences is developing dynamically and I am convinced that this potential will grow every year. Media provide an attractive subject of research. There is a growing interest in media studies and communication studies. There are many external factors which make us aware of the need for knowledge of the mechanisms of the media and communication, and the pandemic has made us even more aware of this. Evaluation and the new principles of scientific policy show how important scientific communication and the distribution of knowledge are. I also think there is a resurgence of classical media research studies, and I am delighted to see an increasing number of PhDs and post-doctorates devoted to media culture, ethics and, even more, to media history and language. The young environment and the growing number of doctoral students allow us to look clearly to the future.
The interview with professor Iwona Hofman is available at: https://ug.edu.pl/news/pl/1988/dekada-badan-nad-mediami-wspolnota-badawcza-medioznawcow
Traditionally, there was also an expert panel held. This year it was devoted to responsible communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel was moderated by Magdalena Skorupka-Kaczmarek (Komunikujmy). Participants included practitioners from various spheres of public and economic life: Katarzyna Gruszecka-Spychała, Vice-President of Gdynia for the Economy; Dorota Michałowska, Vice-President and Director of the Corporate Division of NDI S.A.; Małgorzata Pisarewicz, Director for Social Communication and Promotion of Pomeranian Hospitals; and Michał Polak, Vice-President of the Management Board in the Warsaw Institute of Banking Foundation. There was no shortage of heated discussion around the questions of how to communicate and get information to stakeholders during the pandemic, the nature of communication changes, and the ethical and practical dimension of communication at this particular time.
The technical setting of the conference was provided by the Film and Documentary Production Centre of the University of Gdansk, headed by its director Wojciech Głodek.
Dr Beata Czechowska-Derkacz
cooperation: Dominika Synowiec (Journalism and Social Communication UG)
