New Literature New Publications from Nordicom After the Tsunami The book discusses freedom of expression as a Crisis Communication in Finland and Sweden universal human right, and analyses its philosophical foundations. It raises legal questions arising from the Ullamaija Kivikuru & Lars Nord (eds.), Nordicom, tension between basic rights, and between national and 2009, 219 p., ISBN 978-91-89471-85-6, (Research Ant- international law. It considers to what extent freedom of hologies and Monographs). expression thrives or withers in an increasingly goba- The tsunami disaster in Southe- lized world of new technology. It discusses the Danish ast Asia during Christmas 2004 cartoons from a principled perspective, and it draws the caused many deaths among lines of today’s controversies back to the twenty-year- vacationers from Finland and old fatwa against Salman Rushdie. Freedom of Speech Sweden. It could be described Abridged? is written by scholars and journalists in the as one of the worst catastrophes Nordic countries, and represents a principled and spiri- experienced during the post- ted defence of freedom of expression. war period in these countries. This book examines how this dramatic and unexpected event Manufacturing Europe affected public communica- Spaces of Democracy, Diversity and Communication tion patterns and practices in Inka Salovaara-Moring (ed.), Nordicom, 2009, 256 p., countries like Finland and Sweden. The communicative ISBN 978-91-89471-73-3, (Research Anthologies and relations between government actors, the media and Monographs). citizens always significantly affect the development of crucial democratic values such as trust, accountability This book brings together leading and legitimacy. European specialists in theories The book covers different topics related to this is- of the public sphere, media and sue, such as strategic political communication, media democracy. It explores current coverage, newsroom practices, public opinion and the key problems of communica- use of new media in Finland and Sweden after the tsu- tion, democracy and diversity, nami disaster. and how these are intertwined as part of media practice. Inte- grating geographical, historical Freedom of Speech Abridged? and multicultural approaches, Cultural, Legal and Philosophical Challenges it develops existing thought on public sphere and democracy. In Anine Kierulf & Helge Rønning (eds.), Nordi- particular, it focuses on three dimensions that reflect ob- com, 2009, 155 p., ISBN 978-91-89471-76-4, (Research stacles to the European democratic project. Anthologies and Monographs). In exploring the reality and content of the concept Freedom of expression and free- of a European public sphere, the book scrutinizes the dom of the press has become an concept’s inherent values and norms as well as the na- issue that creates controversies ture of the formation and structure of a transnational all over the world in a manner public sphere: its efficacy, legitimacy, and pluralism. unthinkable at the beginning of Examining media practices, journalistic cultures and the 21st century. Authoritarian the mediation of European issues in member states, it regimes stifle free expression, explores how the European public sphere(s) are ac- and religious groups challenge tualized for its citizens. Opening up the ethnic, cultural, its foundations. It is threatened and historical diversity of the continent, the book offers even in democratic societies th- new approaches to the demands of modern European rough escalated security measu- multiculturalism. res passed under the pretext of In each case, the apparent struggle between idealism securing just those basic liberties among which freedom and realism forces the authors to question, as well as to of expression is central. These challenges are the backd- offer, new ways of understanding the integration process rop for the publication Freedom of Speech Abridged? and its communicative edge. 200 Media and Monarchy in Sweden tical assumptions as well as empirical evidence of media Mats Jönsson & Patrik Lundell (eds.), Nordicom Sve- and information literacy in action. But it also gathers rige, 2009, 154 p., ISBN 978-91-89471-77-1, (Research examples of how youth in developing countries have Anthologies and Monographs). used their skills to bring about change. Can an unmediated monarchy even be imagined? In today’s Young People in the European rapidly changing media, private and intimate aspects of monar- Digital Media Landscape. A Statistical Overview with an Introduction by Sonia chies are thriving. New as these Livingstone and Leslie Haddon phenomena may seem, and in some aspects surely are, rela- The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and tions between media and royal- Media, Nordicom, University of Gothenburg, 2009, 67 ties have existed for centuries. p., ISBN 978-9189471-83-2, (Reports Clearinghouse). In this book, scholars from a va- In connection with the Swedish riety of academic disciplines put Presidency of the European Uni- contemporary media-monarchic on, a conference on the theme, relations in historical perspective. The ways in which the Promoting a Creative Genera- monarchy navigates in a new digital media landscape tion, was held in July 2009. For are revealed with the help of older media strategies, this conference Nordicom pro- while present conditions guide the analyses of monar- duced a booklet of data that give chic relations to “new media” in the past. In Media and an overview of young people’s Monarchy in Sweden, altars and statues are thus taken media use in the digital age. just as seriously as traditional and digital mass media. Our aim has been to present, to Hereby, new insights into the complex interrelations the extent possible, comparable between two powerful institutions are reached. data for the countries of Europe. The publication begins with an article, Opportunities and Risks for European Children, by Sonia Livingstone Youth Engaging With the World and Leslie Haddon based on results from the research Media, Communication and Social Change project EU Kids Online. Thomas Tufte & Florencia Enghel (eds.), Göteborg, The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media, Nordicom, University of Gothenburg 2009, 344 Influences of Mediated Violence p., ISBN 978-91-89471-82-5, (Yearbook; 2009). A Brief Research Summary Cecilia von Feilitzen, The International Clearinghouse The Yearbook 2009 focuses on on Children, Youth and Media, Nordicom, University youth as a generation of actors of Gothenburg, 2009, 63 p., ISBN 978-91-89471-81-8, and citizens who are increa- (Reports Clearinghouse). singly exposed to and making use of media/ICT for entertain- Different parties turn to Nordi- ment and informational purpo- com and the Clearinghouse on ses, for social networking and Children, Youth and Media with mobilization, and for knowled- questions on the influences of es- ge sharing. pecially mediated violence. From Throughout history, young time to time the Clearinghouse people have often been active has highlighted the main conclu- participants in the manifestation sions that can be drawn from re- of social change, and most times their creative uses of search regarding such issues. In media and innovative practices of communication have this publication, Dr. Cecilia von been crucial in the process. Feilitzen, Scientific Co-ordinator At the core of this is media and information literacy. at the Clearinghouse, has attemp- Young people’s competence in using media, their ability ted to classify research findings into a more concise form to produce, understand and interact with the multiplicity than is perhaps common. There are different types of of both new and old media formats and technologies mediated violence and different types of influences. We have been instrumental in the manifestation of social hope that this publication will answer some of the ques- processes of change. This book seeks to explore theore- tions so often asked by various groups in society. 201 Denmark Documentalist: Maria Hvid Stenalt Media, Democracy and European Culture Ib Bondebjerg & Peter Madsen (eds.), Bristol, Intellect, 2009, 360 p., ISBN 9781841502472. Media, Democracy and European Culture presents some of the most re- cent, cutting edge research on Europe, from social, political and cultural perspectives, equally focusing on each dimension of democracy in Europe. The role of the media, communication policy and the question of how the media report on Europe runs as a thread through all contributions. The book is interdisciplinary and international. It brings together researchers from many countries and from humanities, social sciences and law. The articles combine the discussion of central theories and theoretical concepts for the understanding of media, democracy and European culture with empirical data and comparative analytical studies of media culture and democracy across Europe. Contains the following articles: Mark Ørsten: The Europeanization of the Danish News Media: Theorizing the News Media as both National and Transnational Political Institution; Vanni Tjernström: Rare Birds: The ‘Why’ in Comparative Media Studies. Nordic Ideal Types of Good European Journalism; Jostein Gripsrud: The Cultural Dimension of Democracy; Ib Bondeb- jerg: The European Imaginary: Media Fictions, Democracy and Cultural Identities; Peter Madsen: Intellectuals, Media and the Public Sphere; Zenia Hellgren: (De)constructing European Citizen- ship? Political Mobilization and Collective Identity Formation Among