Alexandros G Baltzis
Research interests
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InterestsGlobalisation, Creative Industries, Sociology of Art, Cultural Industries, Socio-Cultural, Globalization, Cultural Diversity, cultural consumption, sociology of music, cultural production, Sociology of Culture
Publications
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Preface to Theory & Research in Journalism Studies
Communication Issues (Zitimata Epikinonias). 05/2012; 14-15(14-15):5-7.
The preface presents the rationale for the decisions made on the articles included in this special issue by examining briefly the diverse and interdisciplinary nature of journalism studies as a field of scholarly inquiry. In accordance with Calcutt and Hammond who understand journalism studies as co... [more] The preface presents the rationale for the decisions made on the articles included in this special issue by examining briefly the diverse and interdisciplinary nature of journalism studies as a field of scholarly inquiry. In accordance with Calcutt and Hammond who understand journalism studies as consciousness of journalism (not its conscience), the authors - like other analysts - hold that the field consists of a set of disciplines concerning the production of journalistic discourse, the practices, the forms, styles and formats, the functions and the evolution of journalism, and the education of journalists as well. Taking into account a very brief overview of the field in Greece (since a more detailed presentation appears in a couple of articles in this special issue), a view is maintained that has been developed also by other analysts: in contemporary societies where the regression or depreciation of democracy to authoritarian forms is observed, journalism itself becomes of particular importance not only (and perhaps not mainly) as a field for exercising hegemony, but as a field of resistance as well. In this context, the authors also agree with other analysts that it would be self-defeating for the academy to allow its transformation into a training provider for the news industry as this would also mean to suspend critical analysis and abandon the in-depth study of journalism by developing journalism studies.
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'Rock music for myself and justice to the world!' Music preferences, self-identities and social values
Psychology of Music. 03/2012; 40(2):143-163.
The study examined the relationship between music preferences, values and musical identities in a sample of 606 Greek college students in the three institutes for higher education in Thessaloniki (Greece). Students indicated the importance of their music preferences in defining and evaluating themse... [more] The study examined the relationship between music preferences, values and musical identities in a sample of 606 Greek college students in the three institutes for higher education in Thessaloniki (Greece). Students indicated the importance of their music preferences in defining and evaluating themselves and their values on an abbreviated version of the Schwartz Value Survey (1992). The questionnaire included 26 musical genres resulted from an exploratory research.
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Casting Doubt on Web Media. Can Internet Radio make a Difference in the Greek Case?
Radio Evolution, Braga, Portugal; 01/2011
Based on previous research and literature, the paper presents the characteristics of the RF (Hertzian) radio landscape in Greece and summarizes its basic features. This is a case where the mass media - and thus the RF radio as well - function in an environment defined by their dependence on strong c... [more] Based on previous research and literature, the paper presents the characteristics of the RF (Hertzian) radio landscape in Greece and summarizes its basic features. This is a case where the mass media - and thus the RF radio as well - function in an environment defined by their dependence on strong complexes of political and economic interests. Research shows that the hierarchy of political, economic and cultural considerations upon which RF radio in Greece is structured, is affected by this dependence. The paper argues that, in addition to the institutional framework, this setting also strongly affects the news and musical content of the terrestrial ("traditional" or RF) radio. However, setting aside simplistic interpretations and conspiracy theories, the paper argues that in the Greek case radio is not a simple "pipeline", but rather an instrument that performs a dual function: on the one hand, it promotes the complexes of political and economic interests while, on the other, it contributes to the construction of ideology and culture. Previous studies indicate that this double function is performed in multifarious, sophisticated and indirect ways. It cannot, therefore, be easily detected by solely analyzing the institutional framework or the market performance. A more complicated approach is needed, especially since previous studies show that the way the private radio was established in Greece and its subsequent development, ensured the safeguarding of a particular type of pluralism influenced by complexes of political and economic interests. In this sense, the paper examines the case of the Greek RF radio within the wider context of the media landscape in the country by taking under account several aspects of its historical evolution and social characteristics. In this way it sets out an example for the operation of the medium in small European markets. Based on this review, the paper goes on to analyze the challenge that the Internet radio represents in the Greek media landscape. In this context, it raises several questions. First, about the possibility of and the ways in which Internet radio might differentiate from RF radio, breaking free from the burdens of the former. Considering previous analyses, the paper takes into account the tendency of the Internet radio to be colonized by the same forces and structures that dominate the RF radio and determine its content. Research has shown that this is a general tendency on the Internet as a whole. Second, it raises the question about the differences between the RF and Internet radio as communication media and social systems. In an attempt to study the probability of Internet radio making a difference in a media environment like the Greek one, the paper discusses research scenarios and methods for its scientific evaluation. Finally, the paper tries to outline the main directions of the research in order to examine whether the Internet might represent a new environment for radio or a new form of the old structures in the well-known and well established status quo.
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Cultural Production and Creative Destruction
Quelles formes de valorisation pour la musique aujourd'hui?, Paris, France; 01/2010
The first and second part of the paper challenge the notion of a single music industry, based on relevant arguments developed during the last decades and especially by Williamson and Cloonan some years ago. It also explains briefly the functions of this notion when used in the public sphere and outl... [more] The first and second part of the paper challenge the notion of a single music industry, based on relevant arguments developed during the last decades and especially by Williamson and Cloonan some years ago. It also explains briefly the functions of this notion when used in the public sphere and outlines a far more complicated and contradictory system of music industries, adding to the existing literature and discussion. Some recent trends in the development of the recording industry as part of this broader system, are also discussed. The main argument is that understanding recent developments and the crisis of the recording industry requires placing it in a larger framework that includes all six facets of the production of culture at large as explicated by R. Peterson. The third part presents some basic data on the recording industry in Greece and places its development and recent crisis in this framework. Several peculiarities of the Greek case, are presented and associated with the features of the symbolic production in the capitalist periphery. Research shortcomings are explained on the basis of political and economic reasons and the technophobic attitude of this industry is discussed. The paper holds that the current crisis is not a crisis of THE music industry (which actually does not exist), neither of the music industries, but rather of a section within a sector of the music industries. What the recording industry experiences as destruction - the paper maintains - might be a creative destruction for the music industries, the creators, and the public, for several reasons presented briefly. Finally, the paper concludes that investing in research and development of new models instead of litigation and wars against technology - as the recording industry has done throughout the last century - might be more fruitful and even help to find a way out of the labyrinth.
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John Walker's Analysis: Premodern Production of Meaning and Mass Communication
01/2010: pages 11-27;
ISBN: 978-960-12-1928-8
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From RF to the Internet: Radio and Musical Culture in the 21st Century
01/2010: pages 305-335;
ISBN: 9789602186930
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Subversive Technologies: Web Radio and Cultural Change
Radio Content in the Digital Age, Limassol, Cyprus; 01/2009
Like any other medium, radio has been - and in certain ways still is - a major cultural agent, an articulator and at the same time a developer of values, attitudes, preferences, and ideologies in general, regardless of its organizational and operation model (public service, purely commercial, govern... [more] Like any other medium, radio has been - and in certain ways still is - a major cultural agent, an articulator and at the same time a developer of values, attitudes, preferences, and ideologies in general, regardless of its organizational and operation model (public service, purely commercial, government controlled, or some hybrid). This paper focuses on the social and cultural aspects of radio exploring the impact of the Internet on its qualities and functions that turned it into one important component of the music industries and a significant cultural force through its familiar programming practices as a content gatekeeper. The occasional use of the RF broadcast radio to establish social networks and promote alternative cultural expressions through innovative content, especially among young people, seems to be reinforced in the digital environment. Based on an exploratory study of the Greek case and on previous research, the paper holds that there is a long distance between mere RF webcasting and taping the potential of the Internet it this direction. The paper outlines from this point of view some of the major changes brought about by the Internet radio. Lowering the barriers for audio broadcasting, loosening the ties with the recording industry, enabling new business models, introducing innovative practices and content, and finally favoring new types of radio culture, as well as forms of critical culture and even counterculture, Internet radio might succeed where the RF broadcast radio has failed - at least in the Greek case - namely in promoting content diversity. Finally, in discussing the potential of the Internet radio as a cultural agent, the paper outlines the directions of the future research.
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Social Networks and Production of Culture in a Global Environment
European Society or European Societies?, Lisbon, Portugal; 01/2009
Understanding globalization as a complex social phenomenon, this paper takes a different stance from both the cultural imperialism paradigm and the fragmented empiricism of several micro-level approaches of the arts. It is based on the approach of the arts as forms of communication, as systems for t... [more] Understanding globalization as a complex social phenomenon, this paper takes a different stance from both the cultural imperialism paradigm and the fragmented empiricism of several micro-level approaches of the arts. It is based on the approach of the arts as forms of communication, as systems for the creation, production, dissemination and reception of symbolic forms. In this context, the paper explores several features of globalization that affect both the arts and their sociological approach in numerous noteworthy ways. These features include the introduction of alternative modes for the production of symbolic forms, associated with the development of digital technologies, the convergence of different forms of communication and the broader changes in communications. They also include the collapse of the barriers in cultural exchanges, the opening of the cultural markets and the increasing importance of the global multimedia conglomerates - developments that entail new regulation problems, concerns about cultural diversity and the freedom of expression, as well as the intensification of the global cultural asymmetries. It is argued that, nevertheless, these same developments created a new condition, reinforcing the proliferation of social networks and their eventual emergence as an alternative mode for the production of culture. The paper focuses on these peculiarities, supporting that globalization - even in its current, neoliberal form - affected in various, contradictory ways all six facets of the production of culture and created many more possibilities for the study of informal and alternative art worlds that have been hardly explored in the past. The paper holds that in these circumstances it is the responsibility of the sociology of the arts not only to study them, but also to suggest ways for their support and development, adopting a synthesis between older approaches and different points of view and taking into account more recent ones, like the social networks market perspective. From this point of view, the paper takes also a different stance from both the enthusiastic support and the complete rejection of the market mechanisms in the cultural field, as well as from the Internet Nirvana Theory. Its main argument is that cultural and educational policies are needed to support further democratization of the artistic realm, counterbalancing the forces of an uncontrollable market rather than eliminating it whatsoever.
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The Musicians between Industry and Community
The Music Professional in the Digital Environment, Athens, Greece; 01/2008
The impact of the internet and the new digital environment on the fields of the music creation, production, dissemination and reception, may be better understood taking into account the ambivalent features of the new medium, the complexities of the music industry as a system, the heterogeneity of th... [more] The impact of the internet and the new digital environment on the fields of the music creation, production, dissemination and reception, may be better understood taking into account the ambivalent features of the new medium, the complexities of the music industry as a system, the heterogeneity of the social groups involved (musicians, cultural intermediaries, audiences), as well as the dominant mode of production of symbolic goods in contemporary societies. This paper considers some of the new trends in music, as results of counterbalancing forces. It also accentuates the necessity for a dispassionate and unbiased analysis and evaluation of the changes observed in musical culture, to understand the transformation of the social roles of the musicians, of the structure, and the social functions of the music industry in general. While bypassing prevalent stereotypes, avoiding flattening generalizations, and clarifying several social, cultural and political ramifications of the changes brought about by the digital environment, the paper argues that a better understanding of the current transitions may contribute to maximize the advantages of the new possibilities, extend the scope of the musicians and enhance the horizon for the audiences. It also argues that the needs emerging in the new environment, create another good opportunity - which should not be lost - to reconsider the laissez-faire policy in music, particular for the Greek case.
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Diversity in the Local Radio and the Recording Industry in Greece
2nd European Communication Conference (ECREA), Barcelona, Spain; 01/2008
The paper presents a study on diversity in the Greek local radio music programs and in the output of the recording industry, regarding both media as integral parts of the same system. A basic assumption of the analysis is that the research on diversity reveals important aspects of the more or less f... [more] The paper presents a study on diversity in the Greek local radio music programs and in the output of the recording industry, regarding both media as integral parts of the same system. A basic assumption of the analysis is that the research on diversity reveals important aspects of the more or less formal media policy on music. A second basic assumption is that this kind of research represents a necessary background for understanding some of the factors that influence musical culture. The paper is also based on the importance placed upon diversity of media content by regulators, industry practitioners and theorists in several fields (media and music sociology, media economics, communication policy etc.). Given the scarcity of relevant empirical research and theoretical analysis concerning the Greek case, the study draws on previous research in this field concerning other countries and cases. On this basis, the paper discusses several problems relating to the definition and measurement of diversity in both media. The discussion takes into account the multitude of dimensions and aspects of the concept as well as the difficulties for its operationalization, especially in the case of music. Finally, based on the results of this research, the paper discusses the recording industry policy and it subjects to test also the common assumption in Greece that it tends towards standardization and homogenization, especially during the last decades. It also raises several questions about the possibilities of a public media policy that might have a positive impact on the development of diversity in both the radio and the recording industry which form an important part of everyday culture.
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Measuring and Evaluating Interactivity in Websites of Musicians: Theoretical Implications and Empirical Research
Zitimata Epikinonias (Communication Issues). 01/2008; 8:121-141.
This article analyses seventeen cases of empirical research on interactivity in websites, as well as several measurement models, the theoretical background of the construct and its importance in the new context for the production, distribution and reception of symbolic forms. Focusing on musicians&#... [more] This article analyses seventeen cases of empirical research on interactivity in websites, as well as several measurement models, the theoretical background of the construct and its importance in the new context for the production, distribution and reception of symbolic forms. Focusing on musicians' personal websites, a model for measuring and evaluating interactivity is introduced, thus filling a gap in the web studies. The suggested model may be used to test the hypotheses that the internet might lead to decentralization of the communication, to reverse markets and to disintermediation, i.e. to the emancipation and enhancement of the communication through various forms of art. It might also be used in web design, for evaluating websites, and as a methodological basis to develop research in fields other than the interaction between musicians and their audiences.
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Influence of Social Values and Music Preferences on the Use of Music Distribution Channels: An Exploratory Study
Arts, Culture and Public Sphere. Expressive and Instrumental Values in Economic and Sociological Perspectives, Venice, Italy; 01/2008
Objective: An empirical research is presented that focuses on music acquisition patterns among students in a major urban centre (Thessaloniki, Greece). Main objective of this study is to test whether there is any relation between the use of various music distribution channels on the one hand, and mu... [more] Objective: An empirical research is presented that focuses on music acquisition patterns among students in a major urban centre (Thessaloniki, Greece). Main objective of this study is to test whether there is any relation between the use of various music distribution channels on the one hand, and music preferences, social values, and demographic factors, on the other. Methods: 456 students from the three institutes for higher education in the city were asked to indicate the frequency of use of various music distribution channels. Respondents were also asked to indicate their preferences for 24 musical genres and the importance of 24 values in their personal lives. Standard demographic data were also collected (gender, education and occupations of parents, geographical origin, annual family income) and a scale of socioeconomic status was constructed. The ratio of the use of each channel to the total use of all music distribution channels by each respondent was then calculated to obtain the music acquisition patterns. In addition, channels were grouped in formal and informal as well as in free and pay channels. To explore the relation between the patterns of distribution channel use on the one hand, and the education of parents, the geographical origin, the socioeconomic status and the annual family income, on the other, one-way analyses of variance were conducted. Independent-samples T-tests were also employed to detect differences between males and females on the patterns of music acquisition. Finally, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were carried out to explore whether music preferences and social values may predict the patterns of music acquisition. Findings: Music preferences, gender, and cultural background, are better predictors for the patterns of music acquisition compared to social values, geographical origin, family income and socioeconomic status. Findings contradict the rhetoric of the (major) recording industry that employs a simplistic representation of the users of informal and free distribution channels, ascribing exclusively negative instrumental values to them. The literature review revealed that the major paradigms used in the sociology of music and in sociology of the arts to interpret patterns of cultural consumption (homology theory, omnivorousness hypothesis, the scenes perspective) do not get into the details and particularities of the ways in which the various forms of cultural capital are objectified. A theoretically significant outcome of this research is the indication that in the case of music - unlike preferences - the acquisition patterns do not correlate with the lifestyles of any particular strata. This finding - if confirmed by further research - might contribute to the improvement and refinement of the theory and to a better understanding of the functions of the arts in contemporary societies. One conclusion is that further research needs to be done to understand better the ways in which music acquisition patterns are constructed and examine whether they constitute forms of symbolic resistance or conformity, disdain of the artistic activities or awareness of their speculative uses in the market. A better understanding of these patterns may shed some light to cultural practices in everyday life and finally to contribute to a more efficient and productive policy than repression. The findings rather support the argument that perhaps it would be more fruitful and beneficial for the recording industry (and its audiences) to invest in serious research for alternative policies rather than in litigation of questionable efficiency in defense of an outdated policy that ignores the complexities of cultural consumption. This might improve its public image as well, as it is the only industry fighting its own consumers.
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Innovation and Diversity in the Repertoire of the Recording Industry
The Music Industry in Greece: Aspects, Perspectives, and Challenges in the 21st Century, Athens, Greece; 01/2007
For more than 30 years now the literature records the efforts of many researchers to operationalize the concepts of innovation and diversity in music. However, a general agreement has not been achieved yet. The development of the empirical research to test several views and hypotheses about the reco... [more] For more than 30 years now the literature records the efforts of many researchers to operationalize the concepts of innovation and diversity in music. However, a general agreement has not been achieved yet. The development of the empirical research to test several views and hypotheses about the recording industry produced the pressure to define these concepts. Nowadays, this discussion continues in the light of new facts: convergence among different media and forms of communication, development and domination of the global multimedia conglomerates, reengineering of their different sectors (including their music sectors) and synergy among them, new cycles of concentration in the mass media, alternative forms of cultural production, unprecedented possibilities for its disintermediation, changes in the social roles of the musicians, while their relation with the recording industry is also under transformation, as well as their access to cultural resources and their audiences, development of the access to music, its uses and reception. Under these circumstances, testing the hypotheses about cultural homogenization and conservatism, as well as about the contribution of the recording industry to the democratization of the artistic communication, the enrichment and development of the musical culture is of particular importance. This paper discusses the complexity of the problem about diversity and innovation in the arts, focusing on the case of the recording industry. The objectives of the paper are to summarize the approaches so far and to enhance the discussion about the methods of research. On the other hand, its purpose is to contribute to the agenda setting of the research network for the music industry, focusing on the Greek case, which has not been studied thoroughly.
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Cultural Hegemony and Music: Political Aspects of a Complex Relation
Music and Politics, Athens, Greece; 01/2007
The paper focuses on some aspects of the complex relation between music as collective action and politics. It analyses certain functions of the major institutions for production, dissemination and reception of music in the context of the structuring and reproduction of cultural hegemony. It gives em... [more] The paper focuses on some aspects of the complex relation between music as collective action and politics. It analyses certain functions of the major institutions for production, dissemination and reception of music in the context of the structuring and reproduction of cultural hegemony. It gives emphasis to issues concerning the management of innovation and cultural diversity, as well as to the global aspects of the cultural hegemony worldwide. In this context, the paper introduces a brief review of the discussion on the political consequences of the strategy and the tactics implemented by the major recording industry in an environment where major changes in the mass media occur and new forms of social interaction appear. The paper suggests that the contemporary issues at stake concern the cultural policy both on a local and a global level.
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Visual Arts and Symbolic Value of Consumer Goods: The Use of Paintings in Print Ads
New Frontiers in Arts Sociology: Creativity, Support and Sustainability, Lüneburg/Hamburg, Germany; 01/2007
The focal points of this paper are the displacement of meaning and the functions in the realm of the artistic perception in a market-driven society, and the consequent production of new types of meaning. The paper explores the hypothesis that there is a correlation between the kind of the visual re... [more] The focal points of this paper are the displacement of meaning and the functions in the realm of the artistic perception in a market-driven society, and the consequent production of new types of meaning. The paper explores the hypothesis that there is a correlation between the kind of the visual representations used in the print commercial advertisements and the symbolic value of the advertised consumer goods. After a short review of previous research in the cases of other countries, the paper presents the results from an exploratory research of the printed ads in Greek magazines. The research is both qualitative and quantitative. According to the working hypothesis, the higher the symbolic value of the advertised consumer good, the more frequent is the use of visual representations that derive from an established, commonly known and highly appreciated visual artistic canon. For the purposes of this research, we collected a random sample of print advertisements published in Greek magazines during 2002-2007 and traced the use of visual artworks. The data collected during this exploratory research indicate that there are significant differences between Greece and other countries in the frequency of appearance and the use of visual artworks in printed ads. The differences concern the symbolic value and the status of the visual arts, the ways in which the ads create communication codes and the types of goods for which image and identity is created through the use of visual artworks in the Greek case. Exploring the social functions of the visual arts in printed ads, the paper indicates the need for further research in this field taking into account its importance for a better understanding of the everyday culture and of the specific functions of the visual arts in the Greek case. This type of research may contribute to comprehend: the ways in which the visual arts are utilized by the economy and the media; the stronger convergence between different forms of communication in late capitalism and its consequences for the production of meaning and values; the emergence of new patterns of cultural consumption characterized by ambivalence; the ways in which the visual arts function as a source of creativity for the entrepreneurs; the decline of a previous highly pronounced divergence that has been dominant and the transformation of the ways in which people perceive the artworks.
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Rearviewmirrorism and Innovation in Radio Web Pages. Comparative Analysis and Methodological Questions
01/2006: pages 65-76;
ISBN: 1845491459
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Copyright, Freedom of Expression® and Artistic Communication in the Internet Era: The Recorded Music
The Impact of Internet on the Mass Media in Europe, Delphi, Greece; 01/2006
Based on the case of music in the internet, this paper explores the framework and the parameters of the conflict arising between copyright (in the sense of the protection granted by law to the authors by allowing them to prohibit unauthorized use of their works) and the right of the citizens to be i... [more] Based on the case of music in the internet, this paper explores the framework and the parameters of the conflict arising between copyright (in the sense of the protection granted by law to the authors by allowing them to prohibit unauthorized use of their works) and the right of the citizens to be informed. It presents some paradoxes that often result during litigation the degree to which the established legal approach of the peer-to-peer music file exchange complies with recent developments. The paper discusses also the challenges that the internet creates for the recording industry, the phases of the "war on copyright infringement" in which the industry is involved, as well as its strategy. A major asymmetry is actually established in this field: the very notion of intellectual property - being socially constructed (and therefore culturally determined) - is incompatible with new types of practice and new forms of culture that proliferate in the internet and the public "cybersphere". Furthermore, it is incompatible also with cultures ignoring the concepts of individual creativity and of the autonomous and accomplished individual artwork. Finally, the paper discusses some issues which are really at stake and extend far beyond the industry concerns about lost profits.
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Activist Art, Social Movements, and Mass Media
Culture of the Media / Culture in the Media, Thessaloniki, Greece; 01/2006
In the last decades various social movements developed, the international movement against the neoliberal globalization being their spearhead. In the international and local literature very little can be found about the functions of the arts in the context of these movements. On the other hand, the ... [more] In the last decades various social movements developed, the international movement against the neoliberal globalization being their spearhead. In the international and local literature very little can be found about the functions of the arts in the context of these movements. On the other hand, the dominant mass media treat the arts in the context either of the infotainment, or of the mainly escapist forms of entertainment. In this way they support and reproduce certain notions about the artistic communication and its functions, as well as about the social roles of the artists in modern developed societies. This feature is embedded in the latent cultural agenda of the dominant mass media. However, using photography, music, performing arts and several other forms of artistic expression, many artists involved in various social movements express and they state with their practice a different notion about the functions of the art, contrasting the ideas disseminated by the dominant media. The origins of this different notion can be traced back in the artistic avant-garde that emerged during the 19th century. In this context, the paper explores the functions of the so called activist art, focusing on the ways in which it may express or even define the issues raised by the social movements. Based on several examples as well as on the literature, the paper discusses the functions of the activist art as an alternative form of mobilization of resources and as an emotional agent provocateur in the context of the social movements. The paper explores also the extent to which this type of art - as an alternative form of communication - might fill the needs that the "conventional" mass media fail to meet. Finally, the paper introduces a typology of the activist art and a definition that makes a clear distinction among activist, political, and politically engaged art.
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Freedom of Expression® and the Recorded Music: Control and Democracy in the Internet Era
01/2006: pages 251-263;
ISBN: 1845491459
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Introduction to the collective volume "Innovation and Challenges in the European Media"
01/2006: pages xvii-xxxi;
ISBN: 960-12-1571-6
Following (22)
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LONGANG TCHOUNKEU Yolande Flore
REFOTDE - Research Foundation in Tropical Disease and Environment -
Constantine A. Barbargires
Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης -
Elefteria I Koseoglou
Ανώτατη σχολή Καλών Τεχνών -
Alex Afouxenidis
National Centre for Social Research
Topics (1)
