On 2004/04/12, at 10:39, Torgeir Fjeld wrote: > Concerning the discussion of the aesthetic and communicative economy > of advertising, I'd just like to add that it's kinda difficult to > define the borders of advertising, and that this may have some impact > of how we relate to the issue. I'm thinking particularly of > advertising's relation to journalism. As I recall (though my memory may betray me), there is a nice discussion of this issue in Guy Cook's _Discourse of Advertising_. Advertising is parasitic on other forms of discourse and is constantly rummaging through them in its endless search for new ways to grab attention and become more persuasive. The boundary between advertising and journalism is, predictably, a hotly contested one. Ideally the journalist is the perfect objective witness and what the news reports is only carefully checked and tested facts. The reporter is cleanly separated from the editor or op-ed commentator whose writing conveys opinions. Both are seen as separated by huge chasm from advertising creatives who are seen as professional sophists for hire, employed to bedazzle and beguile naive consumers. In historical retrospect it is, however, clear that this scheme itself is a relatively modern development and one that is now being eroded by the same sorts of market forces described in my other messages. On the one hand, advertisers in search of greater credibility are persuaded to sponsor "advertorials" (ads that mimic editorial content) and to participate in "special supplements," sections in business magazines in which (typically highly flattering) coverage of their industry frames ads placed by participants. On the other, journalists forced to compete for advertising revenues are pressed to dramatize their coverage and adopt a tabloid style that focuses on the stylish and shocking instead of on matters of substance. Once again, boundaries blur and meaning flows. John L. McCreery The Word Works, Ltd. 55-13-202 Miyagaya, Nishi-ku Yokohama, Japan 220-0006 Tel 81-45-314-9324 Email mccreery@xxxxxxx "Making Symbols is Our Business" ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html