How does media influence financial markets? Or how do financial markets influence media? What is the role of state institutions in this process and how significant are they? Is their power increasing or decreasing over the time? In an workshop, which I’ve planned in collaboration with my colleagues for Swiss Banking Institute of University of Zurich and which will be held on 14.05.2010, we will try to provide answer on these intriguing questions. Workshop will be held at the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research of University of Zurich. The major aim of it is bringing together researchers from three different institutions in Zurich which study the subject from different scientific angles but failed to coordinate their work properly to date. Institutes which are involved include Institute of Mass Media and Communication Research of University of Zurich, Swiss Banking Institute of University of Zurich and Swiss Economic Institute of ETH Zurich. Detailed program can be viewed here.
Zurich, 13.05.2010
I have just finished work on my new academic article where I introduce a media trend hypothesis. Axxording to it the media is interested in neither market equilibrium nor economic stability. Its major concern is the establishment of a trusted product that will sell for as long as possible. This is only manageable by establishing a story line – or major trend – which will remain unchanged throughout the weeks, months or even years and remain stable throughout the changes in the “real world”. As indicated in the research, the media are forced to react to the major events that contradict their arguments, but they always try to downplay the negative aspects of even most negative events, and then re-establish the major trend as soon as possible.
According to my research, it is not the political forces or elites that influence the media’s coverage; it is the underlying media logic itself that forces the media to keep the established trend for as long as possible, remaining incredibly unwavering to any outside factors. The development of a major trend and the commercial necessity of its support by any means damn the media to biased coverage of events and poses a great threat to democratic societies where the choices of the citizens increasingly and sometimes completely depend upon objective – and according to the commercial logic, nearly impossible – media coverage.
More about the article can be obtained in research section of this home page.
Zurich, 12.11.2009
24/03/2010
In this spring and in coming summer, I am entering a phase which could be described as a milestone in one’s life. In collaboration with my colleagues from various institutions in Zurich, I plan a workshop in Media and Finance. In this summer, I will submit my complete thesis for review.
19/10/2009
My last post is quite old. I was working very intensively on the project details of which will be disclosed in the research section of this home page soon. Till then, bear with me...
25/07/2009
I would like to apologize in front of the readers of my site who despite missing regular updates are quite many. I was overly busy with working on my academic papers and developing a new project which will give a kick start to my activities in Swiss and German language media. As the project is very important to me I invested lot of time in it. Now, I have time and plan to continue working on my political (and sometimes economical) articles in the Georgian press. I am now working on the article called “Thought the Eyes of Pauper”. So, coming soon…