Page 69 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 69
4.3 Chapter Conclusion
ality, although some of these reflections can be customised to a special
audience, policy, culture, etc. Many authors, e.g. Anderson (1995), Mer-
rin (1999), Mckercher and Chan (2005), Trauer (2006), Walter (2009, p.
44), Lennon and Foley (2000), and Sharpley (2009), highlighted differ-
ent perspectives of the media and dark tourism connections. On the other
hand, many authors discussed memory-media relations in a similar man-
ner, e.g. Landsberg (2003), Lehti et al. (2008), Wertsch (2002), Edy (1999),
Ehala (2014), Ebbrecht (2007), Assmann (2011), Harro-Loit and Kõresaar
(2010), and Pavlaković and Perak (2017), where the media co-create a
collective memory (Ebbrecht, 2007, p. 222; Pavlaković & Perak, 2017, p.
301). This shows how relevant it is to investigate such topics and relations
in both cases. The Upper Adriatic examples mentioned in previous sub-
chapters also explain their topicality. This is even more important, be-
cause the residents of Croatia, for example, regard the media as the main
source of information, especially television and newspapers, but, para-
doxically, have low confidence in them.¹¹ In this situation, the media is
not perceived as a mirror of society. Nevertheless, people emphasise their
power in creating a media social reality (Nikodem & Valković, 2011, pp.
810–812). Baloban et al. (2019, pp. 32–34) pointed out the same findings
at the national level, where the data for Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar
County do not deviate at all.
Based on the media-related perspectives and other topics discussed in
this chapter, and on the objectives and purpose of this study, the following
conclusions and directions were developed:
• as the journalism (media) function is one of society’s main insti-
tutions of recording and remembering past and present time, ‘an-
niversary journalism’ will be considered in this study. Anniversaries
(history-centric memorial practices), with their ritual performance,
attract public and media attention. The related prosthetic memory,
which is the media technology-dependent unexperienced memory
(only reproduced/replicated), will be intentionally ignored;
• only the material dimension of the ‘media environment’ will be con-
sidered: (a) media technologies (internet) and (b) the media offer for
remembrance (thematic newspaper articles). Television, with its sig-
nificant impact on new memory – see Hoskins (2001, pp. 334–341) –,
will not be considered;
¹¹ See also Čuvalo (2010).
69
ality, although some of these reflections can be customised to a special
audience, policy, culture, etc. Many authors, e.g. Anderson (1995), Mer-
rin (1999), Mckercher and Chan (2005), Trauer (2006), Walter (2009, p.
44), Lennon and Foley (2000), and Sharpley (2009), highlighted differ-
ent perspectives of the media and dark tourism connections. On the other
hand, many authors discussed memory-media relations in a similar man-
ner, e.g. Landsberg (2003), Lehti et al. (2008), Wertsch (2002), Edy (1999),
Ehala (2014), Ebbrecht (2007), Assmann (2011), Harro-Loit and Kõresaar
(2010), and Pavlaković and Perak (2017), where the media co-create a
collective memory (Ebbrecht, 2007, p. 222; Pavlaković & Perak, 2017, p.
301). This shows how relevant it is to investigate such topics and relations
in both cases. The Upper Adriatic examples mentioned in previous sub-
chapters also explain their topicality. This is even more important, be-
cause the residents of Croatia, for example, regard the media as the main
source of information, especially television and newspapers, but, para-
doxically, have low confidence in them.¹¹ In this situation, the media is
not perceived as a mirror of society. Nevertheless, people emphasise their
power in creating a media social reality (Nikodem & Valković, 2011, pp.
810–812). Baloban et al. (2019, pp. 32–34) pointed out the same findings
at the national level, where the data for Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar
County do not deviate at all.
Based on the media-related perspectives and other topics discussed in
this chapter, and on the objectives and purpose of this study, the following
conclusions and directions were developed:
• as the journalism (media) function is one of society’s main insti-
tutions of recording and remembering past and present time, ‘an-
niversary journalism’ will be considered in this study. Anniversaries
(history-centric memorial practices), with their ritual performance,
attract public and media attention. The related prosthetic memory,
which is the media technology-dependent unexperienced memory
(only reproduced/replicated), will be intentionally ignored;
• only the material dimension of the ‘media environment’ will be con-
sidered: (a) media technologies (internet) and (b) the media offer for
remembrance (thematic newspaper articles). Television, with its sig-
nificant impact on new memory – see Hoskins (2001, pp. 334–341) –,
will not be considered;
¹¹ See also Čuvalo (2010).
69
