Italian conditions
It’s worth noting that for weeks, St. Peter’s Square in Rome served as the epicenter of the secular media world. South of the Alps, this phenomenon is called «temmatizzazione» and has dangerous consequences.
Column For weeks, St. Peter's Square in Rome acted as the hub of the secular media world. This phenomenon is called "temmatizzazione" south of the Alps and has dangerous consequences.Habemus papam: Now that the new Bishop of Rome has been elected and the old one laid to rest, do you have an opinion on this topic? Yes, absolutely - even at the risk of contributing my mite to what I harshly criticize: the way in which the media here and elsewhere have turned the suffering and death of an 84-year-old into a world and cult event over a period of weeks and set millions of people in motion.1 For example, even before the funeral of John Paul II, an Internet search engine came to the conclusion that the Pope's death had attracted ten times more media attention worldwide than the re-election of the (supposedly) most powerful man on this earth, US President Bush. Another indication: the Wall Street Journal, otherwise notorious for its unexcitement, attributed the dead pontiff the "charisma of a rock star" - an exaggeration that is likely to give Madonna and Mick Jagger sleepless nights. Even the NZZ was worth three (!) color pictures about the change at the top of world Catholicism.
So what has prompted journalists - or perhaps better depersonalized - the media (worldwide or at least in the Western hemisphere) to treat the political, economic and cultural events of the day as a "distant memory"? Why so much attention for something that is actually commonplace, but normally collectively repressed, namely the death of an individual?
Let me start by admitting that the sheer scale of this state of emergency surprised me too. And that it is therefore not easy even for the experienced observer to find plausible explanations for this excessive media staging. Especially as it stands in the greatest conceivable contrast to the usual approach to spiritual topics in our secularized society, in which sects usually arouse more journalistic interest than the major religious communities.
In view of empty churches, many regional newspapers no longer advertise church services as naturally as the
Cinema program. In other words: for many of us, the media themselves have become
We have become a substitute religious community, be it that we sit in front of the TV instead of the church pew, be it that some people confuse the talk show with the confessional and turn their innermost feelings outwards.
Journalistic lemming effects and herd instincts therefore only provide a partial explanation of the phenomenon. At least as important is the staging power of an ancient institution that has been responsible for everything otherworldly and intangible for two thousand years, and thus also for our fears of death and longings for redemption. This is why I strongly disagree with my columnist colleague Sacha Wigdorovits (WW 14/05) this time: marketing categories such as "brand management" and the characterization of the Pope as a "brand manager" do not adequately explain this communication miracle that has been unleashed on us for weeks. This is not to diminish the PR achievements of John Paul II and his church - on the contrary.
What we experienced, however, was not the finest hour of globalizing journalism, but rather an indication of the ongoing "Italianization" of the media. Nowhere else in the Western world do journalists have such a tendency to "tematizzazione", to focus on a single topic of the day, as they do south of the Alps. And nowhere else in the free Western world do they seem to be more dependent on and instrumentalized by their whisperers in politics and society than in Italy.
> Stephan Russ-Mohl is a professor of journalism at the University of Italian-speaking Switzerland in Lugano.
So what has prompted journalists - or perhaps better depersonalized - the media (worldwide or at least in the Western hemisphere) to treat the political, economic and cultural events of the day as a "distant memory"? Why so much attention for something that is actually commonplace, but normally collectively repressed, namely the death of an individual?
Let me start by admitting that the sheer scale of this state of emergency surprised me too. And that it is therefore not easy even for the experienced observer to find plausible explanations for this excessive media staging. Especially as it stands in the greatest conceivable contrast to the usual approach to spiritual topics in our secularized society, in which sects usually arouse more journalistic interest than the major religious communities.
In view of empty churches, many regional newspapers no longer advertise church services as naturally as the
Cinema program. In other words: for many of us, the media themselves have become
We have become a substitute religious community, be it that we sit in front of the TV instead of the church pew, be it that some people confuse the talk show with the confessional and turn their innermost feelings outwards.
Journalistic lemming effects and herd instincts therefore only provide a partial explanation of the phenomenon. At least as important is the staging power of an ancient institution that has been responsible for everything otherworldly and intangible for two thousand years, and thus also for our fears of death and longings for redemption. This is why I strongly disagree with my columnist colleague Sacha Wigdorovits (WW 14/05) this time: marketing categories such as "brand management" and the characterization of the Pope as a "brand manager" do not adequately explain this communication miracle that has been unleashed on us for weeks. This is not to diminish the PR achievements of John Paul II and his church - on the contrary.
What we experienced, however, was not the finest hour of globalizing journalism, but rather an indication of the ongoing "Italianization" of the media. Nowhere else in the Western world do journalists have such a tendency to "tematizzazione", to focus on a single topic of the day, as they do south of the Alps. And nowhere else in the free Western world do they seem to be more dependent on and instrumentalized by their whisperers in politics and society than in Italy.
> Stephan Russ-Mohl is a professor of journalism at the University of Italian-speaking Switzerland in Lugano.
