Satire and Journalism in Global Perspective

A special issue of Journalism and Media (ISSN 2673-5172).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 11018

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Media & Communication Department, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Sketty, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
Interests: journalism; political communication; satire media and activism

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Guest Editor
School of International Affairs, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16801, USA
Interests: satire and politics; satire media; satire and social change

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ever since the rise of Jon Stewart as host of “The Daily Show” and Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report” in the early 2000s, there has been a measurable increase in satire news shows across the globe. From Bassem Youssef in Egypt to Brian Tseng in Taiwan and Okey Bakassi in Nigeria, there is a long list of satirical news shows on the global stage. In addition, the digital age has made it increasingly easier for satirical news websites, many of which are parody, to reach audiences on a global scale, and add to that the increased presence of false information (propaganda, hoax news, conspiracy theories) posing as actual news and complicating efforts to distinguish between satirical parody news and weaponized misinformation. This special issue of Journalism and Media invites contributions that think through the significance of the increasing global presence of satire as a form of journalism.

Topics to consider:

  • The various influences on global examples of satire journalism.
  • Satire as commentary on journalism or form of it.
  • The rise of sarcasm, snark, and unserious speech in traditional journalism.
  • The ability of satire news to inform and engage the public.
  • Changes in satire’s relationship to journalism and journalism’s relationship to satire.
  • The journalistic impact of parody news, hoax news, and satire news.
  • Satire news and fake news.
  • Satire news and propaganda.
  • Satirical journalism, free speech and government restrictions in global context.
  • Satire, journalism, and social media.
  • The limitations and possibilities of satirical communication as a journalistic resource.
  • Audience engagement with satire.
  • New approaches to communicating satire.

Contributions from a range of methods and disciplines are encouraged. 

Dr. Allaina Kilby
Prof. Dr. Sophia A. McClennen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • satire news
  • fake news
  • hoax news
  • parody news
  • political satire
  • global satire
  • satire audiences
  • political communication
  • social issues
  • digital and legacy media platforms

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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14 pages, 248 KiB  
Article
Mainstreaming and Weaponizing Satire in Nigerian Journalism Practice
by Jude Nwakpoke Ogbodo, Emmanuel Chike Onwe, Blessing Ewa-Ibe and Emem Oshionebo
Journal. Media 2024, 5(1), 219-232; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia5010015 - 16 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1665
Abstract
Satire has gained increased scholarly traction across journalism and related fields. The genre increases the entertainment value of journalism and broadens its appeal. Satirical news also serves as a catalyst to pique the curiosity of ordinarily disinterested audiences in news, particularly political news. [...] Read more.
Satire has gained increased scholarly traction across journalism and related fields. The genre increases the entertainment value of journalism and broadens its appeal. Satirical news also serves as a catalyst to pique the curiosity of ordinarily disinterested audiences in news, particularly political news. However, there are some concerns emerging from the weaponization of satire in this contemporary period, which is characterised by the proliferation of fake news and misinformation. From the Nigerian context, there have been minimal empirical spotlights placed on satirical journalism. We employed semi-structured interviews to explore the views of Nigerian print satirical journalists and cartoonists. Our finding broadens scholarship in the evolving area of satirical journalism. It demonstrates how the mainstreaming and the weaponization of satire have changed the texture of satire in Nigerian journalism. Although ethical concerns are admitted, we argue that cartoonists and satirical journalists have a responsibility to adjust to the dynamic media ecology, where satire continuously provides insightful critique and entertaining commentaries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Satire and Journalism in Global Perspective)
13 pages, 1255 KiB  
Article
Moral Judgment and Social Critique in Journalistic News Satire
by Sara Ödmark
Journal. Media 2023, 4(4), 1169-1181; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4040074 - 4 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2127
Abstract
Journalistic news satire is a satire subgenre that is gaining legitimacy in academic research as well as in the journalistic field as an opinion news format and arena for public debate. News satirists claim journalistic roles and operate under the mandate of exposing [...] Read more.
Journalistic news satire is a satire subgenre that is gaining legitimacy in academic research as well as in the journalistic field as an opinion news format and arena for public debate. News satirists claim journalistic roles and operate under the mandate of exposing moral wrongs and auditing power. The development of a more substantial news satire coincides with an observed repoliticization of humor and comedy and intensified moral negotiation around comedic content, particularly on social media. Based on the Moral Foundation Theory, this study identifies moral judgments in journalistic news satire, using a content analysis of TV news satire material from Sweden and the U.S. The results show an overwhelming majority of moral judgments related to the individualizing foundations of Harm and Fairness, while the binding foundations of Ingroup, Authority, and Purity were less frequent. In addition, the results show strong similarities between the two countries in the material, indicating moral common ground and displaying how moral judgment is connected to the inherent nature of satire in general and the genre conventions of journalistic news satire in particular. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Satire and Journalism in Global Perspective)
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17 pages, 11696 KiB  
Article
Satirizing News Media, Changing Taiwan’s Feelings: The Night Night Show with Brian Tseng’s Adaptation of the American Satire News Format
by Muyun Zhou
Journal. Media 2023, 4(4), 1097-1113; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4040070 - 7 Nov 2023
Viewed by 3504
Abstract
The US television program The Daily Show has inspired creative talents worldwide to adapt the American political satire news formats to their own political environments. One example is The Night Night Show, hosted by Brian Tseng between 2018 and 2020 and produced [...] Read more.
The US television program The Daily Show has inspired creative talents worldwide to adapt the American political satire news formats to their own political environments. One example is The Night Night Show, hosted by Brian Tseng between 2018 and 2020 and produced by the STR Network from Taiwan. Instead of approaching the show as the result of the diffusion of the US cultural and political model into the rest of the world, this article contextualizes The Night Night Show’s adaptation of an American satirical news format in the Sinophone political discourse of laughter and satire in the modern history of Taiwan. It argues that while the show’s adaptation of an American satirical news format demonstrates how satire can dismantle linguistic and national boundaries as a transnational bonding force, it also brings this American format to critical scrutiny. In particular, the principal cultural understanding of news media as sensationalistic and propagandist instead of truthful in the local context contests the notions of “truthiness” central to the American satire news formats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Satire and Journalism in Global Perspective)
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12 pages, 269 KiB  
Essay
Caricatures, Canards, and Guignols: Satirical Journalism in France from the French Revolution to Fifth Republic
by Matthew Fraser
Journal. Media 2024, 5(1), 123-134; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia5010009 - 25 Jan 2024
Viewed by 2462
Abstract
The special status of satire in France is examined historically from the French Revolution to the Fifth Republic. It is argued that satire in France functions with a normative reference to the secular, universalist Jacobin values (hostile to church, aristocracy, and monarchy) that [...] Read more.
The special status of satire in France is examined historically from the French Revolution to the Fifth Republic. It is argued that satire in France functions with a normative reference to the secular, universalist Jacobin values (hostile to church, aristocracy, and monarchy) that underpinned the foundation of the French Republic. Since the French Revolution, French journalistic satire has, in different ways, perpetrated what can broadly be categorized as either lèse majesté or blasphemy. Given France’s turbulent history over the past two centuries, satire has frequently been used as an instrument to reaffirm the Republic’s values vis-à-vis authoritarian regimes with different characteristics. The symbolic connection between satire and the French Republic’s founding mythology has conferred upon the idiom a special status that endures today. The Fifth Republic, however, has presented a unique challenge to satire because of its authoritarian institutional character with personal power in the hands of the head-of-state. Three case studies are examined: the newspapers Le Canard Enchaîné and Charlie Hebdo and the satirical television program Les Guignols de l’Info. Today satire has found expression on online social networks in the form of memes, gifs, and videos. This marks a shift from satire produced by journalistic elites to more diffused and socially distributed satirical mockery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Satire and Journalism in Global Perspective)
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