MYTHS COLOURED BY NOSTALGIA: HOLLYWOOD’S LOOK ON JOURNALISM

Text topic: Media Interpretations

Text author: Драгана Продановић

The paper analyses representation of journalists and journalism in Hollywood films with additional focus on representation of ethical principles of journalism. Original premise in designing the research was that the products of popular culture, in this case films, are made in a particular social environment and as such they can tell us something about the wider socio-political context and the image of journalists and journalism in different historical periods. The goal was to investigate how journalists, journalism and media ethics were represented in the Hollywood film, beginning with the seventies and the rise of investigative journalism and ending with contemporary movies. In the analysis of ten films made between 1976 and 2015, the dominant appearance of positive representations of reporters was evident, and no change in the usage of this mechanism in various social circumstances over five decades was observed. Media ethics is consistently represented as a goal and a measure of professionalism, the responsibility of journalism as an institution is not questioned in films, and all violations of professional norms are individualized and consistently punished.