Our EU-CAB Video
.. can be found on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg_R9X-sEUcHave a look, it is interesting and inspiring to watch! :-)
EU-CAB project as example of Best Practice
In a recent study commissioned by the German National Agency (DAAD)on Erasmus+ cooperation projects ("Building blocks for successful internationalisation 2014-2020"), our EU-CAB project was selected as one of nine best practice examples. The successful internal and external communication as well as the involvement of various actors (and the corresponding competences) within and outside the universities to "publicise" the project and its results were particularly highlighted. We are very happy about this recognition. The report of the study (in German) can be found on evaluationsbroschüre_2022_deutsch.pdf (daad.de)
“Journalism in the Digital Age”
by Péter Bajomi-Lázár, Budapest. Students of normative theories of media performance often ask the question of what the job of journalists is in the Digital Age. The most important problem to date, when social media platforms reach literally billions of people, is disintermediation, i.e., the declining role of journalists when it comes to gate-keeping and moderating content. Traditional elites have lost control over huge parts of mass communication. Facebook, Twitter and other platforms often deliver fake news stories, conspiracy theories and hate speech. It is perhaps more than a coincidence that the 2010s evinced increased political polarisation, which yielded, toward the middle of the decade, Brexit in the UK, the electoral victory of Trump in the US, and the rise of populist political leaders all over the world (cf. Chadwick 2017). What role have media played in these unwelcome processes? And what can professional journalists do to counter them? The reasons behind political polarisation and the rise of populism are manifold. Perhaps most importantly, they are rooted in the economic crises that have cyclically emerged since…
“What is the best business strategy for newspapers?”
By Péter Bajomi-Lázár, BBS Budapest. What is the best business strategy for newspapers? Should they seek neutral reporting, or should they subscribe to a cause, a principle, even a political party? Should they be objective, or should they be engaged? In the Anglo-Saxon countries, where the so-called objectivity doctrine first emerged before it was ‘exported’ to the European continent, many newspapers attempted to report as neutrally as possible in an effort to reach many readers. “Topics and programs should appeal to the largest possible number,” writes Svennik Høyer (1998) when studying the emergence of the mass newspaper in the United States, “even if that meant that no one got what they really wanted. These methods combined diminished color, style and subjectivity…” Further, he observes that “[to] harvest the full potentialities of an expanding market, editors had to aggregate the attention of readers across social and political barriers and make a product that appealed to many without offending anyone.” In other words, most outlets did not try to please as many people as possible, but to displease as few…
Jun 2021: EU-CAB at Congress for European Studies
A Polish-Portuguese colleague tandem at the 3rd Congress for European Studies in Wroclaw, Poland, taking place on 29 and 30 June: Edyta Pietrzak from Lodz University of Technology, and Cristina Tereza Rebelo from Instituto Universitário da Maia in Porto presented our project under the title "Unity and diversity of European identities". The congress is the largest European Studies event in 2021 in Poland, organized by the Polish Association of European Studies and the Chair of European Studies of the University of Wroclaw. Under the motto "multi-speed Europe", the conference highlighted the current transformations Europe is undergoing - both internally and in the context of a globalised world. Their presentation of the project’s ideas and preliminary results was very well received by the interested audience. Thank you, Edyta and Cristina! The conference programme can be found under https://kongres2020.uni.wroc.pl/en/
Video: EU-CAB students talk about the project
Please watch this interesting and beautiful video where two of your Finnish students - Eero and Eveliina - talk about the EU-CAB project. Both are participants right from the start and have won deep knowledge and experience with the goals, the scientific approach and, above all, the Europe-unifying effects of the project.
May 2021: EU-CAB at conference in Szeged/Hungary
Our Hungarian team members Eva Keresztes and Katalin Kollath from BBS Budapest presented our project at the conference "The European Union’s contention in the reshaping global economy", taking place 20-21 May 2021 in Szeged/Hungary. The audience especially liked its unifying approach and “well-grounded theory”. Here's the link to the conference http://eco.u-szeged.hu/english/reserach/conferences-workshops/2021/the-european-unions-contention-in-the-reshaping-global-economy/the-european-unions-contention-in-the-reshaping-global-economy
“Zoom Fatigue”
By Péter Bajomi-Lázár, Budapest Business School. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, many of us have experienced the booming of video conference calls on Zoom, Skype, and a number of other digital platforms. Unlike during the Spanish flu a hundred years ago, technology has this time helped many to keep their jobs. But ‘Zooming’ has a variety of negative effects as well – warn us now the experts of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab. The reasons why the excessive use of video platforms may cause the so-called ‘Zoom fatigue’ include too intense close eye contact (which causes social anxiety), seeing yourself permanently, as if in a mirror (which may turn you too critical of yourself), the limitation of our movements (being forced to stay put for endless hours), and exaggerated verbal and non-verbal communication (basically meaning that you cannot rely on your usual body language, and need to make up for it either verbally or using exaggerated mimes and gestures). To these, one can add a few more. I was born in the late 1960s and have recently hit…
Our EU-CAB Poster
Happy to present our EU-CAB poster that will make its way to all our partner universities, spreading the information about the project in offices, lecture rooms, lobbies, and auditoriums.
“Should social media cut politicians’ accounts and if yes, when?”
By Peter Bajomi-Lazar, Budapest Business School. When Facebook and some other social media outlets ‘de-platformed’ Donald Trump after his infamous speech which may have contributed to the attack launched on the Capitol, conservative and liberal opinion leaders protested alike—but for very different reasons. Conservatives voiced concerns about political censorship and the hegemony of ‘politically correct’ views, while liberals argued that a dangerous precedence had been created, as the line between hate speech and incitement on the one hand and free speech on the other is often diffuse and blurred, and hence nothing in the future will stop social media banning other forms of disturbing content. Well, I think both of these arguments are mistaken. It was right to de-platform President Trump. The conservative argument on censorship is gravely mistaken, because freedom of speech was not invented to defend the government; it was created as a defense against government. Historically, the free press was established to counter the powers of the government. As Edmund Burke put it in 1790, “There are three estates in Parliament, but in the Reporters’…