2022.Aug.24

EVENTS

The 5th BAIRAL Research Meeting for 2022
“From the Visibility of Work to the Invisibility of Identity: Regarding the Transformation of Journalistic Activity in Japan in the Digital Age”

◇BAIRAL（B’AI RA League）

BAIRAL (B’AI RA League) is a study group by young research assistants (RA) of the B’AI Global Forum of the Institute for AI and Beyond at the University of Tokyo. Aiming to achieve gender equality and a guarantee of rights for minorities in the AI era, this study group examines relationships between digital information technology and society. BAIRAL organizes monthly research meetings with guest speakers in a variety of fields.

 

◇Date & Venue

・Date: Wednesday, September 7, 2022, 17:30-19:00 (JST)

・Venue: Zoom Meeting（No registration required）

・Language: Japanese

 

◇Guest Speaker

César Castellvi
(Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations (LCAO), Paris Cité University)

 

◇Abstract

In recent years, the increase in the number of anonymous Twitter accounts in Japan whose owners identify themselves as journalists has caught the attention of many observers of the Japanese news media.

The existence of these accounts is an interesting enigma: by declaring themselves “journalists,” these users claim to belong to a professional activity whose public nature is nonetheless central. Moreover, in a context of growing mistrust of the media, these accounts seem to oppose a trend of making journalistic work visible that has been observed for the last thirty years.

How can we explain that individuals choose to make this paradoxical double identity explicit? In the context of the decline of traditional media and the development of digital media, what does this tell us about the transformations of journalistic activity and its presence in the public space, or about the working conditions in the newsrooms of traditional media?

In this presentation, we will report some results of a survey started this summer based on two types of materials: (1) an analysis of user profiles, and (2) semi-directive interviews conducted with several “anonymous journalists.”

 

◇Organizer

B’AI Global Forum, Institute for AI and Beyond at the University of Tokyo

 

◇Inquiry

Kayoung Kim (Project Researcher of the B’AI Global Forum)

kayoungk[at]g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp (Please change [at] to @)