Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Cultura

1) Playing football with words: a cognitive study of metaphors and blends in the newspaper A Bola.

Researchers: Maria Clotilde Almeida, Paula Órfão and Sílvia Teixeira.

Following the suppositions of cognitive semiotics, the aim of this project is a detailed study of the metaphors and blending constructs appearing in the newspaper A Bola between 2002 and 2007. Besides analysing the intersections between the worlds of phenomenology and fiction, the project will also research the metaphorical frameworks and blending images resulting from mappings between phenomenological dimensions, historical references and popular culture. The project will run from 2008 to 2009. The results of the project will be: An international conference, a book, two PhD theses.

2) Comparative studies of the history of radio in Germany and Portugal (1945-1974).

Researchers: Gerd Hammer, Rogério Santos, Jorge Fazenda Lourenço, Nelson Ribeiro.

The project aims to research the situation of both countries – Germany and Portugal – with regard to radio and its history, and produce a comparative study of these two situations. The aim is twofold: to study the evolution of this means of communication between 1950 and 1974 and confirm whether both processes of evolution were simultaneous or whether there was unequal development. One main difference can be detected from the outset: the lack of an industry in Portugal for the production of radio equipment, this being very different from the situation in Germany. One further area to be compared is the influence of television on radio during the period in question. The project will run from 2008 to 2010. The results of the project will be: the publication of three books (on Portugal, on Germany, and on the radio plays of the works of Jorge de Sena), an international seminar, two Masters theses.

3) Radio observatory (creation of structure).

Researchers: Rogério Santos, Nelson Ribeiro.

The observatory will have a structure suitable for monitoring programming, in particular that of the public service, paying attention to pluralism and programming for specific groups (children, minorities). The work will be based on: 1) an analysis of content, 2) the creation of discussion groups, and 3) a panel of listeners. The Observatory will produce an annual report, publicised by means of a colloquium with invitations to social agents in the sector. The project will run for three years. The results of the project will be: an annual report, civic intervention, Masters theses (exact number still to be defined).

4) Indicators for media pluralism in Portugal – towards a risk-based approach.

Researchers: Paulo Faustino, Rogério Santos.

The project presented involves an interdisciplinary point of view, namely in the fields of media economics, management and politics and regulation. The scope and main objectives of this study entail the definition of a series of indicators enabling the measurement of the following parameters: 1) policies and legal instruments supporting pluralism in Portugal and the comparison of this with other European states, 2) the range of media contents available to citizens in Portugal and in several EU member states, 3) economic indicators regarding the media offer, together with an analysis of the extent to which new technologies are affecting the existing industry structure. The project will run from 2008 to 2010. The results of the project will be: the publication of a book, organization of an international colloquium, participation in an international network undertaking research in this area.

5) Television Observatory (creation of structure)

Researchers: Rogério Santos, Catarina Duff Burnay, Eduardo Cintra Torres.

The main aim of the Observatory will be the monitoring of television programmes on the four general access Portuguese channels (RTP1, RTP2, SIC and TVI), in comparison with the development of the audiovisual market. The application of both quantitative and qualitative methods is proposed in order to assess the strategies for enticing and maintaining audiences, taking into account the various television discourses which make up the schedules. The Observatory will produce an annual report. The results of the project will be: an annual colloquium in order to present and discuss the results; Masters theses (exact number still to be defined). The project will begin in 2009.