Watching the pain of others: audience discourses of distant suffering in Greece

摘要: This thesis explores the moral implications of watching suffering on media. In particular, it addresses question how audiences construct their moral agency vis-a-vis distant others they witness through television news. Theoretically, takes as a point departure concept mediation as media practices. Based an underlying assumption agency as discursively constructed and articulated, I have drawn analytical framework which employs discursive practices witnessing media remembering to explore ways talk about and position themselves in relation it. The is empirically grounded the context Greece based focus group discussions with members the Greek audience. The empirical analysis indicates that viewers engage multiplicity are not exhausted feelings empathy or compassion diametric opposites apathy fatigue. These forms engagement filtered both nature extent reports suffering, discourses power politics entrenched within national culture. In this context, demonstrates position witnesses news four different modes, which described “affective”, “ecstatic”, “politicised” “detached” witnessing. exploration practice remembering illustrates construction hierarchy way remember where some events banal become landmarks audience memory. Finally, viewers’ positioning public actors regard stories human pain shown be, one hand, conditional upon staging humanitarian appeals, and, other embedded limited by frameworks understanding civic participation life. contributes growing body literature mediation suffering. It especially largely neglected pain, offering both evidence framework for study engagement.