This book describes how, in the era of megamedia culture, aggression in communication constitutes a threat to the communication community. Based on the theoretical incorporation of transcendental pragmatics, the book explores how conceptualizing the phenomena of megamedia aggression from this perspective and diagnosing their destructive force are essential for: postulating the need for constructing a theory of media communication closely related to the model of discursive rationality, giving this theory a critical and normative character, and embedding it in the perspective of the project of social co-responsibility and in the plan for an ethics of co-responsibility. Combining key elements of media theory, the philosophy of communication, the concept of normative ethics and the fields of social psychology and social anthropology, this book will be of great interest to scholars and students in the areas of communication studies, philosophy, anthropology, psychology and psychoanalysis.

Multigenerational Communication in Organizations explores generational differences in the changing workplace from a communication perspective. Starting from the reality that a workplace can contain up to five different generations, these chapters examine topics like generational perceptions on the job search process; organizational culture; organizational identification; organizational crises; the dark side of workplace communication; remote working; and future challenges. Outlines of best practices and suggestions for application are provided based on the most recent data and corresponding literature. The authors also develop a data-forward understanding of Generation Z in context. This book is ideal for both scholars and practitioners in organizational communication and management, as well as for workplace managers and supervisors.

In examining the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, and by extension their communication styles, this book provides a foundation for understanding charismatic leadership and its potent effect on followers. The book identifies each leader’s charismatic leadership attributes, focusing specifically on communication and impression management. It presents a qualitative collection of leader observations and outcomes based on publications and audio and video recordings. By examining two distinctly different leaders, each with evidence of effective, if controversial, outcomes, it shows a spectrum of approaches to mobilizing followers. This book is suited to students and readers interested in leadership studies, leadership communication, and persuasion.

This book explores a research project focused on finding a community-level response to the opioid epidemic. Grounded in communication ethics, appreciative inquiry, and action research, this book contends that the opioid epidemic in the United States is as much a social disease as it is a pharmaceutical one, arising from a lack of social connection and the “communal literacy” Americans need to deal with the challenges they face together. Asking how Americans can rediscover their social connection to rebuild vibrant, sustainable communities, the author proposes and tests an approach called Participatory Community Inquiry (PCI), which helps groups acknowledge the social goods that unite them, design practices that protect and promote those goods, and undertake actions that can support their common lives. Shaping the conversation on how Americans may rediscover and rebuild the community they have lost, this book will be a key resource for researchers, practitioners, and students in communication studies, sociology, and action research interested in social ethics and community development and organizing.

This book explores the detrimental effects on global peace of populism’s tendency to present complex social issues in simplistic "good versus evil" terms. Analyzing the civilizational discourse of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with respect to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine—with his division of the world into "civilized us" versus "barbarian them"—the book argues that such a one-dimensional representation of complex social reality leaves no space for understanding the conflict and has little, if any, potential to bring about peace. To deconstruct the "civilization versus barbarism" discourse propagated by Zelensky, the book incorporates into its analysis alternative articulations of the crisis by oppositional voices. The author looks at the writing of several popular Ukrainian journalists and bloggers who have been excluded from the field of political representation within Ukraine, where all oppositional media are currently banned. Drawing on the discourse theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, the author argues that the incorporation of alternative perspectives, and silenced voices, is vitally important for understanding the complexity of all international conflicts, including the current one between Russia and Ukraine. This timely and important study will be relevant for all students and scholars of media and communication studies, populist rhetoric, political communication, journalism, area studies, international relations, linguistics, discourse analysis, propaganda, and peace studies.

This book examines the discourse around the intricate economic, political, and ideological struggles underlying Canadian fuel extractivism. Focusing on the two contending discourse coalitions formed by supporters and opponents of British Columbia’s liquefied natural gas (LNC) industry, the book explores the ongoing debates around the issue. The book’s in-depth investigation of the BC LNG controversy identifies progressive extractivism as an increasingly popular policy/discursive paradigm adopted by fossil fuel advocates to legitimize unconventional fossil fuels in an era of intensifying climate crisis. It also highlights the importance of debunking the misleading “jobs versus the environment” dichotomy in mobilizing public opposition to carbon-intensive economic growth. This deeply nuanced look at energy discourse in public policy will have resonance for scholars and students working in the areas of environmental communication, rhetoric, discourse analysis, public policy, and climate change rhetoric.

This book explores the reasons behind the unexpected rise to power of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comedian with no political background, and offers an in-depth analysis of the populist messages he delivered to the Ukrainian people via his TV show. Taking a discourse analysis approach, the author draws on two main arguments of critical scholarship: the “populist explosion” of the recent decade came as a reaction to the inequalities and injustices of the global neoliberal order, and the success of neoliberalism can be explained by its ability to mask itself under attractive progressive covers. Developing these lines of argument, the book demonstrates not only how the “populist explosion” can lead to further neoliberalization, but also that the euphemizing effect can be achieved by mixing the virtual and the real, as in the case of Zelensky. This first of its kind study will resonate with any scholar or upper-level student working on populism, neoliberalism, political communication, media studies, political science, European studies, Ukrainian studies, and discourse analysis.