Dictionary of Media and Communication Studies, 8th edition

Hacker, hacktivist

A B C D E F G H I

JK

L M N O P R S T U V

XYZ

W

at least it recognizes the existence of, and gives

attention to, conflict. The greater the social

diff erentiation within a community or nation,

the more extensive is the reporting of confl ict.

Where there is ‘power uncertainty’ the media

are likely to ‘display a tendency to concentrate

on individuals while accepting the structure. In

doing so, the media are reinforcing the tendency

within the culture to emphasize great men and

personalities rather than individuals as actors

in the system who are subject to the infl uence

of social forces and processes’. See agenda-

setting; news values.

Guide signs Actions indicating direction,

sometimes called deictic signals: fi nger pointing,

head pointing, eye pointing. Th umbs down and

thumbs up come into this category, and all the

gestures of beckoning as well as repelling. See

non-verbal behaviour: repertoire.

H

Habitus See taste.

Hacker, hacktivist Just as the tomb robbers

of ancient Egypt broke into seemingly impreg-

nable pyramids and underground tombs, so

the ‘hacker’ breaks into computer codes and

computer systems. All the hacker needs is a

personal micro, know-how and persistence,

and some of the world’s most closely guarded

information banks can be penetrated. What has

been termed a hacktivist is a hacker with a social

or political agenda, wherein hacking becomes a

form of protest. Chief among the targets of hack-

tivists is the nation state and the organization.

Th e hacktivist pursues a range of tactics, from

simple e-mail protests to causing websites to

crash and diverting visitors to other sites. Th en

there are ‘bombs’ – e-mails by the thousand

directed at off ending sites; and, of course, the

spread of viruses.

In general hackers are in favour of open

systems of communication, and their activities

are directed towards supporting and maintain-

ing online freedoms. Th ey have been described

as white hat (the good guys on the side of

emancipation) and black hat (the bad guys who

launch computer viruses, for example). A less

emotive term to describe hacking is alternative

computing.

As subversives for good or ill, hackers have

long faced infi ltration into their ranks by agents

of authority such as, in the US, the Federal

Bureau of Investigation (FBI). They operate

either directly, by posing as hackers, or indirectly

by enrolling existing hackers to spy and report

Pure asymmetry model describes communica-
tion practices that are one way and likely to be
used by an organization to dominate its public;
the Pure cooperation model denotes a situation
in which communication is used to convince
the organization of the public’s position; and in
the Two-way model, communication is used to
achieve a win-win outcome for both the organi-
zation and its public.
Guard dog metaphor A variation of (and
in contrast to) the watchdog metaphor;
representing one of the traditional functions of
mass media. Th e term suggests that the media
perform as a sentry, not for the community but
for special-interest groups that have the power
and influence to establish and maintain their
own security systems (see power elite). In ‘A
guard dog perspective on the role of media’ in the
Journal of Communication, Spring, 1995, George
A. Donohue, Phillip J. Tichenor and Clarise
N. Olien of the University of Minnesota argue
that the guard dog media ‘are conditioned to be
suspicious of all potential intruders, and they
occasionally sound the alarm for reasons that
individuals in the master households, that is, the
authority structure, can neither understand nor
prevent. Th ese occasions occur primarily when
authority within the structure is divided’. In
communities where there is no apparent confl ict
within power structures, ‘the media are sleeping
guard dogs’.
Th e guiding principle appears to be: support
the powerful unless the powerful are intruders.
‘Where diff erent local groups have confl icting
interests,’ say Donohue et al, ‘the media are more
likely to refl ect the views of the more power-
ful groups.’ Consequently the guard-dog role
works towards internal cohesion. Th e metaphor
contrasts with that of the media’s perceived
role as watchdog. Th e role in this case is one of
surveillance of the powerful on behalf of and in
the interests of the public. Th e media serve as
freedom-seekers-and-defenders, hence the titles
of so many early newspapers – Sentinel, Voice
of the People, Champion, Justice, Poor Man’s
Guardian, Observer, Enquirer and Advocate.
A third ‘dog’ in the repertoire of the media is
that of the lapdog. As Donohue et al point out,
‘a lapdog perspective is a total rejection of the
Fourth Estate view on all counts’. The lapdog
is submissive to authority and oblivious ‘to
all interests except those of powerful groups’,
and serves to frame all ‘issues according to the
perspectives of the highest powers in the system’.
While the guard dog is characterized by
deference as contrasted with submissiveness,