Representations of 'trolls' in mass media communication: a review of media-texts and moral panics relating to 'internet trolling' <s> Stereotyping internet trolling <s> In Germany, environmental communication is a topic for the chambers of crafts and its members for more than 20 years. During the 1990s, the Federal Association of Chambers of Crafts (ZDH) builds up ten environmental centers all over Germany for improving environmental knowledge of SMEs. Furthermore, 89 special programmes and 280 projects for the crafts were supported by several donor organisations like the German Environmental Foundation (DBU) until December 2004. This paper presents some results of our cross-sectoral evaluation study which had been finished last year. The focus is set on the development from environmental to sustainability communication within the craft sector, showing both chances and risks accompanied by this change. Moreover, our findings on the quality of communication management and our conclusions for steering communication processes with SMEs will be discussed. The guiding question is: what are the lessons learnt from environmental communication in the German craft sector and how can the acceptance and support for sustainability issues of SMEs be improved? Biographical Information Dr. Wolfgang Meyer, 1959, Sociologist, Senior Scientist and ProjectCoordinator of the Working Area “Labour Market and Environmental Evaluation” at the Center for Evaluation at Saarland University, Chair of Working Group “Evaluation of Environmental Policy” of the German Evaluation Society (DeGEval). Research Topics: Environmental Sociology, Evaluation Methods, Labour Market Research. <s> BIB001 </s> Representations of 'trolls' in mass media communication: a review of media-texts and moral panics relating to 'internet trolling' <s> Stereotyping internet trolling <s> This paper examines the emergence of organized trolling behaviors on Facebook, specifically in relation to memorial groups and fan pages. In addition to mapping the development of RIP trolling — in which online instigators post abusive comments and images onto pages created for and dedicated to the deceased — the paper also examines the highly contentious and ultimately parasitic relationship(s) between memorial trolls, Facebook’s social networking platform and mainstream media outlets. Recalling Oring’s account of disaster humor, the paper goes on to suggest that, inadvertently or not, Facebook memorial page trolling presents a pointed critique of a tragedy–obsessed global media. <s> BIB002
One thing that is certain of all media of all eras is that they rely on popular stereotypes to convey meanings that appeal to their audiences. Mass media organisations are one of the economic components of the global business market  . They exist for one purpose -to further their audience figures by using all means at their disposal, from action codes to acting stars. There has been a move away from traditional media by younger audiences, particularly as they feel that the mass media organisations do not represent them  ). Mass media organisations are known to keep the message simple, visible and adaptable to our living situations BIB001 . The more educated younger audiences may not find this 'dumbing down' of news and other coverage that appealing. The mass media organisations have for a long time created demonised transgressive characters to increase their audiences. The coverage of terrorism, for instance, especially prolonged incidents such as hijackings and hostage situations, has provided an endless source of sensational and visually compelling news stories capable of boosting audience figures  . Indeed, uses and gratifications research has a practical application in that it assists mass media organisations to determine the motivations of their audiences and serve them more efficiently  . The way in which the word 'troll' has achieved the demon status of other transgressive terms like 'terrorist' shows the way in which the media manipulate and change the meanings of words for its own ends. It exploded from the use of the term to refer to those conducting online harassment of memorial pages in an interview to the Daily Mail newspaper following the abuse of Natasha MacBryde's family by Sean Duffy, a repeated 'R.I.P Troller', following the setting up of a memorial page after the teenager's death BIB002 .