"This report presents findings from the third wave of the Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS3), conducted between 2021 and 2025. In this iteration, we focused on journalists’ perceptions of risk and uncertainty in their profession and sought to identify key factors that shape how journalists navigate
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journalism’s changing environment. These risks and uncertainties arise from four partially overlapping domains: politics, economy, technology, and news consumption. Accordingly, the WJS3 questionnaire addressed journalists’ safety, editorial freedom, professional roles, news influences, and labor conditions. Our survey confirms that journalism is under pressure. Journalists worldwide are often undercompensated, and more than one-third engage in secondary employment. Economic pressures on news organizations have intensified in most countries. Nearly half of journalists have been targeted with hate speech, while psychological, physical, and digital threats are more prevalent in the Global South than in the Global North. More than 300 researchers from 75 countries participated in WJS3. This report provides a concise overview of key global findings. Subsequent publications will analyze specific topics in greater depth; please visit worldsofjournalism.org for more information." (Foreword, page 4)
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"This volume, Shaping Global Cultures through Screenwriting: Women Who Write Our Worlds, tells stories of women who have worked with and within communities to bring the communities’ stories to life through screenwriting. In gathering these examples, we asked for stories that achieved some level
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of impact for the communities. Impact was considered across a number of indices. We wanted to show that attitudes have shifted, policies have been rewritten and the life experiences and ranges of possibility for some have changed for the better as a result of women’s work. We hope to show through our stories that film can change lives; that sharing stories matters; and that women are everywhere, using their skills in screen production for the good of many.
In her excellent book, Women in the International Film Industry: Policy Practice and Power, Susan Liddy (2020) offers ‘a wide-ranging, critical assessment of practice, policy and progress’ to establish the range and scale of gender inequality that currently exists in the world of screen production. She quotes O’Neill and Domingo (2015) to point out that social, economic and political conditions vary, and ‘combine in different ways to enable or constrain women’s agency and leadership’ in screen production (Liddy 2020: 1). In contrast, our book approaches the same problem from the opposite perspective: we seek to correlate the ‘policy, practice and power’ (Liddy 2020) with the actual work of women screenwriters. Our aim is to point out what women screenwriters, creators and filmmakers are doing in disparate corners of the world, and how their effort is positively impacting communities, shaping culture and creating change.
We argue that, despite the fact that women screenwriters are underrepresented in leadership roles in film industries worldwide, the impact of their films remains visible and palpable. We provide evidence that, as women step into the roles of screenwriter, filmmaker and collaborator, using known and emerging technologies, formats and genres under the broad scope of ‘screen production’, they raise the voices of other women and other communities. This volume shows the impact of women’s voices in creating real change for the communities whose stories are told through the topics and themes of these women’s screen works. Not least, this volume seeks to celebrate these women and their communities and bring awareness of that impact to broader communities worldwide." (Introduction, page 1)
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"Imagining AI: How the World Sees Intelligent Machines is the first volume showcasing research into how different cultures around the globe envision life with artificial intelligence. AI is now a global phenomenon. Yet Hollywood narratives dominate perceptions of AI in the English-speaking West and
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beyond, and much of the technology itself is shaped by a disproportionately white, male, US-based elite. However, different cultures have been imagining intelligent machines since long before we could build them, in visions that vary greatly across religious, philosophical, literary and cinematic traditions. This book aims to spotlight these alternative visions. Imagining AI draws attention to the range and variety of visions of a future with intelligent machines and their potential significance for the research, regulation and implementation of AI. The book is structured geographically, with each chapter presenting insights into how a specific region or culture imagines intelligent machines. The contributors, leading experts from academia and the arts, explore how the encounters between local narratives, digital technologies, and mainstream Western narratives create new imaginaries and insights in different contexts across the globe. The narratives they analyse range from ancient philosophy to contemporary science fiction, and visual art to policy discourse. The book sheds new light on some of the most important themes in AI ethics, from the differences between Chinese and American visions of AI, to digital neo-colonialism. It is an essential work for anyone wishing to understand how different cultural contexts interplay with the most significant technology of our time." (Publisher description)
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"In the twenty-first century, community radio is fulfilling an increasingly important role in the world’s mediascape. This book documents the ways in which community radio broadcasters and activists are using the medium in countries around the world to challenge political corruption, aid the trans
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ition to political democracy and broadcast voices that are otherwise unheard. The contributors to the volume are academics and practitioners from five continents, many with first-hand experience of community radio. Each chapter demonstrates the pivotal role that small radio stations can play in developing, sustaining and invigorating communities. The book charts campaigns for the legalisation of community radio and relates them to a theoretical context, while providing illustrations and examples from community radio stations around the world." (Publisher description)
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"Eine Serie von Fallstudien – unter anderem zur Funktion von Blogs und Microblogs als „bottom- up journalism“ und zu Aktivitätsfeldern des chinesischen „hacktivism“ – verdeutlicht, welches Potenzial politischer Mobilisierung auch im chinesischen Kontext in der internetbasierten Kommunik
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ation liegt. Becker dokumentiert eine beachtliche Kreativität und Optionsvielfalt in der Umgehung staatlicher Zensurmaßnahmen. Die kommunikativen und technischen Aspekte des verbreiteten Ausweichverhaltens werden vom Autor systematisch aufgeschlüsselt. Die immer aufwändigeren Gegenmaßnahmen, die staatliche Sicherheitsorgane gegen politisch unliebsame Formen des Internet-Aktivismus ergreifen, bleiben in ihrer Effektivität begrenzt. Technische Ausweichmöglichkeiten und fortschreitende gesellschaftliche Liberalisierung werden eine staatliche Kontrolle des Internet auf Dauer unmöglich machen. Der politische Liberalisierungsdruck wird sich durch massenhafte Internetnutzung weiter verstärken – auch wenn dies nur mit Verzögerung zu Veränderungen im „analogen“ politischen System und keinesfalls zwangsläufig zu einer Demokratisierung nach westlichen Vorstellungen führen wird." (Sebastian Heilmann: Geleitwort, Seite 19)
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"Besonders in der philippinischen Provinz sehen sich kritische Journalisten immer wieder von Gewalt bedroht, die als Reaktion auf Berichte über Korruption, Drogenhandel, Glücksspiel etc. aufflammt. Bei der Studie lag der Fokus auf Radiojournalisten, welche die größte Opfergruppe in dem Land dars
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tellen. Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert die mit den Repressalien zusammenhängenden Handlungsoptionen der Journalisten wie Selbstzensur, Bewaffnung oder Bestechlichkeit besonders in den ländlichen Provinzen der Philippinen. Die entwickelten Thesen und Forschungsergebnisse beschreiben die Ursachen und Nebenbedingungen der Gewalt und zeigen, dass der Journalismus auf den Philippinen unter großem Druck steht und die Medienfreiheit in dem formell demokratischen Land in vielen provinziellen Gebieten eingeschränkt ist." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Perpetrators in Documentaries on Genocide is a wide-ranging comparative study that analyses how numerous genocides and their perpetrators have been presented in documentary film. Spanning seven 20th-century genocides across three continents and combining interviews with filmmakers, distant reading,
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content analysis, and historical research, this book tracks the multifaceted representational strategies of over 200 films. Addressing both the local and global contexts impacting their production, the book finds that the socio-political circumstances in the aftermath of genocide, but also the concept of genocide itself, enormously shape the representation of perpetrator groups and their victims. This book highlights and critiques dominant trends in documentary representation, proposing a broader and methodologically innovative approach to studying the depiction of atrocities that provides an encompassing framework for understanding genocide documentaries." (Publisher description)
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"Das Versprechen der Digitalen Revolution ist die Heilserzählung unsererZeit. Dieses Buch erzählt eine andere Geschichte: Die des digitalen Kolonialismus. Statt physisches Land einzunehmen, erobern die heutigen Kolonialherren den digitalen Raum. Statt nach Gold und Diamanten lassen sie unter mensc
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henunwürdigen Bedingungen nach Rohstoffen graben, die wir für unsere Smartphones benötigen. Statt Sklaven beschäftigen sie Heere von Klickarbeiter:innen, die zu Niedriglöhnen in digitalen Sweatshops arbeiten, um soziale Netzwerke zu säubern oder vermeintlich Künstliche Intelligenz am Laufen zu halten. Der Kolonialismus von heute mag sich sauber und smart geben, doch eines ist gleich geblieben: Er beutet Mensch und Natur aus und kümmert sich nicht um gesellschaftliche Folgen vor Ort. Im Wettkampf der neuen Kolonialmächte ist Digitalpolitik längst zum Instrument geopolitischer Konflikte geworden - der Globale Süden gerät zwischen die Fronten." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"The study examines Global Times’ strategic narratives on the Russia-Ukraine War (2022–2024) by analysing 301 articles through issue, identity and systemic frameworks. It reveals China’s framing of the conflict as a US-Russia proxy war, positioning itself as a neutral mediator advocating multi
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lateral dialogue while critiquing Western hegemony. The narratives portray Russia as a rational actor defending sovereignty, Ukraine as weakened yet reckless, and Europe-EU as internally fractured. Systemically, China projects a multipolar vision, blending realist power dynamics with idealist peace-building. The findings underscore China’s media diplomacy in contesting Western discourse and advancing its global governance agenda." (Abstract)
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"The world’s information systems are arguably owned by American and Chinese companies. So far, studies on China’s globalising Internet adopt either monolith approach or fragmented approach, lacking a comprehensive image to capture the architecture of China’s global information systems. Critica
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lly adopting the metaphor of ‘platformisation tree’, this article maps China’s network of global platform ecosystems and identifies its main stakeholders, based on a 2022–2023 ethnography with Chinese tech personnel and venture capitalists in Shenzhen, Indonesia and Vietnam. It argues that China’s globalising Internet shows a triangulation of China, the US, and recipient countries. Similarly to how vines grow and spread using various climbing strategies, Chinese tech companies have developed their ecosystem of digital infrastructures, intermediary platforms, and sectional apps. However, they significantly depend on the GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft)-led ecosystem, interact with their surroundings, and embed deeply into recipient countries’s digital geographies. This research provides a grounded, empirical perspective to the contemporary debate on China’s digital expansion, highlighting varying techno-mediated positionalities and socially driven innovation in the Global South. It contributes to the conceptualisation of ‘global platform ecosystems’ as a relational and ecological social technical system, situated within a dynamic integrity of ‘centre-periphery’, ‘onlineoffline’and ‘human-non-human’." (Abstract)
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"This article conceptualizes the critical online diasporic infosphere as an online space constituted by diasporic media, exile media, and overseas-based influencers who share an oppositional orientation toward the home state. The infosphere proffers a constant stream of critical information and pers
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pectives to users in both the diaspora and the home country. Drawing upon theorizations of alternative media and counter-publicity, this study examines the role of the diasporic infosphere in sustaining a counter-public in a home country undergoing rapid autocratization. Analysis of an online survey in Hong Kong shows that a distinction between diasporic information sources and domestic information sources underlies people’s information consumption and sharing via social media. Consumption of diasporic information sources relates to lower levels of political trust, the pro-democracy stance, negative feelings about the contemporary political environment, and perceptions of legal and political risks. Consumption of domestic media sources relates to such variables in the opposite manner." (Abstract)
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"Since 2020, Douyin, an app known for its interactive entertainment and vibrant youth cultures, has risen to dominance in the retail sector. Douyin stands out by making paid traffic a significant revenue stream alongside commissions. This strategy, which restricts organic growth, compels sellers to
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make additional investments in traffic. Drawing from Douyin walkthroughs and the company’s business development presentations, this article analyzes how audience attention and platform traffic are manufactured and integrated with retail in the context of China’s recent national policy that positions data as a factor of production equal to labor, land, technology, and capital. In contrast to Instagram, traffic conversion into sales takes precedence over product visibility on Douyin. In this process, Douyin actively uses user data to manufacture high-traffic keywords with buying intent. This involves measurements employing surveillance technologies that span imageand speech recognition, keywords, performance metrics, and pricing algorithms. The article argues that Douyin e-commerce cannot be fully explained by the current visibility research paradigm centered on metrics such as likes, shares, and comments, which are considered indications of interests and preferences. It is suggested that Douyin uses historical data to invoke momentary interests and produce desired user actions for conversion. Traffic investment alone cannot result in the conversion of momentary interests into sales; it needs to be combined with pricing that incorporates discounts, coupons, and reductions. The integration of traffic investment with pricing strategy has emerged as a dominant e-commerce practice that fosters retail growth." (Abstract)
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"This paper explores the transformative impact of social media on mediumship practice within the context of Mother Goddesses worship (Dao Mâu) in contemporary Vietnam. By examining the ways in which spirit mediums and practitioners utilise social media platforms, the study reveals that these digita
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l spaces facilitate the open expression of belief, foster connections among practitioners, and enable the sharing and promotion of spiritual services as well asthe online trade in ritual costumes and objects. Furthermore, social media has become a catalyst for emerging trends directly influencing the ritual practices and increasing the visibility of spirit mediums in today's society, creating generational shifts between younger spirit mediums and their predecessors, who practiced their belief in pre-renovation Vietnam under precarious circumstances. As rituals become more visible and accessible through social media, the interplay between digital and spiritual realms becomes increasingly significant. The findings suggest that social media not only enhances a sense of community among practitioners that transcends geographical boundaries, but also shapes the continuing developments of this traditional practices, contributing to a dynamic landscape of Mother Goddesses worship in Vietnam today. This research underscores the agency and significance of digital platforms, in particular social media, in transforming spiritual expressions and adapting cultural traditions in the modern era." (Abstract)
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"This sociolinguistic study examines the Facebook page of a Catholic parish in the Philippines as a figured world. The figured world framework is a way of viewing a particular locus of interaction as a product of social and cultural construction. This lens, which has been widely used to examine educ
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ation contexts, is applied in this study to the novel context of online religious community interactions. By using the figured world approach to discourse analysis, this research extends the view of social media for religious purposes beyond its usual attractions of entertainment, selfdocumentation, and self-expression. This paper argues that Facebook, as a platform for the digital staging of Catholic parish life, is an important space for the discursive (re)construction of church purpose, participation, interaction, and identity, with potentially important implications to the Catholic Church’s missiological trajectory." (Abstract)
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"This sociological and ethnographic study develops and employs an ecosystemic approach to examine the effects of digitalization on religious beliefs and practices among young Christians in a Pentecostal megachurch in Singapore. Through extensive fieldwork and qualitative data analysis, this paper un
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covers how the religious identity of young Christians evolves within a dynamic ecosystem shaped by indirect and direct digitalization. It outlines how Christian beliefs and practices transform indirectly through the digitalization of faith-based communities and religious authorities, and directly through individual engagement with social media and communication apps. This research contributes to understanding the interplay between religion and digitalization in the lives of young Christians in Southeast Asia, which calls for further exploration in this diverse cultural context. Conceptually, this paper proposes a framework for a more systematic and comprehensive study of the blended nature of online and offline religion, digital religion." (Abstract)
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