"The impact framework is a set of tools and guidelines that helps to define targets for, track, and assess the impact of activities under the supported media projects in a clear and organised way; it can also be used for other media projects. Its methodology embraces a user-centric approach, links p
...
roject activities to key performance indicators (KPIs) and outcomes, and helps to identify and collect data from the beginning to the end of the projects. The impact framework also allows the programme’s media outlet teams to assess risks, track projects’ progress towards established targets and, if necessary, correct their course in a timely fashion." (Page 3)
more
"The abuse and harassment against women journalists has become increasingly frequent and more coordinated in Mexico. As demonstrated throughout this study, it aims to threaten, silence, and stigmatize women journalists, with the potential to keep them out of public spaces. Despite the importance of
...
selfcare actions and collective care, State responsibility in Mexico and its institutions at national and local levels to guarantee journalistic work that is free of violence is vital for any democracy. Currently, there are no public policies based on an intersectional approach that would allow a proper and relevant response to the patterns of violence against women journalists. The shortsightedness with which institutional responses have been developed has failed to generate protections or reparation. It has not managed to change the context of violence to which women journalists are subjected, nor modify the structural inequality between men and women. Moreover, the levels of impunity in the country still lead to violence materializing into crime. The recommendations of this paper seek to share the best practices from civil society groups and networks working to enhance existing protocols while defending women journalist´s freedom of expression and freedom of the press." (Conclusions)
more
"Rather than selling authoritarianism as such, authoritarian narratives focus on themes that have popular appeal—while attributing a wide range of visceral grievances to the shortcomings of democracy. Authoritarian narratives fall into four broad categories: 1. Noninterference, Choice, and Threats
...
to Sovereignty: Narrative attempts to invoke universal themes such as sovereignty, noninterference, and choice which are presented as under threat from the spread of democracy. 2. Exploiting Grievances in the Global South: Tactics designed to attribute the numerous grievances in the Global South to exploitation by the West. 3. Democracies Failing to Deliver: A narrative that takes aim at the efficacy of democracy and, by implication, amplifies the ill-informed narratives about effectiveness of authoritarian governance. 4. Need for a New World Order: Collectively, the claims of Western interference, exploitation, and governance failures are intended to generate disillusionment with democracy and receptiveness to nondemocratic rule. Autocrats use a variety of channels to disseminate these preferred narratives at scale. The four following methods are particularly noteworthy: 1. Social Media: Authoritarians have taken advantage of the enormous—and still growing—social media sphere to promote narratives legitimizing autocracy. They exploit many users’ limited digital literacy skills through information influence campaigns and the employment of bots and online “troll farms” to peddle their preferred worldview. 2. State Broadcasters: Authoritarian actors also disseminate narratives through state media like RT, Sputnik, Xinhua, and China Global Television Network (CGTN). These outlets have the tone and imprimatur of an official news service, giving them a veneer of credibility that expands their reach. 3. Partnerships with Local Media: Authoritarian state-backed outlets aim to embed their content within national information environments. By disseminating preferred narratives through local media outlets and training foreign journalists, authoritarian actors are able to propagate norms of state control over the public information sphere. 4. Foreign Media Cooptation: Finally, authoritarian states are forging partnerships with other state broadcasters. These relationships have the indirect effect of incentivizing self-censorship and enable the intimidation of journalists and activists who criticize authoritarian leadership." (Executive summary, page 1-.2)
more
"The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021 after two decades of fighting on the ground and manipulating narratives online, particularly on social media. Their tactical use of social media was more evident in 2021 when they were advancing their territorial gains and posting on social
...
media to promote the idea of their impending return to power. This study aims to understand the (ab)use of social media by the resurgent Taliban 2.0 and to suggest ways young Afghans can utilize social media to navigate their lives under the new regime. The authors undertook a critical review of the literature to analyze the Taliban’s social media tactics in manipulating public narratives to portray themselves as the legitimate rulers of Afghans. The study finds that the Taliban’s adaptation of social media tools helped them retake control of Afghanistan by influencing public narratives in their favor. This study recommends promoting critical thinking abilities among young Afghans to utilize social media to express dissent and advocate for their rights." (Abstract)
more
"Through an online field experiment, we test traditional and novel counter-misinformation strategies among fringe communities. Though generally effective, traditional strategies have not been tested in fringe communities, and do not address the online infrastructure of misinformation sources support
...
ing such consumption. Instead, we propose to activate source criticism by exposing sources’ unreliability. Based on a snowball sampling of German fringe communities on Facebook, we test if debunking and source exposure reduce groups’ consumption levels of two popular misinformation sources. Results support a proactively engaging counter-misinformation approach to reduce consumption of misinformation sources." (Abstract)
more
"In recent years, the economic exchanges between China and Latin American countries have been further deepened, and news about Chinese foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the region responds to economic reality and the different stages of changing international relations and media characteristics.
...
The current study includes a content analysis by human coders of 308 news articles on Chinese FDIs in three types of Peruvian news outlets from 2001 to 2020, namely the Left-leaning newspaper (La República), the Right-leaning newspaper (El Comercio), and specialized economic news outlets (Gestión Online and Semana Económica). In this context, it explores how international economic news volume is related to real-world economic indexes and how news interpretations of Chinese FDIs, as manifested by news frames, are influenced by contextual and political factors." (Abstract)
more
"The media landscape in Kenya continues to evolve, with television and radio remaining key sources of news, entertainment, and engagement for millions of people. GeoPoll’s Audience Measurement (GAM) data from January to December 2024 offers insights into the most-watched television stations and mo
...
st-listened-to radio stations nationwide. This report provides an overview of audience preferences, peak listening and viewing times, and regional radio dominance." (Introduction)
more
"This study explores self-visual presentation practices by female political candidates on Facebook during Kenya’s political campaigns that culminated in the national elections of 2022. The unit of analysis is the Facebook profile image of the women leaders. Image-centrism is operationalized as the
...
extent to which ‘the image’ becomes the primary mode of self-presentation in political communication discourse. The study adopts a social semiotic approach to image interpretation postulated by Roland Barthes (1972) and Kress and van Leeuwen (1996). Using Kress and van Leeuwen’s approach, images are studied as ‘linguistic codes’ that have their own ‘grammatical’structure. Barthes’s approach explores the cultural dimension of the images. The argument here is that visual communication is context-bound, and the theoretical premise laid is that politics is given direction, shape, and impetus by the culture of a people. In order to understand visual political communication in Kenya, therefore, the study analyses and interprets images from the lens of the wider African cultural contexts within which this communication takes place. The overarching questions in this study include: a) How did female politicians in Kenya strategically use Facebook images for self-representation during the political campaigns in 2022? b) How have women politicians in Kenya interwoven cultural ideology with visual political communication on their Facebook pages? The ultimate conclusion is that political images not only serve as discourses for communicating political ideas and making political statements, but they also serve as self-representation modes as well as cultural manifestation codes that illuminate specific societal concepts." (Abstract)
more
"The media sector expanded after the multiparty system’s reintroduction in the 1990s in Malawi. The growth has been enabled by a legal environment in which the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the press. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, meaning that all the laws th
...
at contradict or are inconsistent with it are invalid. There are no formal restrictions on media freedom in the country. Successive government administrations have proudly stated that no journalist in Malawi has been persecuted for doing their journalistic work. While it is technically correct that no journalist has been prosecuted for their work, in this chapter, I argue that journalists still face different types of harassment on the government’s watch. Forms of harassment include arbitrary arrests and detentions and verbal and physical attacks by political party supporters, the police, members of parliament, and cabinet ministers. Although most attacks on journalists and media institutions happen in plain sight, sometimes, in the presence of the state President, not a single perpetrator of violence has been held to account for their actions. Using key informant interviews with journalists, MISA Malawi National Director and MISA Malawi annual reports document the harassment of journalists in the country. I argue that although media freedoms are guaranteed in the law, the failure to apprehend perpetrators of violence against journalists is akin to the approval of violence by the government, which has the responsibility to uphold the tenets of the law to protect its citizens. Harassment of journalists with impunity amounts to outsourced repression, which has a chilling effect on journalists and their institutions; it undermines media freedom and democratic governance, which depends on informed citizens to participate in democratic processes effectively. I use public sphere theory, which recognises the media as a public forum, free of coercion, where citizens access information and engage in discussions and debate on issues of public interest." (Abstract)
more
"This chapter discusses the safety measures that newsrooms should adopt to help fight various forms of harassment. The chapter comes against the background of previous studies having found that newsrooms are ill-prepared to address different forms of harassment. As a result, journalists are left wit
...
h the burden of fighting threats on their own. This chapter outlines possible measures that newsrooms, government institutions, and media-related civil society organisations can possibly implement to help fight online and offline forms of harassment. Some of the possible solutions that have been put forward by this chapter include the setting up of the legal department within the newsrooms to help swiftly address cases of harassment and the need for an open and daily discussion on harassment so that victims can feel comfortable coming up in the open. Governments and civil society organisations should formulate harassment policies that newsrooms to be implemented by newsrooms." (Abstract)
more
"This chapter addresses the issue of harassment in the media space in Mozambique. In fact, the issue of harassment of women in the media is a complex and multifaceted problem that can manifest in many ways. One aspect of this issue is the representation of women in media. Women are often objectified
...
and portrayed in a sexualized manner in advertising, movies, TV shows, and other forms of media. This can contribute to a culture of sexism and misogyny, which can lead to harassment and violence against women. Another aspect of the issue is the harassment of women who work in the media industry. In general, women who work in journalism, broadcasting, and other media-related fields often face harassment and discrimination based on their gender. This can include sexual harassment, online harassment, and other forms of abuse. In recent years, there has been increased attention and discussion around these issues, with many women sharing their experiences of harassment and abuse in the media industry. This situation happens not only in countries of the Global North, but also in the South. To minimize the situation, some organizations have also taken steps to address the problem, including implementing policies and procedures to prevent and respond to harassment. One example of this is the limited representation of women in leadership positions within media organizations in Mozambique. In addition to that, this chapter shows that the situation of harassment against women in the media space seems to be a forgotten issue in Mozambique, as there is no debate on the subject or there are few reported cases." (Abstract)
more
"Across time, in a variety of forms and spaces -from homes and workplaces to digital domains of social media- women have become victims of sexual harassment. Over the last couple of years, the world has witnessed appalling cases followed under the #MeToo campaign that has inspired an increasing numb
...
er of women to share their experiences of sexual harassment in different contexts. Nevertheless, social and family pressures may discourage female journalists operating in conservative societies to express their concerns and experiences. The case of Pakistan is noteworthy. While women constitute a major proportion of the Pakistani society, the country’s men hold power in all major sectors and institutions. Sexual harassment can hinder women’s professional lives in any sector. However, female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment are hardly documented in the academic literature about the Pakistani news media. Thus, informed by the framework of postcolonial feminist theory and intersectionality, this study aims to contribute an analysis of how sexual harassment is experienced by the Pakistani female journalists in the country’s mainstream, as well as ethnic news media. To achieve this aim, this study uses qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions and offers a thematic analysis of data." (Abstract)
more