"This article aims at demonstrating the relevance of the concept of 'media witnessing' as an analytical lens for the study of audience engagement with media reports of distant suffering. Drawing upon existing theoretical work on the concept, the article approaches media witnessing as a distinct moda
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lity of audience experience and constructs an analytical framework for its study. Applying this framework on an empirical study of Greek audiences, the article provides a typology of witnessing, consisting of four different types of audience engagement with media stories of human suffering. This typology illustrates the complexities inherent in the practice of watching suffering on television, as well as the limitations of mediated cosmopolitan imagination." (Abstract)
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"We asked writers and researchers to examine the quality of coverage and to highlight reporting problems as well as good work. The conclusions from many different parts of the world are remarkably similar: journalism under pressure from a weakening media economy; political bias and opportunism that
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drives the news agenda; the dangers of hate-speech, stereotyping and social exclusion of refugees and migrants. But at the same time there have been inspiring examples of careful, sensitive and ethical journalism that have shown empathy for the victims. In most countries the story has been dominated by two themes – numbers and emotions. Most of the time coverage is politically led with media often following an agenda dominated by loose language and talk of invasion and swarms. At other moments the story has been laced with humanity, empathy and a focus on the suffering of those involved." (Introduction, page 5-6)
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"Collectively known as Hallyu, Korean music, television programs, films, online games, and comics enjoy global popularity, thanks to new communication technologies. In recent years, Korean popular culture has also become the subject of academic inquiry. Whereas the Hallyu's impact on Korea's nationa
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l image and domestic economy, as well as on transnational cultural flows, have received much scholarly attention, there has been little discussion of the role of social media in Hallyu's propagation. Contributors to Hallyu 2.0: The Korean Wave in the Age of Social Media explore the ways in which Korean popular cultural products are shared by audiences around the globe; how they generate new fans, markets, and consumers through social media networks; and how scholars can analyze, interpret, and envision the future of this unprecedented cultural phenomenon." (Publisher description)
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"Set against the backdrop of tensions in East Asia, this book analyzes how East Asia's "new middle powers" and emerging powers employ public diplomacy as a key element of their foreign policy strategy and in so doing influence regional power dynamics. The volume brings together contributions from an
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international and influential group of scholars, who are leading debates on public diplomacy within East Asia. Where the study of public diplomacy has so far focused primarily on the West, the essays in this book highlight the distinct strategies of East Asian powers and demonstrate that understanding public diplomacy requires studying its strategies and practices outside as much as within the Western world. A focus on public diplomacy likewise gives us a more varied picture of state-to-state relations in East Asia." (Publisher description)
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"China is changing Africa’s media sphere. The country supports African broadcasters with loans, training, and exchange programmes and has set up its own media operations on the continent, creating an African arm of the state-run broadcaster CCTV and expanding existing initiatives, such as the stat
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e news agency Xinhua. In the telecommunications market China is helping national governments, both democratic and authoritarian, to expand access to the Internet and mobile telephony, and it offers export credits to Chinese companies willing to invest in African markets. For China, media expansion in Africa is a part of its “Going Out” and “soft power” strategies to extend the country’s influence in new sectors and locations. Yet for some this process represents a move in an “information war” in terms of which Chinese-built telecommunications infrastructure is a cybersecurity concern and the tendency of Chinese media to promote “positive reporting” is a threat to independent watchdog journalism." (Summary)
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"Vor dem Herbst 2013 spielte die Ukraine in deutschen Medien kaum eine Rolle. Die repressive Politik des Janukovyc-Regimes und die wachsende Unzufriedenheit in der Bevölkerung interessierten nur wenige Redaktionen. Auch die Verhandlungen der EU mit der Ukraine über das Assoziierungsabkommen wurden
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kaum wahrgenommen. Erst mit der Protestbewegung Euromajdan, der Annexion der Krim und der prekären Entwicklung in der Ostukraine wuchs der Bedarf an Berichten und Analysen zur Lage in der Ukraine. Doch die Medien zeigen sich dem nur partiell gewachsen. Zu gravierend sind die strukturellen Defizite." (Abstract)
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"This article presents the findings of a detailed analysis of Russian media coverage of the conflict. Focusing on three prominent Russian newspapers and comparing them with three Western counterparts, particular emphasis is placed on their reporting of regime violence, the nature and actions of the
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opposition, and Russia’s own role in the conflict. In so doing, a clear picture emerges of how starkly different the Syrian conflict appears to a Russian audience." (Abstract)
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"Nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer und dem Ende der Sowjetunion musste der Auslandsrundfunk sich neu orientieren. In der Außen- und Entwicklungspolitik sind Kultur und Medien zunehmend als wichtige Faktoren für die Gestaltung auswärtiger Beziehungen und internationaler Entwicklungszusammenarbeit e
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rkannt worden. Führende International Broadcaster des Westens wie BBC, RFI, DW, RNW und die Programme des US-amerikanischen Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) haben sich daher neben der Außendarstellung des eigenen Landes die Förderung von unabhängigem Journalismus und interkulturellem Dialog zum Ziel gesetzt. Sie produzieren Bildungs- und Informationsprogramme und führen Medienentwicklungsprojekte mit zahlreichen Partnerländern durch. In ihren Zielgebieten stehen die international ausgerichteten Sender der westlichen Demokratien zunehmend in Konkurrenz mit Auslandsprogrammen von autokratisch regierten Staaten wie China und Russland, die dort selbst politisch und ökonomisch Einfluss nehmen wollen. Nicht zuletzt unter diesem Druck und nach einschneidenden Budgetkürzungen haben europäische und amerikanische International Broadcaster die kostspielige Kurzwellentechnologie weitgehend aufgegeben und setzen stattdessen auf die Verbreitung multimedialer Inhalte über eine Vielzahl von Plattformen: von Internet- und mobilen Onlinediensten bis zur Ausstrahlung durch Partnersender in den Zielregionen. Radio- und Audioformate stellen in diesem Medienverbund weiterhin wertvolle Instrumente dar, die nicht unterschätzt werden sollten. In Regionen, die von Fernsehen und Internet bisher kaum erschlossen sind, ist terrestrisch ausgestrahltes Radio nach wie vor das Medium der Wahl, um Informationen und Bildungsinhalte zu verbreiten. Das betrifft weite Teile Afrikas sowie asiatische Länder wie Afghanistan und Pakistan. Gerade mit seinen Bildungsprogrammen erreicht das Radio auch Zuhörer, die nicht lesekundig sind, und schließt auch in Gebieten mit besser entwickelter Infrastruktur Nutzer nicht aus, die sich teure Satellitenempfänger oder Internetzugänge nicht leisten könnten." (Fazit, Seite 24)
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"Radio and online audio-formats are valuable instruments for international cultural work, and for education and development programmes. However, political developments following the end of the Cold War and the rise of satellite TV and online media have brought with them far-reaching cuts in the radi
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o programming of international broadcasters, and led to fundamental changes in the way radio and audio programmes are produced and distributed. Major western broadcasters, such as BBC World Service, BBG, RFI and DW, have limited their shortwave services to a small selection of countries, mainly in Africa and parts of Asia, where the infrastructure does not offer real alternatives for addressing the respective target groups. In these regions, radio still plays a vital role, not only for reasons related to infrastructure, but also because a great number of illiterate listeners can access information, knowledge and education best via audio. Traditional radio production and terrestrial transmission are also useful and efficient tools in media development work, as they can reach out into remote or rural areas and empower people to strengthen their community and cultural identity. But radio’s relevance goes beyond the local needs of regions that have not kept pace with the rate of recent technological change and media innovation. Radio has been at the core of international broadcasting right from the start, and now that it has become one element in a new mix of media, it turns out that there are some attractive core qualities of radio and audio that remain. These qualities are: 1. the direct and emotional impact of the human voice, 2. radio’s well-established culture of dialogue, 3. its potential to involve listeners as coproducers, 4. the flexibility, mobility and comparatively low production costs of audio, 5. its ability to subvert censorship." (Conclusions and Outlook for the Future, page 20)
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"Natürlich ist Grundlage unserer Arbeit auch der Pressekodex. Darüber hinaus haben wir überlegt, was ist das Besondere von uns als katholisches Lateinamerika-Hilfswerk, als „Adveniat“. Wie spielt das mit rein in unsere Bildethik, unsere Ethik in der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, die Ethik unserer B
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erichterstattung. Die Grundlage für uns ist der Mensch als Ebenbild Gottes mit seiner unveräußerlichen Würde. Notleidende Menschen und Menschen in Krisensituation wollen wir daher immer auch als Subjekte ihres Handelns darstellen und nicht als Opfer. Ganz wichtig ist außerdem: Wir akzeptieren das Recht auf das eigene Bild. Es gibt bei uns auch keine gestellten Bilder, selbst wenn das möglicherweise auf Kosten der Bildauswahl geht, die hinterher zur Verfügung steht. Wenn zum Beispiel ein Journalistenteam in einem Armenviertel für uns ein Projekt, das von „Adveniat“ unterstützt wird, recherchiert und dazu Familien in diesem Viertel besucht, dann werden nur mit Einwilligung dieser Menschen Fotos gemacht. Wenn eine Familie sich also schämt für ihre ärmliche Hütte und nicht möchte, dass man drinnen Bilder macht, dann gibt es eben nur ein Bild vor der Hütte – und damit müssen wir auskommen. Es kommt durchaus vor, dass wir Bilder, die wir gerne gesehen hätten, nicht bekommen. Möglicherweise gibt es dann am Ende sogar mal kein Motiv, bei dem wir sagen, das ist richtig plakattauglich oder es muss lange darum gerungen werden, weil kein entsprechendes Bild verfügbar ist." (S439-440)
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"This paper addresses the way the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is presented in the EU media and vice versa, in a time in which perceptions and misperceptions could influence negatively the consistent flows of international investments that are instrumental to the diversification of the Gulf
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economies as well as to the ailing of the European ones. The authors compare the most common stereotypes structuring the public discourse with the views of some journalists from Europe and the GCC countries gathered through a small but targeted survey and a subsequent focus group. The findings show a limited degree of familiarity and interaction, but at the same time having a sort of latent interest, especially with regard to politics and economics. They also uncover a different degree of technical skills and underscore a different level of diversification in sources. In the conclusion, the authors develop some policy-oriented recommendations to bridge this communication gap among media members and foster more accurate and comprehensive reporting, oriented at preparing the ground for mutually beneficial interregional cooperation." (www.sharaka.eu)
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"Both in form and in content, this publication is unconventional in its approach to deconstructing and debating some prevailing imageries of migrants across Europe and specifically in Spain, the UK, Turkey and Poland. In this publication, four individual case studies of incidents that occurred recen
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tly in the media provide the starting points for an analysis of country-specific, cuitural and historical contexts that influence public perception of, and general attitudes to, migrants and migration. An eclectic mix of images from mainstreain rnedia sources - footage "found" and introduced by the cultural organisations of the DocNext Network -. represent how migrants arc portrayed, or in some cases, made invisible in each country. The images are snapshots of the representation of migrauts in media: they show how migrants are stereotyped, criminalised, racially categorised, objectified and subjected to hate speech, all of which serves to deny their individual voices and agency." (Preface)
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"The Kremlin exploits the idea of freedom of information to inject disinformation into society. The effect is not to persuade (as in classic public diplomacy) or earn credibility but to sow confusion via conspiracy theories and proliferate falsehoods. The Kremlin is increasing its “information war
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” budget. RT, which includes multilingual rolling news, a wire service and radio channels, has an estimated budget of over $300 million, set to increase by 41% to include German- and French language channels. There is increasing use of social media to spread disinformation and trolls to attack publications and personalities. Unlike in the Cold War, when Soviets largely supported leftist groups, a fluid approach to ideology now allows the Kremlin to simultaneously back far-left and far-right movements, greens, anti-globalists and financial elites. The aim is to exacerbate divides and create an echo chamber of Kremlin support. The Kremlin exploits the openness of liberal democracies to use the Orthodox Church and expatriate NGOs to further aggressive foreign policy goals." (Executive summary)
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"Russia still aspires to influence the news media in the former Soviet republics. The objective appears to be to manipulate their media environments in order to promote dependence on Russia and distrust of the West and to help Russia to pursue its political and commercial objectives–such as persua
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ding former Soviet republics to adhere to the Eurasian Customs Union or promoting opposition to the United States and NATO. The push by Russia to influence the media among its near neighbors not only marks an important thrust of Russian foreign policy, it also poses a major challenge to the international media development community." (CIMA website)
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