"This book explores the role and purpose of journalism to spark and propagate change by investigating human rights journalism and its capacity to inform, educate and activate change. Downman and Ubayasiri maximize this approach by proposing a new paradigm of reporting through the use of human-focuss
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ed news values. This approach is a radical departure from the traditional style that typically builds on abstract concepts. The book will explore human rights journalism through the lens of complex issues such as human trafficking and people smuggling in the Asian context. This is not just a book for journalists, or journalism academics, but a book for activists, human rights advocates or anyone who believes in the power of journalism to change the world." (Publisher description)
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"As Chinese politicians hold the power to control the dissemination of political information, beat journalists must guard their relationship with the authorities to expand the boundaries of news reporting; that is, to gain more access to political information and report more sensitive news. What rem
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ains a puzzle is how beat journalists can possibly expand these boundaries. Data from participatory observation and in-depth interviews with journalists reveal that in order to gain more access to political information, they not only serve as political advocates but also seize the opportunity to act as watchdogs. To report more sensitive news without being sanctioned or denounced by the authorities, they coordinate with peers both within and outside the news organization." (Abstract)
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"With regards to how Colombian journalists reportedly viewed their professional purpose/role, they found it was most important to report news accurately, to provide analysis of current affairs, to promote tolerance and cultural diversity, to promote social change, and lastly, to educate the audience
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(Table 1). The standard deviations for each of these roles revealed that there was indisputable consensus on the perception of the relevance that these functions have within journalistic work. Still, it was found that most journalists in Colombia valued letting people express their opinions, telling stories about the world, monitoring political leaders, and supporting national development. Furthermore, they valued influencing public opinion, providing people the information they need to make political decisions, and monitoring the business world. Lastly, journalists advocated for providing entertainment and news that capture a wider audience, setting the political agenda, motivating people to participate in political activities, and providing advice for daily life. It also was found that the classic roles of impartial observers and government adversaries or watchdogs currently hold little importance for Colombian journalists. The same goes for the traditional roles of loyalists or functionalists related to promoting government policies and conveying a positive image of political leaders. The standard deviations showed divided opinions on the relevance of these roles in journalism. For some journalists, these classic and loyalist roles are not important in their work, while there are others who believe that these roles are crucial for their reporting." (Journalistic roles, pages 1-2)
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"These guides are for media professionals working to help audiences affected by humanitarian crises. They give a brief overview of common humanitarian issues in emergencies. They will help you: understand what kinds of problems your audiences are likely to be facing in emergencies; work alongside re
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lief experts to provide audiences with accurate, relevant and life-saving information." (Introduction)
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"With regards to professional role orientations, South Korean journalists found it most important to report things as they are, to provide analysis of current affairs, and to monitor and scrutinize business and political leaders. The relevance of these roles was fairly undisputed among the interview
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ed journalists as the relatively low standard deviations indicate. Likewise, there was a strong consensus among the respondents over the little importance of supporting government policy and conveying a positive image of political leadership. Still, a majority of journalists in South Korea found it important to be a detached observer, to promote tolerance and cultural diversity, to set the political agenda, to provide information people need to make political decisions, to let people express their views, to advocate for social change, and to motivate people to participate in political activity. To provide entertainment and relaxation, as well as politically more assertive roles like supporting government policy and conveying a positive image of political leadership, were supported by only a minority of respondents." (Journalistic roles, pages 1-2)
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"This article explores ideas around nation building, as constructed through the ethos as well as practice of ubuntu journalism. We make the argument that by invoking ubuntu as an underlying ethos for a reporting ethic and practice, the news media contribute to a magical idea of nationhood and nation
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building in South Africa. While not denying that ubuntu is instrumental to nation building, the study contributes new understandings of both the general artifice, and the nation-building productivity, of what we label ‘magical ubuntu’. The intent here is to describe the postcolonial magic in which ubuntu is implicated, with special regard for the magical functions that relate to the construction of nationhood in contemporary South Africa." (Abstract)
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"This year we have evidence of the growth of distributed (offsite) news consumption, a sharpening move to mobile and we can reveal the full extent of ad-blocking worldwide. These three trends in combination are putting further severe pressure on the business models of both traditional publishers and
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new digital-born players – as well as changing the way in which news is packaged and distributed." (Overview & key findings)
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"This policy briefing examines the prospects for media being able to play that role, especially in fragile states. It concludes that the evidence supporting the effectiveness of media as an accountability actor continues to mount even when the performance of other anti-corruption measures are called
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into question. It looks at the increasing pressures facing independent media in fragile states, especially those of political co-option and a reduction in media freedom. It suggests that these pressures are intensifying precisely because media is so effective at holding power to account and exposing corruption. It argues that independent media need more attention from international development actors not only financially but also through their strategic focus and influence they can bring to bear to supporting media freedom. Without it, such media are likely to struggle to survive and corruption can be expected to increase." (BBC Media Action website)
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"This guide helps to define what civic space is, its threats, challenges and the pivotal work being done across the world to protect and promote civic space. It seeks to identify, refine and explain the different groups and processes involved. Most importantly, it provides story ideas, angles, and p
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rompts designed to help media and journalists cover these issues better. You will also find useful resources and hyperlinks for further resources and reading. The guide comprises the following: Section 1 provides information about the toolkit and introductory background on civic space. Section 2 outlines key concepts for reporting civic space, including what makes a story newsworthy, and gender balanced reporting. Section 3 unpacks the three fundamental freedoms associated with civic space, and offers stories ideas. For each of these freedoms you will find." (About this toolkit)
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"The top six roles, all with means above 4.5 and standard deviations below 1, for Botswana journalists, were a mix of those aligned with a liberal press (e.g., report things as they are) and those relevant to development journalism (e.g., support national development). “Report things as they are
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(mean=4.80) and “Educate the audience” (mean=4.70) were the top two roles for these journalists (see Table 1) with 96.2 percent and 94.1 percent of the journalists respectively saying that they considered these roles “extremely” or “very” important. The least important roles, both with means below the midpoint of three, were “Be an adversary of government” (mean=2.62) and “Convey a positive image of political leadership” (mean=2.40); these journalists did not want to take a seriously adversarial stance with government but neither did they want to convey a positive image of political leaders." (Journalistic roles, page 1)
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"Der Band führt in die praktischen Grundlagen von Social Media ein und zeigt, wie sich durch Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube & Co. der Journalismus verändert hat. Er legt dar, wie die einzelnen Dienste sinnvoll im redaktionellen Alltag eingesetzt werden und wo Potential für weitergehende re
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daktionelle Strategien zu sehen ist. Eine wichtige Rolle wird dem Zusammenspiel mit dem Leser/Zuschauer/Zuhörer eingeräumt. Denn dieser rückt von der rein passiven Rezipienten-Rolle in die aktive Rolle eines Partners des Journalisten. Auch will der Umgang mit User-Material gelernt sein. Vom Überprüfen und Verifizieren von Youtube-Videos bis zum redaktionellen Crowdsourcing bietet das Buch Checklisten und Muster-Konzepte sowie Beispiele aus der Praxis." (Publisher description)
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"Cet ouvrage explore les systèmes médiatiques d’Afrique subsaharienne francophone et propose des clés pour aborder leurs spécificités via nombre d’éléments historiques, politiques, sociologiques, juridiques, économiques et technologiques, indispensables pour les replacer dans leur contex
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te. Présentant la littérature de référence, enrichie par les témoignages de dizaines de journalistes africains, et puisant dans l’expérience de plusieurs ONG spécialisées, ce manuel constitue une introduction générale à des environnements médiatiques méconnus et dont les dynamiques internes sont peu explorées. Pourtant, le caractère relativement récent de la liberté de la presse, la nature semi-autoritaire ou l’instabilité chronique de plusieurs des régimes politiques de la région, la prépondérance de l’économie informelle, ainsi que les dynamiques d’appropriation et de participation des citoyens contribuent à façonner des systèmes médiatiques et des modèles professionnels particuliers qui peuvent stimuler la réflexion." (Verso)
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"Free Press Unlimited believes that gender equality is central to achieving its overall long-term objective that media and journalists constitute a diverse and professional media landscape and function as change agents. As such, they contribute to the overall vision of a just, inclusive and peaceful
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society. Inclusive refers to men and women of all ages and backgrounds. Free Press Unlimited’s focus on equal access, opportunities and rights for men and women media practitioners is based on existing and persisting gaps and stereotypes in media and society that often benefit men over women. To contribute to bridging these gaps, Free Press Unlimited adopted the thematic area Gender & Media. Its vision of success is: ‘Media actively advocate for gender equality and work towards increased participation and decision making of women in and through the media.’ The Gender Equality Policy reinforces this commitment and outlines the organisation’s objectives and standards in relation to gender and the media. The objective of this policy is to promote gender equality in the programmes, in partnerships and cooperation with others, in the organisation itself and in external communication." (Page 3)
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"Many individuals were involved in the Belgian Congo's attainment of independence. Born in 1931, Mwissa Camus, the dean of Congolese journalists, is one of them. Even though he was opposed to this idea and struggled to maintain his status as member of a certain ‘elite’, his career sheds light on
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the advancement of his country towards independence in June 1960. By following his professional career in the years preceding independence, we can see how his development illuminates the emergence of journalism in the Congo, the social position of Congolese journalists, and the ambivalence of their position towards the emancipation process. The road taken by Mwissa Camus – as an actor, witness, extra, and somehow instrument of the events that shook his country – helps understand the Congo's move towards independence from a particular perspective. History – that of a hurried independence, blatantly unprepared, on which a small elite failed to agree – is revealed through his words and the unveiling of his ‘world.’ This article is essentially based on interviews with Mwissa Camus and on Congolese newspaper articles from 1959, 1960 and 1961." (Abstract)
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"(1) How do Chinese journalists perceive their roles and practices in conflict zones outside China? (2) How do they cover armed conflicts overseas? (3) Who are the actors, and how do they influence Chinese war correspondence? (4) Do the Chinese news media practice peace or war journalism? To answer
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these questions, a new cascading media and confl ict framework has been proposed and applied to study contemporary war correspondents. Within this new framework, the following six levels have been addressed from a Chinese perspective: 1. Chinese correspondents’ perception of roles, 2. Chinese-style pragmatic objectivity, 3. Foreign policy and media relations in China, 4. News audience, 5. News practices in war reporting, 6. News framing and peace/war journalism." (Conclusion)
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"Fuelled by a distrust of big media and the development of mobile technologies, the resulting convergence of journalism praxis (professional to alternative), workflows (analogue to multipoint digital) and platforms (PC to mobile), result in a 24-hour always-on content cycle. The information revoluti
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on is a paradigm shift in the way we develop and consume information, in particular the type we call news. While many see this cultural shift as ruinous, Burum sees it as an opportunity to utilize the converging information flow to create a galvanizing and common digital language across spheres of communication: community, education and mainstream media." (Publisher description)
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