"Nous observons ainsi des mutations profondes dans le champ de la liberté de la presse, qui progresse sur plusieurs points, mais recule également dans certains autres. La liberté des médias est notamment limitée par de nombreuses restrictions légales sur le droit de communiquer des information
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s et des idées, bien que des progrès soient observés en ce qui concerne les garanties juridiques à chercher et à recevoir de l’information. En ce qui concerne le pluralisme des médias, les cinq dernières années ont vu la multiplication considérable des sources d’information. Pourtant, la concentration de la propriété des médias et des services Internet soulève des préoccupations majeures. Les effets de filtrage des médias sociaux, qui créent des « bulles » dans lesquelles les gens n’accèdent pas à la vérité ou aux « points de vue » qu’ils jugeraient « gênants » ou « inappropriés » sont un exemple. La manipulation et la diffusion de fausses informations par des organes de propagande en sont un autre. On note également un arrêt des progrès sur l’égalité des genres dans les contenus et en personnel. Les tendances montrent que l’indépendance des médias s’affaiblit et que les normes professionnelles du journalisme s’érodent sous l’effet des forces économiques d’un côté et du manque de reconnaissance de la part des acteurs politiques de l’autre. Les entreprises de médias et de l’Internet sont de plus en plus conscientes de la nécessité de s’autoréguler. En ce qui concerne enfin la sécurité physique, psychologique et numérique des journalistes, les tendances restent extrêmement alarmantes, même si la mise en oeuvre du Plan d’Action des Nations Unies sur la sécurité des journalistes et la question de l’impunité représente un espoir. Il existe un nouvel élan pour des mécanismes de suivi, de prévention, de protection et de renforcement de la justice pour les crimes commis contre les journalistes. Cet élan doit être encouragé." (Avant-propos, pages 10-11)
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"Poor News examines the way discourses of poverty are articulated in the news media by incorporating specific narratives and definers that bring about certain ideological worldviews. This happens, the authors claim, because journalists and news editors make use of a set of information strategies whi
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le accessing certain sources within specific social and political dynamics. The book looks at the case of the news media in Britain since the industrial revolution and produces a historical account of how these media discourses came into play. The main thesis is that there have been different historical cycles that reflect particular hegemonic ideas of each period. Consequently, the role of mainstream journalism has been a subservient one for existing elites when it comes to the propagation of dominant ideas." (Publisher description)
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"Analyzing the political consequences of the most extensive corruption investigation in recent Latin American history, Operação Lava-Jato, this book answers two central questions about the contradictory effects news media has on political systems. First, how can political actors in a seemingly wel
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l-functioning democracy quickly override checks and balances, and replace a head of state with a corrupt vice-president? Second, how can very active news media, while ostensibly performing the role of the watchdog, still fail to deliver media accountability to the public? Combining a quantitative view of the media sphere with case studies of the leaks, legal actions, and alliances forming and breaking in the Brazilian Congress, Mads Bjelke Damgaard demonstrates that the media’s attention to leaks and investigations of corruption paved the way for Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment. By timing the disclosure of information in scandals, actors with inside information were able to drive the media agenda and let some scandals escape from the limelight. The book delivers an in-depth study of how scandals become political weapons in a time of media personalities and post-politics." (Publisher description)
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"This book surveys current developments in social media and politics in a range of Central and Eastern European countries, including Ukraine and Russia. It explores the process of adoption of social media by politicians, journalists and civic activists, examines the impact of the different social an
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d cultural backgrounds of the countries studied, and discusses specific political situations, such as the 2012 protests in Moscow and the 2014 EuroMaidan events in Ukraine, where social media played an important role. The book concludes by addressing how the relationship between social media and politics is likely to develop and how it might affect the still relatively new democracies in the region." (Publisher description)
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"The media industry has been ravaged by the economic crises. Some media, mainly those covering tabloid fare and digitally savvier than others or those backed by deep-pocketed investors, are surviving or even thriving. But independent journalism outfits, particularly outside the Western world, have b
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een grappling with serious financial problems. This article is an analysis of how government uses funding, directly and indirectly, to capture the media. It describes trends in how governments use funding to control media by not financing independent journalism, but choosing to fund instead media outlets that advance the government agenda and the interests of its allies and supporters, either political groups or businesses." (Abstract)
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"Using structuration theory, assuming that every government has a stake in steering public communication and comparing 46 nation-states, this paper explores the major principles that can be used to explain different mass media structures around the globe. The study draws on extensive documentary ana
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lysis and includes more than 150 expert interviews. It shows that media freedom and journalists’ autonomy depend on not only the particular governmental system, the constitution, journalism education, and the existence of commercial media but also, to a significant extent, on economic realities, the tradition of press freedom, and various other factors that are historical, religious, and/or geographic. The tool to do so is a mass media system typology based on two dimensions: formal expectations and the state’s influence." (Abstract)
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"Christianity as the predominant religion in Zimbabwe consists of several faith groupings, each of which responds to public events through the mass media. Mainline churches uphold a conventional human rights approach to faith-based political criticism, while Mapostori or Apostolic churches follow an
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Africanist form of faith and appear to condone some alignment with the authoritarian ruling party. In the sampled media coverage of three online newspapers, the political use of religious strategies or practices from various faith groups by the president and high-ranking party functionaries is reported from either the former government-sanctioned view or an oppositional stance. Moralist reprimand is levied at various politicians from a religious rationale, assuming good and evil, church and state, Christianity and African spirituality, which, however, remain abstract since there is no overall faith-based guidance for political behaviour beyond a secular constitution that still appears utopian. The critical discourse analysis suggests that complex relationships exist among the various faiths, causing diverse religious interpretations of political events. This suspension of Cartesian thinking results in a continuing circular logic of blame and prayer, disaster and prophesy instead of the use of constitutional democratic institutions to hold politicians accountable. Such logic seems sustained by politicized interpretations of spiritual entities, spiritual interpretations of political events and by the perceptions of the Zimbabwean public, who, as believers of one or other faith, is equally at the mercy of opportunistic ‘prophets’ from many denominations as it is targeted by the political powers of the day." (Abstract)
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"El presente informe estudia a los jóvenes de entre 16 y 29 años, en relación con la televisión y la política nacional. Se indaga en su nivel de equipamiento tecnológico audiovisual, en sus hábitos de consumo televisivo y, de manera más específica, en sus preferencias informativas sobre pol
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ítica. Los datos usados provienen de cuatro encuestas realizadas y publicadas durante 2017 por el CNTV. Las cuatro encuestas tienen muestras de representatividad nacional." (Presentación)
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"Media in small emerging democracies face multiple obstacles caused by “smallness” and the state of “late democratization.” “Smallness” raises the question of how to develop financial independence in these countries. “Late democratization” gives rise to the challenge of maintaining p
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olitical independence. In general, small emerging democracies lack an environment that can enable a culture of independent media. This study selected two Eastern European countries–Slovenia and Macedonia, with a population of about 2 million each, and two Asian countries–Bhutan and Timor-Leste, with populations of around 740,000 and 1.2 million respectively. They all emerged in the “Third Wave” of democratization and were characterized by features of underdeveloped political institutions, insufficient public discourse, and financial vulnerability according to the previous scholarly work. Based on literature review, the researcher found that smallness, along with confounding factors of national identity and economic context, shapes the way media policy is envisioned and developed [...] Using a mixed methodology of interview and documentary research, the researcher found that the reaction of small emerging democracies to the sudden social and political changes tended to have patterns, although they differed in the paths to democratization. Furthermore, the role of media as a watchdog is undermined by the financial dependence on the government of the day. With respect to media governance, the four countries are all marked by the hierarchical mode of governing. This casts light on the fact that media policy should be constructed with input from private sectors and civil societies. A conceptual framework provided by this study can work as an analytical tool for researchers who are interested in studying similar-sized countries." (Abstract)
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"Best practices for agencies to counter misinformation, rumors and false information are detailed and categorized in this white paper, and challenges and additional considerations are presented for review. This report illustrates methods of countering false information on social media with case stud
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ies: The 2014 South Napa earthquake: Tweets were filtered by geolocation to eliminate posts from trolls; The 2016 Louisiana floods: The Red Cross published and shared a blog to counter rumors and misinformation about food distribution and shelter policies; The 2017 Oroville Dam evacuation: An accidentally misleading tweet suggested the evacuation area included all of Sacramento County. Local agencies used traditional and social media to provide correct information. Examples of best practices include: Establishing partnerships with local traditional media outlets before disasters, so means exist to disseminate accurate information; Using the Joint Information System to coordinate public information efforts of multiple jurisdictions and agencies; and Setting up a central website to debunk bad information." (Executive summary)
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"As a part of Russian soft (or coercive) power disinformation and propaganda have become key elements in an updated Russian security policy since 2012/13. For Russian leadership disinformation and propaganda have become key instruments to impact domestic debates in EU member states and in the neighb
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ourhood of the EU. This policy aims to weaken cohesion in the EU and its image in the neighbourhood and has become so successful because of the shrinking self-confidence of Western democracies. This study analyses Russia‘s communication strategy with regard to its influence in Serbia and Estonia. What are the tools that are used? What are the aims behind disinformation and fake news stories? It shows that a formerly reactive response from a perceived position of weakness has turned into a well-executed communication strategy that makes use of vulnerabilities to sow discord. National elites in the target countries play a key role for the success or failure of this policy." (Abstract)
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"Analysing millions of news stories together with Twitter and Facebook shares, broadcast television and YouTube, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the architecture of contemporary American political communications. Through data analysis and detailed qualitative case studies of coverage o
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f immigration, Clinton scandals, and the Trump Russia investigation, the book finds that the right-wing media ecosystem operates fundamentally differently than the rest of the media environment. The authors argue that longstanding institutional, political, and cultural patterns in American politics interacted with technological change since the 1970s to create a propaganda feedback loop in American conservative media. This dynamic has marginalized centre-right media and politicians, radicalized the right wing ecosystem, and rendered it susceptible to propaganda efforts, foreign and domestic. For readers outside the United States, the book offers a new perspective and methods for diagnosing the sources of, and potential solutions for, the perceived global crisis of democratic politics." (Publisher description)
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"Esta guía metodológica sistematiza dinámicas y herramientas construidas colectivamente por el equipo de la Asociación Voces Nuestras y agrupaciones aliadas. Nuestra propuesta fue aplicada y validada en procesos de formación a partir del año 2017, en el trabajo con organizaciones puente y defe
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nsoras de territorios mesoaméricanos en resistencia. El contenido de esta guía es resultado de esos procesos de fortalecimiento de capacidades informativas, articulación e incidencia en la región. La guía busca apoyar la facilitación de talleres de comunicación para la incidencia pública y política. Por eso, las ideas que aporta son de uso libre, pues así tienen que ser los conocimientos, los ríos, los bosques y los medios: ¡siempre libres!" (Introducción)
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"This paper explores the interconnections of Hindutva fascist repertoires in India and quasi-orientalist discourses. History and common sense are re-written through audiovisual communications to appeal to one section of a dangerously split Indian public and a neoliberal-touristic sensibility elsewhe
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re. Enlightenment rhetorics of progress, democracy and technological development are apparently embodied by WhatsApp groups, electronic voting machines and laws to protect cows. Voting—as a marker of democratic citizenship—becomes a masquerade protecting a resurgent far right Hindutva (Hindu fascist) regime under the aegis of Narendra Modi and the BJP. Caste Hinduism’s association of cows with deities, and the proscription on meat-eating in certain versions of religious practice, are used as pretexts for unimaginable violence against Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and working class/lower caste Hindus. Violence against those who dissent is rationalised as patriotic. Hindutva’s banal and spectacular audiovisual discourse overwhelms public communication. Its consequences are a form of vigilante citizenship that is marked on the bodies of dead victims and of vigilante publics ready to be mobilised either in ethno-cultural violence or its defence and disavowal. Meanwhile, attracted to India as an enormous market, Western governments and corporations have colluded with the Hindutva regime’s self-promotion as a bastion of development." (Abstract)
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"The 2011 uprisings in the Middle East have deeply shaken the traditional media landscape in the region. They have also reinvigorated scholarly interest in the role of the media in the region’s conflicts. Alternative media has emerged as an important avenue for investigation—in particular with r
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esistance and counterhegemonic narratives. However, the complexity and heterogeneity of this sphere have received less attention. The aim of this article is to reveal the heterogeneity in the alternative media sphere that developed in Syria after the 2011 uprising. The article contributes, first, to an understanding of the conflict itself and the role of sectarianism therein and, second, to a more complex conceptualization of alternative media within conflict contexts. We explore these issues by analyzing the diverse framings of sectarian divisions in Syrian oppositional media." (Abstract)
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"Our study is the first to identify and analyse who is shaping African Twitter conversations during elections over the past year. The study found that 53 per cent of the leading voices on Twitter around ten elections on the continent during the past year came from outside the country in which the el
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ections were contested. Bots, and accounts displaying machine-like behaviour, were active across all elections, particularly in Kenya, where they accounted for a quarter of all influential accounts. One of the more surprising findings from the study was the limited influence politicians had on the conversation. Rwanda was the exception, where 1 in every 3 influential handles was a political account – the highest figure across all elections analysed. This doesn’t mean politicians weren’t being talked about. Many of the top hashtags included references to politicians or political parties, including #UmaAngolaParaTodos in Angola, #Weah in Liberia and #Kagame in Rwanda. This study demonstrates that people continue to seek out the voices they trust with established journalists and news outlets consistently ranked in the top three influencers across all elections. With fake news and bots influencing conversations on social media, people continue to search for traditional sources of verified, accurate information." (Introduction)
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"Das Gedenken an den Ersten Weltkrieg in Deutschland und Europa ist nach wie vor sehr auf die europäische Perspektive beschränkt. Tatsächlich war der Krieg ein globaler: Millionen Soldaten aus kolonisierten Gebieten nahmen an den Kämpfen teil. Die Kolonialtruppen bildeten ein wesentliches Elemen
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t der Kriegsführung bei fast allen Kriegsparteien. Als Soldaten "zweiter Klasse" erhielten sie allerdings deutlich weniger Sold sowie schlechtere Verpflegung und Ausrüstung. Zudem waren sie während des Krieges und danach rassistischen kolonialen Unterdrückungsmechanismen unterworfen, an deren Fortbestand auch der Kriegseinsatz wenig änderte. In der dominanten Erinnerungskultur wird das Schicksal der Kolonialsoldaten folglich fast vollständig ausgeblendet – auch deswegen, weil das, was sie erlebt haben, oft nur als "oral history" verfügbar war und von der westlichen Geschichtsschreibung nicht berücksichtigt wurde. Dieses Buch widmet sich der Geschichte der Kolonialsoldaten in neun Comics, die auch eine künstlerische Auseinandersetzung mit Möglichkeiten historischer Überlieferung und dem Fortwirken kolonialer Bildproduktion leisten." (Klappentext)
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