"In contrast to the top-down approach newsrooms have traditionally deployed, Community-Centered Journalism offers a more people-cen tered approach focused on meeting the demonstrable needs and priorities of communities. Instead of newsrooms assuming they know what information people need, they gathe
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r this knowledge through a comprehensive process incorporating deep listening and collaboration, as well as ongoing engagement and feedback. Andrea Wenzel of Temple University, a leading proponent of Community-Centered Journalism, describes this as “journalism produced with and for communities.” Through these efforts, journalists seek to actively build trust and credibility by producing news and information that is relevant and beneficial to the daily lives of the communities they are working with. Although the methods used to deliver these goals may be different, this activity is in line with what the American Press Institute notes is a core purpose of journalism: “To provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.” Establishing and meeting community information needs takes time. But an inclusive process is fundamental to under standing the stories and issues that matter to communities, and in determining how to best tackle them. That might include building relationships with communities and local partners (such as non-profits, government agencies, busi nesses and libraries). It also means meeting people where they are (e.g., language, delivery format, etc.) to maximize impact." (Pages 10-11)
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"1. Social Media Users in MEA (Middle East and Africa) spend the most time on social networks, averaging over 3.5 hours per day. Internet users in the MEA have an average of 8.4 social media accounts, research reveals. UAE, with an average of 10.5 accounts, has “the highest number of social media
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accounts per person globally. 2. Top TikTok influencers grew their fanbase by an average of 65%, between February and August 2020, with the highest engagement rates in Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Few influencers have successfully crossed over from other platforms. 3. Egypt is the 9th largest national market for Facebook in the world, with 44 million users, by October 2020. Turkey is the only other MENA country in the Top 20, with 37 million users. 4. Four MENA Countries, Saudi Arabia (17.9 million users), Turkey (9.7m), Iraq (9.6m) and Egypt (8.9m) are in the 13 largest national markets for Snapchat worldwide. Audiences are continuing to grow, highlighting the importance of the app. 5. 79% of Arab Youth say they get their news from social media. That’s up from 25% in 2015 [...]" (Executive summary)
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"This in-depth study explores some of the most popular tactics being used by news and other media organizations to diversify their revenue streams and generate income through a variety of different means. It does this by deep dives into subscriptions, paywalls, advertising, content and other establi
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shed and emerging ideas. The report is a fully rewritten and fully revised update of my 2019 paper of the same name. Like its predecessor, it’s designed to be easy to digest and packed with a wealth of case studies. These insights will provide a mixture of inspiration — and affirmation — for publishers and content creators around the world, as they continue to look at how to reduce their dependence on advertising income, and identify fresh, diverse, opportunities to generate income across a variety of verticals." (Abstract)
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"55 alumni of training programmes run by the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) shared their experiences about living – and working – in the COVID era. These insights, coupled with extensive desk research and analysis, inform the narrative of this new report [...] COVID-19 has had a twin impact on
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journalism: not only has it presented a unique set of challenges for journalists, but it has also accentuated and accelerated several major structural issues that predate the pandemic. These issues include encroachments on press freedom, the news industry’s faltering business model, the erosion of trust in journalism and combating fake news. Laws banning ‘fake news’ can be used as instruments to support government crackdowns on media freedom and on reporting with which political elites disagree. The pandemic has offered a justification for more countries to introduce these types of laws, tighten current restrictions or suspend existing laws. Even if these developments are rolled back, journalism and the news industry is unlikely to return to its pre-pandemic state. Many of the jobs and outlets that have been lost will never reappear, and those that do may look very different to the way they were." (Executive summary)
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"The Data Journalism Handbook provides a rich and panoramic introduction to data journalism, combining both critical reflection and practical insight. It offers a diverse collection of perspectives on how data journalism is done around the world and the broader consequences of datafication in the ne
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ws, serving as both a textbook and a sourcebook for this emerging field. With more than 50 chapters from leading researchers and practitioners of data journalism, it explores the work needed to render technologies and data productive for journalistic purposes. It also gives a "behind the scenes" look at the social lives of data sets, data infrastructures, and data stories in newsrooms, media organizations, start-ups, civil society organizations and beyond." (Publisher description)
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"This report is the eighth in an annual series of publications, dating back to 2012, designed to share the latest stories, trends and research in social media usage from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Using a wide variety of academic, industry and media sources, this White Paper ide
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ntifies important insights from social media’s development over the previous year. Of particular note in 2019 is the continued, growing, importance of social media in the lives of Arab Youth, outside of Saudi Arabia and Turkey the declining usage of Twitter (once the poster child social network for the Arab Spring,) as well as greater scrutiny of social media usage by platform owners and governments alike. Last year’s report highlighted the increasing weaponization of social networks, a trend which continued in 2019. Facebook, Twitter and Telegram each closed hundreds of accounts due to inappropriate use by state sponsored actors and terrorist groups. Social networks were also the target of governments across MENA, in the midst of protests in many countries throughout the region. Meanwhile, the importance of social video and visually-led social networks, continued to grow. Snapchat introduced new advertising formats to the region and other exclusive functionality, Google highlighted the importance of YouTube in supporting parents and parenting, and in major markets such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Twitter has emerged as a leading platform for online video consumption." (Introduction)
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"Offering a collection of invited contributions from scholars across the world, the volume is structured in seven parts, each exploring a particular aspect of local media and journalism that provide the framework to bring together and consolidate the latest research and theorisations from the field,
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and fresh understandings of local media from a comparative perspective and within a global context. Addressing the significant changes local media and journalism has undergone in the last decade, the companion explores the history, politics, ethics and contents of local media, as well as delving deeper into the business and practices that affect not only the journalists and media-makers involved, but consumers as well. For students and researchers in the fields of journalism studies, journalism education, cultural studies and media and communications programmes, this is the comprehensive guide to local media and journalism." (Publisher description)
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"This report is the seventh in an annual series of publications showcasing the latest developments, trends and research in social media usage across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Using a wide variety of academic, industry and media sources, this White Paper features key insights from soci
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al media's development over the previous year. Notable trends from the past year include the continued popularity of Facebook and Facebook-owned products, especially with Arab Youth, as well as increasing challenges to online freedom of expression in many parts of the region. Saudi Arabia continues to be a social media powerhouse, being one of the biggest national markets for Snapchat and YouTube in the world. Meanwhile, the rise of social media influencers has met with some pushback; from regulation in UAE, to more tragic and threatening responses in Iraq. This report explores these developments, as well as emerging questions about the rise of fake news on social media, and the role that social networks are playing in Yemen's civil war." (Publisher description)
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"Digital Middle East sheds a critical light on continuing changes that are closely intertwined with the adoption of information and communication technologies in the MENA region. Drawing on case studies from throughout the Middle East, the contributors explore how these digital transformations are p
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laying out in the social, cultural, political, and economic spheres, exposing the various disjunctions and discordances that have marked the advent of the digital Middle East." (Publisher description)
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"This report is the fifth in a series of annual reports designed to capture key developments and data related to usage of social media in the Middle East. The past year has seen the continued growth of visual-led social networks, especially in the more affluent Gulf region. Meanwhile, the discernibl
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e growth in mobile social users(+66% notes the creative agency We Are Social) emphasizes the increasing primacy of the mobile social experience. For many users, mobile is the only way that they interact with social networks. Mobile platforms, for millions in the region, will also offer their first online experience. Recognizing this, companies like Facebook have launched Facebook Lite, an Android app targeting users on slow networks (and with small dataplans). Their Free Basics program allows customers on the Zain network in Jordan and Asia Cell, Korek and Zain in Iraq avoid data charges when using Facebook on their mobile devices. Will other providers follow suit? Yet, for all the positives, the social experience in some parts of the region remains beset with challenges. Networks and services can be blocked – both temporarily and permanently – and issues around freedom of expression persist." (Introduction)
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"There are more than 400 active hyperlocal websites in the UK, compared with 1,045 local papers. New sites are being uncovered by researchers on a daily basis. One in ten say they use local community websites or apps at least weekly (7 per cent in 2013). 17 per cent of UK internet users use websites
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or apps each week for news about their local area or community; a further 31 per cent do so quarterly. Consumption of this content online is increasing. The most common topic covered by hyperlocal media is community activities e.g. festivals, clubs and societies, local councils and the services they provide. Functional information about community events, services, local weather and traffic, are the most popular content types with hyperlocal audiences. Investigative reporting, which has helped uncover controversial new information about local civic issues or events, has been produced by almost half of the UK’s online hyperlocal publishers in the last two years." (Pages 4-5)
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