"This book examines small cinemas and their presentation of society in times of crisis and conflict from an interdisciplinary and intercultural point of view. The authors concentrate on economic, social and political challenges and point to new phenomena which have been exposed by film directors. Th
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ey present essays on, among others, Basque cinema; gendered controversies in post-communist small cinemas in Slovakia and Czech Republic; ethnic stereotypes in the works of Polish filmmakers; stereotypical representation of women in Japanese avant-garde; post-communist political myths in Hungary; the separatist movements of Catalonia; people in diasporas and during migrations. In view of these timely topics, the book touches on the most serious social and political problems. The films discussed provide an excellent platform for enhancing debates on politics, gender, migration and new aesthetics in cinema at departments of history, sociology, literature and film." (Back cover)
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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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"As television production becomes increasingly global, television studies must advance its understanding of how the global and the local intersect and impact upon the cultures of production. Drawing on original comparative research of three small European nations – Denmark, Ireland and Wales – t
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his article offers empirical insights into the distinct challenges and opportunities for non-Anglophone producers and public service broadcasters (PSBs). The concept of small nations is employed critically to reveal how distinctions of scale and power make a tangible difference to how television is produced and distributed, and to how smaller, national PSBs are trying to secure a sustainable future." (Abstract)
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"The use of social media for news has started to fall in a number of key markets after years of continuous growth. Usage is down six percentage points in the United States, and is also down in the UK and France. Almost all of this is due to a specific decline in the discovery, posting, and sharing o
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f news in Facebook. At the same time, we continue to see a rise in the use of messaging apps for news as consumers look for more private (and less confrontational) spaces to communicate. WhatsApp is now used for news by around half of our sample of online users in Malaysia (54%) and Brazil (48%) and by around third in Spain (36%) and Turkey (30%). Across all countries, the average level of trust in the news in general remains relatively stable at 44%, with just over half (51%) agreeing that they trust the news media they themselves use most of the time. By contrast, 34% of respondents say they trust news they find via search and fewer than a quarter (23%) say they trust the news they find in social media. Over half (54%) agree or strongly agree that they are concerned about what is real and fake on the internet. This is highest in countries like Brazil (85%), Spain (69%), and the United States (64%) where polarised political situations combine with high social media use. It is lowest in Germany (37%) and the Netherlands (30%) where recent elections were largely untroubled by concerns over fake content." (Key findings, page 9)
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"Die kommunikationswissenschaftliche Öffentlichkeitsforschung hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren verstärkt mit transnationalisierten Formen von Öffentlichkeit beschäftigt. Allerdings gehen nur wenige empirische Arbeiten über die (mögliche) Entstehung einer europäischen Öffentlichkeit hinaus.
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Daher analysieren wir anhand der medienöffentlichen Debatten in 15 Ländern über die Klimapolitik – ein Thema, das oft als möglicher Kristallisationspunkt für die Entstehung transnationaler oder gar „globaler“ Öffentlichkeiten dargestellt wird – inwieweit die Akteursensembles in der Berichterstattung von Qualitätstageszeitungen, Regional- und Boulevardzeitungen transnationalisiert sind und welche Reichweite eine etwaige Transnationalisierung aufweist. Die Analyse zeigt eine beträchtliche Transnationalisierung, die teils über eine Europäisierung hinausgeht. Allerdings ist die Berichterstattung je nach Untersuchungsdimension unterschiedlich transnationalisiert: Transnationalisierte Bezüge zeigen sich eher in „schwacher“ als in „starker“ Form: Ausländische oder supranationale Akteure werden häufiger in der Berichterstattung erwähnt, als dass sie selbst zu Wort kommen. Zudem ist die horizontale Transnationalisierung stärker ausgeprägt als die vertikale: Bezüge auf Akteure aus anderen Ländern finden sich häufiger als Bezüge auf supranationale politische Organisationen. Die Analyse zeigt zudem Länder- und Medienunterschiede, die grosso modo die Befunde der Forschung zu Klimawandel-Kommunikation und europäischer Öffentlichkeit bestätigen: In wirtschaftlich von Klimaschutzmaßnahmen betroffenen Ländern ist die Berichterstattung stärker national geprägt. In Qualitätstageszeitungen ist die Berichterstattung stärker transnationalisiert als in Boulevard- und Regionalmedien." (Zusammenfassung)
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"Publics around the world overwhelmingly agree that the news media should be unbiased in their coverage of political issues, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 38 countries. Yet, when asked how their news media are doing on reporting different political issues fairly, people are far mo
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re mixed in their sentiments, with many saying their media do not deliver. And, in many countries, there are sharp political differences in views of the media – with the largest gap among Americans. To build off Pew Research Center’s earlier findings about U.S. news media habits and attitudes, this new cross-national survey begins to study these dynamics globally. The survey finds that a median of 75% across 38 countries say it is never acceptable for a news organization to favor one political party over others when reporting the news. Just 20% say this is sometimes okay. People in Europe show the greatest opposition to political bias in their news." (Page 3)
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"Inspired by the research agenda set out by Fazey et al. (2018) for climate researchers mentioned earlier, one can argue that the most critical question for journalism is no longer about solely informing about the problem of climate change, but about engaging in the how-to of transformative changes
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necessary to avoid catastrophic man-made climate change. The Guardian’s 'Keep it in the ground' campaign is one way of tackling this challenge. Yet engagement can be done in several ways. While the campaign makes a powerful case for journalism to engage more in a reciprocal dialogue with the public, adhering to its core value of public trust, but also because a newspaper needs an engaged public to survive - it also makes the case for sticking to what journalism knows best: newsrooms are not set up to campaign like a campaigning organisation. Yet there should be room for experimentation and various ways of doing journalism, especially in a time where new solutions and models are in demand as the old ones crumble." (Conclusion)
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"This book is an analysis of the specificities of public film funding on an international scale. It shows how public funding schemes add value to film-making and other audio-visual productions and provides a comprehensive analysis of today’s global challenges in the film industry such as industry
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change, digital transformation, and shifting audience tastes. Based on insights from fields such as cultural economics, media economics, media management and media governance studies, the authors illustrate how public spending shapes the financial fitness of national and international film industries." (Introduction)
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"This thesis explores how and why global Theatre for Development (TfD) partnerships fail to enable greater equity and interconnectedness between Northern and Southern actors. Building global partnerships is at the core of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, Northern developm
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ent actors dominate these relationships. To establish why this is the case, the thesis brings together literature on global development, postcolonialism and TfD to demonstrate the current limitations on establishing equitable partnerships. The thesis draws on primary data collected through semi-structured interviews with UK and Kenyan TfD actors, autoethnographic reflections on TfD practice and participant observation.
The study focuses on three key issues that shape partnerships: funding, knowledge and expertise and temporal and spatial dimensions. First, funding for projects is primarily provided by Northern development actors, framing the terms of partnerships and dictating their form, extent and limits. Second, the knowledge and expertise employed in shaping TfD projects is often seen as lying disproportionately with Northern partners, who are thought to bring ‘global’ perspectives to such work. Conversely, partners in the South are seen as possessing ‘local’ knowledge which is deployed primarily to help facilitate and legitimate the interventions of external practitioners. Third, spatial and temporal aspects further impact on partnerships: UK actors are perceived as more mobile and dynamic than their Southern partners, with access to international networks. Southern partners are routinely represented as embedded, statically, in their immediate local contexts. Furthermore, short-term timescales prevent TfD actors from providing the commitment that building more equitable, interconnected partnerships requires.
A key finding is that both Northern and Southern actors create and reinforce these ongoing problems in partnerships. However, they are also able to resist and challenge the unequal terms of their relationships. The thesis demonstrates how networks are emerging with the potential for developing more equitable relationships. It reveals the agency of Southern actors to adapt externally funded projects to meet with their own motivations and contexts. The study concludes by suggesting that future TfD partnerships must recognise and facilitate the participative agency of all involved." (Abstract)
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"As news organizations cut correspondent posts and foreign bureaux, non-governmental organizations have begun to expand into news reporting. But why and how do journalists use the photographs, video, and audio that NGOs produce? What are the effects of this on the kinds of stories told about Africa?
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And how have these developments changed the nature of journalism and NGO-work? 'Who’s Reporting Africa Now?' is the first book to address these questions—using frank interviews and internal documents to shed light on the workings of major news organizations and NGOs, collaborating with one another in specific news production processes. These contrasting case studies are used to illuminate the complex moral and political economies underpinning such journalism, involving not only NGO press officers and journalists but also field workers, freelancers, private foundations, social media participants, businesspeople, and advertising executives." (Back cover)
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"Governments around the world have dramatically increased their efforts to manipulate information on social media over the past year. The Chinese and Russian regimes pioneered the use of surreptitious methods to distort online discussions and suppress dissent more than a decade ago, but the practice
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has since gone global. Such state-led interventions present a major threat to the notion of the internet as a liberating technology. Online content manipulation contributed to a seventh consecutive year of overall decline in internet freedom, along with a rise in disruptions to mobile internet service and increases in physical and technical attacks on human rights defenders and independent media. Nearly half of the 65 countries assessed in Freedom on the Net 2017 experienced declines during the coverage period, while just 13 made gains, most of them minor. Less than one-quarter of users reside in countries where the internet is designated Free, meaning there are no major obstacles to access, onerous restrictions on content, or serious violations of user rights in the form of unchecked surveillance or unjust repercussions for legitimate speech." (Page 1)
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"The tension between blasphemy laws and the freedom of expression in modern times is a key area of debate within legal academia and beyond. With contributions by leading scholars, this volume compares blasphemy laws within a number of Western liberal democracies and debates the legitimacy of these l
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aws in the twenty- first century. Including comprehensive and up-to-date comparative country studies, this book considers the formulation of blasphemy bans, relevant jurisprudential interpretations, the effect on society, and the ensuing convictions and penalties where applicable. It provides a useful historical analysis by discussing the legal-political rationales behind the recent abolition of blasphemy laws in some Western states. Contributors also consider the challenges to the tenability of blasphemy laws in a selection of well- balanced theoretical chapters. This book is essential reading for scholars working within the fields of human rights law, philosophy and sociology of religion and comparative politics." (Publisher description)
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"This edited collection focuses on successful small and medium-sized film and television companies in Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Using original interviews with company founders and other employees, contributors explore case studies of businesses that have made successfu
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l productions, both in terms of popularity and critical acclaim, for at least five years. The book gives an overview of the film and television sector in each of the four featured countries, followed by chapters that investigate particular companies and their relationship to a wider industrial context. The Introduction provides a theoretical and methodological discussion and the Conclusion draws together the common elements that may explain how these companies have been able to survive and thrive." (Publisher description)
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"This book explores the state of European foreign conflict reporting by public-sector broadcasters, post-Cold war and post-9/11. It compares the values of three television news providers from differing public systems: BBC’s News at 10, Russia’s Vremya and France 2’s 20 Heures. The book examine
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s how these three news providers have reported and broadcast the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which pre-dates both the change in East-West relations and the events of 9/11. In doing so, the work identifies and analyses the role of public and state-aligned broadcasters and illustrates how certain news values are consistently prioritised by the broadcasters and the effect this has on how news stories are portrayed. The book is divided into two parts. Part I focuses on 2006 to 2008 and provides a detailed quantitative overview of the broadcasters’ news values. Part II provides an update of the analysis by examining coverage of the war in Gaza 2014 and discusses the findings from audience research into perceptions of this latter war. This book explains that not only do hierarchies in news values exist in foreign conflict reporting but that they are never arbitrary and can be explained, in part, by the structure of the broadcasters and by events occurring within, or associated with, the reporting country, resulting in nationally differentiated perceptions of conflict throughout the world." (Routledge.com)
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"Magazine Production presents a guide to the practical processes of taking a magazine from initial idea to final product. This second edition provides important revisions on these production processes by examining the technological and business advancements which have reshaped the magazine industry
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in the last decade. Brand new chapters document the rise of digital media and identify its impact on magazine creation. They also include new guidance on designing online, tablet and mobile editions, as well as for print. Magazine Production explains the business of magazines in the UK, Europe and North America, and the roles of marketing, publishing and advertising in establishing a successful title. This edition also addresses the move by publishers towards e-commerce, multimedia content and events to promote their brands and sell products. With information on professional bodies such as the Professional Publishers Association, an expert overview of magazine markets and a breakdown of roles within editorial and design departments, this book offers readers practical steps to achieving success in magazine publishing today." (Back cover)
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"Drawing on an original UK-wide study of public responses to humanitarian issues and how NGOs communicate them, this timely book provides the first evidence-based psychosocial account of how and why people respond or not to messages about distant suffering. The book highlights what NGOs seek to achi
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eve in their communications and explores how their approach and hopes match or not what the public want, think and feel about distant suffering." (Publisher description)
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"This study examines the existence of criminal defamation and insult laws in the territory of the 57 participating States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In doing so, it offers a broad, comparative overview of the compliance of OSCE participating States’ legislat
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ion with international standards and best practices in the field of defamation law and freedom of expression. The primary purpose of the study is to identify relevant provisions in law. Although the study does include examples of the usage of these provisions, it is not an analysis of legal practice [...] The study is divided into two sections. The first section offers conclusions according to each of the principal categories researched and in reference to international standards on freedom of expression. The second section provides the detailed research findings for each country, including relevant examples. As the study’s title suggests, the primary research category is general criminal laws on defamation and insult. However, this study also covers special laws protecting the reputation or honour of particular persons or groups of people (e.g., presidents, public officials, deceased persons); special laws protecting the ‘honour’ of the state and state symbols; and blasphemy and religious insult laws." (About this study, page 2)
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