"This article offers a scholarly review of the literature and research on journalism education and fake news from an international and a local (Croatian) perspective. The purpose of this paper is to examine the connection between the education for journalists as a scholarly and academic discipline (
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as well as a teaching practice) and the issues caused by fake news in the digital age of mass media. Based on a comprehensive critical conceptual analysis of the body of knowledge available on the subject, it was determined that there is a diverse discussion about the status of journalism education regarding fake news. In that context, fake news has so far been internationally researched from several angles – curriculum content, journalism students, journalism and media studies, journalism practice, media audience, etc. When addressing the issue of education of journalists and fake news, three streams can be singled out. The first and most voluminous one refers to the systematic formal or additional education regarding media and information literacy. The next one refers to various changes related to the higher education system for the education of journalists, but without any concrete propositions for system reconstruction or upgrading. The last one advocates providing additional professional education to employed journalists. From the local perspective, even though only two articles suggest journalism education as a solution for the problems caused by fake news, based on thorough research it can be concluded that fake news and journalism education are not yet topics of interest among communication scholars in Croatia." (Abstract)
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"This work takes a user-centered approach on means to counter identified mis- and disinformation in social media. We conduct a three-step study design on how approaches in social media should be presented to respect the users’ needs and experiences and how effective they are. As our first step, in
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an online survey representative for some factors to the German adult population, we enquire regarding their strategies on handling information in social media, and their opinion regarding possible solutions — focusing on the approach of displaying a warning on inaccurate posts. In a second step, we present five potential approaches for countermeasures identified in related work to interviewees for qualitative input. We discuss (1) warning, (2) related articles, (3) reducing the size, (4) covering, and (5) requiring confirmation. Based on the interview feedback, as the third step of this study, we select, improve, and examine four promising approaches on how to counter misinformation. We conduct an online experiment to test their effectiveness on the perceived accuracy of false headlines and also ask for the users’ preferences. In this study, we find that users welcome warning-based approaches to counter fake news and are somewhat critical with less transparent methods. Moreover, users want social media platforms to explain why a post was marked as disputed. The results regarding effectiveness are similar: Warning-based approaches are shown to be effective in reducing the perceived accuracy of false headlines. Moreover, adding an explanation to the warning leads to the most significant results. In contrast, we could not find a significant effect on one of Facebook’s current approaches (reduced post size and fact-checks in related articles)." (Abstract)
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"During recent years, worries about fake news have been a salient aspect of mediated debates. However, the ubiquitous and fuzzy usage of the term in news reporting has led more and more scholars and other public actors to call for its abandonment in public discourse altogether. Given this status as
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a controversial but arguably effective buzzword in news coverage, we know surprisingly little about exactly how journalists use the term in their reporting. By means of a quantitative content analysis, this study offers empirical evidence on this question. Using the case of Austria, where discussions around fake news have been ubiquitous during recent years, we analyzed all news articles mentioning the term “fake news” in major daily newspapers between 2015 and 2018 (N = 2,967). We find that journalistic reporting on fake news shifts over time from mainly describing the threat of disinformation online, to a more normalized and broad usage of the term in relation to attacks on legacy news media. Furthermore, news reports increasingly use the term in contexts completely unrelated to disinformation or media attacks. In using the term this way, journalists arguably contribute not only to term salience but also to a questionable normalization process." (Abstract)
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"1) Any definition of disinformation in legislation or other regulation, such as regulatory guidance, must take into account the serious implications for freedom of expression and media freedom. Particularly to the extent that provisions on disinformation have been adopted in criminal law, a precise
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definition is paramount. This is even more important following the basic principle of criminal law, which prescribes that penalties only may be imposed when the criminal behaviour and the applicable penal sanctions within the upper and lower limits are precisely formulated in the law. Scholars and fundamental rights experts have warned that disinformation is an “extraordinarily elusive concept to define in law”, and is “susceptible to providing executive authorities with excessive discretion to determine what is disinformation, what is a mistake, what is truth”. Further, measures to combat disinformation “must never prevent journalists and media actors from carrying out their work or lead to content being unduly blocked on the Internet.” Indeed, the European Commission has warned that laws on disinformation which are “too broad” raise particular concerns as regards freedom of expression, and can lead to self-censorship. Given the dangers associated with defining disinformation in legislation, great caution should be exercised in enacting a definition. 2) Current national approaches are very divergent, which from a Digital Single Market and market freedom perspective can create problems for the freedom of the media to disseminate information across borders. This clearly demonstrates a further need for considering all options of handling more unified concepts. 3) Where disinformation is sought to be defined, common elements of a more unified approach to defining disinformation should be: (a) false or misleading information, (b) disseminated with a specific intention (malicious or bad faith) (c) and has the ability to cause certain public harms." (Recommendations, page 85)
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"Der Report „Wozu Non-Profit-Journalismus?“ macht sich für eine dritte Säule im Mediensystem stark: Der gemeinnützige Journalismus hält der Krise Antworten entgegen und leistet als Ergänzung zum öffentlich-rechtlichen und privaten Verlagsjournalismus einen Beitrag zur Medienvielfalt. Er is
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t frei von kommerziellen Interessen, sucht die Nähe zu seinen Nutzer*innen und agiert innovativ und lösungsorientiert. Der Report gibt erstmals einen Überblick über die Akteur*innen des gemeinnützigen Journalismus im deutschsprachigen Raum, er enthält Tipps für potenzielle Förderer*innen und nennt Empfehlungen für eine Reform des Gemeinnützigkeitsrechts." (https://rudolf-augstein-stiftung.de)
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"Die unterschiedlichen Quellen des Judenhasses finden mit den medialen Möglichkeiten des 21. Jahrhunderts einen nie gekannten Resonanzboden, der Anonymität wahrt und Reichweite ermöglicht. Latente und virulente antisemitische Stereotype werden mit aktuellen Bezügen aufgeladen und verstärkt. Mon
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ika Schwarz-Friesels auf breiter Datenbasis erstellte Studie zeigt das wachsende Ausmaß der teils abgrundtief hasserfüllten antisemitischen Kommunikation im digitalen Zeitalter und analysiert Formen ihrer sprachlich-medialen Verbreitung. Sie fordert angesichts eines letztlich faktenresistenten antisemitischen Vorurteilssystems eine engagierte Aufklärung über die kulturhistorischen und alltagskulturellen Zusammenhänge des Judenhasses und eine Gesellschaft, die sich dem tradierten und instrumentalisierten Antisemitismus entschlossen entgegenstellt." (Klappentext)
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"In recent years, various forms of multifaith spaces have been emerging in Germany which include so-called Rooms of Silence in hospitals or educational institutions as well as Gardens of Religions. So far, empirical research on these spaces has focused on their establishment or their functions withi
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n the surrounding organisations. In this article we will put a focus on the ‘user experience’ of multifaith spaces based on an analysis of guestbooks. These books are a unique source of data for a qualitative in-depth analysis as they offer an opportunity for visitors for commentary including religious references and speech acts. Drawing on two case studies from a Room of Silence within a hospital and a Garden of Religions, we investigate how users experience and appropriate multifaith spaces and how guestbooks may become media of (inter-) religious contact." (Abstract)
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"Top influencers are Ulana Suprun, Yanina Sokolova, and Serhiy Prytula. Most influential nonprofit organizations are the educational platforms Osvita.ua and Promotheus. Individual personalities are more influential than organizations. National platforms are more influential than regional platforms.
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Central and Western Ukraine are most engaged in discussions of national identity, socio-economic opportunity, youth civic issues, while Southern and Eastern Ukraine are less active." (Key findings, page 1)
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"Die vorliegende Masterarbeit versuchte in einem Experiment herauszufinden, wie das journalistische Storytelling in dokumentarischen Filmformaten eingesetzt wird. Es konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass alle drei analysierten Filme sich einer alternativen Erzählkategorie zuordnen lassen und jeweils spe
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zifische filmische Mittel einsetzen, um dem Zuschauer das Gezeigte noch eindrücklicher zu schildern. Darüber hinaus stellen alle drei Beispiele ein Gegennarrativ zur aktuellen Medienberichterstattung über Migration und Flucht dar. Sie zeigen die Situationen von ausgewählten Geflüchteten und machen darauf aufmerksam, wie gefährlich und risikobehaftet eine Flucht ist. Sie berichten abseits des gegenwärtigen Narrativs und vermitteln dem Zuschauer dabei auf innovative Weise einen neuen Zugang und Einblick in diesen Themenbereich.
In einem nächsten Forschungsschritt wäre es angebracht, aus medienkulturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive zu schauen, ob sich ein solcher narrativer Wandel in den berichtenden Medien im Print- und Rundfunkjournalismus etabliert und ob sie die Flüchtenden auch in den Fokus ihrer Berichterstattung setzen. Generell eignet sich das Thema Migration und Flucht sehr gut für eine Diskursanalyse. Hier könnte der Wandel des Narrativs vor, während und nach der Zäsur 2015 erforscht werden." (Fazit und Ausblick, Seite 64)
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"Migration has been dominating media and political discourses in Europe in recent years. Previous studies have mainly mapped migration discourses in traditional media or conventional channels of party communication, often in a single country. Migrationrelated party communication on social network si
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tes has been largely neglected. This study analyses migration discourses in the Facebook accounts of political actors (n = 1702) across six European countries (Spain, UK, Germany, Austria, Sweden and Poland). On the basis of automated content analyses, we present new insights into the visibility of migration as a topic and sentiment about migration, revealing country- and party-specific patterns. Migration is a more prominent topic in countries with positive net migration (‘receiving countries’) than in countries where net migration is neutral or negative. Although we did not find support for the assumption that right-leaning parties talk more, and more negatively, about migration, our results do suggest a distinct pattern that applies to parties of both the extreme left and the extreme right. Political actors from parties of the extreme left and the extreme right of the political spectrum address migration more frequently and more negatively than more moderate political players." (Abstract)
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"Bis in die 1990er-Jahre hinein galt der Berliner Kutscher Bruno Lüdke als brutalster Serienmörder Deutschlands - eine "Bestie in Menschengestalt". Nachdem der zwangssterilisierte Mann 1943 des Mordes an einer Frau verdächtigt und festgenommen wurde, lasteten ihm NS-Kriminalpolizisten über 50 we
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itere Sexualmorde an. Während der Ermittlungen entstanden Verhörprotokolle, Fotoalben, ein Handabdruck, eine kolorierte Büste - doch triftige Mordbeweise fehlten. 1944 waren es SS-Männer aus dem Reichssicherheitshauptamt, die Lüdke ermordeten. Die vorliegende Studie legt plastisch dar, dass die Geschichten über den Kutscher perfide sozialrassistische Erfindungen waren, die erst nach Kriegsende medial verstärkt wurden: Jahrzehntelang reproduzierten bundesdeutsche Medien das von den Nazis geprägte Bild des geisteskranken Triebtäters, unter anderem Rudolf Augstein im "Spiegel" oder 1957 Robert Siodmaks Spielfilm "Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam" it Mario Adorf. Die Medienwissenschaftlerin Susanne Regener und der Historiker Axel Doßmann analysieren, mit welchen Strategien ein Opfer zum Täter gemacht wurde und welche gesellschaftlichen Funktionen mit der Konstruktion des "Bösen" und "Anormalen" verbunden sind. Das Buch präsentiert die wichtigsten historischen Quellen zum Kriminalfall: Fotografien, Zeitschriftenartikel, Akten, Filmstills und Plakate." (Klappentext)
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"This article investigates how news professionals in a nondemocratic regime rationalize their institutional roles and daily reporting practices, negotiate boundaries of their work, and make sense of their professional activities. This study used qualitative interviewing to explore personal experienc
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es, perceived practices, and opinions of Belarusian journalists and media experts. When addressing the gap between their understanding of normative roles and describing their actual practices, journalists provided such rationalizations as personal beliefs and motivations, risks, internal conflict, and professional deformation, as well as attempts to find middle ground. News practitioners in autocratic regimes often expand boundaries of press freedom with civic courage by reporting critically of government policies and taking risks when public interests are at stake. In addition, the study highlights that certain restrictions lead to a more disciplined professional culture of journalists as thorough fact-checking is necessary to avoid penalties enforced by government offices." (Abstract)
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"The aim of the study is to investigate Estonian female journalists’ experiences with harassment resulting in self-censorship. We carried out three studies: one in 2015, a second in 2016 and a third one in 2018. The data were gathered by in-depth interviews (2015 and 2018), journalists’ diaries
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(2015) and a questionnaire (2016). The sample consisted of eight sports journalists (2015), 12 female journalists from different fields (2018) and 181 respondents (115 female, 66 male, 2016). The results of the three studies revealed that comments made towards female journalists aimed at degrading their authority (emphasizing age, experience or gender); and argued that female journalists should work elsewhere or find a more “female” profession. Female journalists did not read comments on their stories not only because of the lack of time, but to avoid harassment and insults. Secondly, to avoid harassment from sources or audiences, journalists showed signs of self-censorship as they avoided writing on topics that bring along more attention, such as refugees, minority groups, and corruption cases, or avoided writing on topics that include sources with whom they have had negative experiences." (Abstract)
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"What are to be considered as threats against journalism? Whereas the literature on safety of journalists mainly discusses threats as part of armed conflicts, this article studies how other kinds of conflicts such as economic strangulation and the viability threat represent threats against journalis
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ts’ work and safety. It argues that acts of intimidation directed against journalists represent an attack on democracy itself as they have the effect of limiting the freedom of expression. The aim of this study is to explore how journalists operate in such a conflict and under such uncertainty, as an implication of (political) pressure caused by the politics of Memoranda in Greece, Cyprus, and Spain. The comparative analysis focuses on possible changes in the processes of message construction and in the journalistic practices of the participants, exploring if, how, and to what extent these changes were imposed to journalists directly or indirectly." (Abstract)
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