"The increased presence of Chinese media in Africa has been the focus of much debate since the early 2010s. Discussions tend to revolve around issues of production and content, providing little evidence on the way audiences decode media messages aimed at extending China’s “soft power.” This ar
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ticle uses data from seven focus groups with media and communication university students in Kenya and South Africa to explore the efficacy of Chinese-mediated public diplomacy. We show that Chinese media have little impact on students’ information habits, demonstrate that attitudes toward China are predominantly negative, and argue that this stereotyping affects opinions about Chinese media. We also suggest that some students’ favored news values overlap with those associated with Chinese media. This may indicate a potential affinity between the journalistic practice of Chinese media in Africa and that of future Kenyan and South African media professionals, which could increase the chances of China’s media engagements having an impact in the long term." (Abstract)
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"This book analyzes the ways in which China’s soft power growth faces dilemmas in East Asia through both online and offline platforms. One dilemma for China’s transnational soft power-field expansion lies in the intersection of its source and receiving countries. The author discusses how transna
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tional audiences’ consumption and reception of Chinese television series are shaped by domestic factors, with interpretations of and desires for different forms of capital, further inhibiting the foreign export of these series. Another dilemma is the “outsourced soft power.” While Hong Kong and Taiwan play significant roles as outsourced soft power mediators, their under-established emerging digital media platforms have yet to meet the expectations of transnational audiences in a virtual transnational soft power field. Grounded in the author’s multi-site field research focused on television spheres, Soft Power Made in China argues that China’s soft power paradox in South Korea and Japan—two quasi-Sinophone countries—is not due to a lack of state-level strategy, but linked to soft power pathways that rely on production in one source country, and both distribution and reception in a receiving country." (Publisher description)
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"Conspiracy theories are a ubiquitous feature of our times. The Handbook of Conspiracy Theories and Contemporary Religion is the first reference work to offer a comprehensive, transnational overview of this phenomenon along with in-depth discussions of how conspiracy theories relate to religion(s).
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Bringing together experts from a wide range of disciplines, from psychology and philosophy to political science and the history of religions, the book sets the standard for the interdisciplinary study of religion and conspiracy theories." (Publisher description)
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"In times of increasing mediatization and digitalization media play an important role in political and societal transformation processes. The authors of this volume take an actor-centered perspective to shed light on current cases in Arab and Asian countries. They inquire into the ways processes of
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networking and mobilization evolve in the context of restricted media systems and state-dominated public spheres." (Publisher description)
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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 article examines the relationship between journalism in Africa and foreign investment in the African media space through an analysis of newsroom practices and the power relations that inform such practices in Chinese media organisations based in Africa. It illustrates the discrepancies between
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China's promise of mutuality and equality and the lived experiences of African journalists working in Chinese media organisations such as CGTN, Xinhua News Agency and China Daily newspaper. The article draws on the routine and organisation levels of Shoemaker and Reese's hierarchy of influences model and interviews with African journalists working in the three Chinese media organisations based in Nairobi, Kenya. The findings indicate that an African and a Chinese level of gatekeeping and journalistic agency exist within Chinese media organisations based in Africa. Even though these levels co-exist, the Chinese levels are dominant over the African." (Abstract)
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"This volume explores how societies are addressing challenging questions about the relationship between expression, traditional and societal values, and the transformations introduced by new information communications technologies. It seeks to identify alternative approaches to the role of speech an
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d expression in the organization of societies as well as efforts to shape the broader global information society. How have different societies or communities drawn on the ideas of philosophers, religious leaders or politicians, both historical and contemporary, that addressed questions of speech, government, order or freedoms and applied them, with particular attention to applications in the digital age? The essays include a wide variety of cultural and geographic contexts to identify different modes of thinking. The goal is to both unpack the 'normative' internet and free expression debate and to deepen understanding about why certain internet policies and models are being pursued in very different local or national contexts as well as on a global level." (Publisher description)
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"The model of journalism we practice in Asia is an adversarial one driven by conflict reporting, a model we have borrowed from the West. This book is an outcome of a project implemented by the Faculty of Communication Arts of Chulalongkorn University and funded by the International Program for the D
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evelopment of Communications (IPDC) of UNESCO. The project incorporates Asian philosophical ideas and communication theories emanating from Buddhist, Hindu, and Confucius teachings for developing a curriculum to train Asian journalists. It is designed to frame a new paradigm of reporting tha could form a new approach to development communication. It covers areas such as realizing social harmony, protecting nature and environment, respecting cultural diversity, and encouraging sufficiency economic models. This book focuses on using such a path of communication to promote sustainable development." (Preface)
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"Gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts begannen indigen-christliche Eliten in Asien und Afrika, sich stärker in der kolonialen Öffentlichkeit ihrer Länder zu artikulieren. Sie gründeten ihre eigenen Journale, kritisierten Missstände in Gesellschaft und Missionskirchen, beteiligten sich an sozialen Be
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wegungen und entwickelten eine nicht-missionarische Sicht auf das Christentum. Der Sammelband stellt die Ergebnisse eines Forschungsprojektes dar, das der Analyse indigen-christlicher Journale als eines bislang weitestgehend vernachlässigten Quellenkorpus gewidmet ist und singuläre neue Einsichten in religiöse Emanzipationsprozesse in Asien und Afrika um die Wende vom 19. zum 20. Jahrhundert erlaubt." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This study explores the influence of social media on the (re)formation of social memory and the production of historical knowledge in society. It takes several contested debates over historical events and figures on Weibo, one of the most widely used social media, as the case to investigate how soc
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ial media enable people to articulate previously unspoken experiences and memories, question the authenticity and accuracy of official history, and shape social recollection in China. This study argues that social media embrace a wide variety of diverse individuals as subjects who contribute to various mnemonic practices, facilitate the crowdsourcing and aggregation of alternative or counternarratives of the past, and cultivate the production of historical knowledge as a retrievable and reactivatable process. The contestation facilitated by social media over mnemonic knowledge transcends what happened in history and memory and sheds light on the complex political and cultural contentions in contemporary China." (Abstract)
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"Contemporary BRICS Journalism: Non-Western Media in Transition is the first comparative study of professional journalists working in BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). The book presents a range of insider perspectives, offering a valuable insight into the nature of jo
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urnalism in these influential economies. Contributors to this volume have conducted in-depth interviews with more than 700 journalists, from mainstream and online media, between 2012 and 2015. They present and analyse their findings here, revealing how BRICS journalism is envisioned, experienced, and practised in the twenty-first century. Compelling evidence in the form of journalists’ narratives reveals the impact of digital culture on modern reporting and the evolving dynamic between new media technology and traditional journalistic practice. Insightful comparisons are made between BRICS countries, highlighting the similarities and differences between them. Topics covered include professionalism, ethics and ideals, community journalism, technological developments in the newsroom and the reporting of protest movements." (Publisher description)
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"This cutting edge book explores the role of the media in the highly disputed area of China-Africa relations, notably how various aspects of the issue have been portrayed, negotiated and contested in media and academic discourses. As Africa's biggest trading partner and creditor, China explores Afri
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ca not only as a marketplace for importing primary commodities and exporting manufactured goods, but also as a preferred testing ground for its media and telecommunication sector aspiring for further internationalization. At a time when the influence from Global North has been on the wane in the continent, emerging powers are regarded as new inspirations for Africa's development. China in particular tries to bolster multipolarity in Africa by factoring in media influence and facilitating the digitalization process of the continent. This book offers an up-to-date geopolitical analysis of China-Africa, examining the role of communication and telecommunication in the power shift, especially in constructing social and cultural realities in which the idea of "development" has been recurrently redefined and negotiated in the public domain. This volume tackles the issue from the new perspective of mediatization, considering how the media on the one hand shapes public opinion with its narratives and a logic of its own, and on the other hand simultaneously becomes an integrated part of other institutions like politics, trade, business as more of these institutional activities are performed through both interactive and mass media." (Publisher description)
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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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"Conspiracy theories are a ubiquitous feature of our times. The Handbook of Conspiracy Theories and Contemporary Religion is the first reference work to offer a comprehensive, transnational overview of this phenomenon along with in-depth discussions of how conspiracy theories relate to religion(s).
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Bringing together experts from a wide range of disciplines, from psychology and philosophy to political science and the history of religions, the book sets the standard for the interdisciplinary study of religion and conspiracy theories." (Publisher description)
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"Introduite dès les années 1930 sur les terres africaines et durablement ancrée au lendemain de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, la radio s’est peu à peu adaptée à l’environnement culturel, social et politique africain. Ses évolutions successives ont suivi la courbe des mutations culturelles
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et sociopolitiques qui ont traversé l’histoire contemporaine du continent. Car, comme le dit André-Jean Tudesq, « on ne peut séparer les médias des sociétés dans lesquelles ils se diffusent. Ils ne forment pas un système autonome, mais participent à la fois aux systèmes politique, économique et culturel locaux » (2009). Mais si l’on s’intéresse uniquement à la situation de ce début de siècle, on pourrait noter plusieurs changements par rapport à celle de la dernière décennie du XXe siècle." (Résumé)
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"This study based on a content analysis and a nationwide survey examines Taiwan’s suicide coverage and general public evaluations of the World Health Organization media guidelines, alongside the copycat effect. Key findings show the daily newspaper Apple Daily essentially failed to follow the guid
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ance, and survey respondents who perceived a strong copycat effect downplayed its sensationalism. The study discusses the implications of the findings for policymaking, public health advocacy, and journalistic practices in how to promote compliance with the WHO guidance." (Abstract)
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"Han reveals how the state, service providers, and netizens negotiate the limits of discourse, interrogating our assumptions about authoritarian resilience and the internet's democratizing power." (Publisher description)