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Transnational Othering – Global Diversities: Media, Extremism and Free Expression
Deep Insights

Elisabeth Eide, Kristin Skare Orgeret, Nil Mutluer (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2019), 332 pp.

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Media Sustainability Index 2019: The Development of Sustainable Independent Media in Europe and Eurasia

Linda Trail (ed.)

Washington, DC: IREX (2019), xxi, 308 pp.

"The 2019 Europe and Eurasia Media Sustainability Index (MSI) saw another improvement in the combined average score for the 21 countries studied: In 2018, the combined average score was 1.84, and in 2019 this increased to 1.86. In comparison with the previous year’s study, there were modest gains ... more

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Information Flows and Radicalization Leading to Violent Extremism in Central Asia

Search for Common Ground; Internews (2019), 77 pp.

"The study is comprised of three main parts: a desk study of available and accessible material – reports, documents and media material; a qualitative study comprising over 200 interviews with ordinary people, experts, and persons with direct experience with radicalization leading to violent extrem ... ism (RVE); and a quantitative component consisting of national surveys of people’s information consumption habits. For the desk study, the effort was made to gain as broad a picture as possible, that is, to cover all five countries of Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. However, predictably and unfortunately, Uzbekistan and especially Turkmenistan proved difficult cases to study in full. For both the qualitative and quantitative field research activities, for several reasons, only the first three countries were included. As a result, this study is able to report most robustly on these three countries and propose observations regarding Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan only to a limited extent. Based on the desk study, the drivers of extremist sympathies as established in existing research have been political grievances (injustice from state structures; identity-based discrimination; oppressive political regimes, etc), economic difficulties (unemployment; indebtedness; poverty; and desire for quick and greater income) and ideological motivations (resentment of false values; striving for the singularly just and true life; for reward in a perceived afterlife). To these push and pull factors are added a range of enabling factors, such as migration, young age, gender (women), and means of communication. All these drivers of RVE need to be treated with caution, as stressed by various authors and suggested by evidence gained in field research. A general observation, gained from the desk research and supported by evidence in both qualitative and quantitative field studies, was the difference among the countries in degree of control over the information space, or the degree of hegemony over public discourse. Of the three most fully studied countries, hegemonic discourse was the strongest in Tajikistan, followed by Kazakhstan, and the least in Kyrgyzstan. Uzbekistan, analyzed to a limited extent, would be closer to the extreme of Tajikistan, whereas Turkmenistan was too closed to make reasonably robust observations." (Page 3) more

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Journalism: 'A Peacekeeping Agent' at the Time of Conflict

Yasemin Giritli Inceoglu, Tirse Erbaysal Filibeli (eds.)

Boston: Brill (2019), xxii, 217 pp.

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Media Influence Matrix: Kyrgyzstan. Funding Journalism

Gulnura Toralieva

Budapest: Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) (2019), 22 pp.

"The media sector in Kyrgyzstan is heavily dominated by the government through both ownership and funding. The government funds a large pool of state-owned media companies, including newspapers, radio broadcasters and the public service operator KTRK. According to our estimates, the government spent ... more

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Turkey: How to deal with threats to journalism?

Bora Ataman, Baris Çoban

In: Transnational Othering – Global Diversities: Media, Extremism and Free Expression

Elisabeth Eide, Kristin Skare Orgeret, Nil Mutluer (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2019), pp. 171-190

"Journalism has always been an unsafe practice in modern Turkey. However, ties between the political system and democracy have been severed by the recent witch-hunt following the most recent failed coup, in 2016, and the subsequent societal collapse triggered by the administration of the state of em ... more

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Global Information Society Watch 2019. Artificial Intelligence: Human Rights, Social Justice and Development
Deep Insights

Association for Progressive Communications (APC); Article 19; Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) (2019), 87 pp.

"Artificial intelligence (AI) is now receiving unprecedented global attention as it finds widespread practical application in multiple spheres of activity. But what are the human rights, social justice and development implications of AI when used in areas such as health, education and social service ... more

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Supporting Media for Democracy (2013-2019)
Deep Insights

Brussels: European Endowment for Democracy (EED) (2019), 20 pp.

"This publication presents EED’s work in the area of independent media, and reflects on lessons learned in six years of media and democracy support. It offers an analysis of the worrying trends and challenges faced by media today and calls for an urgent re-set in thinking about donor support to me ... more

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Women and Puppetry: Critical and Historical Investigations

Alissa Mello, Claudia Orenstein, Cariad Astles (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2019), 222 pp.

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Media Influence Matrix: Kyrgyzstan. Government, Politics and Regulation

Gulnura Toralieva

Budapest: Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) (2019), 22 pp.

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Opinion-Formation and Issue-Framing Effects of Russian News in Kyrgyzstan

Hannah S. Chapman, Theodore P. Gerber

International Studies Quarterly, volume 63, issue 3 (2019), pp. 756-769

"Powerful countries use foreign media broadcasts to enhance their soft power, yet there is scant empirical evidence as to whether such efforts actually sway public opinion abroad. Moreover, researchers have not specified conditions that may shape variations in the influence of foreign broadcasts and ... more

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Media Influence Matrix: Kazakhstan. Funding Journalism

Adil Nussipov

Budapest: Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) (2019), 26 pp.

"Only three of the ten most popular television channels in Kazakhstan are not government-owned. Former President Nursultan Nazarbayev directly or through his family, also owns television channels. For example, KTK, the second most watched television channel in the country is run by the Foundation of ... the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbasy. Another popular television channel, NTK, is owned directly by a Nazarbayev family member. Nazarbayev resigned in March 2019, but political analysts say that he did so to be able, before he dies, to supervise a smooth transition to a new regime that will continue his policies, ensuring centralization of political control and preventing criticism of authorities as Nazarbayev did during his 29-year tenure. When it comes to online news, the Government owns three of the 10 most visited websites: Kazinform.kz, Bnews.kz and 24.kz. In fact, none of the most popular news portals in Kazakhstan are independent and truly free of government control. For example, TengriNews.kz, one of the most read news websites is owned by the company Alash Media Group, which is known for promoting a strong pro-government narrative. The foreign influence in Kazakhstan’s media landscape is limited as foreigners can own only 20% of a media company. That being said, the Russian influence in the Kazakh media is notable. The most popular television channel in the country, Eurasia, jointly owned by the governments of Kazakhstan and Russia, is known for promoting a heavy pro-Russian agenda on world affairs. Another popular television channel, Channel 31 (31 Kanal) is co-owned by Bulat Utemuratov, a wealthy local businessman, and the Russian-funded STS Media Holding. Kenes Rakishev, another entrepreneur, owner of Channel Seven (Sedmoy Kanal), is also a partner in Fastlane Ventures, a prominent Russian venture fund that usually invests in internet companies. The Government is by far the largest funder in the media, with over €144m spent in cash dished out to media companies in 2017, more than the overall ad spend in Kazakhstan, according to industry estimates. Most of the government funding goes to government-owned media companies or privately held outlets that show support of the Government. For example, in television, the biggest chunk of government cash is spent on financing Khabar and Qazaqstan, two government-owned channels. In such a centralized media environment in which the Government plays a disproportionately big role, there is hardly any space for independent journalism. Owned by a civil society activist and journalist, Vlast.kz is arguably the sole truly independent news website among the 10 most visited websites in the country. There are other independent news media such as Azattyq, the local service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, but their audience is much smaller." (Page 4) more

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Diaspora: Netzwerke globaler Gemeinschaften

Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha (ed.)

Karlsruhe: KIT Scientific Publishing; Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa) (2019), iv, 212 pp.

"Menschen gemeinsamer Herkunft, die verstreut über verschiedene Staaten leben, sind Inbegriffe gelebter Transnationalität. Als Diasporagemeinschaften bilden sie globale Netzwerke. Interdisziplinäre Beiträge aus Wissenschaft und Kulturarbeit bündeln, fotografisch gestützt, die Inhalte zweier WI ... more

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Between the White House and the Kremlin: A Comparative Analysis of Afghan and Tajik Media

Wazhmah Osman

International Journal of Communication, volume 13 (2019), pp. 619-641

"In their postwar, postindependence, and post-Soviet moments, why did two neighbors, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, who share cultural, linguistic, and historical similarities, take radically divergent paths in the development of their mass media, public sphere, and democracy? In this article, I argue ... more

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Money - Power - Stereotypes: Does Gender Equality in the Media Really Matter? International Comparative Gender Study in Georgia, Moldova and Russia

Kalmar: Fojo Media Institute; Russian Academy of Sciences (ISESP RAS) (2019), 19 pp.

"One interesting trend to follow is the feminisation of the journalism profession. The trend is global but especially prominent in the countries covered by this study: the findings indicate that the gender balance is shifting in Moldova and Georgia, whereas women are now dominating among media profe ... ssionals in general in Russia and Belarus. According to the experts interviewed this is not a result of a growing sector with more women coming in but rather about an outflow of men. It seems like the journalistic profession has become less attractive (to men) due to economic restraints (lower wages) and political pressure that makes it harder to exercise independent journalism. Judging from the gender ratio in enrollment for higher education in journalism and communication (over 70 per cent women in some European countries), this trend is likely to carry on. If the curve of this graph will not change we will (again) end up with a skewed gender balance and need to consider possible implications for diversity of voices and what stories are told. The study also confirms that women are taking on more of decision-making roles, especially in regional and in independent media (in Georgia and Moldova there is no gender asymmetry according to the study). However, there is still a gender gap when it comes to distribution of power in national media with high circulation/audience, likely related to the fact that the most influential media are still most often managed by men. Interestingly enough, female respondents in Moldova had low career expectations, although in practice the study indicates that women have better chances of building a career in the media than men. In Georgia, on the other hand, female media professionals are often overqualified, and show the most dissatisfaction with their jobs. The much-debated issue of sexual harassment at work is also covered by the study. In Russia on average three out of ten of the respondents claimed to have experienced sexual harassment in job related environments. Overall, the results of the survey indicate that the journalistic profession is quite dangerous for women, because they risk being subjected to sexual harassment literally everywhere, by colleagues or superiors at the office, as well as while reporting on the ground." (Preface) more

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Berichterstattung über öffentliche Proteste in Kasachstan: Medienkontrolle als Quelle politischer Macht

Heiko Pleines

Zentralasien-Analysen, issue 138 (2019), pp. 2-5

"Die Berichterstattung der kasachstanischen Massenmedien über Proteste im Lande folgt einer klaren Linie. Kleinere Proteste werden ignoriert. Wenn über größere Demonstrationen berichtet wird, kommen ihre Vertreter nicht zu Wort und ihre Forderungen werden nicht erwähnt. Stattdessen werden der i ... more

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Safety of Journalists Covering Conflict & Sensitive Issues

Kristin Skare Orgeret, Roy Krøvel (eds.)

Conflict & Communication Online, volume 18, issue 1 (2019), 103 pp.

Digital security awareness and practices of journalists in Turkey: A descriptive study

Behlül Çaliskan

Conflict & Communication Online, volume 18, issue 1 (2019), pp. 1-16

"This study aims to measure the level of digital security awareness of journalists in Turkey who use digital technology in the course of their work. In the study, research questions are answered using data collected by means of an online survey in relation to the digital security risks faced, the ex ... more

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Contextualizing Hacktivism: The Criminalization of Redhack

Bülay Dogan

Philadelphia: Annenberg School for Communication, Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication (CARGC) (2019), 37 pp.

"Through a meticulous empirical examination of the criminalization of the Turkish hacktivist group Redhack, Dogan explores the critical conflation of hacktivism with cyber-terrorism—by national security organizations and academic researchers alike —that enables states to criminalize non-violent ... more

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Media, Freedom of Speech, and Democracy in the EU and Beyond

Angelos Giannakpoulos (ed.)

Tel Aviv University, S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies (2019), 158 pp.

Transnational Othering – Global Diversities: Media, Extremism and Free Expression Deep Insights

Global Information Society Watch 2019. Artificial Intelligence: Human Rights, Social Justice and Development Deep Insights

Supporting Media for Democracy (2013-2019) Deep Insights

Transnational Othering – Global Diversities: Media, Extremism and Free Expression
Deep Insights

Global Information Society Watch 2019. Artificial Intelligence: Human Rights, Social Justice and Development
Deep Insights

Supporting Media for Democracy (2013-2019)
Deep Insights