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Media and Democratic Backsliding: Lessons from the Turkish Case

Eylem Yanardagoglu

Athens; Berlin: Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP);Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) (2022), 7 pp.

"In Turkey, the AKP came to power in 2002 at a time marked by a relatively pro-European Union and pluralistic outlook in politics. The democratic backsliding in Turkey has been more obvious since 2007 and the start of the AKP’s second term in power. It deepened especially after the 2016 coup attem ... more

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Global Sceptical Publics: From Non-Religious Print Media to ‘Digital Atheism’

Jacob Copeman, Mascha Schulz (eds.)

London: UCL Press (2022), xix, 359 pp.

"Global Sceptical Publics is the first major study of the significance of different media for the (re)production of non-religious publics and publicity. While much work has documented how religious subjectivities are shaped by media, until now the crucial role of diverse media for producing and part ... more

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Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA): Uzbekistan

Reyn Anderson, Victoriya Babakhodjaeva, Zamira Dzhusupova, Yaroslav Eferin, Kate Gromova, Dilshod Zufarov

USAID, Digital Frontiers Project (2022), 116 pp.

"Key findings: Overcoming the digital divides between men and women and urban and rural populations requires long-term planning and resource commitments that include broad stakeholder engagement and coordination [...] The public’s appetite for online content is growing, but accessible, diverse, hi ... more

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Ranking Digital Rights in Central Asia

Public Fund Civil Internet Policy Initiative (CIPI) (2022), 74 pp.

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Kyrgyz Diaspora Online: Understanding Political Participation and Transnational Citizenship

Ajar Chekirova

OSCE Academy in Bishkek (2022), 23 pp.

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Mapping Open Data in Tajikistan

Ion Marandici et al.

Internews;Zerkalo-Analytics (2022), 30 pp.

"New data sources related to socio-economic development should improve journalistic reporting. However, in the absence of a centralized open data repository in Tajikistan, journalists may face delays in getting quick access to important datasets. To address this challenge, Zerkalo conducted a mappin ... more

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Journalism safety and the actuality of achieving gender equality in the media landscape of Uzbekistan

Mukarram Otamurodova

European Scholar Journal, issue December (2022), pp. 13-15

"Uzbekistan faces socio-political changes in the last years and the impact of these turnouts are reflected in the media landscape of the country. Several cases show that the issues of gender equality and the safety of journalists are becomingmore threatening. Some journalists suffer from political p ... more

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Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2022
Top Insights

Nic Newman, Richard Fletcher, Craig T. Robertson, Kirsten Eddy, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (eds.)

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2022), 161 pp.

"Trust in the news has fallen in almost half the countries in our survey, and risen in just seven, partly reversing the gains made at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. On average, around four in ten of our total sample (42%) say they trust most news most of the time. Finland remains the countr ... more

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Monitoring Report: Conflict Reporting in Azerbaijani- and Armenian-Language Regional Media and Other Media Outlets

Tina Gogoladze

Media Development Foundation (MDF) (2022), 66 pp.

"The following report reflects the results of media content monitoring to analyze conflict coverage by Azerbaijani- and Armenian-language regional platforms. In addition, the report incorporates conflict-related qualitative data acquired from specific Russian- and Georgian-language Facebook accounts ... more

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Kazakhstan’s Bloody January: Digital Repression on the “New Silk Road”

Raushan Zhandayeva, Rachael Rosenberg

Tokyo: Toda Peace Institute (2022), 24 pp.

"In January 2022, Kazakhstan’s government shut down internet access for several days while enacting a violent crackdown on initially peaceful protests triggered by hikes in fuel prices. This policy brief examines Kazakhstan’s internet and media landscape, the (re)actions of civil society and the ... more

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Covid-19 in International Media: Global Pandemic Perspectives

John C. Pollock, Douglas A. Vakoch (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2022), xxxi, 267 pp.

"The book evaluates unique civic challenges, responsibilities, and opportunities for media worldwide, exploring pandemic social norms that media promote or discourage, and how media serve as instruments of social control and resistance, or of cooperation and representation. These chapters raise sign ... more

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Turkey’s Communicative Authoritarianism

Burçe Çelik

Global Media and Communication, volume 16, issue 1 (2022), pp. 102-120

"The majority of current political communication studies focus on discursive dimensions of communications and disregard how communications partake in the governing of populations through economic, material and institutional practices. By focusing on Turkey’s case, here I move beyond this approach ... more

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Evaluation Report: Evaluation of Media Literacy Projects in Europe and Eurasia

Social Impact Inc.

U.S. Department of State (2022), xvi, 136 pp.

"The United States (U.S.) Department of State Bureau of Europe and Eurasia/Office of the Coordinator of Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia (EUR/ACE) contracted Social Impact, Inc. (SI) to conduct a performance evaluation of nine media literacy (ML) assistance projects in Europe and Eura ... more

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Cold War Radio: The Russian Broadcasts of the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe

Mark G. Pomar

Lincoln: Potomac Books (2022), xv, 307 pp.

"This book is a fascinating look at how the United States waged the Cold War through the international broadcasting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Mark G. Pomar served in senior positions at VOA and RFE/RL from 1982 to 1993, during which time the Reagan and B ... more

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Neglected to Indispensable: Lessons from Beyond Access for Global Public Library Reform and Development

Ari Katz

Public Library Quarterly, volume 41, issue 3 (2022), pp. 273-293

"Beyond Access was the first major global attempt to connect the international development and public library worlds. Taking the form of a series of projects in a dozen countries meant to help catalyze library development around national goals, the program operated from 2011 to 2018. Starting from a ... more

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Children and Media Worldwide in a Time of a Pandemic

Maya Götz, Dafna Lemish (eds.)

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2022), vi, 242 pp.

"This edited volume focuses on the lived experiences of children during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020, their knowledge and emotional reactions, the adjustments they made in their everyday lives, and the strengths and skills they developed in response. A central theme ... more

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Solidarity Through Cynicism? The Influence of Russian Conspiracy Narratives Abroad

Scott Radnitz

International Studies Quarterly, issue 66, sqac012 (2022), 14 pp.

"As conspiracy theories have become a popular form of political discourse worldwide, states have promoted conspiratorial ideas to advance their foreign policy goals. Yet, despite recent attention to the spread of propaganda abroad, scholars have not addressed whether and how conspiracy theories spre ... more

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Media Environment and Safety of Journalists During the Crisis in Georgia: Threats and Supportive Instruments

Mariam Gersamia, Maia Toradze

Environment and Society, volume 5, issue 5 (2022), 1 pp.

"Viable, free media is a crucial component of democratic progress in Georgia. Thirty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and gaining independence, the safety of journalists while carrying out professional duties continues to be one of the critical indicators of progress in the country's med ... ia democracy. This research was triggered by the actualization of the acute and, in some ways, spontaneous media threat that arose during the pre-election period. More specifically, on July 5, 2021, two months before Georgia's local self-government municipal elections, media workers fell victim to a premeditated attack by pro-Russian radical groups during the coverage of demonstrations. As a result, 52 journalists from more than ten media outlets, camera operators, and photographers were assaulted. A TV Pirveli cameraman, Lekso Lashkarava, died a few days later due to severe injuries received during the demonstration. The research aims to distinguish the traits prevalent in the media environment during times of crisis and, even more specifically, during the pre-and post-election periods (particularly during the 2021 local government elections in Georgia). The research also responds to how political polarization and crises affect media and the macro and micro threats they reveal. The study identifies these media threats and assesses the reality of the media environment as seen through journalists' eyes. The research covers topics recommended by UNESCO (Towards a Research agenda on the safety of journalists) and examines seven of those ten recommended issues. A mixed research methodology was chosen for research design, more specifically, a sequential explanatory design. The research was conducted in two phases: the first phase involved the accumulation of quantitative data (through an online survey of 183 respondents from 56 media sources) and analysis, followed which the second phase involved qualitative research (3 focus group discussions). The research answers the questions as follows: How safe do media workers feel when performing their professional duties? What kind of threats have emerged during the 2021 pre-election media environment, and what are the expectations? What are some of the support mechanisms for improving the media environment, and what needs to be done to create a safer environment for media workers? Macro (4) and micro (6) media threats were identified during the research process. They are analyzed in sub-chapters in greater detail. These threats are interconnected and have their structure and aims. Media threats, which emerged during the discussion, contribute to self-censorship and escalation of fear, media credibility, reduction of support, and destabilizing media institutional viability. Political polarization and polarization between media organizations were identified as major macro media threats. Micro threats that were identified as a result of polarization are: Stigmatization of journalists and media (labeling them as biased towards certain political parties) and attempted smear campaigns; They are disrupting the execution of journalist duties. Among such actions are creating obstacles to providing a balanced narrative and bringing a quality media product to the public, primarily reflected in a premeditated restriction to sources and surveillance to disrupt the work process. One macro threat that emerged from the online survey and focus-group analysis was the incitement of physical and verbal violence towards journalists (this includes hate speech and the use of aggressive rhetoric by the state). These media threats reinforce self-censorship and fear, destabilize media institutions' viability and negatively affect the demonstration of solidarity and support toward media. One identified macro-threats towards journalists was the lack of investigation of crimes committed against journalists and impunity as an encouraging factor. Additionally, we could consider the malign nature of the Russian propaganda and malign influence in general as an additional factor, which serves as a leitmotif for the entire discussion on another macro threat. As a result of this study, recommendations have been put forward for various stakeholders. Implementing these recommendations will help create a supportive media environment, encourage solidarity, and improve coordination between different stakeholders during and after crises. Research conducted is by the Media and Communication Educational and Research Center (Georgia) with support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s South Caucasus Office and the Federal Republic of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office." (Abstract) more

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Hate Speech and Polarization in Participatory Society

Marta Pérez-Escolar, José Manuel Noguera-Vivo (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2022), xxv, 252 pp.

"Delving into the meanings, implications, contexts and effects of extreme speech and gated communities in the media landscape, the chapters analyse misleading metaphors and rhetoric via focused case studies to understand how we can overcome the risks and threats stemming from the past decade's defin ... more

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Media Environment 2022: Threats and Supportive Instruments in Georgia

Gersamia, Mariam, Maia Toradze

Tbilisi: Media and Communication Educational and Research Center "Media Voice" (2022), 76 pp.

"The purpose of this study is to assess the threats and supporting mechanisms present in the Georgian media environment in 2022. Observation of the media environment, similar to the previous year’s research, was based on the evaluation of the participants involved in the research and further compa ... more

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2022 Top Insights

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2022
Top Insights