"Africa’s Media Image in the 21st Century is the first book in over twenty years to examine the international media’s coverage of sub-Saharan Africa. It brings together leading researchers and prominent journalists to explore representation of the continent, and the production of that image, esp
...
ecially by international news media. The book highlights factors that have transformed the global media system, changing whose perspectives are told and the forms of media that empower new voices. Case studies consider questions such as: how has new media changed whose views are represented? Does Chinese or diaspora media offer alternative perspectives for viewing the continent? How do foreign correspondents interact with their audiences in a social media age? What is the contemporary role of charity groups and PR firms in shaping news content? They also examine how recent high profile events and issues been covered by the international media, from the Ebola crisis, and Boko Haram to debates surrounding the "Africa Rising" narrative and neo-imperialism. The book makes a substantial contribution by moving the academic discussion beyond the traditional critiques of journalistic stereotyping, Afro-pessimism, and ‘darkest Africa’ news coverage. It explores the news outlets, international power dynamics, and technologies that shape and reshape the contemporary image of Africa and Africans in journalism and global culture." (Publisher description)
more
"In this report, we examine how public service media in six european countries (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom) are delivering news in an increasingly digital media environment. The analysis is based on interviews conducted between december 2015 and February 2016 [..
...
.] Public service media organisations have high reach for news offline (via television and radio) in all six countries, but only in Finland and the United Kingdom do they have high reach for news online. In all countries but Finland and the United Kingdom, significantly more people get news online from social media than from public service media. Our interviewees highlight three particularly important issues facing public service news provision online today, namely: 1. how to change organisations developed around analogue broadcasting media to effectively deliver public service news in an increasingly digital media environment; 2. how to use mobile platforms more effectively as smartphones become more and more central to how people access news; 3. how to use social media more effectively as more and more news use is driven by referrals and in some cases consumed off-site on platforms like Facebook." (Executive summary)
more
"This report reviews similarities and differences in public sector support for the media across a sample of six developed democracies – Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States – that represent a wide range of different media systems and different approaches to
...
media policy. It shows that public support for the media in all of them has remained basically unchanged for decades: Primarily it takes the form of licence fee funding going overwhelmingly to public service broadcasting. This is the case in all the five European countries. In the United States, federal and state appropriations for public broadcasting constitute the second most significant form of public support for the media. Secondarily it takes the form of indirect support for paid print media industry incumbents. In the United States, this form of support is more significant than funding for public broadcasting. In all cases governments offer more indirect than direct support for private sector media organisations. Only Finland, France, and Italy offer direct subsidies; in Finland and France almost exclusively for the printed press, in Italy also to local broadcasters. In all three countries, indirect subsidies are more significant. There is no substantial public-sector support for online-only media organisations. In France, the only country in which such support was available, it amounted to little more than 1/10,000th of all public support in 2008." (Executive summary)
more
"Internet freedom has declined for the sixth consecutive year, with more governments than ever before targeting social media and communication apps as a means of halting the rapid dissemination of information, particularly during antigovernment protests. Public-facing social media platforms like Fac
...
ebook and Twitter have been subject to growing censorship for several years, but in a new trend, governments increasingly target messaging and voice communication apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram. These services are able to spread information and connect users quickly and securely, making it more difficult for authorities to control the information landscape or conduct surveillance. The increased controls show the importance of social media and online communication for advancing political freedom and social justice. It is no coincidence that the tools at the center of the current crackdown have been widely used to hold governments accountable and facilitate uncensored conversations." (Page 1)
more
"This book provides a variety of cases and theoretical insights that touch upon communication across media in everyday life. The cases favour user perspectives and are focused on coordinating mundane activities on smartphones, the role played by apps when exercising, the use of self-organised Facebo
...
ok groups for civic participation, the role various cross-media communication patterns play in the everyday practices of bereaved parents, the framing and use of digitized cultural heritage, and the political everyday life appropriations of users on social media. While the cases are empirically grounded, the theoretical insights provide different frameworks for understanding cross-mediated communication patterns and space of agency in everyday contexts." (Back cover)
more
"Of the 939 identified main media literacy stakeholders, over a third were categorised as “civil society” (305), followed by “public authorities” (175) and “academia” (161). Over two-thirds of them do not have a statutory responsibility in this area and base their involvement on a differ
...
ent motivation. 189 networks were identified and the vast majority of them (135) are operating at national level. Since the level of activity differs a lot between countries, of the maximum of 580 projects (20 possible projects for each of the 29 respondents, but not all of them were able to detect 20), only 547 were identified. The most common project type is “resources” (173); the second is “end-user engagement” (107). These two together account for more than half of all analysed projects, showing that providing frontline support to citizens is a priority. As to the a ddressed media literacy skills, “critical thinking” was the clear winner, being dealt with by 403 of the 547 projects, followed by “media use” (385). This trend is also confirmed by the case study analysis of the most significant 145 projects, which also feature projects on “intercultural dialogue” (46 of 145), including skills around challenging radicalisation and hate speech online." (Executive summary, page 3-4)
more
"The world wars, genocides and extremist ideologies of the 20th century are remembered very differently across Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, resulting sometimes in fierce memory disputes. This book investigates the complexity and contention of the layers of memory of the troubled 20th ce
...
ntury in the region. Written by an international group of scholars from a diversity of disciplines, the chapters approach memory disputes in methodologically innovative ways, studying representations and negotiations of disputed pasts in different media, including monuments, museum exhibitions, individual and political discourse and electronic social media. Analyzing memory disputes in various local, national and transnational contexts, the chapters demonstrate the political power and social impact of painful and disputed memories." (Publisher description)
more
"International trade in creative industries showed sustained growth in the last decade. The global market for traded creative goods and services totaled a record $547billion in 2012, as compared to $302 billion in 2003. Exports from developing countries, led by Asian countries, were growing faster t
...
han exports from developed countries. Among developed country regions, Europe is the largest exporter of creative goods. In 2012, the top 5 creative goods exporters included Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium. Exports of creative goods from developed economies grew during the period 2003 to 2012, with export earnings rising from $134 billion to $197 billion. Among developing countries, China is the largest exporter of creative goods. In 2012, the top 5 exporters were China, Hong Kong, China, India, Turkey and South Korea. Exports of creative goods from developing economies grew during the period 2003 to 2012, with export earnings rising from $87 billion to $272 billion. Developing countries are playing an increasingly important role in international trade in creative industries." (Executive summary)
more
"Previous studies of intimidation and harassment of journalists have (rightly) focused on non-democratic and authoritarian nations and/or transitional/emerging democracies. In this article, we examine the situation in Sweden, a country with strong de facto and de jure safeguards of journalistic free
...
dom and autonomy. We report the findings from a representative survey of Swedish journalists where three themes are analysed: the extent of harassment, the forms of harassment, and the consequences of intimidation and harassment. The results show that a third of the respondents had experienced threats at work in the past year, and an overwhelming majority said they had received offensive and insulting comments. Intimidation and harassment also had consequences, both professionally and personally, such as fear and self-censorship. We therefore argue that it is time to add the dimension of external pressure and threats to the discussion of journalistic autonomy—including in countries like Sweden." (Abstract)
more
"Media concentration has been an issue around the world. To some observers the power of large corporations has never been higher. To others, the Internet has brought openness and diversity. What perspective is correct? The answer has significant implications for politics, business, culture, regulati
...
on, and innovation. It addresses a highly contentious subject of public debate in many countries around the world. In this discussion, one side fears the emergence of media empires that can sway public opinion and endanger democracy. The other side believes the Internet has opened media to unprecedented diversity and worries about excessive regulation by government. Strong opinions and policy advocates abound on each side, yet a lack of quantitative research across time, media industries, and countries undermines these positions. This book moves beyond the rhetoric of free media and free markets to provide a dispassionate and data-driven analysis of global media ownership trends and their drivers. The book covers thirteen media industries, including television, newspapers, book publishing, film, search engines, ISPs, wireless telecommunication, and others across a 10- to 25-year period in thirty countries. After examining these countries, this book offers comparisons and analysis across industries, regions, companies, and development levels. It calculates overall national concentration trends beyond specific media industries, the market share of individual companies in the overall national media sector, and the size and trends of transnational companies in overall global media." (Publisher description)
more
"This year we have evidence of the growth of distributed (offsite) news consumption, a sharpening move to mobile and we can reveal the full extent of ad-blocking worldwide. These three trends in combination are putting further severe pressure on the business models of both traditional publishers and
...
new digital-born players – as well as changing the way in which news is packaged and distributed." (Overview & key findings)
more
"The Handbook of International Crisis Communication Research articulates a broader understanding of crisis communication, discussing the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of domestic and transnational crises, featuring the work of global scholars from a range of sub-disciplines
...
and related fields. It provides the first integrative international perspective on crisis communication; articulates a broader understanding of crisis communication, which includes work from scholars in journalism, public relations, audience research, psychology, political science, sociology, economics, anthropology, and international communication; explores the topic from cross-national and cross-cultural crisis communication approaches; includes research and scholars from countries around the world and representing all regions; discusses a broad range of crisis types, such as war, terrorism, natural disasters, pandemia, and organizational crises." (Publisher description)
more
"Now in paperback for the first time, the Handbook is an academic adaptation of information contained in the Global Report on the Status of Women in News Media, a study commissioned by the International Women's Media Foundation. The book's editor was the principal investigator of the original study.
...
This text draws together the most robust data from that original study, presenting it in 29 chapters on individual nations and three additional theoretical chapters. The book is the most expansive effort to date to consider women's standing in the journalism profession across the world. Contents organize nations in relation to their progress within newsrooms, with those most advanced in gender equality representing diversity in terms of region and national development. Contributing authors are, in most cases, the original researchers for their respective nations in the Global Report study." (Publisher description)
more
"Contemporary anthropology is done in a world where social and digital media are playing an increasingly significant role, where anthropological and arts practices are often intertwined in museum and public intervention contexts, and where anthropologists are encouraged to engage with mass media. Be
...
cause anthropologists are often expected and inspired to ensure their work engages with public issues, these opportunities to disseminate work in new ways and to new publics simultaneously create challenges as anthropologists move their practice into unfamiliar collaborative domains and expose their research to new forms of scrutiny. In this volume, contributors question whether a fresh public anthropology is emerging through these new practices." (Publisher description)
more
"Internet freedom around the world has declined for the fifth consecutive year, with more governments censoring information of public interest and placing greater demands on the private sector to take down offending content. State authorities have also jailed more users for their online writings, wh
...
ile criminal and terrorist groups have made public examples of those who dared to expose their activities online. This was especially evident in the Middle East, where the public flogging of liberal bloggers, life sentences for online critics, and beheadings of internet-based journalists provided a powerful deterrent to the sort of digital organizing that contributed to the Arab Spring. In a new trend, many governments have sought to shift the burden of censorship to private companies and individuals by pressing them to remove content, often resorting to direct blocking only when those measures fail. Local companies are especially vulnerable to the whims of law enforcement agencies and a recent proliferation of repressive laws. But large, international companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have faced similar demands due to their significant popularity and reach." (Page 1)
more
"This report examines self-regulation in challenging times. Journalism is increasingly a single stream of information disseminated simultaneously across different platforms of media, but its regulation remains dominated by old-fashioned notions of how media work. Usually there are two ways of regula
...
ting journalism at national level: a voluntary system for the press and legal controls over broadcasting. These structures were created for yesterday’s media landscape and are increasingly out of date. Today’s digital journalists work on video, print and audio simultaneously. That’s why it makes sense to have only one national regulator, and one that covers all platforms of journalism. Another testing issue is the question of funding. Ideally, journalists and media should pay the bills for press councils, but in these cash-strapped days can media continue to afford it? Increasingly, the answer is no. So who will pay in future? Perhaps we should think about using public funds, after all, independent regulation of media is a public interest activity. But if we use taxpayers’ money how do we ensure it won’t compromise editorial independence? Finally, as this report shows, making self-regulation work at enterprise level is perhaps what counts most. Building trust with the audience should be an issue in every newsroom and the growth in the number of in-house ombudsmen or readers’ editors is a welcome sign that more media are taking the issue seriously. However, in the face of editorial cuts some managements still question money being channelled into cleaning up the mistakes of the newsroom. But as this report illustrates, keeping journalism honest is money well spent for media and, for the public at large, it’s a good investment in democracy." (Introduction, page v)
more