"This study applies the framing model of Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) to analyze media coverage of the Chilean social protests of 2019, with a particular emphasis on differences between radio and television coverage. This model uses 20 distinct questions to identify specific frames used in news rep
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orting. These findings indicate that the predominant frame across all protest coverage was Attribution of Responsibility, though this frame was even more prevalent for radio. For television, the results suggest a lower focus on the protesters’ demands, with a tendency to portray the events as a political conflict." (Abstract)
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"• Engagement with traditional media sources such as TV, print, and news websites continues to fall, while dependence on social media, video platforms, and online aggregators grows. This is particularly the case in the United States where polling overlapped with the first few weeks of the new Trum
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p administration. Social media news use was sharply up (+6pp) but there was no ‘Trump bump’ for traditional sources.
• Personalities and influencers are, in some countries, playing a significant role in shaping public debates. One-fifth (22%) of our United States sample says they came across news or commentary from popular podcaster Joe Rogan in the week after the inauguration, including a disproportionate number of young men. In France, young news creator Hugo Travers (HugoDécrypte) reaches 22% of under-35s with content distributed mainly via YouTube and TikTok. Young influencers also play a significant role in many Asian countries, including Thailand.
• News use across online platforms continues to fragment, with six online networks now reaching more than 10% weekly with news content, compared with just two a decade ago. Around a third of our global sample use Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) for news each week. Instagram (19%) and WhatsApp (19%) are used by around a fifth, while TikTok (16%) remains ahead of X at 12%.
• Data show that usage of X for news is stable or increasing across many markets, with the biggest uplift in the United States (+8pp), Australia (+6pp), and Poland (+6pp). Since Elon Musk took over the network in 2022 many more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently. Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon are making little impact globally, with reach of 2% or less for news.
• Changing platform strategies mean that video continues to grow in importance as a source of news. Across all markets the proportion consuming social video has grown from 52% in 2020 to 65% in 2025 and any video from 67% to 75%. In the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, and India more people now say they prefer to watch the news rather than read it, further encouraging the shift to personality-led news creators.
• Our survey also shows the importance of news podcasting in reaching younger, better-educated audiences. The United States has among the highest proportion (15%) accessing one or more podcasts in the last week, with many of these now filmed and distributed via video platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. By contrast, many northern European podcast markets remain dominated by public broadcasters or big legacy media companies and have been slower to adopt video versions.
• TikTok is the fastest growing social and video network, adding a further 4pp across markets for news and reaching 49% of our online sample in Thailand (+10pp) and 40% in Malaysia (+9pp). But at the same time people in those markets see the network as one of the biggest threats when it comes to false or misleading information, along with Facebook.
• Overall, over half our sample (58%) say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online, a similar proportion to last year. Concern is highest in Africa (73%) and the United States (73%), with lowest levels in Western Europe (46%).
• When it comes to underlying sources of false or misleading information, online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest threat worldwide (47%), along with national politicians (47%). Concern about influencers is highest in African countries such as Nigeria (58%) and Kenya (59%), while politicians are considered the biggest threat in the United States (57%), Spain (57%), and much of Eastern Europe." (Executive summary, page 10-11)
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"This study unpacks the emerging framework of detection, verification, and correction of falsehoods developed by fact-checkers outside Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic countries. We explore a series of semistructured interviews carried out in several languages with thirty-seve
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n fact-checking experts from thirtyfive organizations in twenty-seven countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Our findings emphasize the contextual nature of the falsehoods that these professionals deal with on a daily basis, and the many strategies they employ to navigate cultural and political obstacles while strengthening social cohesion locally. We review these findings against the literature in the area and argue that the prevailing framework of fact-checking, where misinformation and disinformation are reduced to individual and behavioral problems, underplays the social and historical dimensions driving disinformation and propaganda." (Abstract)
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"Fact-checking journalism challenges procedural norms of objectivity by providing truth verdicts. By actively evaluating statements and online rumors based on evidence weight, fact-checkers aim for robust, scientific objectivity. Despite this trend, there is a lack of studies analyzing evidence type
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s used in verification articles, a gap which this article seeks to address. This comparative research examines types of valid evidence—documentation, digital forensic tools, and statements—employed by fact-checkers across 12 organizations in the UK, Germany, Portugal, and Spain (n=1976). Results are interpreted using media systems and digital indicators. Notably, Spain, with high political polarization and social media use for news, heavily utilizes digital forensic elements. Germany and the UK, known for high journalistic professionalism and low epistemic vulnerability, predominantly feature ‘all-inclusive’ evidence combining documents, statements, and forensics. Public service broadcasters exhibit the highest levels of verification complexity (hard fact-checking), contrasting with global news agencies, which generally favor softer fact-checking approaches, except for DPA." (Abstract)
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"This report presents the main results of the surveys for journalists launched by the European cofunded project Taktak in collaboration with Display Europe in July and November 2024. The surveys aimed to have an overview of the working life of journalists in Europe, and gathered 436 replies. The two
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surveys were both translated in 13 languages (English, Spanish, German, Catalan, Galego, Greek, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, French, Italian, Portuguese, Serbo-Croatian and Romanian). This report does not claim to be a representation of the working conditions of journalists in Europe but nevertheless gives an important insight on the subject. The respondents of the Taktak survey come from 33 different European countries (21 from EU member states, 13 from European countries and 8 non-European countries). The majority of respondents are experienced journalists aged between 40 and 49 years old (29,13%), and almost half of them, 49,7%, have been working for more than 15 years as a journalist. Also, for 61% of them, their journalistic work represents about 80-100% of their income [...]
The survey results include a sample of various employment contracts of journalists: over half (51,67%) of respondents are freelancers or work under non-employment contracts, while 39,44% are full-time employees. Respondents were also asked to elaborate on their type of contracts and there, a distinction must be made between employed and freelance journalists. Freelancers face precarious working conditions: low pay, lack of social benefits and administrative burdens, which leads to financial instability and stress. On the other side, employed journalists benefit from job stability, social security, and consistent income. However, respondents also mentioned restrictive work environments, and limited professional growth. Regional differences are also important to take into account regarding labor laws and the war in Ukraine. Overall, 52.5% of respondents are satisfied with their contracts, while 29.55% expressed dissatisfaction. Satisfaction varies significantly between freelancers and employees, with freelancers often struggling to sustain themselves even though the passion for journalism remains high." (Pages 2-4)
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"Independent youtubers who create content on political, social and economic issues attract very large audiences and are increasingly the object of study for journalism scholars. This article contributes to the literature by conducting a detailed analysis of the Australian YouTube channel friendlyjor
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dies. Rather than comparing the channel to the journalistic field, this article assesses whether friendlyjordies produces journalism by applying definitions based on journalism’s democratic functions. With the democratic functions approach the critical question is not, who is a journalist? but who is performing the democratic functions of journalism? This question guides the research that combines the analysis of three friendlyjordies videos with data from an interview with a producer of the channel. From this analysis, this article argues that friendlyjordies produces platform journalism, an emerging form of journalism that applies the norms and affordances of a specific platform, in this case YouTube. Moreover, when a democratic functions approach is applied to friendlyjordies, it becomes evident that the channel engages in public interest platform journalism." (Abstract)
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"Based on an online survey with 330 Chilean journalists and 4,615 media users, this study examines the discrepancies between the expectations of Chilean audiences and news professionals regarding journalistic roles and their evaluation of media performance. The findings reveal that audiences place g
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reater importance on the disseminator and public service–oriented roles, while journalists prioritize roles aimed at influencing the public. Regarding media performance, audiences believe that journalism favors industry-oriented roles over those they prioritize. In contrast, journalists believe that the media mostly perform roles aligned with the audience’s expectations. Our results also show that although the watchdog and disseminator roles are strong predictors of quality journalism for both groups, the civic role only impacts quality journalism in the case of news professionals. Instead, audiences associate good journalism with practices that address their everyday problems, such as the ones represented by the service role." (Abstract)
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"The state of the media and democracy in Turkey faces critical challenges that hinder freedom of expression and pluralism, due to restrictive legal frameworks, economic instability, and cross-ownership in the media sector. Although digitalization has transformed news consumption, the government’s
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control over online platforms increases concerns about censorship and reinforces practices of self-censorship. Public trust in the media continues to decline, driven by perceptions of political influence and biased reporting. Similarly, democracy is plagued with issues, as global rankings point to decline in Turkish democracy, while concerns about judicial independence persist. While elections with high voter turnout do occur, this may only be interpreted as a pattern of practicing democracy rather than a sign of democratic strength. Urgent and comprehensive reforms are needed to ensure judicial independence, create a pluralistic media environment, increase transparency, and protect press freedom." (Executive summary)
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"The following conclusions can be drawn from the data analysis:
• The socio-economic status of journalists should be continuously advanced via improvement of working conditions in newsrooms and greater acknowledgement of labour rights on the part of media owners and the state.
• Rapid technologi
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cal and information changes impose the need for adapting the ethical and professional standards to the new digital environment, as well as creating specific guidelines for the media and journalists in terms of the use of artificial intelligence.
• The interest of young people in studies in journalism, communications, and media is drastically decreasing due to the weak link between studies with the labour market, the poor economic situation in media, and the inherent risks to this profession. It is necessary to modernize the study programmes and curricula which should be in line with the newly emerging environment, as well as making it possible to interlink with the media industry.
• Disinformation and non-compliance with ethical standards are often evident in online media, thus there is already a wide discussion in the media community about the legal definition of the status and functioning of the online media.
• Ownership transparency in broadcast media is at a high level, which is not the case in internet media, as the latter are outside the legal scope. The legal solution for pluralism in media ownership does not correspond to the new digital environment, therefore changes are needed that will enable development of the media market and industry consolidation.
• Funds from the state budget for paid political advertising during elections and public interest campaigns have increased in recent years and represent a significant source of funding for many media outlets. The above increases media dependence on state funds, as well as the possibility of corruption and media clientelism.
• Professional media organizations and the civil sector support the idea of establishing a fund for the development of media pluralism, to serve as an independent mechanism for developing projects and contents of public interest. Such approach will encourage diversity, quality, and independence in the media industry.
• In the media landscape, there are not enough media and/or programmes that represent ethnic groups, marginalized groups, and persons with disabilities, while non-profit media is one of the most underdeveloped segments therein. Trust in institutions, including in the media, is very low, due to the high level of systemic corruption, disinformation, non-transparency, and weak effectiveness of institutions.
• Media literacy is included in formal education as a systemic approach to teaching, but awareness of its importance should be promoted more among all age groups and segments of society.
• Transparent and efficient policies, comprehensive analyses, and overarching strategies are needed to cover all segments of the media market, including the digital sphere. The limited media market adversely affects the economic situation of the media, resulting in a lack of evident development of pluralism, diversity, and independence of the media in the audiovisual media sphere." (Executive summary, pages 4-5)
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"Since the change of the long-standing DPS government in mid-2020, Montenegrin society has faced political crises. Frequent election cycles and instability in ruling majorities have affected the speed and quality of Montenegro’s integration into the EU, the work and functioning of institutions, an
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d the general social and political environment. After the reconstruction of Montenegro’s 44th government, anti-democratic and anti-European tendencies emerged. These tendencies are reflected in the advocacy for legislation aimed at changing the constitutional order regarding language and citizenship, suppressing criticism from the civil sector, and undermining relations with neighbouring Croatia, an EU member state. This has been accompanied by a decline in trust in key political institutions and an overall unsatisfactory political culture.
Although several international studies monitoring the state of democracy, the rule of law, corruption perception, and media freedoms show progress compared to previous years, the current situation in media and journalism is not encouraging. In recent years, institutions have attempted to strategically address the media sector through the adoption of a Media Strategy and amendments to media laws. However, these regulations have not adequately addressed some of the key issues affecting the media landscape, such as media ownership transparency, strong foreign influence in media ownership structures, unregistered portals, and the fight against disinformation. Additionally, they have not implemented new European regulations in this area, indicating that media laws will need to be revised again.
The significant increase in the number of media outlets in Montenegro has not led to greater media pluralism or improved journalistic standards. The media market is small, and the launch of new outlets lacks economic justification. The media scene is heavily influenced by foreign actors, predominantly from Serbia. Owners from Serbia control four out of five television stations with national frequency, and two out of three daily newspapers are foreign-owned. These media outlets inevitably influence public opinion and are used to expand political influence, which affects the quality of media reporting and threatens the survival of locally owned media outlets.
Year after year, the amount of public funds allocated to media outlets through the Media Pluralism Fund has increased, which is important for their sustainability. The Agency for Electronic Media and the Ministry of Culture and Media distribute the funds transparently, but mechanisms for evaluating the quality of financed projects need to be established.
The national regulator, the Agency for Electronic Media, has improved its communication with the public. Recent amendments to the law have expanded its jurisdiction, enabling it to impose measures of varying intensity. While it remains responsible only for electronic media, there is clear potential for the agency to develop into an independent and professional regulator that consistently applies regulations.
Current self-regulatory mechanisms in Montenegro’s media sector are not effective, but there is potential for further development in the new amendments to the law. These amendments require media outlets to develop internal self-regulation if they wish to receive funds from the Media Pluralism Fund. Implementing this legal provision must be accompanied by raising awareness among media and journalists about the importance of strong self-regulation. This will help citizens recognize self-regulation as an independent authority capable of improving the quality of reporting and providing a reliable platform for submitting complaints." (Conclusions, pages 28-29)
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