"In contrast to the top-down approach newsrooms have traditionally deployed, Community-Centered Journalism offers a more people-cen tered approach focused on meeting the demonstrable needs and priorities of communities. Instead of newsrooms assuming they know what information people need, they gathe ... r this knowledge through a comprehensive process incorporating deep listening and collaboration, as well as ongoing engagement and feedback. Andrea Wenzel of Temple University, a leading proponent of Community-Centered Journalism, describes this as “journalism produced with and for communities.” Through these efforts, journalists seek to actively build trust and credibility by producing news and information that is relevant and beneficial to the daily lives of the communities they are working with. Although the methods used to deliver these goals may be different, this activity is in line with what the American Press Institute notes is a core purpose of journalism: “To provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.” Establishing and meeting community information needs takes time. But an inclusive process is fundamental to under standing the stories and issues that matter to communities, and in determining how to best tackle them. That might include building relationships with communities and local partners (such as non-profits, government agencies, busi nesses and libraries). It also means meeting people where they are (e.g., language, delivery format, etc.) to maximize impact." (Pages 10-11) more

"This report is the eighth in an annual series of publications, dating back to 2012, designed to share the latest stories, trends and research in social media usage from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Using a wide variety of academic, industry and media sources, this White Paper ide ... ntifies important insights from social media’s development over the previous year. Of particular note in 2019 is the continued, growing, importance of social media in the lives of Arab Youth, outside of Saudi Arabia and Turkey the declining usage of Twitter (once the poster child social network for the Arab Spring,) as well as greater scrutiny of social media usage by platform owners and governments alike. Last year’s report highlighted the increasing weaponization of social networks, a trend which continued in 2019. Facebook, Twitter and Telegram each closed hundreds of accounts due to inappropriate use by state sponsored actors and terrorist groups. Social networks were also the target of governments across MENA, in the midst of protests in many countries throughout the region. Meanwhile, the importance of social video and visually-led social networks, continued to grow. Snapchat introduced new advertising formats to the region and other exclusive functionality, Google highlighted the importance of YouTube in supporting parents and parenting, and in major markets such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Twitter has emerged as a leading platform for online video consumption." (Introduction) more

"This report is the seventh in an annual series of publications showcasing the latest developments, trends and research in social media usage across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Using a wide variety of academic, industry and media sources, this White Paper features key insights from soci ... al media's development over the previous year. Notable trends from the past year include the continued popularity of Facebook and Facebook-owned products, especially with Arab Youth, as well as increasing challenges to online freedom of expression in many parts of the region. Saudi Arabia continues to be a social media powerhouse, being one of the biggest national markets for Snapchat and YouTube in the world. Meanwhile, the rise of social media influencers has met with some pushback; from regulation in UAE, to more tragic and threatening responses in Iraq. This report explores these developments, as well as emerging questions about the rise of fake news on social media, and the role that social networks are playing in Yemen's civil war." (Publisher description) more