"The highest levels of regulation, from international treaties to constitutions, are unambiguous about creating an environment in which women thrive. However, this egalitarian space must be progressively realized, and one aspect of this work is eliminating discrimination, including in relation to ge
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nder-based violence (GBV). Whether authorities care to admit it or not, the Internet is an inseparable part of the society in which we live, and online GBV demands a resolute hand. Unfortunately, the gaps in legal frameworks, not to mention deficient law enforcement, are forcing women to self-censor online or even wholly abandon platforms that could be used for legitimate expression and the exercise of other fundamental rights. Unless governments take urgent, comprehensive action, the inadequate protection of women’s rights online will continue to erode any other legislative attempts to achieve equality across different spheres of life." (Conclusion)
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"In this report, the authors examine and compare state implementation and enforcement of criminal laws prohibiting blasphemy (“blasphemy laws”) worldwide over the five-year period between January 2014 and December 2018. The criminal cases this study analyzes represent states’ enforcement of la
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ws that sanction the expression of opinions or actions deemed “blasphemous,” or counter to majority views or religious belief systems. Many such laws impose serious penalties, including prison, forced labor, or death, upon those convicted. Countries throughout the world have and continue to enforce criminal blasphemy laws, often justifying them as necessary to promote intergroup religious harmony. In some states, however, civilians enforce blasphemy prohibitions extrajudicially, committing acts of violence in the name of protecting God, religion, and “the sacred.” Analyzing the ways in which states and private, non-state actors enforce these laws may assist the public policy community in developing clear, tailored recommendations for areas of criminal legal reform, especially in states with vague laws, harsh penalties, and high levels of enforcement. An analysis of criminal blasphemy cases reported in the news and adjudicated in courts identifies the contexts in which blasphemy laws may increase the risk of human rights abuses, through state acts or omissions, indicating the places and ways in which targeted law reform could lower that risk." (Overview, page 5)
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"Direkte Förderung: In Dänemark, Italien, Kanada, Luxemburg, Norwegen und Schweden existiert eine direkte Produktionsförderung für textbasierten Onlinejournalismus, in Finnland zumindest eine für Publikationen in Minderheitensprachen, in Frankreich für Lokalmedien. Eine wirklich konvergente di
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rekte Produktionsförderung (Audio, Video und Text; online und offline) stellt bisher die Ausnahme dar (Schweden und teilweise Kanada). Neben der direkten Förderung des eigentlichen Betriebs von Medien gibt es in fast allen untersuchten Mediensystemen auch eine direkte Projektförderung (für Innovationen und digitale Transformation, Start-ups und/oder journalistische Recherchen). Indirekte Förderung: In allen untersuchten Mediensystemen profitiert die gedruckte und elektronische Presse von einer Mehrwertsteuerreduktion oder -befreiung. Ferner existieren zahlreiche weitere indirekte Fördermassnahmen (bspw. Steuerabzüge, Unterstützung von Aus- und Weiterbildung, Selbstregulierung und/oder Nachrichtenagenturen)." (Executive summary)
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"The Child Online Safety Index (COSI) measures the level of online safety for children across the world based on six pillars: Cyber Risks, Disciplined Digital Use, Digital Competency, Guidance & Education, Social Infrastructure, and Connectivity. Each of these pillars are formed by 2-8 focused areas
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, allowing for a comprehensive assessment of online safety for children. A COSI score was calculated for each country ranging from 0 (the worst online safety for children) to 100 (the best online safety for children)." (https://www.dqinstitute.org)
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"This study identifies and evaluates the quality assessment of radio news in the country. To conduct this research, the researcher first posed the questions and objectives of the research and then, according to the nature of the work, used exploratory and applied research. The researcher consulted w
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ith professors from Al-Beroni and Kabul University to choose the research method and used quantitative method to collect information and qualitative content analysis method to analyze and interpret information. The researcher selected 4 half-hour news programs of Afghanistan, Killid, Azadi and BBC radios from the 6 months of news programs of the mentioned media as a sample population and after analyzing them with remarkable and interesting results acquired. BBC Radio follows all principles and standards of journalism and news reporting in radio, but the writing style of BBC Radio vocabulary is not simple and limited, so it is sometimes difficult for listeners to understand the news events or news programs. On the contrary, Radio Azadi’s writing style and reporting as well as presentation of news program is very simple, and listeners immediately can get the concept of news items. Independent and private radio stations follow development system as well as social responsibility theory of the media, but foreign media have their specific system of covering the events." (Abstract)
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"This report and the associated workbook seeks to contribute to the discourse in three ways. First, we hope to open an extensible documentation and overview of practices, experiences, and resources on the legitimisation of, and resistance to, state-backed internet shutdowns across the world. Second,
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we seek to enable and advance a collective understanding of emerging legal and jurisprudential frameworks being used to legitimise and resist internet shutdowns. Free and open access to such data would help human rights lawyers and civil society advocates to locate relevant jurisprudence and accordingly tailor strategies." (About this report, page 6)
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"How do journalists working for different state-funded international news organizations legitimize their relationship to the governments which support them? In what circumstances might such journalists resist the diplomatic strategies of their funding states?We address these questions through a comp
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arative study of journalists working for international news organizations funded by the Chinese, US, UK and Qatari governments. Using 52 interviews with journalists covering humanitarian issues, we explain how they minimized tensions between their diplomatic role and dominant norms of journalistic autonomy by drawing on three – broadly shared – legitimizing narratives, involving different kinds of boundary-work. In the first ‘exclusionary’ narrative, journalists differentiated their ‘truthful’ news reporting from the ‘false’ state ‘propaganda’ of a common Other, the Russian-funded network, RT. In the second ‘fuzzifying’ narrative, journalists deployed the ambiguous notion of ‘soft power’ as an ambivalent ‘boundary concept’, to defuse conflicts between journalistic and diplomatic agendas. In the final ‘inversion’ narrative, journalists argued that, paradoxically, their dependence on funding states gave them greater ‘operational autonomy’. Even when journalists did resist their funding states, this was hidden or partial, and prompted less by journalists’ concerns about the political effects of their work, than by serious threats to their personal cultural capital." (Abstract)
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"This study analyzes professional ethical perspectives and practices of Central Asian journalists by examining and comparing the four former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. This study uses in-depth interviews with 24 journalists to examine their ethical ideals
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in the profession and how their ethical perspectives impact potential democracy. Its significance lies in revealing the gravity of ethical misbehavior where journalists call ethics a “Western luxury” and where public life was filled with falsehoods." (Abstract)
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"Guided by the Framing Theory, this paper presents the final results of a content analysis performed on a group of news from three cases of environmental popular consultations in Colombia, aiming to find the main generic frames on them to understand how the debate was shaped within the Andean countr
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y during 2017. The context of those consultations was that they took place on the first year without armed confrontation, after the peace agreement was signed, with former FARC guerrilla and when the national debate shifted from the war itself to social justice issues. Results showed that all of the collected stories had, at least, three frames that were mainly human interest, focused on portraying the human side of actors involved; conflict, displaying the disagreement between pro and con sides as well as proclaiming winners and or losers; and attribution of responsibility, putting responsibility on actors and groups involved, and offering solutions such as relying on congress or the highest courts to fill the legal gap. These findings confirm that environmental conflicts constitute a new form of crisis in the post-conflict Colombia." (Abstract)
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"This book explores in detail new protest organisation and mobilisation strategies of young activists in the digital age with the aim to identify the tactics that worked well against those creating high risks in the context of digitally supported protests. Focusing on Egyptian protests as well as pe
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aceful protests in Syria, the book offers rich and unique data as it brings together the experiences and voices of the key figures involved in the protests, both on the ground and online. It challenges perspectives that defined the Arab uprisings as leaderless movements formed through the non-hierarchical communication of digital technologies. The author presents three kinds of leaders that shape the political communication environment in digitally supported protests and highlights the significance of their leadership skills to the movements' capacities." (Publisher description)
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"The bulk of this report is based on data collected by a survey of more than 80,000 people in 40 markets and reflects media usage in January/February just before the coronavirus hit many of these countries. But the key trends that we document here, including changes in how people access news, low tr
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ust, and rising concern about misinformation have been a backdrop against which journalists, editors, politicians, and public health officials have been battling to reach ordinary people with key messages over the last few months.We know that this crisis has substantially increased the amount and frequency of news consumption as well as influenced attitudes to the news media, at least temporarily. We’ve captured this in a second set of polling data collected in April when the crisis was at its peak in some countries. This has helped us to see the impact of the crisis in terms of sources of news and also reminded us of the critical role that the news media play at times of national crisis, including documenting that people who rely on news media are better informed about the virus than those who do not. While many media companies have been enjoying record audience figures, news fatigue is also setting in, and the short-term and long-term economic impact of the crisis is likely to be profound – advertising budgets are slashed and a recession looms, threatening news media, some of whom are struggling with adapting to a changing world. Against this background, this year’s report also focuses on the shift towards paying for online news in many countries across the world, with detailed analysis of progress in three countries (the UK, USA, and Norway). This year, our report carries important data about the extent to which people value and trust local news, perhaps the sector most vulnerable to the economic shocks that will inevitably follow the health crisis itself. And we also explore the way people access news about climate change as well as attitudes to media coverage for the first time." (Foreword)
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"Placed at the crossroads of diverse disciplines – medical sciences, information and communication science, sociology of food, agricultural sciences – this book focuses on media, food and nutrition. Contributors to this volume come from different countries including the United Kingdom, Germany,
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Mexico and Romania, and consider comparatively their native cultures. The book answers several questions: How are food and nutrition made visible and publicized? What is the role of media in relation to food and nutrition? What are the strategies of discourses surrounding food and nutrition within new public spaces?" (Publisher description)
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"Exploring the ways in which language and conflict are intertwined and interrelated, this book examines the changes that have taken place in the public discourse of the Ukraine and Russia since 2014 and the beginning of the 'Ukrainian Crisis.' Through analysis of the narratives constructed by differ
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ent social groups in Ukraine, Language of Conflict shows how discourse can illuminate the competing worldviews and the conflicting positions of the various stakeholders in this conflict. Through critical discourse analysis and multimodality, this book explores the prevalent narratives and the linguistic features of the salient discourses surrounding this conflict. Using Russian- and Ukrainian-language texts from traditional and social media, contributors from Ukraine, Russia and beyond investigate discourses surrounding the most important topics of the crisis: its causes and goals, the sides, and the values and ideologies of the opposing parties. Highlighting the ways in which the stress produced by social discord, economic hardship and violence, is reflected in verbal aggression, slurs, insults and profane language of extraordinary linguistic creativity, Language of Conflict provides insight into the ways people think about, respond to and experience the reality of conflict in their everyday communication." (Publisher description)
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"This book sheds new light on the study of journalism and communication, considering why and how journalism is studied in the 21st century. It notably offers both an international and interdisciplinary comparison of journalism and communication, examining the history of Chinese and Western journalis
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m and addressing the similarities and differences between them. Focusing on the education and training of future journalists, it also provides a comprehensive study of news coverage systems in China and in Western countries, including the processing of news sources, attitudes towards news communication and comparative communication scholarship. Researchers of media and journalism will find this a key read, as well as practicing journalists and students of journalism." (Publisher description)
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"The main aim of the present study is to assess the status quo and the influencing factors of media viability in developing countries and economies in transition. Accordingly, three general research questions have been formulated: 1. Which factors determine the viability of alternative online news m
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edia organizations in developing countries and economies in transition? 2. What are the transnational similarities and differences for media viability of alternative news media organizations? 3. How are financial sustainability, editorial independence, and journalistic quality interrelated in the context of media viability of alternative online news media organizations?" (Page 21)
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"The degree that the public trusts journalists varies widely across 144 countries and territories included in the 2018 Wellcome Global Monitor study. Worldwide, the percentage who express at least some trust in journalists ranges from a low of 12% in Greece to a high of 93% in Uzbekistan. Median glo
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bal trust in journalists stands at 59% — the trust level in the United States. Median trust in journalists is notably similar in democratic and non-democratic countries — at roughly 60%. Yet, attitudes vary significantly within these categories of political systems. Among democratic countries — as designated by 2017 Polity IV democracy rankings — at least four in five respondents in Finland, Myanmar and Norway trust journalists "a lot" or "some," while fewer than one in four do so in Taiwan, Serbia and Greece. In non-democratic countries, roughly nine in 10 adults in Uzbekistan, Tanzania and Rwanda say they trust journalists, but about one in three say the same in Mauritania, Gabon and Yemen. Trust in journalists is also not associated with media freedom as measured by Reporters Without Borders. In fact, the relationship between trust in journalists and media freedom is weak and goes in the opposite direction that may be expected, where greater media freedom is associated with less trust." (www.gallup.com)
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"According to Freedom House’s Freedom in the World data, media freedom has been deteriorating around the world over the past decade, with new forms of repression taking hold in open societies and authoritarian states alike. The trend is most acute in Europe, previously a bastion of well-establishe
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d freedoms, and in Eurasia and the Middle East, where many of the world’s worst dictatorships are concentrated. If democratic powers cease to support media independence at home and impose no consequences for its restriction abroad, the free press corps could be in danger of virtual extinction." (https://freedomhouse.org)
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"Social media allow ordinary people, civic groups, and journalists to reach a vast audience at little or no cost, but they have also provided an extremely useful and inexpensive platform for malign influence operations by foreign and domestic actors alike. Political leaders employed individuals to s
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urreptitiously shape online opinions in 38 of the 65 countries covered in this report—a new high. In many countries, the rise of populism and far-right extremism has coincided with the growth of hyperpartisan online mobs that include both authentic users and fraudulent or automated accounts. They build large audiences around similar interests, lace their political messaging with false or inflammatory content, and coordinate its dissemination across multiple platforms. Cross-border influence operations, which first drew widespread attention as a result of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential contest, are also an increasingly common problem. Authorities in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and a growing list of other countries have expanded their efforts to manipulate the online environment and influence foreign political outcomes over the past year." (Page 1)
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