"The media's coverage of religion is an important question, given the central role which news media play in ensuring that people are up-to-date with religion news developments. The book examines it in different countries. After an introductory section looking at trends in religion news in print, on-
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line journalism, and as a subject of foreign news, the book surveys religion reporting in five key countries: USA, Russia, India, China, & Nigeria. The book then looks at media events through the cases of the election of Pope Francis, and the death of rabbis. The book addresses the question of the influence of religion reporting in politics; the impact of religion reporting upon religious identity; and the role of social media - through looking at case studies in France, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Israel." (Publisher description)
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"The Arab world was taken by surprise when mass protests erupted in Tunisia in December 2010, followed by mass protests in Egypt in January 2011. Much optimism was expressed towards a new era for journalism freedom in the Arab world, in Egypt specifically with the fall of Hosni Mubarak and the long
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reign of his authoritarian regime. The influx of private media, mainly TV channels, following his demise was remarkable. Seven years on from the Egyptian revolt, the state of journalism in Egypt has transferred from a state of hope to one of despair." (Abstract)
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"The four countries concerned in this publication – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya - each have a complex set of challenges - and opportunities - in relation to the advancement of free and independent media. Yet, they share several trends and certainly the tensions between laws pertaining to f
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reedom of expression, political actors and the judiciary practice. Four legal experts have taken up the challenge to briefly introduce in this study both the legal frameworks and the tension points, and to formulate key recommendations to address the deficiencies in law or practice. These recommendations are a means by which non-governmental organisations and rights defenders can pursue their critical advocacy work." (Preface)
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"Roots of the New Arab Film deals with the generation of filmmakers from across North Africa and the Middle East who created an international awareness of Arab film from the mid-1980s onwards. These seminal filmmakers experienced the moment of national independence first-hand in their youth and reta
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ined a deep attachment to their homeland. Although these aspiring filmmakers had to seek their training abroad, they witnessed a time of filmic revival in Europe - Fellini and Antonioni in Italy, the French New Wave, and British Free Cinema. Returning home, these filmmakers brought a unique insider/outsider perspective to bear on local developments in society since independence, including the divide between urban and rural communities, the continuing power of traditional values and the status of women in a changing society. As they made their first films back home, the feelings of participation in a worldwide movement of new, independent filmmaking was palpable." (Publisher description)
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"In this moment of unprecedented humanitarian crises, the representations of global disasters are increasingly common media themes around the world. The Routledge Companion to Media and Humanitarian Action explores the interconnections between media, old and new, and the humanitarian challenges that
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have come to define the twenty-first century. Contributors, including media professionals and experts in humanitarian affairs, grapple with what kinds of media language, discourse, terms, and campaigns can offer enough context and background knowledge to nurture informed global citizens. Case studies of media practices, content analysis and evaluation of media coverage, and representations of humanitarian emergencies and affairs offer further insight into the ways in which strategic communications are designed and implemented in field of humanitarian action." (Publisher description)
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"Publics around the world overwhelmingly agree that the news media should be unbiased in their coverage of political issues, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 38 countries. Yet, when asked how their news media are doing on reporting different political issues fairly, people are far mo
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re mixed in their sentiments, with many saying their media do not deliver. And, in many countries, there are sharp political differences in views of the media – with the largest gap among Americans. To build off Pew Research Center’s earlier findings about U.S. news media habits and attitudes, this new cross-national survey begins to study these dynamics globally. The survey finds that a median of 75% across 38 countries say it is never acceptable for a news organization to favor one political party over others when reporting the news. Just 20% say this is sometimes okay. People in Europe show the greatest opposition to political bias in their news." (Page 3)
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"This chapter sought to analyze the portrayals of Sinai people in the Egyptian media as it pertains to the people themselves. It started by giving the reader an overview of the current Sinai’s social, security, and economic status quo and structures. Then, it examined how image building could be o
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r not an essential tool for political control over Sinai; before moving into how and why specific people’s images are constructed and deconstructed by the mass media and how this is affecting and affected by the different and multiple aspects of development. While many Arabic and Western studies tackled the Sinai Peninsula issues, yet almost no single research focused on the people themselves: How they perceive their own identity?! How they evaluate their image in other Egyptian’s eyes?! And how they judge what is being presented to them via Egyptian media?! A quick glance at the development measures that could boost the integration of Sinai’s people into the formal Egyptian economy and provide alternatives to smuggling, we would easily realize that “the poor state of Egypt’s public finances and the myriad challenges facing the country as a whole could mean that the needs of the Sinai may continue to be neglected despite the promise to invest” (Watanabe 2015). Bright promises only follow almost every terroristic attack and then fade out. Although the officials quickly introduce many symbols and discourses of unity to the people there, quick observations more quickly show that the development of a sense of belonging at their popular level is slow." (Conclusion)
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"Very few international news organisations routinely cover humanitarian affairs. Only 12 news outlets reported on all four of the humanitarian events we analysed in 2016. Because of the high costs of producing regular, original journalism on humanitarian issues, commercial news organisations do not
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usually cover humanitarian issues, with the exception of major ‘emergencies’. Most humanitarian journalism is now funded by states or private foundations. This is worrying because claiming that particular actors or activities are ‘humanitarian’ is a powerful form of legitimacy. It is important that media about the suffering does not become a vehicle for commercial or political interests. A major challenge of foundation funding is its unsustainable nature, as most foundations want to provide start-up money, rather than giving ongoing support. Meanwhile government funding can constrain where and how humanitarian reporting takes place because of foreign policy objectives and diplomatic tensions." (Executive summary)
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"The Gender Sensitive Public Communications Project was implemented by Search for Common Ground in Lebanon, together with its local partner Abaad, with an aim to promote women’s participation in politics through the production of gender sensitive television drama and short films. Specifically, the
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project was designed to increase the belief of television audiences in women’s political leadership capacity and to strengthen the capacity of television professionals to produce gender sensitive programs [...] A total of 416.033 viewers have watched two mini series that were aired on the Lebanese TV channel Al Jadeed. With an average minute rating of 5.35%, the performance of the project’s mini series is considered medium as compared to other popular TV series broadcasted on Al Jadeed. Close to 97% of the surveyed participants who have watched the two mini series and/or the four short films, stated that they felt the stories addressed real concerns and issues in the Lebanese society, and that the storylines were realistic. The evaluation findings suggest that the workshops conducted with the students were successful in strengthening the participants’ capacities to produce gender sensitive programs with an aim to promote the participation of women in politics. The workshops were able to increase their knowledge on specific topics, such as gender related legal matters, mapping of ideas and gender sensitive writing. More than half of the students who participated in the workshop, and who were interviewed during the evaluation, confirmed having gained knowledge on gender related topics, and all students who took part in the online survey answered that the workshop had increased their knowledge on producing gender sensitive programs “a lot." (Executive summary, page 5-6)
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"Dans ces quatre pays africains (Bénin, Kenya, Sénégal, Tunisie) où l’étude a été réalisée, il apparaît qu’à l’origine des civic tech se trouvent le plus souvent des citoyens et des citoyennes engagés, désireux de traduire leur frustration, et parfois leur colère, devant le déca
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lage observé entre l’affirmation officielle de principes démocratiques et une réalité de terrain assez éloignée des discours. Pour la grande majorité d’entre eux, les initiateurs de ces actions ont suivi des parcours universitaires exigeants et connu des expériences à l’étranger. Les hommes sont très largement majoritaires, à l’exception du Kenya où les femmes sont presque aussi nombreuses que les hommes. Elles considèrent toutefois qu’elles ne se trouvent pas sur un pied d’égalité, notamment lorsqu’il s’agit pour elles de prendre la parole publiquement ou de se lancer dans l’entrepreneuriat. Les difficultés d’une mobilisation à grande échelle Les jeunes adultes (20-25 ans) qui s’investissent dans les civic tech s’engagent généralement pour exprimer une forme d’irritation face aux dérives liées à la corruption ou au manque de prise en compte de l’avis des citoyens dans les décisions politiques. De l’avis général des « doyens » (activistes des civic tech ayant plus de 6 ou 7 ans d’expérience) que nous avons interrogés, la jeune génération est très prometteuse, car mieux formée sur les nouvelles technologies et très mobilisée sur les objectifs de bonne gouvernance et de participation citoyenne. En termes d’audience et de développement, l’étude montre que, dans les quatre pays concernés, les acteurs des civic tech rencontrent le plus souvent des difficultés à mobiliser de larges communautés de citoyens. Ils peinent à faire entendre leur message dans des pays où l’illettrisme au sens littéral et au sens numérique sont importants. Il en résulte des actions qui mobilisent essentiellement un petit nombre de citoyens, à la fois très engagés et très motivés. En général, le système d’organisation des initiatives civic tech varie selon les projets : le degré de structuration est plus ou moins formel et dépend surtout de l’ancienneté des initiatives, de l’ampleur des financements collectés et, in fine, du nombre de participants actifs impliqués à temps plein. Lorsqu’une forme de professionnalisation de l’action est évoquée, beaucoup de nos interlocuteurs mentionnent la difficulté à recruter et à fidéliser des profils combinant sensibilité aux questions de redevabilité et de transparence, savoir-faire en matière de gestion de projet, capacités technologiques et maîtrise des techniques de communication, notamment sur les réseaux sociaux." (Résumé analytique)
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"Le présent ouvrage s'intéresse à la socio-économie de l'audiovisuel au Maroc. Il dresse un panorama des différents questionnements qui concernent le secteur de l'audiovisuel, ses acteurs institutionnels et économiques, ainsi que la dynamique qui les anime. De précieux renseignements y sont f
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ournis sur des sujets divers affectant le quotidien des Marocains: les modes de financement de l'audiovisuel; l'impact de la couverture publicitaire; la diffusion en TNT; la convergence technologique et l'innovation; les spécificités des usages du mois de Ramadan pour l'économie audiovisuelle; le rôle de l'État et de la libéralisation; la promotion de la citoyenneté et de la diversité culturelle amazigh; les réseaux sociaux et les nouveaux outils de développement du secteur audiovisuel marocain. Autant de questions auxquelles l'auteur apporte les réponses les plus appropriées." (Description de la maison d'édition)
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"The Middle East media landscape provides Russian state with unique opportunities. A region with strong state-controlled media, weak independent outlets, and a burgeoning reliance on social media—along with a historical suspicion of Western news sources—has created useful openings that the Kreml
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in exploits to advance its agenda. Russia presents its own media as a better alternative to other Arabic-language networks, and it has a more receptive audience in the region than in the West. Today, the RT Arabic and Sputnik Arabic websites are the two most visible outlets of Moscow’s propaganda influence. Analysis of these sites shows both continuity with the Kremlin’s traditional propaganda goals and adaptation of tried-and-true methods to advance them. These outlets cultivate an image of Moscow as a great power in the Middle East and focus heavily on social media. Unsurprisingly, they also advance a divisive, conspiratorial, anti-Western ideology. Deeper investigation, however, reveals a more nuanced approach aimed at building credibility with Arab audiences through coverage of human interest and domestic issues—especially in Egypt—and through efforts to develop relationships with other local and regional media. As this Kremlin-funded information operation gains local traction and viewers, it increasingly poses a challenge to U.S. interests in the Middle East." (Page 2)
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"Social media are increasingly popular channels of information on which migrants base their decisions on whether to migrate and the destinations where to settle. While social media offer a relatively cheap, easily accessible, and media-rich means of communication, their use is not without challenges
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for asylum migrants. Various studies describe issues with access and evaluation of the truthfulness of available information for this specific group of migrants. This article discusses social media use by asylum migrants prior to and during migration. This study is based on in-depth interviews with 54 Syrian asylum migrants who recently obtained refugee status in the Netherlands. Syrians were the largest group of migrants applying for asylum in European Union (EU) member states in 2015 and 2016. The findings show that the majority of Syrian asylum migrants have access to social media information before and during migration, often through the use of smartphones. Besides uneven access to technologies, fear of government surveillance restricts the smartphone use of asylum migrants. The results of this study indicate that Syrian asylum migrants prefer social media information that originates from existing social ties and information that is based on personal experiences. Generally, this information is considered more trustworthy. Asylum migrants use various strategies to validate rumors that are present on social media and come from unknown sources. These strategies include checking the source of information, validating information with trusted social ties, triangulation of online sources, and comparing information with their own experience." (Abstract)
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"This article presents findings from investigations of acclaimed gender employment changes in Israeli journalism, focusing on two main questions: Is the feminisation process of Israeli journalism continuing? Is it improving women’s employment and occupational status? Data were gathered from two in
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ternational surveys that included Israel. The study found that while women are integrated in a variety of news areas, such as news presentation, and play a significant role in management, their roles and salaries are unequal to men. These findings shed light on gender (in)equality and identify some of the mechanisms that exclude Israeli women from the labour market." (Abstract)
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"The imprisonment of Al Jazeera English (AJE) journalists (Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed) in Egypt between 2013 and 2015 highlighted the safety of journalists in conflict zones. Building on other studies (Baker, 2014; 2016), this is the third paper in a longitudinal study analysing t
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he reportage of the AJE case by its own network, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Examining a total of 59 articles from the broadcasters from October 1, 2015 (a week after the AJE journalists' final release from jail), to September 30, 2018 (three years after Fahmy and Mohamed's release), this paper investigates whether safety was discussed in post-case reportage. Similar to previous studies' conceptual framework of normative media theories of the press (Siebert, Peterson and Schramm, 1956; Curran, 2002) and peace and developmental journalism (Carpentier, cited in Cammaerts and Carpentier, 2007), it highlights that the broadcasters' post reportage about the AJE case did not analyse issues related to the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) safety of journalists' agenda to address issues related to impunity (Poyhtari and Berger). This article argues that raising awareness about safety issues in reportage, and in journalism training in the industry and the academy, is one step towards addressing impunity against journalists in conflict zones." (Abstract)
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"The results of the questionnaire showed that most Palestinian organizations do think about and deal with media work in general. Since ninety-three percent of the organizations surveyed were already dealing with media, while 58% employed at least one person in a specialist position. Only 32% had a s
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pecialized department dedicated to media work. In terms of a specific strategic approach to media, 61% of the organizations who took part in the questionnaire had a strategic plan for dealing with media; 51% had an annual work plan. However, only 42% stated that they allocated an annual budget for media. In other words, they used funds which are not deducted from project grants. Turning to social media usage, we found that 70% of the organizations tried to finance content through their networks at least once, whereas fifty-four percent of the organizations launched digital awareness campaigns on social media platforms; forty-nine percent of these digital campaigns were part of a media plan. Looking at the prevalence of social media platforms and how they are most widely used, we found that all organizations, even the ones with no website, usually had a Facebook account. In fact, 100% of the organizations surveyed had a Facebook account, hence this was not subject to testing in relation to the other influencing factors. YouTube followed with 75% of the organizations having an account. Fifty-one percent of the organizations had a Twitter account, while 27% had an Instagram account and 18% had a LinkedIn account. Two of the organizations used Soundcloud and two others used Flickr. Vimeo and Google+ were only used by a single organization for each one." (Results and conclsions, page 56-7)
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"This Is Not an Atlas gathers more than 40 counter-cartographies from all over the world. This collection shows how maps are created and transformed as a part of political struggle, for critical research or in art and education: from indigenous territories in the Amazon to the anti-eviction movement
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in San Francisco; from defending commons in Mexico to mapping refugee camps with balloons in Lebanon; from slums in Nairobi to squats in Berlin; from supporting communities in the Philippines to reporting sexual harassment in Cairo. This Is Not an Atlas seeks to inspire, to document the underrepresented, and to be a useful companion when becoming a counter-cartographer yourself." (Publisher description)
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"This book explores the complex and contradictory relationships between communication and information technologies and social movements by drawing on different case studies from around the world. The contributions analyse how new communication and information technologies impact the way protests are
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carried out and controlled in the current information age. The authors focus on recent events that date from the Arab Spring onwards and pose questions regarding the future of protests, surveillance and digital landscapes." (Publisher description)
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