"Das Buch konzentriert sich auf den Aspekt des möglichen Einsatzes von Blogs zur Schaffung einer Gegenöffentlichkeit. Dazu werden englischsprachige, ägyptische Blogs untersucht, die während der Revolte gegen das Mubarak-Regime erstellt wurden. Zentral ist dabei die Frage, ob und wie ägyptische
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Blogger versuchen, mithilfe ihrer Blogs Nachrichten und Positionen zu vermitteln, die in der staatlich autorisierten Medienberichterstattung während des Mubarak-Regimes unterdrückt wurden. Dazu werden ausgewählte Blog-Einträge mittels einer Dokumentenanalyse daraufhin untersucht, ob mit ihnen erkennbar eine Gegenöffentlichkeit konstituiert werden soll und wie dies gegebenenfalls geschieht." (Klappentext)
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"This article examines the depiction of women and gender within Coptic Orthodox video films or “hagiopics” produced between 1987 and 2010. As part of a recent religious renewal, hagiopics have expanded, altered, and reinvented traditional stories of saints and pious figures and have also generat
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ed, within this traditionally patriarchal setting, a wider space for the articulation of female voices. While their inclusion can be seen as potentially empowering for women, this paper suggests that during Pope Shenouda III's reign (1971–2012), the films became a powerful vehicle for broadcasting the church's conservative teachings on female power and authority, marriage and marital dissolution, spousal abuse, and femininity. By highlighting an array of exemplary female characters, hagiopics capture women's role as custodians of a distinctive Coptic ethos and of family and communal cohesiveness. The films’ emphasis on women's physical modesty, submissiveness, and obedience to male figureheads also hints at the modern church's anxieties about women's increasing autonomy in choosing marriage partners and their growing demands for more equal treatment within the church." (Abstract)
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"This article explores the emergence of a new landscape of local print and broadcast media in revolutionary Libya that is both the result of the dramatic changes that the country has undergone and one of their facilitators. This article analyses the political impact of these new forms of media durin
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g and after the 2011 Libyan uprisings, with an emphasis on how the role and the self-image of journalists and media producers has evolved alongside with Libya’s political transformation. It is demonstrated that the new Libyan media began their life as ‘partisan advocates’ and that different societal currents are now struggling to set the new role of media. It concludes with an analysis of the newly implemented legal framework and institutions which govern the Libyan media. It remains unclear if recent legislation will protect independent media from the authorities or, conversely, allow the state to exert censorship and consolidate its ownership over the media. This article analyses the various approaches to media jurisdiction prevalent in post-Qadhafi Libya as reflecting various degrees of state intervention. This discussion reflects the inherent contradictions of a society which, with very little preparation, has had to manage the change from conditions of absolute governmental control to conditions of relative anarchy." (Abstract)
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"News Media in the Arab World: A Study of 10 Arab and Muslim Countries is based on ongoing research at the Department of Media and Communication, University of Leicester, and has investigated the rapidly changing nature of the news media in Arab countries. They have investigated the role of newspape
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rs and television in news provision and the impact of new media developments, most especially the emergence of the internet as a platform for news distribution and of international satellite television channels such as Al Jazeera. Examining the constantly developing nature of news, the collection contains separately authored chapters produced by the researchers responsible for each original analysis, covering Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates." (Publisher description)
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"By delving into the detailed account of the Tunisian uprising, this article offers an explanation that sets the 2010 uprising apart from its precursors. The 2010 uprising was successful because activists successfully managed to bridge geographical and class divides as well as to converge offline an
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d online activisms. Such connection and convergence were made possible, first, through the availability of dramatic visual evidence that turned a local incident into a spectacle. Second, by successful frame alignment with a master narrative that culturally and politically resonated with the entire population. Third, by activating a hybrid network made of the connective structures to facilitate collective action – among Tunisians who shared collective identities and collective frames – and connective action – among individuals who sought more personalized paths to contribute to the movement through digital media." (Abstract)
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"In assessing attitudes toward the media, one notable finding was a vote of confidence for improved quality of news media reporting between 2011 and 2013 with a majority of adults agreeing that it has improved in six of the eight countries surveyed. This optimism is also reflected in overall percept
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ions of media credibility in such countries as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE, while less so in more volatile states including Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia. Internet use is strongest in the Gulf countries—UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and lowest in the most populous Arab country, Egypt, which appears in question after question to be a media-poor country in spite of its large population. Only in Qatar is the internet regarded as a more important source of news than is television. In all countries respondents are multi-media users, of course. In the midst of great enthusiasm for the internet, the importance of satellite television, notably Al Jazeera, is the most popular source for news and public affairs across the region. While its popularity varies by country depending on local sources of news and other factors, Al Jazeera was mentioned by respondents in every country surveyed as a top source of news. At the same time, social networking is nearly universal among those online and no other social media site comes close to Facebook in popularity. Twitter and Google+ also get high marks in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE. Although critics once complained “that the internet only speaks English,” Arabic language use exceeded that of English across the region on most media platforms." (Introduction, page 8)
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"This study demonstrates that critical discourse analysis can be used to quickly discern the identity of a political actor and make accurate predictions about that actor’s intentions and goals, even in the context of a revolution. This study’s authors used critical discourse analysis to empirica
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lly assess the identity of the Libyan Youth Movement using 45 images posted on the group’s Facebook page during the opening weeks of the Libyan revolution of 2011. The authors uncovered multiple discourses which permitted the positing of a group identity as well as predictions of the group’s goal and intentions. The findings are significant in that they provide new evidence to support the practical utility of discourse analytic approaches in contemporary communications and political science research." (Abstract)
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"Libyan media’s deficiencies are vast and cover all facets of production. For one, the media industry’s decades-long isolation from the Arab and international markets poses a particular challenge to its reconstruction by comparison to the transitional media industries in Egypt and Tunisia. Media
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reform in Libya therefore requires tailor-made solutions that can address the specific needs of the national mainstream industry. While most training available to media staff with little professional experience focusses on basic media practices, it is crucial that these courses provide programmes that are targeting media practitioners of different media platforms (print, magazine, television and radio) as well as different levels of media professionalism (junior reporters as well as senior managers). This process should be based on a deeper understanding of the needs and challenges facing the media industry. It is a must that these programmes target institutions and contribute to their development towards professionalism. In doing so, international and regional agents working in media development should base their operations on a deep understanding of the media industry, its needs and its challenges—a matter that necessitates direct connections with this industry. It is clear that most of the training programmes had targeted citizen journalists recruiting trainees through local centres. They must now focus on media institutions and therefore target their staff with specific training programmes." (Conclusion, page 68)
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"According to the Danida website "The Danish Arab Partnership Programme (DAPP) is a long-term programme with the dual objectives of 1) supporting local reform processes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region) and 2) Establishing a basis for improved dialogue, understanding and cooperation
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between Arab countries and Denmark. Media support has been the biggest programme under the DAPP with a total of 178 million DKK (approx. Euro 24 Mio) being allocated to these activities during the period 2005-2012. The evaluation applies OECD/DAC’s five criteria: relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, (emerging) impacts, and sustainability to answer the overall evaluation questions, including whether and how the media cooperation activities have contributed to media reform in the Arab countries and to enhanced dialogue between professional media partners in Arab countries and in Denmark. Other key questions include the extent to which DAPP and MCP programmes and projects have been able to adjust and respond to the dynamic changes in the region and which lessons can be learned for future media cooperation and professionalization of the media in the MENA region". The overall study frame included 20 different regional and country programmes. Five countries were assessed: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and Tunisia. The intervention areas sampled for assessments were: investigative journalism, media monitoring, legal reform, online media, public service broadcasting (PSB), documentary filmmaking and twinnings." (commbox)
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"This report examines whether and how furthering Internet freedom can empower civil society vis-à-vis public officials, make the government more accountable to its citizens, and integrate citizens into the policymaking process. Using case studies of events in 2011 in Egypt, Syria, China, and Russia
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, researchers focus on the impact of Internet freedom on freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and the right to cast a meaningful vote, all of which are the key pillars of political space. Researchers analyze the mechanisms by which Internet freedom can enhance the opportunities to enjoy these freedoms, how different political contexts can alter the opportunities for online mobilization, and how, subsequently, online activism can grow out into offline mobilization leading to visible policy changes. To provide historical context, researchers also draw parallels between the effects of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty programs in the Soviet Union during the Cold War and the ongoing efforts to expand Internet freedom for all. The report concludes by discussing implications for the design of Internet freedom programs and other measures to protect “freedom to connect." (Back cover)
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"Research on new media has always highlighted the assumption that in authoritarian contexts, communication technologies provide political activists with ampler space than available in the heavily policed physical world. However, social and political changes taking place throughout Egypt and the Arab
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region reflect a shift. In a country like Egypt, where only around 30 % of the population have internet access, the vibrant digital media scene is relocating itself once more in public spaces. Digital initiatives, such as Askar Kadhibun (Lying generals) and Musirrin (Steadfast), are transforming online media material into older (pre-modern) modes of traditional media, such as graffiti and traveling street performances. This constitutes a shift towards the ascendancy of popular cultural production, and a challenge to the reification and sacrilization of digital media in a context where poverty and illiteracy play a major role in both the dissemination of information and in political mobilization." (Abstract)
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"The current UIS Questionnaire on Media Statistics provides information for three UNESCO frameworks, namely the Media and Information Literacy Framework, the Media Development Indicators Framework and the Framework for Cultural Statistics. The questionnaire collects data for reporting global progres
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s on Action Lines C2, C3, C8 and C9 of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in UNESCO’s fields of competencies. In particular, Action Line C9 recommends appropriate policies to foster and sustain media and information development. This document provides country profiles for each of the countries that participated in the two pilot surveys conducted in 2011 and 2012." (Background, page 3)
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"This article investigates the 'discursive notion' of communication technology, as embedded in the discussion of mediatization. Instead of focusing on the technical structure of media and its impact on society, I will alternatively turn my attention to its symbolic dimension. I will look beyond the
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surface of the symbolic, by questioning how this dimension has been discursively created. As such, I suggest using the term 'discursive notion', as discourse also refers to power relations. The analysis of the discursive notion relating to the internet in Morocco is developed through the critical approach of postcolonial theory. This is done with the aim of dissecting the construction of colonial discourse, and in order to show how specific power relations continue to function to present." (Abstract)
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