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Media Environment and Safety of Journalists During the Crisis in Georgia: Threats and Supportive Instruments

Mariam Gersamia, Maia Toradze

Environment and Society, volume 5, issue 5 (2022), 1 pp.

"Viable, free media is a crucial component of democratic progress in Georgia. Thirty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and gaining independence, the safety of journalists while carrying out professional duties continues to be one of the critical indicators of progress in the country's med ... ia democracy. This research was triggered by the actualization of the acute and, in some ways, spontaneous media threat that arose during the pre-election period. More specifically, on July 5, 2021, two months before Georgia's local self-government municipal elections, media workers fell victim to a premeditated attack by pro-Russian radical groups during the coverage of demonstrations. As a result, 52 journalists from more than ten media outlets, camera operators, and photographers were assaulted. A TV Pirveli cameraman, Lekso Lashkarava, died a few days later due to severe injuries received during the demonstration. The research aims to distinguish the traits prevalent in the media environment during times of crisis and, even more specifically, during the pre-and post-election periods (particularly during the 2021 local government elections in Georgia). The research also responds to how political polarization and crises affect media and the macro and micro threats they reveal. The study identifies these media threats and assesses the reality of the media environment as seen through journalists' eyes. The research covers topics recommended by UNESCO (Towards a Research agenda on the safety of journalists) and examines seven of those ten recommended issues. A mixed research methodology was chosen for research design, more specifically, a sequential explanatory design. The research was conducted in two phases: the first phase involved the accumulation of quantitative data (through an online survey of 183 respondents from 56 media sources) and analysis, followed which the second phase involved qualitative research (3 focus group discussions). The research answers the questions as follows: How safe do media workers feel when performing their professional duties? What kind of threats have emerged during the 2021 pre-election media environment, and what are the expectations? What are some of the support mechanisms for improving the media environment, and what needs to be done to create a safer environment for media workers? Macro (4) and micro (6) media threats were identified during the research process. They are analyzed in sub-chapters in greater detail. These threats are interconnected and have their structure and aims. Media threats, which emerged during the discussion, contribute to self-censorship and escalation of fear, media credibility, reduction of support, and destabilizing media institutional viability. Political polarization and polarization between media organizations were identified as major macro media threats. Micro threats that were identified as a result of polarization are: Stigmatization of journalists and media (labeling them as biased towards certain political parties) and attempted smear campaigns; They are disrupting the execution of journalist duties. Among such actions are creating obstacles to providing a balanced narrative and bringing a quality media product to the public, primarily reflected in a premeditated restriction to sources and surveillance to disrupt the work process. One macro threat that emerged from the online survey and focus-group analysis was the incitement of physical and verbal violence towards journalists (this includes hate speech and the use of aggressive rhetoric by the state). These media threats reinforce self-censorship and fear, destabilize media institutions' viability and negatively affect the demonstration of solidarity and support toward media. One identified macro-threats towards journalists was the lack of investigation of crimes committed against journalists and impunity as an encouraging factor. Additionally, we could consider the malign nature of the Russian propaganda and malign influence in general as an additional factor, which serves as a leitmotif for the entire discussion on another macro threat. As a result of this study, recommendations have been put forward for various stakeholders. Implementing these recommendations will help create a supportive media environment, encourage solidarity, and improve coordination between different stakeholders during and after crises. Research conducted is by the Media and Communication Educational and Research Center (Georgia) with support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s South Caucasus Office and the Federal Republic of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office." (Abstract) more

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Policy Brief: Nine Steps to Protect Our Data and Privacy in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s Personal Data Protection Bill, 2021

Jade Lyngdoh, Raman Jit Singh Chima, Namrata Maheshwari

Access Now (2022), 10 pp.

"This policy brief is an Access Now publication. It gives context about the Personal Data Protection Bill in the Parliament of Sri Lank, states the key areas of concerns in the present bill, and proposes nine (9) recommendations." (commbox)

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Covid-19 in International Media: Global Pandemic Perspectives

John C. Pollock, Douglas A. Vakoch (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2022), xxxi, 267 pp.

"The book evaluates unique civic challenges, responsibilities, and opportunities for media worldwide, exploring pandemic social norms that media promote or discourage, and how media serve as instruments of social control and resistance, or of cooperation and representation. These chapters raise sign ... more

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Why Aren’t Women Part of the Conversation? A Study of the Gender Gap in Social Media Use in India, its Causes and the Implications for Women’s Empowerment
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Aayush Rathi, Ambika Tandon, Arjun Khanna, Sara Chamberlain

BBC Media Action (2022), 12 pp.

"This report summarises learnings from BBC Media Action’s landscaping study of the gendered dimensions of social media access and use in India. It addresses 10 questions that have implications for designing digital solutions for women’s empowerment in India." (Page 2)

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Fixing Stories: Local Newsmaking and International Media in Turkey and Syria

Noah Amir Arjomand

Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press (2022), xv, 355 pp.

"News 'fixers' are translators and guides who assist foreign journalists. Sometimes key contributors to bold, original reporting and other times key facilitators of homogeneity and groupthink in the news media, they play the difficult but powerful role of broker between worlds, shaping the creation ... more

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Social and Behaviour Change Strategy. Volume I: Policy & Strategic Approach

Adrita Bagchi

New Delhi: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (2022), 127 pp.

"The Government of Madhya Pradesh is committed to ensure the overall development of all its residents, especially women and children. The Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) works to sustainably improve health and nutrition outcomes for women of reproductive age and children below 6 yea ... rs, enable holistic development and protection of children and ensure safety, equity and empowerment of women. The department implements the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme for improving maternal and infant nutrition and health. It also implements the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) and various other schemes and programmes for health, gender equality and women empowerment. Over the years, a lot of progress has been made. However, there are still a few indicators that are not doing well as expected. Census 2011, National Family Health Survey – 4 (2015-16) and NFHS-5 (2019-21) have found that low sex ratio, lack of women empowerment, experiencing gender-based violence, substance abuse, low female literacy, child marriage and small landholdings are some of the determinants of poor health and empowerment of women and children. Individual and community behaviours, attitudes, social norms and practices are some of the reasons for such indicators. To bring about an improvement in these indicators and positively transform the status of women and children in Madhya Pradesh, a comprehensive state-specific social and behaviour change (SBC) strategy has been developed for DWCD. This strategy is supported by the recommendations provided in the department’s other policies. The state’s Nutrition Policy (2020-30) emphasizes on the importance of designing SBCC plans in local dialects for its acceptability and greater involvement of the community. The centre’s Poshan Abhiyan which DWCD follows stresses on community mobilisation and behaviour change, highlighting the need to take-up sustained efforts requiring multi-pronged approach and bring grass-root synergy and convergence. The state’s Child Protection Policy (2020) also highlights the need to build awareness and stakeholder capacities to strengthen implementation and the enabling environment to ensure child well-being and protection. This document details the SBC strategy which includes thematic area-wise priority and desired behaviours that should be practised by the target groups for improved indicators, barriers and enablers to its adoption, key messages to be communicated and strategic approach and interventions that will facilitate positive change." (Introduction) more

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The Routledge Companion to Digital Media and Children

Lelia Green, Donell Holloway, Kylie Stevenson, Tama Leaver, Leslie Haddon (eds.)

New York; London: Routledge (2021), xxv, 603 pp.

"This collection investigates and critiques the dynamism of children's lives online with contributions fielding both global and hyper-local issues, and bridging the wide spectrum of connected media created for and by children. From education to children's rights to cyberbullying and youth in challen ... more

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Afghanistan Media Landscape: Key Results

London: BBC Media Action (2021), 1 p.

"TV is the most popular media platform. Majority of TV viewers and radio listeners watch and listen to those media weekly. Urban, educated and younger people watch TV more than rural, less educated and older people. Men listen to radio and use internet more than women [...] A nationally representati ... more

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No Space for Dissent: Bangladesh's Crackdown on Freedom of Expression Online

London: Amnesty International (2021), 21 pp.

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Investigative Journalism

Hugo de Burgh, Paul Lashmar (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge, 3rd ed. (2021), xvi, 299 pp.

"This 3rd edition maps the new world of Investigative Journalism, where technology and globalisation have connected and energized journalists, whistle-blowers and the latest players, with far-reaching consequences in politics and business worldwide. In this new edition, expert contributors demonstra ... more

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Ten Lessons Learnt: Scaling and Transitioning One of the Largest Mobile Health Communication Programmes in the World to a National Government

Sara Chamberlain, Priyanka Dutt, Anna Godfrey, Radharani Mitra, Amnesty Elizabeth LeFevre et al.

BMJ Global Health, volume 6, issue e005341 (2021), 6 pp.

"There has been exponential growth in the numbers of ‘digital development’ programmes seeking to leverage technology to solve systemic challenges. However, despite promising results and a shift from pilots to scale-ups, many have failed to realise their full potential. This paper reflects on les ... more

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Medium-Specific Threats for Journalists: Examples from Philippines, Afghanistan and Venezuela

Saumava Mitra, Marte Høiby, Mariateresa Garrido

Journalism Practice, volume 5, issue 1 (2021), pp. 80-98

"Between 2012 and 2016, UNESCO registered 530 deaths of journalists. They also published a statistic showing that television journalists were the most killed, followed by print media, radio and online journalists. Hinted in this statistics is the need to understand the relationship between the mediu ... more

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Televising Religion in India

Manoj Kumar Das

London; New York: Routledge (2021), xviii, 235 pp.

"This book explores how religion manifests itself in television. It focuses on how religious traditions, practices, and discourses have been incorporated into non-religious television programmes and how they bring both the community and the media into the fold of religion. The volume traces the cult ... more

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The Pen Vs the AK-47: The Future of Afghan Media Under the Taliban

Samiullah Mahdi

Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy (2021)

"Written just prior to the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan, this new report from Shorenstein Center Fellow Samiullah Mahdi provides an overview of the media landscape in Afghanistan, and the threats to and opportunities for press freedom in the region." (Introduction)

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How Does the Political Enter the Newsroom? The Representation of the Kurdish ‘Other’ in Turkish Journalism

Ozan Asik

Journalism, volume 23, issue 11 (2021), pp. 2434-2451

"In this article, I examine how journalists working for the Turkish national mainstream televisual media represent Kurds – a significant national ‘Other’ of Turkish society – in the process of news production. My research is based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews conducted between 20 ... more

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“Fake News”, Religion, and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh

Rubal Kanozia, Ritu Arya

Media Asia, volume 48, issue 4 (2021), pp. 313-321

"Salali and Uysal (2020) found in their study that vaccine acceptance significantly increased when people believe in the natural origin of the virus. Therefore, mis/disinformation and conspiracy theories about how the virus started need to be debunked, especially in countries having high vaccine hes ... more

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Increasing Women’s Digital Literacy in India: What Works

Alexandra Tyers, Catherine Highet, Sara Chamberlain, Arjun Khanna

London: BBC Media Action (2021), 12 pp.

"The results of this review clarify that increasing women’s digital literacy depends not just on digital skills training, but on increasing their digital access and use. This is not a simple, linear process, and not just a case of distributing devices and data plans to women. There are several con ... more

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Media Environment and Safety of Journalists During the Crisis in Georgia: Threats and Supportive Instruments

Policy Brief: Nine Steps to Protect Our Data and Privacy in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s Personal Data Protection Bill, 2021

Covid-19 in International Media: Global Pandemic Perspectives

Why Aren’t Women Part of the Conversation? A Study of the Gender Gap in Social Media Use in India, its Causes and the Implications for Women’s Empowerment
Top Insights

Fixing Stories: Local Newsmaking and International Media in Turkey and Syria

Social and Behaviour Change Strategy. Volume I: Policy & Strategic Approach

The Routledge Companion to Digital Media and Children

Afghanistan Media Landscape: Key Results

No Space for Dissent: Bangladesh's Crackdown on Freedom of Expression Online

Investigative Journalism

Ten Lessons Learnt: Scaling and Transitioning One of the Largest Mobile Health Communication Programmes in the World to a National Government

Medium-Specific Threats for Journalists: Examples from Philippines, Afghanistan and Venezuela

Televising Religion in India

The Pen Vs the AK-47: The Future of Afghan Media Under the Taliban

How Does the Political Enter the Newsroom? The Representation of the Kurdish ‘Other’ in Turkish Journalism

“Fake News”, Religion, and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh

Increasing Women’s Digital Literacy in India: What Works

USAID-BRAC Bangladesh Digital Ecosystem Activity: After Action Review Report

Digital Skilling of Rural Women Entrepreneurs in the time of COVID-19

Lockdown and Shutdown: Exposing the Impacts of Recent Network Disruptions in Myanmar and Bangladesh

Why Aren’t Women Part of the Conversation? A Study of the Gender Gap in Social Media Use in India, its Causes and the Implications for Women’s Empowerment Top Insights

Why Aren’t Women Part of the Conversation? A Study of the Gender Gap in Social Media Use in India, its Causes and the Implications for Women’s Empowerment
Top Insights