"This year's report reveals new insights about digital news consumption based on a YouGov survey of over 92,000 online news consumers in 46 markets including India, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, Colombia and Peru for the first time. The report looks at the impact of coronavirus on news consumption a
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nd on the economic prospects for publishers. It looks at progress on new paid online business models, trust and misinformation, local news, impartiality and fairness in news coverage." (Overview)
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"China has used Covid to benefit its global image through the activation of existing media dissemination channels overseas and the use of new tactics such as disinformation and misinformation. China’s largescale medical diplomacy campaign has also provided propaganda wins in many developing countr
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ies, burnishing Beijing’s image as a reliable partner. Anecdotal reports indicate that Beijing has stepped up its content offerings, in particular by tailoring content including disinformation for specific countries and translating state-run messages into local languages. In some countries, China was also seen as the purveyor of the most accurate information about the new coronavirus, showing its growing influence over global narratives. For Beijing, Covid diplomacy clearly offers another means through which it can exert its influence. This research shows that countries that are recipients of China’s Covid vaccine clearly have more positive coverage of China, but it cannot draw conclusions as to the factors behind that. This strategy has largely been acceptable to global journalists, who — judging by the results of our focus groups in three separate countries — do not perceive China’s advances as a threat at a national level. Such views are in part due to the incremental nature of the changes, the clumsiness of China’s propaganda effort and the irrelevance of much of the material provided to local audiences. However, the survey does reveal that when viewed globally, there does appear to be more concern about China’s influence, in particular in the Asia Pacific region. The survey indicates that the overall impact of Beijing’s outreach is a redrawing of the global media landscape — one story at a time, one country at a time — shifting the China coverage in a more positive direction. China is using a multi-pronged approach to redraw the information landscape to benefit its own global image. In 2020, Beijing effectively shut down journalistic access to China, through visa denials and freezes, partly driven by international border closures. This had the effect of creating a vacuum in China coverage, creating a demand for stories from China, which could then be filled with statesponsored content already available through content-sharing agreements." (Conclusions, page 7)
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"Straddling the boundary between historical inquiry and personal reflection, this extraordinary text unfolds as a series of encounters with eponymic Holocaust photographs. Although only a small number of photographs are reproduced here, Fresco provides evocative descriptions of many well-known image
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s: synagogues and Torah scrolls burning on the night of Kristallnacht; deportations to the ghettos and the camps; and, finally, mass executions in the killing fields of Eastern Europe. The unique set of photographs included in On the Death of Jews shows groups of women and children from Liepaja (Liepaja), shortly before they were killed in December 1941 in the dunes of Shkede (Skede) on the Baltic Sea. In the last photograph of the series, we see the victims' bodies tumbling into the pit." (Foreword, page vii-viii)
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"The media sector in Moldova is diverse. Dogged investigative reporting plays a vital role in public life. However, the legal framework governing the sector is unstable and underdeveloped. In 2020, much of the country’s political class treated the independent press with hostility, viewing journali
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sts as obstacles to rather than partners in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial sustainability continues to elude the sector. Many outlets are captured by and serve as mouthpieces for political interests, and the fallout of the pandemic has exacerbated the precarity experienced by the independent press." (Executive summary)
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"This book focuses on ethnic journalism in the Global South, approaching it from two angles: as a professional area and as a social mission. The book discusses journalistic practices and ethnic media in the Global South, managerial and editorial strategies of ethnic media outlets, their content spec
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ifics, target audience, distribution channels, main challenges and trends of development in the digital age." (Publisher description)
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"As of July 2021, Telegram had 550 million active users worldwide – more than the individual user bases of Twitter, Snapchat or Discord. It is the fifth most-popular messaging app after Facebook-owned Whatsapp and Messenger, and WeChat and QQ which dominate the Chinese market [...] For this paper,
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I looked at Telegram’s policies and functionalities to help understand what made it so attractive to misinformation actors both in the Ukraine, which has a long history of Telegram engagement, and Brazil, Spain and Germany where it has had more of an impact in recent years. According to the journalists and digital researchers I interviewed about investigating misinformation and disinformation on Telegram, there are ways to address the issue, both on and off the platform: by investigating movements and their political or financial interest, by producing more responsible journalism, through clearer communication from governments, and through the continued moderation efforts on other social media platforms." (Pages 7-8)
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"The opinion poll and the discussion with journalists provided interesting insights into the current public perception of media trust and the factors that contribute to such trust, as well as to the overall understanding of the public of media issues. The poll confirmed the dominance of television a
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s the main source of information on a daily basis, as well as the most trusted source of information, especially for age groups above 45. The increased use of online media and especially social networks both in terms of frequency and as a source of information is another visible trend, reflecting the overall widespread use of social networks in the country. The proportion of people who tend to trust the media was only slightly higher than those who do not trust it, which should be a warning bell for the media community. At the same time, the public also believe that media independence is poor and that they tend to spread disinformation and hatred, probably even more than social networks." (Conclusion)
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"The study revealed the macro and micro media threats that come to light in the digital and physical media environments prior to and following elections. The media environment observed during the 2021 self-government elections was representative of the reality seen through the eyes of media workers,
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and it was revealed that, compared to previous years, the media environment has changed for the worse. The study confirmed that political polarization and public crises have a negative impact on the media environment and the safety of journalists in Georgia, while changes in the political landscape can have a positive impact on the media environment. It has also been demonstrated that the media themselves can reduce or enhance the effects of polarization.
The study confirmed that media threats in Georgia increase self-censorship and fear, reduce media credibility and weaken the viability of the media institution. The study revealed an additional effect of political polarization, a new tactic to combat critical media: “Use the media themselves against the journalists”, which leads to media polarization in itself, inciting conflict between journalists and exposing this macro-threat across the media field. In this regard, polarization in Georgia is an obstacle to solidarity. On the other hand, polarization has a so-called demonizing effect that can be manifested through the stigmatization of journalists by politicians, political labelling, and demolition of credibility, which ultimately harms the media.
The research confirmed that the ruling political force in Georgia uses all the components and mechanisms required to create and strengthen self-censorship of journalists. These mechanisms are: fear, impunity for crime, ridicule, discrediting, insecurity, dissemination of misinformation, etc. Enhancing journalists' self-censorship creates an invisible field of censorship in newsrooms when, for security reasons, the journalist is forced to avoid covering specific topics, sources, or facts. Critical questions are replaced by silence." (Conclusion, pages 51-52)
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"A significant number of the surveyed citizens consider the media in Serbia under the control of political groups at both ends of the spectrum. At the same time, many of the surveyed citizens think that the media is free to collect and publish information on all the relevant issues. These findings r
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eflect the media reality in Serbia: after twenty years of reforms, the country has managed to create a system in which the freedom of the media implies (only) that our media freely report on issues relevant to the option whose interests they represent. Both the media workers in the focus group and the surveyed citizens agree that propaganda and hatred are ubiquitous in the media. The media instrumentalizes hatred based on gender, national and other stereotypes in order to realize the particular interests of the groups to which they are loyal for ideological or financial reasons. But as the media workers warn, the media is also abusing the hatred rooted in society to increase circulation, viewership, or reach, and again, in the end, to make a profit. The position of women journalists in Serbia is especially difficult. As many as 95% of the surveyed citizens agree that women journalists are exposed to attacks, threats, insults and harassment because they do their job well. The journalists and editors in the focus group do not see gender prejudices and stereotypes as a cause of attacks but rather as a tool to discredit female journalists. Not their work—because that is difficult to discredit—but rather female journalists personally, where attacks are dominated by discourse strategies stemming from classic misogyny." (Conclusion, page 25)
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"The book brings together scholars from Western and Eastern Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia, reporting findings based on data collected from democratic, transitional, and non-democratic contexts to produce thematic chapters that address how journalistic cultures vary around the globe,
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specifically in relation to challenges that journalists face in performing their journalistic roles. The study measures, compares, and analyzes the materialization of the interventionist, the watchdog, the loyal-facilitator, the service, the infotainment, and the civic roles in more than 30,000 print news stories from 18 countries. It also draws from hundreds of surveys with journalists to explain the link between ideals and practices, and the conditions that shape this divide." (Publisher description)
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"This report provides an overview of trends and developments in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, access and use in the CIS region, which includes 9 Member States and is home to a population of 240 million people. The report highlights changes in ICT adoption since the l
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ast World Telecommunication Development Conference in 2017 (WTDC-17) and during the COVID-19 pandemic, tracks the evolution of regulation, and reviews progress and challenges in implementing the ITU regional initiatives for the CIS region. Its objective is to serve as a reference for the ITU membership in reviewing progress and identifying ICT development priorities in the CIS region." (Abstract)
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"Those working in media face plenty of challenges when it comes to handling issues around conflict more sensitively. In some countries, these difficulties could include forced or unsolicited loyalty, a lack of information, or physical and psychological threats. In others, challenges could arise from
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prejudice fostered by excessive homogeneity in newsrooms, or a lack of consciousness for the limits of certain views. In DW Akademie’s publication, authors from around the world approach the question of how media workers can cover conflict better. This includes reflections on how to cope with the deluge of hatred online and on how to deal with trauma. Rather than academic, analytical texts, the publication is made up of thoughtfully written, carefully illustrated and often personal pieces." (Publisher description)
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"This case study examines two websites and two blogging accounts which appear to be linked to News Front, a Crimean-based news organisation previously accused of being a source of pro-Kremlin disinformation and influence operations. The sites and accounts shared stories and images in many cases iden
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tical to those published by News Front without attribution. While the impact of the site’s activity is low, the case study provides a glimpse into the inner workings of the broader disinformation ecosystem, highlighting how particular pieces of content and narratives linked to pro-Kremlin influence can spread across the internet using multiple domains. More broadly, it sheds light on the long tail of state-linked online assets. The report shows how disinformation purveyors can use tactics like domain cloaking to avoid platform removals, suggesting a need for renewed thinking about effective forms of policy response for complex disinformation networks." (Publisher description)
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"This volume traces the distinct cultural languages in which individual and collective forms of trauma are expressed in diverse variations, including oral and written narratives, literature, comic strips, photography, theatre, and cinematic images. The central argument is that traumatic memories are
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frequently beyond the sphere of medical, legal, or state intervention. To address these different, often intertwined modes of language, the contributors provide a variety of disciplinary approaches to foster innovative debates and provoke new insights. Prevailing definitions of trauma can best be understood according to the cultural and historical conditions within which they exist. Languages of Trauma explores what this means in practice by scrutinizing varied historical moments from the First World War onwards and particular cultural contexts from across Europe, the United States, Asia, and Africa – striving to help decolonize the traditional Western-centred history of trauma, dissolving it into multifaceted transnational histories of trauma cultures." (Publisher description)
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"[This book] provides an overview of the key issues in global journalism today and traces how media systems have evolved over time in different world regions. Taking into account local context as well as technological change across media industries, the book offers an up-to-date, thorough overview o
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f media developments in all world regions embedded in their unique political, cultural and economic context. Covering theoretical foundations of global journalism, from the classic Four Theories of the Press to more nuanced media models, this text proposes a framework for studying world media systems. Contributed chapters cover a wide range of topics, including media freedom, global news cultures, professional ethics and responsibilities, and education of global journalists, as well as the role of technology and issues such as fake news, soft power and public diplomacy, foreign news reporting and international news flow." (Publisher description)
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"Competent institutions should react in case of spreading hate speech and introduce appropriate measures to combat the spread of disinformation, which would serve as a middle ground between arresting those who spread disinformation and a too passive approach to this problem. In addition to this, the
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Criminal Code should be amended since its lack of preciseness allows deviations from international standards of freedom of expression. In addition to the Media Strategy, which is to deal with the development of the media and creating a more enabling work environment for journalists, the Government must work on raising awareness and improving the knowledge through the development of a media literacy strategy and an accompanying action plan. In the long run, the media community should work on the establishment of a single self-regulation body, which would bring to light the examples of the spread of hate speech, disinformation, and propaganda, and work on the promotion of professional standards. Existing self-regulatory bodies should initiate the process of changing and amending the Code of Journalists of Montenegro to include the issue of preventing the emergence and the spread of disinformation. Moreover, in order to prevent the spread of hate speech, the existing self-regulatory bodies, including the RTCG’s Ombudsperson, need to make a stronger effort in promoting the professional standards set out in the Code of Journalists of Montenegro." (Recommendations)
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"This book examines the professional activity of public television journalists in Poland operating in the still unstable system of a post-communist state, to demonstrate how the media can work in the public interest to strengthen democracy. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Telewizja Polska (TVP)
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journalists, the author shows how public television in Poland has become highly politicised and commercialised, and must defend against constant attacks on its autonomy. She draws parallels with the media systems in Hungary and the Czech Republic to analyse potential legal solutions and to highlight how Poland's journalists are subject to influences from the political class as well as from the market; a situation brought about by flawed legislation, the absence of a political culture, an inefficient internal regulating process, and lack of suitable training for the journalists themselves." (Publisher description)
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