scholarly journals Inoculation against Populism: Media Competence Education and Political Autonomy

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-234
Author(s):  
Frodo Podschwadek
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Political Psychology ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Political Autonomy ◽  
Media Agenda ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Media ◽  
Political Decisions

Abstract This paper offers an analysis of the relation between political populism and mass media, and how this relation becomes problematic for democratic societies. It focuses on the fact that mass media, due to their purpose and infrastructure, can unintentionally reinforce populist messages. Research findings from communication science and political psychology are used to illustrate how, for example, a combination of mass media agenda setting and motivated reasoning can influence citizens’ political decisions and impair their political autonomy. This poses a particular normative challenge for modern democracies: how to counter these populism-supporting effects within the constraints of democratic legitimacy? After showing how severely limited legal measures to curb populist media effects would be, the paper argues in favour of media competence education as a way of providing future citizens with an epistemic toolkit to navigate the media environment and strengthen their political autonomy.

scholarly journals Media Communications of the Region in the Context of the Spread of Coronavirus: Features of the Media Agenda and Audience Involvement

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 166-175
Author(s):  
Dementieva Kseniya V. ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Audience Engagement ◽  
Continuous Sampling ◽  
Media Agenda ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Republic

The article considers how the rapid spread of the new coronavirus COVID-19 caused transformations in the field of media, in particular in regional journalism, using the example of a specific region ‒ the Republic of Mordovia. The purpose of the study is to study the features of changing the media agenda in the context of the spread of coronavirus, the specifics of the information in the regional media, and also the response of the audience of various types of publications. During the study, general scientific methods were used, such as systemic and structural-functional, as well as empirical ones. The continuous sampling method analyzed about 2,000 materials posted on several information resources ‒ communities of large regional mass media of the VKontakte social network. A qualitative analysis of the content of materials on the coronavirus from January to mid-May 2020 was carried out. At the same time, the coefficient of people’s involvement in the selected publication (ERpost) was analyzed. In the work, the author supplemented the list of groups into which media information about coronavirus can be divided, the situation with fakes was analyzed, three categories of sources were identified for the reliability of the information posted in them: official information of government bodies, relevant ministries, officials; mass media; social networks and Telegram channels. A study of materials on the topic of coronavirus in regional media revealed the following trends: the number of materials on coronavirus and the audience’s response to them have grown since the onset of the disease, but in May there was a general downward trend (this proves that for all the social significance of the topic, it is impossible to keep the audience’s attention at the same level for a long time); the involvement of the audience is consistently higher for materials affecting regional subjects; auditoria interests lose out to public needs, therefore, official reports are viewed more than celebrity messages, and O. Markin, the Minister of Health of the Republic, became the main media person; despite the prohibitions and the negative attitude towards clickbait, it continues to be used, including in materials on the theme of coronavirus; “hate speech” is practically not used by regional publications. Keywords: media, coronavirus, COVID-19, media agenda, audience engagement, Republic of Mordovia

Irwan Prayitno and the Mass Media: A Transitivity Analysis of News Reporting in Padang Ekspres

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Hetti Waluati Triana ◽  
Reflinaldi Reflinaldi ◽  
Awliya Rahmi
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Mass Mobilization ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Discourse Analysis ◽  
Verbal Processes ◽  
Political Figure

This article attempts to analyze the transitivity pattern in the media discourse analysis of Irwan Prayitno’s reportage in Padang Ekspres. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach. Data were collected using documentation techniques and analyzed using the transitivity features on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics. The research findings show that there are four types of processes in the media discourse of Irwan Prayitno’s reportage in Padang Ekspres: material processes (50.8%), behavioral processes (22.1%), verbal processes (20.4%), and mental processes (6.7 %). The dominance of material processes in Irwan Prayitno’s reportage as a political figure reflects an effort to represent him as a leader who focuses on real work and action. This representation pattern also strengthens the existence of mutualistic relations between mass media and politics in electoral politics and other kinds of mass mobilization.

Looking Beyond Elections

2013 ◽  
pp. 84-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ufuoma Akpojivi
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Media Freedom ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Democratic Rights ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Mass Media

Media freedom is pivotal to the sustenance and consolidation of democracy, as the quality of democracy in any society depends on the level of freedom accorded the media and the plurality of views entertained (Diamond, 2008). The ability of the mass media to carry out their traditional functions of educating, entertaining and enlightening the public about their democratic rights, and holding governments accountable, will subsequently lead to the establishment of a strong democratic institution. Hence there is need to protect media freedom in any democratic society (Baker, 2007; Norris, 2008). The Nigerian media environment, however, is characterised by a series of laws such as sedition law, official secret act, amongst others, which have directly and indirectly hindered the freedom of the mass media and their responsibility of promoting and advancing democracy. This is made worse by the incomprehensive nature of the 1999 Constitution. Using interviews and policy analysis, this chapter critically examines the policy framework of media freedom in Nigeria and its impact on the operation of the mass media. The ability of the media to live up to their responsibility of promoting and advancing the democratisation process in Nigeria within the available framework is also examined.

Broadcasting versus Narrowcasting

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam J. Metzger
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Mass Communication ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Production Distribution ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Contemporary Media

This chapter explores the question of the continuing relevance of “mass media” due to recent technological changes in the media landscape. The chapter traces the history of media content production, distribution, and consumption from broadcasting to narrowcasting, and considers recent trends toward “hyperpersonalization” afforded by digital networked media. The chapter examines what these changes mean for politics and for political communication theory, and concludes by posing some questions about the future of mass media that serve as a call for research into the changing nature, circumstances, and effects of mass communication in the contemporary media environment.

scholarly journals Directions and Tasks of Media Psychology in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 146-161
Author(s):  
Mariia Viktorovna Zhizhina
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Media Education ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Media Psychology ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Media ◽  
Crisis Conditions

Three main areas of media psychology are analyzed: media analysis, media education, and media therapy in the crisis conditions of the pandemic. Today, media psychology faces a number of completely new, unexplored problems and practice-oriented tasks in a radically changing media environment, including in conditions of social distancing. Thus, the author emphasizes the increased practical significance of using the psychotherapeutic potential of the media in order to reduce and minimize the negative effects not only of the mass media itself, but also of the consequences of crisis situations.

Candidate Choice in Political Advertising: What Determines Who Gets Attention?

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Lefevere ◽  
Régis Dandoy
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Agenda Setting ◽  
Political Advertisements ◽  
Media Agenda ◽  
The Media ◽  
Dominant Actor ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Regional Elections

In the run up to the elections, parties have several ways of communicating with voters. In this article, we focus on one piece of the puzzle: advertisements of political parties in the mass media. More specifically, we are interested in the choice of candidates within these advertisements. In countries where parties are the dominant actor, they are faced with a choice: not all candidates can be promoted in the campaign, as this would be too costly and inefficient. Thus, the first question we want to answer is which factors determine candidate choice in political advertisements? Secondly, does candidate choice in political advertisements have an effect on the subsequent coverage in media as well? Agenda setting research has shown that as far as issues are concerned, advertisements do set the media agenda. We use a content analysis of seven magazines and newspapers that was collected in the run up to the 2009 regional elections in Flanders, the largest region of Belgium. The results indicate that both internal party hierarchy, as well as external visibility of candidates determines candidate choice in political advertisements. Furthermore, the agenda setting effect of political advertisements is confirmed as well.

scholarly journals The Genre and Thematic Features of the Crimean Medias Discourse

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-346
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Еgorova
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Social Relation ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Cultural Communication ◽  
Media Agenda ◽  
National Characteristics ◽  
The Crimea ◽  
The Media ◽  
Genre Preferences ◽  
The Republic

The topicality of the research is explained by the fact that media activity of any region has an immediate impact on forming public opinion and moral values, which, in their turn, are also reflected on the mass media agenda. Mass media as creators of information content provide for forming their consumers positive or negativeу attitude to events. The object of the study is the discourse of the regional media in the Crimea since it is correlated with that of the dominant Russian mass media and combines both local and national characteristics. The author focuses on the genre and thematic features of the media texts that enrich the regional worldview with content meaningful for the residents of the area. This content reflects culture-bound concepts and values of the society, and contains a special code, which is determined by local lifestyle and culture. The texts are composed in a way that they make the audience share these values and concepts and become committed to them. Having analyzed genre preferences of the Crimean and municipal press, the author notes that the prevailing ones are texts concerning politics, tourism, culture, economy and ecology. Besides, the Crimean mass media provide a platform for inter-cultural communication, which is particularly important for the multinational region. The author considers a complex inter-disciplinary research of the Crimean media landscape a good perspective of the study, which might help to develop a strategy of positioning the region among the other sub-federal entities, and determine trends and stereotypes in the sphere of social relation of the republic.

scholarly journals Mass Media and Concerns about Immigration in Germany in the 21st Century: Individual-Level Evidence over 15 Years

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian S. Czymara ◽  
Stephan Dochow
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Media Effect ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Threat Perceptions ◽  
Predicted Probability ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
The Media ◽  
Lower Education ◽  
Positive Effect

Mass media have long been discussed as an essential determinant of the threat perceptions leading to anti-immigration attitudes. The field of empirical research on such media effects is still comparatively young, however, and lacks studies examining precise measures of the media environment an individual is likely to be actually exposed to. We employ a nuanced research design which analyses individual differences in the yearly levels of both media salience and attitudes in panel data of 25,000 persons, who were at least interviewed twice, and a time span over 15 years, from 2001 to 2015. We find a substantive and stable positive effect: comparing periods of vivid discussions with times where the issue was hardly discussed in the German media results in an increase in the predicted probability of being very concerned by about 13 percentage points. Deeper investigations reveal that the media effect is most potent for individuals living in areas with lower share of ethnic minorities and for those with lower education or conservative ideology, stressing the importance of individual receptiveness. In sum, our findings strengthen the line of reasoning stressing the importance of discursive influences on public opinion and cast doubt on the argument that threat perceptions stem primarily from the size of ethnic out-groups.

scholarly journals THE CURRENT STATE OF RUSSIAN REGIONAL INTERNET MEDIA (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF TATARSTAN)

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana A. Nagovitsyna ◽  
Ramis R. Gazizov
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Present Stage ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Current State ◽  
Internet Media ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Given

The paper concerns the determination of the state of development of the Internet mass media (on the example of the Republic of Tatarstan). It considers the issues of formation and the regional peculiarities of this type of media environment, summarizes the experience of the Internet media of the Republic of Tatarstan. The authors focus special attention on multimedia, as a factor in the development of networked media at the present stage. The specifics of the Internet media has significantly changed the nature of the presentation of materials, the work of journalists, the target audience, as well as the system of functioning of the media in general. The authors analyzed the nature of the influence of multimedia on the features of functioning of regional networked media. In recent years, the Republic of Tatarstan remains among the most reading regions in Russia. As of today in the given region of Russia there is registered 1067 mass-media. In connection with the development of the Internet media, which today determine the leading trends in the functioning of all the mass media, it seems to us necessary to consider the peculiarities of the Internet media of the Republic of Tatarstan.

New Media and the Question of African Democracy

2013 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aziz Douai ◽  
Anthony A. Olorunnisola
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
New Media ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Systematic Study ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
The Media

This introductory chapter maps out the trajectory of democratization in Africa and how old and new forms of mass media remain embedded in these efforts. Drawing on decades of media and political science research, the authors argue that no genuine democracy may exist without a vibrant media environment. Democracy thrives on “transparency” and “difference,” and the media offer the platforms most suitable to ensure their existence and proliferation. The authors provide a theoretical grounding in order to further delineate the democracy media nexus, and review recent approaches to a systematic study of how communication technologies further or reverse the cause of social and political change. The authors conclude with a synoptic look at the important contributions published in this volume.

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