Media and Democracy: Is Conventional Media Performing the Role of the Fourth Estate of the Realm?

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
New Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Fourth Estate ◽  
Published Research

Arguments have emanated on the roles of conventional media in the strengthening of democracy, good governance, and human development in a democratic society. This study discussed and evaluated the conventional media role as the "fourth estate of the realm" by functioning as defenders, watchdogs and providers of accurate information in a democratic society. Social Responsibility Theory, a version of free press theory, was used to underpin the study by providing examples of how the media's actions can affect a democratic society. The study adopted a meta-analysis approach by reviewing numerous published research studies to clarify the role of conventional media as the fourth estate. The content analysis of the reviewed literature revealed that conventional news media roles as check and balance, watch-dogs and adversary have been jeopardised. New media is now strengthened with the ability to displace conventional media as "the fourth estate".

scholarly journals Trust in the European Union: Effects of the information environment

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Brosius ◽  
Erika J van Elsas ◽  
Claes H de Vreese
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
News Media ◽  
Information Environment ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Media

Over the past decade, the European Union has lost the trust of many citizens. This article investigates whether and how media information, in particular visibility and tonality, impact trust in the European Union among citizens. Combining content analysis and Eurobarometer survey data from 10 countries between 2004 and 2015, we study both direct and moderating media effects. Media tone and visibility have limited direct effects on trust in the European Union, but they moderate the relation between trust in national institutions and trust in the European Union. This relation is amplified when the European Union is more visible in the media and when media tone is more positive towards the European Union, whereas it is dampened when media tone is more negative. The findings highlight the role of news media in the crisis of trust in the European Union.

scholarly journals News Media Exposure and Political Communication among Libyan Elites at the Time of War

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 330-339
Author(s):  
Abdul-Karim Ziani ◽  
Mokhtar Elareshi ◽  
Khalid Al-Jaber
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
News Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Political Awareness ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
News Sources ◽  
The Media

Abstract Many critical questions concerning the relationship between the news media and political knowledge involve the extent to which the media facilitate learning about news, war and politics. Political awareness - via the news media - affects virtually every aspect of citizens’ political attitudes and behaviours. This paper examines how Libyan elites adopt the news media to access news and information regarding the current Libyan war and politics and how they use political communication and new media to build/spread political awareness. With the expansion of private and state-owned television in Libya, concern has grown that these new TV services will survive in providing information about citizens’ interests, including the new, developing political scene. A total of 134 highly educated Libyan professionals completed an online survey, reporting their perceptions of issues covered by national TV services. This account centres on how those elites consume the media and what level of trust they have in the media and in information and what the role of the media in their country should be. The results show that most respondents, especially those who live outside the country, prefer using different Libyan news platforms. However, 50 per cent of these do not trust these channels as a source of information regarding the civil war, associated conflicts and politics in general. They have grown weary of coverage that represents the interests of those who run or own the services and consequently place little trust in the media. Spreading ‘lies as facts’ has affected the credibility of these services. Politically, these respondents wish the media to discuss solutions and act as a force for good, not for division. They also differed in the number and variety of national news sources that they reportedly used. This paper also highlights the role of social media, mobile telephony and the Internet, as well as the rapidly proliferating private and national media. These findings are also discussed in relation to the growing impact of online sources in Libyan society, social and political change and the emergence of new media platforms as new sources of information.

scholarly journals NEWSPAPER FRAMING OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION UNDER PRESIDENT MUHAMMADUBUHARI’S ADMINISTRATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1472-1480
Author(s):  
Ikusemiju Ayokunle Oluwadamilare ◽  
Anthony Ekwueme
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Prevalence Rate ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Financial Crimes ◽  
The Media

Objectives of the Study: The purpose of this study was to examine newspaper framing of the activities of the EFCC under President Buhari, using four purposively selected newspapers. In doing this, the researchers focused on the prevalence of frames, most prominent frames, and interpretations they gave to the activities of EFCC. Methodology: Content analysis and critical discourse analysis were adopted as the research methods. By means of the constructed week sampling technique, 288 editions of the selected newspapers years were studied. Results: It was found that six (6) frames constituted 75% frame prevalence rate, while two (2) frames constituted 15% non-prevalence rate. The corruption-combating/criminalisation frame was the most prominent. Interpretation of the reports revealed that some newspapers presented EFCC as victimisers, while some appraised its activities at mitigating graft in Nigeria. Application/implications: The implication of these results is that journalists need to improve in their framing anti-corruption efforts as part of their social responsibility to the Nigerian society. Originality/ Novelty: This study has contributed to our understanding of the role of the media in promoting good governance and accountability in a developing country like Nigeria.

Framing media populism: The political role of news media editorials in Duterte’s Philippines

Journalism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 146488492095950
Author(s):  
Jefferson Lyndon D Ragragio
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fourth Estate ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Media Frames ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government

Editorials are a political force used by news media to fulfil its watchdog function in fragile democracies like the Philippines. However, they also serve as a platform to invite a more positive reading of strongman administration. Against the backdrop of media populism, the article will problematize how the Fourth Estate articulates its political stance by examining the tensions and complexities in editorials. It will highlight the ways the media deals with subjects and stories surrounding Rodrigo Duterte. Through an analysis of editorials of four leading dominant news outlets (Bulletin, Inquirer, Rappler, and Star), three meta-thematic categories of media frames are uncovered. First, character degradation frames delineate how the media denounces the ties of Duterte with other political actors, particularly the Marcoses and China’s Xi. Second, pro-establishment frames echo the optimistic mantra of the government amid crisis. And third, non-editorial frames exhibit the failure of media to publish watchdog-inspired editorials. Each of these categories has underlying frames that are indicative of the democratic potential, or lack thereof, of news media.

Media discourse in a hyper connected society: a comparison between media frame and Twitter discourse during media strike

Info ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seong Eun Cho ◽  
Dong-Hee Shin
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
News Frames ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This study aims to examine the impact of news frames associated with traditional media and with Twitter discourse on social issues. Design/methodology/approach – Using semantic network analysis, it identifies the role of new alternative channels as well as discussing ways of understanding and consuming news content in the changing media environment. Additionally, it focuses on the dominant Twitter communicators who rank high in betweenness centrality. Findings – The results confirmed that traditional news media tend to superficially describe main events and media strikes without comment. They tended to consciously or unconsciously favor media corporations by engendering anxiety and conflict or by restraining reports on the rationales of the strike. Twitter discourse, on the contrary, positively represents the striker's arguments and frequently reveals support of the strike. Research limitations/implications – The data set of this study was specialized, not generalized. However, the findings extend literature relating to the role of journalism and alternative channel. For example, this study indicated that the change of media environment has reinforced partiality of news, including both traditional and alternative channels. Practical implications – The findings imply that the advent of new media does not purely represent a laymen's voice and rather tends to strengthen the partiality of media, including both traditional and new media, beyond selective exposure on content of the receiver. Originality/value – By clarifying the influence of alternative channels, this study suggests the counterpart of traditional journalism in the near future.

scholarly journals How psychiatrists can engage with the media

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Bithell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
New Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Daily News ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Time Frames

SummaryThe media offers opportunities for psychiatrists to communicate with a wide and varied audience, thereby influencing the views of the public and policy makers on mental health issues. There are many different types of media outlet, including daily news media, documentary makers, specialist media, features and comment, and new media. The Science Media Centre is an independent press office that aims to help ensure that the views of scientists, clinicians and researchers are heard in the UK national news media when their area of expertise hits the headlines. In the news media, journalists work to tight time frames and often focus on sensational and controversial topics, presenting challenges for those wanting to engage. For experts to work effectively with the news media it helps to understand more about the way the media works and how to develop necessary skills. Psychiatrists who do work successfully with the media can help ensure that the public receive accurate information about mental health problems, and gain an appreciation of the importance of research in the field and a better understanding of the role of the psychiatrist.

scholarly journals “Don’t Freak We’re Sikh”—A Study of the Extent to Which Australian Journalists and the Australian Public Wrongly Associate Sikhism with Islam

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 319
Author(s):  
Kate O’Donnell ◽  
Jacqui Ewart ◽  
April Chrzanowski
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
The West ◽  
Australian Population ◽  
Media Report ◽  
Religious Literacy ◽  
Surprising Finding

This study emerged from an incidental, and somewhat surprising, finding that 15 percent of working journalists who attend training on improving the ways that mainstream new media report stories about Islam and Muslims, wrongly associated Sikhism with Islam. We wondered if this was indicative of the Australian population and, through a random stratified survey of the Australian population, found that it was. The question about the extent to which populations wrongly associate Sikhism with Islam is an important one. In Australia, Muslims and Sikhs are minorities. Ignorance of Islam and its religious diversity coupled with ignorance of Muslims and their ethnic and cultural diversity underpins the intolerance of Islam in the West and the concomitant animus directed at Muslims. Intolerance and violence directed at Muslims and people wrongly assumed to be Muslims (such as Sikhs) increased after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 (9/11). This speaks to religious literacy, the treatment of religious minorities and raises important questions around educating various publics (including the news media) about both Islam and Sikhism. It also speaks to the role of the mainstream news media in perpetuating Islamophobia, and its detrimental flow-on effects to Muslims and Sikhs.

Analysis of Data Model for News Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
O Balalaieva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Data Model ◽  
Mass Communication ◽  
Synergetic Effect ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Metadata Model ◽  
Modern Mass

Abstract. The article deals with communicative aspect of using metadata in news media. The relevance of the study is due to the objective need for theoretical justification and the specification of new communication models that have arisen with new channels of communication emergence, media digitalization and convergence. Some modern scientific works raise issue of “the communication of metadata model” in connection with the development of metadata journalism. In particular, the purpose of this article is to analyze the components of the metadata model in news media by the standard of the International Press Telecommunications Council. The rNews standard defines the terminology and a data model for embedding metadata in web documents. It was found that the rNews data model is nonlinear, because the communication in new media is positioned as a two-way process of interaction of actors. The model captures the feedback elements: one of its components is the User Comments Class with the relevant attributes, which, on the one hand, helps to make communication more effective, as the active role of the audience is provided, supported and stimulated, and on the other – makes it possible to create the original metatext. In the communicative aspect, the model is based on a two-way asymmetric model that fixes the feedback, but retains the leading role of the communicator. Asymmetry is reflected in the quantitative (disproportion between the number of “professional” and “naïve” communicators), communicative (disproportion of the “voices” of communicators and recipients, interfering with the building a dialogue) and intentional (unequal intentions of communicators and recipients) forms. The model reflects the general trends in the development of modern mass communication: the target setting for the formation not knowledge, but opinion, the removal of barriers to the involvement of audience in communication, the shift of information from the objective, factual, not related to the situation and participants of communication to a pragmatic, subjective one, synergetic effect of interactive polycode content. Issues of modeling communication processes in new digital media, the transformation of the roles of communicators and recipients, the formation and dissemination of polycode content, its impact on the audience are promising areas of further research and can be explored in various aspects.

Media access to court proceedings and documents in Mainland China: The changed and unchanged

2021 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2110482
Author(s):  
Yanzhu Xu
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Court Case ◽  
Media Access ◽  
Court Reporting ◽  
The Status ◽  
Court Proceedings

This study examined the status of media access to court proceedings and documents in mainland China. In-depth and qualitative interviews with Chinese journalists revealed that they continue to face significant difficulties in attending court hearings and accessing court documents and information; especially, those involving government officials. Owing to the lack of adequate media access to courts, Chinese journalists are not able to fulfil their role of informing the public about what happens in the judicial system; it also undermines the balance and quality of court reporting. The study also found that China's courts mostly used their own online platforms to release information and broadcast trial proceedings. Consequently, the role of news media and journalists in providing court case information and promoting judicial openness has declined in the age of new media.

scholarly journals The new commodities of the new media landscape

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (04) ◽  
pp. R01
Author(s):  
Andy Ridgway
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
Media Management ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
Science Media

BOOK: Content is king; News media management in the digital age. Graham, G., Greenhill, A., Shaw, D.Andvargo, C., Eds (2015), London, U.K.: Bloomsbury The ‘traditional’ media industry ― newspapers and magazines and the like ― have had a difficult time lately thanks to increasing competition online. This book's chapters consider ways the traditional media can reinvent themselves to secure their future. Two key themes that emerge from the chapters are the importance of building communities and the increasing role of credibility in today's highly-competitive media landscape. While this book does not focus on the science media, many of the conclusions are relevant to it, in fact some are cause for comfort for those involved with science journalism.

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