scholarly journals HEALTH COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY THE MEDIA DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS: CASE OF ZIMBABWE BROADCASTING CORPORATION TELEVISION (ZBC –TV)

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley Sarah Muchetwa ◽  
Ephraim Maruta ◽  
Hilda Jaka ◽  
Joyman Ruvado ◽  
Evans Chazireni

The paper reports findings from a study that explored health communication strategies employed by the media on the state of preparedness by the Zimbabwean government during the COVID 19 crisis by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Television (ZBC-TV). The study adopted secondary data analysis. Data were collected using secondary sources. The study was influenced by the framing theory. The study found out that ZBC-TV used songs, road shows, commercial ads, dramas, musical shows on reporting the pandemic. The archival documents also revealed that ZBC-TV have used periodical updates as health communication strategies to educate the public about COVID 19. ZBC-TV also used Facebook showing staff from the Office of the President and Cabinet receiving the Covid 19 vaccine at the same time applauding positive response from Harare Metropolitan Province as front line workers surpassed the target under the first phase of Covid-19 vaccine roll out plan. The study concluded that the health communication strategies employed by ZBC-TV have been effective in increasing the societal awareness about health issues. ZBC-TV managed to reach out to the masses using both the television and by making use of the new media communication technologies. However, press censorship has been a challenge in publishing information concerning COVID 19 as the media house is not allowed to publish anything that tarnishes the image of the government. It is based on such evidence that the study concludes that ZBC-TV at some point distorted information to paint the picture that the government is doing all it can to contain the spread of COVID 19 and ensuring the safety of the public. The study recommends that the ministry should ensure freedom of information publicity, in which media houses, including ZBC-TV is not controlled by any political party of government. The government should also privatise ZBC-TV so that it will be answerable to the public and not few government officials. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0895/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Nikmah Lubis

Virus corona muncul pertama kali di Wuhan China yang merupakan virus yang menginfeksi pernapasan atau disebut Covid-19. Penyebarannya yang begitu cepat sampai ke seluruh negara menimbulkan pengaruh terhadap beberapa sektor, seperti kesehatan, sosial, politik, ekonomi maupun agama. Penyebaran informasi yang cepat dan menyeluruh yang dilakukan oleh media, menjadi kesempatan sebagian orang untuk menyebar hoax, rumor dan konspirasi yang dilakukan untuk kepentingan pribadi dan golongan tertentu. Penyebaran tersebut tidak terlepas dari otoritas yang dimilikinya. Otoritas politik dan otoritas agama mengalami penurunan legitimasi sehingga media baru membuat fragmentasi otoritas tetapi ada ketimpangan pengetahuan antara pemerintah, ahli kesehatan, dan masyarakat biasa. Sehingga masyarakat bebas menggunakan media apapun untuk bersuara. Para otoritas agama juga ikut meramaikan media online dan media sosial dalam menyampaikan pendapatnya tentang Covid-19. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pengumpulan data sekunder yang bersumber dari artikel jurnal, media online. Hasilnya otoritas agama memiliki pengaruh kuat dalam menyampaikan informasi kepada khalayak. Walaupun sebagian informasi yang disampaikan bertentangan dengan otoritas lainnya seperti otoritas kesehatan dan politik (pemerintah)[The corona virus first appeared in Wuhan China, which is a virus that infects respiration or is called Covid-19. The spread is so fast that the whole country has an influence on several sectors, such as health, social, political, economic and religious. The rapid and comprehensive dissemination of information carried out by the media has become an opportunity for some people to spread hoaxes, rumors and conspiracies carried out for personal and certain group interests. The spread is inseparable from the authority it has. Political authority and religious authority have decreased legitimacy so that the new media create fragmentation of authority but there is a knowledge gap between the government, health experts, and ordinary people. So that people are free to use any media to speak out. Religious authorities have also participated in online media and social media in expressing their opinions about Covid-19. This study uses qualitative methods with secondary data sourced from journal articles, online media. The result is that religious authorities have a strong influence in conveying information to the public. Although some of the information contradicts other authorities such as health and political authorities (government)]


Author(s):  
Tina C. Touitou

The study focuses on media’s portrayal of homosexuality as a reflection of cultural acceptance in the society. The first representation of gay men in the United States to a national audience occurred in 1967 with the airing of a documentary titled “The Homosexuals,” which is filled with harmful, derogatory stereotypes etc. The fact that homosexual characters were mostly guest stars as opposed to leading characters also suggests that gay activist were taking a less radical approach by attempting to improve acceptance of homosexual. In Nigeria, homosexuality is a taboo, abnormal and not accepted. The media can and has with some degree of success helped break down the cultural taboos associated with sensitive sexual topics and bridge some gaps in our sexual knowledge. The paper adopted empirical secondary data, and employed cultivation theory. It proved that the media have power in shaping people’ believe and perception, and can form or modify the public opinion in different ways depending on what the objective is. For example, Pakistani media influenced the opinion against the Taliban in Swat by repeated telecast of a video clip showing whipping of a woman by a Taliban. Before that, the public opinion over the military action against the Taliban was divided, but repeated telecast of this short video clip changed the public opinion overnight in favor of the government to take action. The paper recommended that the media should take a firm stand, not playing two-edge sword on  the reportage of homosexuality, and should remain a ‘watchdog’ and the ‘mirror’ of the society.


Author(s):  
Zizi Papacharissi

The objective of this article is to sketch out the profile of the digital citizen. The premise for this article rests upon utopian views that embrace new media technologies as democratizers of postindustrial society (e.g., Bell, 1981; Johnson & Kaye, 1998; Kling, 1996; Negroponte, 1998; Rheingold, 1993) and cautionary criticism that questions the substantial impact new media could have on reviving a dormant public sphere (e.g., Bimber & Davis, 2003; Davis, 1999; Hill & Hughes, 1998; Jankowski & van Selm, 2000; Jones, 1997; Margolis & Resnick, 2000; Scheufele & Nisbet, 2002). Concurrently, declining participation in traditional forms of political involvement and growing public cynicism (e.g., Cappella & Jamieson, 1996, 1997; Fallows, 1996; Patterson, 1993, 1996) position the Internet and related technologies as vehicles through which political activity can be reinvented. Still, conflicting narratives on civic involvement, as articulated by the government, politicians, the media, and the public, create confusion about the place and role of the citizen in a digital age. The digital citizen profile, therefore, is defined by historical and cultural context, divided between expectation and skepticism regarding new media, and presents hope of resurrecting the public sphere and awakening a latent, postmodern political consciousness. This article outlines these conditions, reviews perceptions of the digital citizen, and proposes a digital citizen role model for the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
Rizca Haqqu

New Era of Television in the Perspective of Media Convergence. The development of internet technology has led to changes and developments in the world of mass communication. Because of the internet, new media emerges. The emergence of new media is changing the way people get information through the media. Initially, people got information and news through conventional media, such as newspapers, radio, or television. To be able to continue competing as a source of information demanded by the public, television media also innovates by converging. Convergence is a combination of several types of media and is present in the form of a digital platform. This research is a library research that aims to find out media convergence conducted by television media, especially in changing platforms from conventional television to digital media. Media convergence enables professionals in the mass media field to deliver news and present information and entertainment using a variety of media. The government as the regulator is fully responsible for creating regulations that can protect all elements of society from the bad influence of the media. Regulation becomes a logical consequence of the game of cultural symbols displayed by convergent media. The goal is clear, which is to avoid a conflict of interests that makes one party harmed, especially the users or the public, for they usually become the victim of the implementation of a convergence. ABSTRAKPerkembangan teknologi internet telah menimbulkan perubahan dan perkembangan dalam dunia komunikasi massa. Karena internet, muncullah media baru atau new media. Kemunculan media baru tersebut mengubah cara masyarakat mendapatkan informasi melalui media. Awalnya, masyarakat mendapatkan informasi dan berita melalui media konvensional, seperti surat kabar, radio, atau televisi. Untuk dapat terus berkompetisi sebagai sumber informasi yang diminati masyarakat, media televisi pun melakukan inovasi dengan cara berkonvergensi. Konvergensi adalah penggabungan dari beberapa jenis media dan hadir dalam bentuk platform digital. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian library research yang bertujuan untuk mengetahui konvergensi media yang dilakukan oleh media televisi khususnya dalam mengubah platform dari konvensional ke media digital. Konvergensi media memungkinkan para profesional di bidang media massa untuk menyampaikan berita dan menghadirkan informasi dan hiburan, dengan menggunakan berbagai macam media. Pemerintah selaku regulator bertanggung jawab penuh menciptakan regulasi yang dapat melindungi segenap elemen masyarakat dari pengaruh buruk media. Regulasi menjadi konsekuensi logis dari permainan simbol budaya yang ditampilkan oleh media konvergen. Tujuannya jelas, yakni agar tidak terjadi tabrakan kepentingan yang menjadikan salah satu pihak menjadi dirugikan. Terutama bagi kalangan pengguna atau publik, pihak ini biasanya menjadi pihak yang paling sering menjadi korban dari implementasi konvergensi.


Author(s):  
Z. Papacharissi

The objective of this article is to sketch out the profile of the digital citizen. The premise for this article rests upon utopian views that embrace new media technologies as democratizers of postindustrial society (e.g., Bell, 1981; Johnson & Kaye, 1998; Kling, 1996; Negroponte, 1998; Rheingold, 1993) and cautionary criticism that questions the substantial impact new media could have on reviving a dormant public sphere (e.g., Bimber & Davis, 2003; Davis, 1999; Hill & Hughes, 1998; Jankowski & van Selm, 2000; Jones, 1997; Margolis & Resnick, 2000; Scheufele & Nisbet, 2002). Concurrently, declining participation in traditional forms of political involvement and growing public cynicism (e.g., Cappella & Jamieson, 1996, 1997; Fallows, 1996; Patterson, 1993, 1996) position the Internet and related technologies as vehicles through which political activity can be reinvented. Still, conflicting narratives on civic involvement, as articulated by the government, politicians, the media, and the public, create confusion about the place and role of the citizen in a digital age. The digital citizen profile, therefore, is defined by historical and cultural context, divided between expectation and skepticism regarding new media, and presents hope of resurrecting the public sphere and awakening a latent, postmodern political consciousness. This article outlines these conditions, reviews perceptions of the digital citizen, and proposes a digital citizen role model for the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (13) ◽  
pp. 24-38
Author(s):  
Adibah Ismail

Media freedom and media control are two concepts closely related to democracy where it involves the struggle and cooperation between media and the government. Although Freedom House – an international body that classified a few countries in Europe as practicing press freedom, the truth is absolute press freedom does not exist. Those countries actually have their own control mechanism. In Malaysia, media freedom and media control are always questioned because the government was accused of using various reasons to control media freedom. The media freedom issue is considered as not important for a developing country like Malaysia because multiracial harmony is essential in order for the government to focus on the development. However, the advancement of technology has loosened the government’s control and makes it more complex. This situation has raised concerns about how the media can be controlled in the era of new media. Through a literature review of secondary sources, this article is going to evaluate the control element in the Agenda Setting Theory proposed by McCombs and Shaw (1972) and how press freedom in Malaysia has been impacted by the advancement of communication technology. This article will also suggest a few solutions for the government to control the media in the era of new media.


Author(s):  
Godwin Ehiarekhian Oboh

This paper explores the tripartite relationship between the media, elections and good governance in the contemporary Nigerian politics. It examines the growing impact of the media (especially with the emergence of the new media) on the various ways in which Nigerian political parties, politicians as well as governments present themselves to the electorate both for the purposes of electioneering campaigns and promotion of government policies as agenda for development. The paper foregrounds the critical roles that the media have to play in order to open up the public sphere and facilitate mass participation in governance with the implication of enhancing democratic values and cultures in Nigerian democracy. In this regard, particular focus is paid to reporting the 2007 general elections and the influence of the Nigerian newspaper proprietors and the government on the editorial stance of the media on the elections. It was noted that the government owned newspapers tended to reflect the position of the authoritarian model, while their private owned counterparts operated along the lines of the libertarian perspective while reporting on the elections.


MedienJournal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Li Xiguang

The commercialization of meclia in China has cultivated a new journalism business model characterized with scandalization, sensationalization, exaggeration, oversimplification, highly opinionated news stories, one-sidedly reporting, fabrication and hate reporting, which have clone more harm than good to the public affairs. Today the Chinese journalists are more prey to the manipu/ation of the emotions of the audiences than being a faithful messenger for the public. Une/er such a media environment, in case of news events, particularly, during crisis, it is not the media being scared by the government. but the media itself is scaring the government into silence. The Chinese news media have grown so negative and so cynica/ that it has produced growing popular clistrust of the government and the government officials. Entering a freer but fearful commercially mediated society, the Chinese government is totally tmprepared in engaging the Chinese press effectively and has lost its ability for setting public agenda and shaping public opinions. 


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2671
Author(s):  
Mateus Santana Sousa ◽  
Camila Silveira Silva Teixeira ◽  
Jamacy Costa Souza ◽  
Priscila Ribas de Farias Costa ◽  
Renata Puppin Zandonadi ◽  
...  

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of community restaurants (CRs), managed by the Government of the State of Bahia/Brazil, for the dimension of access to food. The study used secondary data obtained from the public opinion survey Profile of users of community restaurants in Salvador. The nutritional information was accessed through the analysis of CRs’ menus. Adequate effectiveness of access to food was considered when the CR served meals to 50% to 70% of the users considered the target audience (individuals served by the two CRs located in the city of Salvador/Bahia/Brazil). The participants (n = 1464; 778 as low-income individuals) were adult CR users from Salvador/Brazil. Most of the respondents were male, 40 to 54 years old, not white, had up to 9 years of formal education, without a partner, and living in the municipality of Salvador. The evaluated CRs are effective in serving 53.1% of the target population in their total service capacity. Meal provision only reached an estimated 0.7% of the socially vulnerable community in the district. The average energy value of the meal served by the CR units was 853.05 kcal/meal, with a mean energy density composition classified as average (1.15 kcal/g). The effectiveness of the evaluated community restaurants showed that these instruments were minimally effective in promoting access to food for the low-income population within their total daily service capacity, and the current quantity of these facilities was insufficient. However, these instruments stand out in the fundamental role of promoting the daily distribution of meals to the Brazilian population with the highest social vulnerability levels.


Unity Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 251-262
Author(s):  
Sumitra Karki

Nepal has been a home to diversified settlement in terms of ethnicity, religion, dialect and culture since its outset in civilization. It also lies between two great military and economic giants of Asia – India and China – that are hostile to each other. While these bring abundant opportunities for Nepal, it possesses several internal and external security threats. Nepal suffers from cyber-attack, environmental degradation, pandemic, ethnic, racial or religious conflicts, inequality and poverty, extremism, human trafficking, corruption, migration and trans-boundary crime. In addition, Nepal also faces several security threats, traditional and non–traditional, including terrorism and insurgency. These threats possess serious implications on peace and security of Nepal and the South Asian region. There is a need of serious study about the major internal and external security challenges that Nepal faces in recent decades. This study aims at examining some of the major security challenges, explore the factors behind it, and attempt to suggest few policy recommendations to the government of Nepal to deal with them. The study is conducted by reviewing the primary and secondary sources of data. The primary data includes documents of the government agencies, press release, joint statement and organizational reports. It also includes the interviews with security experts, bureaucrats, policy makers and academicians. Similarly, secondary data includes books, news reports, academic journals, seminars report and reports of research institutes and think tanks. The study highlights that Nepal should prepare itself to meet with the emerging internal and external security challenges what have emerged in recent times. With the rise of India and China, two adversarial powers in the region, Nepal possess extreme challenges in days to come. Similarly, hardly any countries of the world had prepared itself to deal with recent pandemic like COVID-19 that has shattered even the most powerful countries of the world. Taking lessons from these, it is time for Nepal to learn and prepare to mitigate the challenges.


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