scholarly journals Discursive Strategies and Media Representation of Conflicts

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Naeem Afzal
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Editorial Content ◽  
The Public ◽  
Discursive Strategies ◽  
Public Consumption ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Narratives ◽  
The Arab Spring

The media’s tendency to widely represent conflicts, through legitimization or de- legitimization, makes us believe that media narratives may not be perceived as ‘neutral stances’ for the public consumption. This study investigates the policy of a mainstream newspaper, The News International (NI), in Pakistan and discursive strategies manipulated by its editorial writers to portray the Arab Spring. It, specifically, examines how the selected newspaper editorials thematically constructed the uprising; (re) formulated the public opinion by echoing the Arab Spring-centred perspectives; and mostly backed the revolting protesters against the dictatorial rules in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Syria. The data consist of purposefully selected editorials, which were published between January 2011 and December 2012. This particular timeframe has been distinguished for peak media coverage of the events. The qualitative data (editorial content) are analysed by using NVivo. Through discourse analysis approach, it is revealed that editorial writers employed several recurrent themes (e.g., protests, democracy, horror) to project a positive image of the protesters’ movement and fully utilised their prerogative in constructing a ‘pro-Arab Spring’ discourse. This study concludes that such ‘opinion discourses’ serve as an eye-opener to the role of media in representing conflicts from different angles while staying in different societies. It also provides insights into the ways newspapers (dis) empower readers by promoting certain factions of a conflict and devaluing others.

scholarly journals GCC Media Roles during the 2011 Arab Spring: An Analytical and Critical Overview

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah K. Al-Kindi
Keyword(s):  
Arab Spring ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
The Public ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
The Media ◽  
Contextual Characteristics ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Critical Overview

The central aim of this paper is to critically analyze the role of the media during public protests that occurred in the GCC countries during 2011. These protests were part of what came to be called the “Arab Spring”, which started in late 2010. Particular focus will be on how the Arab Spring resulted in fundamental changes and how various institutions played roles in this. The study draws on Gulf region literature about the Arab Spring in order to offer a critical and informed overview on the topic under discussion. The paper’s main question is: what are the main roles played by the GCC media (old/new) during the public protests of 2011? The paper argues that the role of the media in the 2011 protests, while important, was rather limited and affected by the unique contextual characteristics of the media environment in the GCC countries. 

scholarly journals The short life of a concept: tourismphobia in the Spanish media. Narratives, actors and agendas

2021 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
María Velasco González ◽  
Ernesto Carrillo Barroso
Keyword(s):  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Narratives ◽  
Policy Narratives ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Media Narratives ◽  
Dominant Narratives

This article forms part of a classic social science debate on the role of the media in the construction of social and political narratives. The object of the paper is to study the rise and fall of the concept of tourismphobia in the Spanish media. The case is analyzed in the light of public policies studies, especially those analyzing agenda-setting, the social construction of the definition of public problems and the struggles of coalitions seeking to impose their public policy narratives in the policy-making process. With this purpose, a database was used that collected more than 11,000 news items over a substantial period of time. Its analysis reveals that media attention rises sharply after active protest actions against tourist saturation and that the term is mostly linked to specific territories and cities and to certain political figures. It also allows us to observe how some political responses to the problem appear more in the media, while others are minimized. The conclusions indicate that the “tourismphobia” neologism was capitalized on – which is often the case with terms that circulate in the public sphere – by various groups attempting to highlight some of its semantic dimensions over others. The study also reveals that the media assume an active position in the construction of discourses in relation to tourism also as a political and not just an economic issue. Furthermore, it shows that the use of the term has greatly declined, either because the problem has become dormant or because it has been reformulated into other terms that are more in line with dominant narratives.

Covid-19, Media Reporting, and the Role of Bioethicists

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 137-138
Author(s):  
Federico Nicoli ◽  
◽  
Paul J. Cummins ◽  
Joseph A. Raho ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
The Other ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
The U.S

"In the aftermath of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, media coverage was scrutinized for sensationalism, weakness in explaining scientific uncertainty, dehumanization of patients, and lack of contextualization. The current COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity to assess whether the media learned its lesson. Results are mixed. Early reporting on the origin of COVID-19 in “wet markets” indicates that the media continues to do poorly with contextualization. On the other hand, stories on mortality and the infectiousness of COVID-19 indicate there has been improvement. The situation remains fluid as COVID-19 threatens to transform into a pandemic at the time of submission. Data from new countries may alter the reported rates of lethality and infectiousness, and media reporting on these changes may or may not be responsible. The explosion of social media, as a medium to promote reporting, could provide bioethicists a tool to direct the public to reliable stories and criticize inaccurate ones. Using a bioethics perspective, this poster will critically evaluate the quality of U.S. and Italian news media’s reporting on the evolving scientific understanding of COVID-19 and its contextualization. The presentation will employ QR technology to provide links to media coverage of COVID-19 from the U.S. and Italian news media. After critically appraising the quality of COVID-19 reporting, this poster will consider if bioethicists: 1) should provide comment to the media on pandemics; 2) should correct reporting for the public and 3) have a duty to publicly criticize sensationalism in the media. "

Abuse by the Powerful? Exploring the role of media narratives and political discourse in the immigration-crime nexus

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Philip Birch ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Community Group ◽  
Political Commentary ◽  
South Sudanese ◽  
African Community ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Narratives

This paper considers the role of media narratives and political discourse in the immigration-crime nexus by exploring, as a case study, the recent experience of the South Sudanese community in Australia. Over recent years this cohort of relatively new arrivals have been subjected to a raft of negative media coverage and political commentary. This paper deliberates on the narrative of this African community group and their subsequent portrayal, and considers if it is both legitimate and accurate. At a time when many Australians see the benefits of immigration, this paper examines the role the media and politics plays in undermining this community sentiment, reflecting a level of abuse by the most powerful in society towards the some of the least powerful.

scholarly journals Immigrants in Polish and German Online Media: A Comparative Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 39-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Szylko-Kwas ◽  
Katarzyna Gajlewicz-Korab ◽  
Anna Grutza ◽  
Anna Jupowicz-Ginalska
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Forming Quality ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Narratives

In this article, the authors present the results of their research conducted in Polish and German online media in 2016. The major topic of the abovementioned research was the European refugee crisis in Poland and Germany and its representation in websites of four quality newspapers: Wyborcza.pl, Rp.pl, Faz.net and Sz.de. The aim of this article is to analize the role of media in public opinion-shaping in both countries. Through a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the data, the authors answered the following questions: 1) Are the media narratives of both countries different from each other? b) If so, how is the migration problem presented in Poland and in Germany? c) What are their most noticeable features? Among the most important conclusions are the following: 1) The media coverage of both countries is highly politicized; 2) Neither German nor Polish journalists of the opinion-forming quality newspapers did measurably support an isolationist policy. The research has been conducted within the scope of an International project called LEMEL (L’Europe dans les médias en ligne). This program was initiated by Cergy-Pontoise University and is now held annually. Several European countries participate in it (scientists from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania are permanent members of the project’s research group). The aim of the project is a synchronous and diachronic comparative analysis of the content presented in their respective national online media. The analysis focuses on the way Europe and its problems are presented in the abovementioned media content.

The Role of Web 2.0 in the Arab Spring

2012 ◽  
pp. 76-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Cropf ◽  
Mamoun Benmamoun ◽  
Morris Kalliny
Keyword(s):  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Path Dependency ◽  
The Public ◽  
Collaborative Tools ◽  
Dependency Model ◽  
Douglass North ◽  
The Arab Spring

The Arab Spring seemed to give a renewed sense of promise to proponents of Web 2.0 as a force for democratization. However, a year on, throughout the Arab world the prospects for democracy are still far from certain. Our conclusion, based on an examination of the events in four countries—Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain, and Libya—is that Web 2.0 collaborative tools are without parallel in their ability to mobilize vast numbers of the public. Unknown, however, is whether Web 2.0 can also assist in institutionalizing democracy throughout the Arab world. In this study, the authors adapt the path dependency model of Douglass North and others to explain why, despite the huge popularity of Web 2.0 in the region, the growth of Arab e-democracy will be slow and uncertain. Path dependency suggests that in order for e-democracy to eventually take root and thrive in the region, certain preconditions must be met.

Social media, riots, and revolutions

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Societal Changes ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Arab Spring

This article analyses the mass media’s claims about the role of social media in the 2011 UK riots and the Arab Spring, arguing that social media has become a new fetishism of technology that distracts from the contradictions of capitalism underlying contemporary societal changes and conflicts. Understanding contemporary capitalism, its contradictions and the role of the media requires a dialectical and critical analysis.

scholarly journals Democracy at Stake: Self-Censorship as a Self-Defence Strategy for Journalists

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Walulya ◽  
Goretti L. Nassanga
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Press Freedom ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Security Risks ◽  
The Public ◽  
Female Journalists ◽  
General Elections ◽  
The Media

The media play an essential role of informing and mobilising voters as well as facilitating a two-way communication process between citizens and those vying for electoral offices during elections. This allows citizens to get information on various issues from the contenders, which largely informs their electoral decisions. In most less democratic societies however, this media function is increasingly becoming difficult to fulfil due to challenges journalists encounter during electoral processes. Using Uganda’s last general elections in 2016 as a case study, this article discusses the safety of journalists during elections basing on findings from a bigger study on the media coverage of the 2016 elections, supplemented by in-depth interviews with 10 journalists who covered the elections. In addition, the analysis makes reference to the 2016 Uganda Press Freedom Index. Findings of this research show that journalists face more safety and security risks during elections particularly perpetuated by state security agencies. Compared to previous elections, the 2016 elections also recorded the highest number of victims who were female journalists. This article highlights key challenges journalists face during elections, which include: state harassment and intimidation, arrest of those considered critical to the state, and denial of access to important information. Due to concerns of their own safety, journalists have responded to the insecure work environment by engaging in self-censorship, thereby giving biased or limited information to the public. The article identifies gaps that media development agencies can help to close if the media are to play their rightful role in a democratic society, especially during the electoral process.

scholarly journals Impact of Electronic Media on Pakistan’s Security

2018 ◽  
Vol III (I) ◽  
pp. 434-446
Author(s):  
Sarwat Rauf ◽  
Inayat Kalim ◽  
Muhammad Mubeen
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Electronic Media ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
The Public ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Perceived Security ◽  
The Media ◽  
Negative Impacts

To control the mindset of any society, media plays an important role due to its ability to transfer information and thereby transform societies. Electronic media which thrives on conspiracies, has not lost its importance and TV is still a popular means of communication. By virtue of technological innovations, electronic media has a vast impact on all segments of society (exposure to modern technology and becoming vulnerable). In the contemporary world, terrorism is a major security threat in Pakistan. Continuous open electronic media coverage of issues occur with inherent bias. Against this backdrop, the role of media becomes crucial as the media agenda is gradually turning into the public agenda. Electronic media is inherently biases to the opinions of those reporting the situation. Admittedly, media can influence a large chunk of society. Importantly, Pakistan’s private TV channels while giving an insight to the audience, intentionally or unintentionally, may drive a negative mindset and give birth to perceived security threats. This paper attempts to ascertain the complex connection between security and the electronic media and also highlights the negative impacts of media on the security of Pakistan.

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