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1 – 10 of over 27000Since 2010, social media has played a major role in connecting Saudis and creating a space for debate in the absence of political participation. However, government monitoring of…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB274681
ISSN: 2633-304X
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This study examined the association between media consumers' attitudes toward COVID-19-related content on mainstream, on-demand and social media and trust in the government's…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the association between media consumers' attitudes toward COVID-19-related content on mainstream, on-demand and social media and trust in the government's ability to handle the pandemic crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on an online survey of a representative sample of 1,005 Israelis aged 18 and over and focused on consumers' perceptions of media contents as a source of information, social solidarity, criticism and anxiety.
Findings
Findings indicate that mainstream media were the primary source of pandemic information. A positive association was found between perceptions of mainstream media as a source of criticism and trust in government's actions. This association was negative regarding social and on-demand media. The more mainstream media contents were perceived as anxiety evoking, the lower participants' trust in government's actions. A positive association was found between perceptions that social media encouraged social solidarity and trust in governmental action.
Practical implications
Policymakers should take into consideration that various media operate synergistically to continually construct reality.
Originality/value
This study focuses on consumers' perceptions of COVID-related media contents, which are especially important in the current era of media outlet proliferation, distribution and impact on the government. The unique contribution is in the integrated application of media malaise theory, virtuous circle theory and echo chamber theory to explain the correlation between media consumption and public trust during a global crisis in the era of diverse media outlets.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-06-2021-0299.
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Angeles Moreno, Cristina Fuentes Lara, Ralph Tench and Stefania Romenti
Governments around the world have shown poor capabilities in responding effectively to the COVID-19 health emergency outbreaks. After the declaration of COVID-19 as an…
Abstract
Purpose
Governments around the world have shown poor capabilities in responding effectively to the COVID-19 health emergency outbreaks. After the declaration of COVID-19 as an international pandemic by the World Health Organization on January 31, 2020, three countries experienced the greatest initial impact in Europe. Sequentially Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK) were hit by the highest numbers of contagion and death in the first few months in Europe. The aim of this paper is to assess how information channels and sources influenced the public’s evaluation of the three government’s communication response strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was conducted between March 14 and April 14, 2020, during the first wave of lockdowns and declarations of States of Emergency in the three countries.
Findings
Findings show particularities for the different countries, but also similarities in response and reactions of the public in the three scenarios. The response strategy of the UK Government was the most untrusted and criticized by citizens. In contrast, the Italian and Spanish Governments, which both chose to respond with the severest restrictions, attracted more support from citizens, especially in Italy, which was the first to close borders and impose lockdowns for the population.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the national differences in the preference of information channels and sources, overall, an empirical relationship between government communication assessment and media use were found in all the scenarios.
Practical implications
This empirical study has theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, findings will add evidence of implications of the Channel Complementary Theory to the field of risk, crisis and emergency communication. The results also provide insights for communication practitioners in the public sector on how forms of information and trust in sources influence the public’s assessment of authorities’ communication.
Originality/value
Implications for theory and empirical research about communication during a health pandemic are identified and discussed.
Highlights
Citizens engage at a high level and synchronize their use of multiple media and platforms in all the three national scenarios.
Stronger criticism is provided by online media, especially social media and online press in the different national contexts.
Results corroborate that factors related to media choice need to be operationalized for risk and crisis communication research.
When public health depends on people understanding the actions they need to take, the possibility of disobedience is highly dependent on trust.
Compared with Spain and the United Kingdom (UK), trust in government institutions in Italy was stronger and could be explained by the higher use of owned media for information-seeking.
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In early March, the Tanzanian High Court ruled in favour of the 2015 Cybercrimes Act, rejecting arguments that it breaks freedom of expression laws. Social media represents a…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB218681
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Media power plays a role in determining which news is told, who is listened to and how subject matter is treated, resulting in some stories being reported in depth while others…
Abstract
Media power plays a role in determining which news is told, who is listened to and how subject matter is treated, resulting in some stories being reported in depth while others remain cursory and opaque. This chapter examines how domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is reported in mainstream and social media encompassing newspapers, television and digital platforms. In the United Kingdom, newspapers have freedom to convey particular views on subjects such as DVA as, unlike radio and television broadcasting, they are not required to be impartial (Reeves, 2015).
The gendered way DVA is represented in the UK media has been a long-standing concern. Previous research into newspaper representations of DVA, including our own (Lloyd & Ramon, 2017), found evidence of victim blaming and sexualising violence against women. This current study assesses whether there is continuity with earlier research regarding how victims of DVA, predominantly women, are portrayed as provoking their own abuse and, in cases of femicide, their characters denigrated by some in the media with impunity (Soothill & Walby, 1991). The chapter examines how certain narratives on DVA are constructed and privileged in sections of the media while others are marginalised or silenced. With the rise in digital media, the chapter analyses the changing patterns of news media consumption in the UK and how social media users are responding to DVA cases reported in the news. Through discourse analysis of language and images, the potential messages projected to media consumers are considered, together with consumer dialogue and interaction articulated via online and social media platforms.
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Hillel Nossek and Yehiel Limor
Although the state of Israel is a democracy, military censorship has been in use since its establishment in 1948 and is still imposed. The chapter analyzes the theoretical and…
Abstract
Although the state of Israel is a democracy, military censorship has been in use since its establishment in 1948 and is still imposed. The chapter analyzes the theoretical and practical grounds for military censorship in Israel based on an agreement between relevant parties: the government, the army, the media, and the public. Analysis of Israeli military censorship reveals that military censorship is not necessarily the enemy of the media and the public's right to know. On the contrary and paradoxically, we show that in Israel's case, military censorship not only performs its task of preventing the publication of information that threatens the national security, at times it sustains the country's freedom of the press, freedom of information, and the public's right to know.
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Brad Millington and Brian Wilson
Purpose – To discuss the history and relevance of audience research as it pertains to sport and physical culture and to demonstrate an approach to doing audience…
Abstract
Purpose – To discuss the history and relevance of audience research as it pertains to sport and physical culture and to demonstrate an approach to doing audience research.
Design/methodology/approach – A step-by-step overview of a study conducted by the authors is provided. The study examined ways that groups of young males in a Vancouver, Canada, high school interpreted images of masculinity in popular media, and ways these same youth performed masculinity in physical education classes. We reflect on how studying interpretations (using focus groups) and lived experiences (using participant observation and in-depth interviews) in an integrated fashion was helpful for understanding the role of media in the everyday lives of these youth. We also describe how the hegemony concept guided our data interpretation.
Findings – We highlight how, on the one hand, the young males were critical of media portrayals of hegemonic forms of masculinity and, on the other hand, how these same males attempted to conform to norms associated with hegemonic masculinity in physical education classes. We emphasise that our multi-method approach was essential in allowing us to detect the incongruity between youth ‘interpretations’ and ‘performances’.
Research limitations/implications – Limitations of audience research are discussed, and the epistemological underpinnings of our study are highlighted.
Originality/value – The need for audience research in physical cultural studies is emphasised. We suggest that researchers too often make claims about media impacts without actually talking to audiences, or looking at what audiences ‘do’ with information they glean from media.
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Marcel Mauri-Ríos, Silvia Marcos-García and Aitor Zuberogoitia-Espilla
Codes of ethics are important instruments in journalism, as they promote transparency and self-regulation of media, in addition to monitoring the quality of information. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Codes of ethics are important instruments in journalism, as they promote transparency and self-regulation of media, in addition to monitoring the quality of information. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the perceptions that Spanish journalists have of the effectiveness of codes of ethics and to evaluate the different personal and professional variables which condition this vision.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used in the present study is based on quantitative content analysis using the survey technique. This technique makes it possible to obtain empirical data on various key aspects of the profession that are determining factors in ascertaining Spanish journalists’ views of one of the instruments of accountability that is external to the media: general ethical codes.
Findings
The results show that Spanish journalists are largely confident in the effectiveness of ethical codes in their profession. Likewise, it was seen that variables such as age, professional experience or the media with which they work influence the perceptions that professionals have of such instruments.
Originality/value
If understanding journalism as a profession whose mission is to guarantee the citizens their right to information, then it is essential to be familiar with the tools provided by the profession itself to be accountable to the public regarding this professional mission. Hence the importance of instruments of accountability and the perceptions of the professionals themselves regarding their effectiveness.
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Mohamed Chelli, Sylvain Durocher and Anne Fortin
The purpose of this paper is to longitudinally explore the symbolic and substantive ideological strategies located in ENGIE’s environmental discourse while considering the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to longitudinally explore the symbolic and substantive ideological strategies located in ENGIE’s environmental discourse while considering the specific negative media context surrounding the company’s environmental activities.
Design/methodology/approach
Thompson’s (2007) and Eagleton’s (2007) theorizations are used to build an extended ideological framework to analyze ENGIE’s environmental talk from 2001 to 2015.
Findings
ENGIE drew extensively on a combination of symbolic and substantive ideological strategies in its annual and sustainability reports while ignoring several major issues raised in the press. Its substantive ideological mode of operation included actions for the environment, innovation, partnerships and educating stakeholders/staff, while its symbolic ideological mode of operation used issue identification, legal compliance, rationalization, stakeholders’ responsibilization and unification. Both ideological modes of operation worked synergistically to cast a positive light on ENGIE’s environmental activities, sustaining the ideology of a company that reconciles the irreconcilable despite negative press coverage.
Originality/value
This paper develops the notion of environmentally friendly ideology to analyze the environmental discourse of a polluting company. It is the first to use both Thompson’s and Eagleton’s ideological frameworks to make sense of corporate environmental discourse. Linking corporate discourse with media coverage, it further contributes to the burgeoning literature that interpretively distinguishes between symbolic and substantive ideological strategies by highlighting the company’s progressive shift from symbolic to more substantive disclosure.
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Göran Eriksson and Mats Eriksson
The purpose of this paper is to extend the image repair theory by focusing on the largely ignored context of the face‐to‐face communication. The paper offers an exploratory study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to extend the image repair theory by focusing on the largely ignored context of the face‐to‐face communication. The paper offers an exploratory study of how image repair work is carried out in interviews with politicians in the context of press conferences.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper combines theoretical reflections with two qualitative case studies of press conferences of Swedish politicians. These press conferences were held to manage the challenge posed to the politicians’ public image by the media criticism. The analytical frame employed in this study is Conversation Analysis (CA).
Findings
The way journalists act during interviews and how they pose questions have noticeable consequences for the accused actor's image repair work. Image repair strategies like “apologizing” and “mortification” during the speech section of a press conference tend to be more effective as they give the accused greater opportunities to take control of the interaction.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the exploratory nature of this interactional approach and the fact that the analysis involves only two cases, the findings must be seen as provisional.
Practical implications
The knowledge of how journalists construct a question is of high relevance for crisis communication and image repair work, and therefore of high value of public relations practitioners.
Originality/value
The interactional approach to image repair offers a new theoretical frame for the understanding of crisis management in interview situations. The approach especially highlights the importance of journalists’ questions in image repair work.
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