International Communication Gazette recent issues

Community Radio in the West: A Legacy of Struggle for Survival in a State and Capitalist Controlled Media Environment

Cammaerts, B. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:02:42 PST

In this article the legacy of struggle by community radio in the West is analysed from a comparative perspective. More specifically, the focus of this article is on Western media policies towards community radio. It is argued that while many community radio discourses, theories and policies are oriented towards developing countries and emerging democracies, community radio stations in the West are often forced to operate in the margins. Case studies on the US, the UK and Belgium are presented. Some influence of distinct regulatory paradigms can be observed, but overall in each of these countries community radio stations have a legacy of struggle for their existence and survival. This exposes the need to account for the distinct nature of community radio in (Western) regulatory regimes. A common thread in the cases being presented is the difficulty involved in (local) community radio legitimating its existence on the FM-band alongside commercial and public broadcasters. Unlike these, community radio movements have little lobbying power and are usually positioned as rogue and unprofessional actors within the broadcasting community. From a democratic perspective emphasizing the importance of participation and civic culture, Western media policies urgently need to create an enabling environment for participatory community radio initiatives.

Development Communication: The State of Research in an Era of ICTs and Globalization

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:02:42 PST

/ Through the technique of meta-analysis, this study investigates the scholarly articles appearing in peer-reviewed online and offline journals that address the topic of communication and development from 1998 to 2007 to determine publication trends in the field. The research was prompted by the sense that development was moving off the research agenda of most communication scholars. This seemed surprising in the era of globalization and it was decided to examine the literature for evidence. The study finds that published studies have moved away from mass communication and toward ICTs’ role in development, that they infrequently address development in the context of globalization and often continue to embrace a modernization paradigm despite its many criticisms. In addition, International Communication Gazette was found to be the only mainstream communication journal to include a significant number of articles on development communication.

Culture and Its Influence on Advertising: Misguided Framework, Inadequate Comparative Design and Dubious Knowledge Claim

Chang, T.-K., Huh, J., McKinney, K., Sar, S., Wei, W., Schneeweis, A. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:02:42 PST

This study reports results from a content analysis of comparative advertising studies published in 11 major journals between 1975 and 2005. In the context of sociology of knowledge, the objective was to determine how we come to know what we know about the relationship between culture and advertising in cross-national settings in terms of competing theories and common methodological practices, and to propose concrete solutions to analytical problems encountered in comparative advertising research. The results show that the framework of existing studies was often misguided and the comparative design inadequate to determine the effect of culture on advertising, leaving the knowledge claim of a causal relationship dubious.

Becoming Pan-European?: Transnational Media and the European Public Sphere

Bruggemann, M., Schulz-Forberg, H. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:02:42 PST

/ Research about the European public sphere has so far mainly focused on the analysis of national media, neglecting a dimension of transnational communication, namely transnational media. These media could serve as horizontal links between the still nationally segmented public spheres and they could be platforms of a transnational European discourse. Four ideal-types of transnational media can be distinguished: (1) national media with a transnational mission , (2) international media, (3) pan-regional media and (4) global media. Within this framework the article analyses transnational media in Europe, showing that a multitude of transnational media have developed in Europe. They have acquired a small but growing and influential audience. Whether transnational media fulfil the normative demands related to the concept of a transnational public sphere remains an open question as some of these media heavily depend on government subsidies and there is a clear lack of research on the European discourses represented in these media.

The Advertising Industry in Latin America: A Comparative Study

Sinclair, J. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:02:42 PST

In the great debate about ‘cultural imperialism’ in the 1970s and 1980s, the advertising industry was singled out as a key mechanism by which the economies and societies of the ‘Third World’ countries were seen to be dominated by the rich countries of North America and Europe. Yet, relative to critical research on the other international communication industries also held to exert such dominance, notably television and news, the advertising industry as such has since been rather neglected. The research presented in this article is based on material gathered by a collaborative team of researchers reporting on the recent state of play within the constellation of interests which make up the advertising industry in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile. The article thus provides a detailed empirical account of the modes in which the advertising industry now binds these leading nations of Latin America into both economic and cultural globalization.

News Framing During a Time of Impending War: An Examination of Coverage in The New York Times prior to the 2003 Iraq War

Melkote, S. R. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:08:58 PDT

This article is an empirical analysis that falls under the category of media criticism and accountability. Specifically, the study investigated the manner in which The New York Times framed the events, issues and actors during the month prior to the start of the 2003 war with Iraq. The study focused on: Saddam Hussein, George Bush Jr, the United Nations, weapons of mass destruction, the US Armed Forces (in Iraq) and France, Germany and Russia. The study discovered negative bias in the coverage, especially toward Saddam Hussein, WMDs, the UN and France, Germany and Russia.

Mapping Fear and Danger in Global Space: Arab Americans' and Others' Engagement with Action-Adventure Film

Wilkins, K. G. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:08:58 PDT

This article explores how Arab American and other US-based communities map global place, fear and danger through their engagement with action-adventure film. While there is extensive literature demonstrating the limited characterization of Arab communities, of Islam and of the Middle East, we know much less about the consequences of these media portrayals. In discussions of action-adventure settings, Arab American groups and informants were much more likely than their counterparts to specify particular places over more generalized regions, and to be highly critical of rather than justify these constructions. These groups’ sense of danger in the world at large, dictating concern with travel outside the known and familiar territory of citizenship, seemed contingent upon cultural identification as well as direct experience. The connection between identification, whether as an American citizen primarily or as an Arab constituent, and fear in the world is critical in understanding how mapping predicates experiences and interpretations.

(Afri)Ethics, Communitarianism and Libertarianism

Tomaselli, K. G. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:08:58 PDT

This article attempts to innovate an approach to ethics that treats radical justice as the raison d’être of ethical journalism. Radical justice concerns not just the treatment of the means of collecting and distribution of information but how this is accountable to the realization of the ‘talents’ of people. The approach offered holds governments accountable by proposing a form of public sphere in which ‘communicative action’ allows the maturation of the voice of the citizenry and which is anti-essentialist and audience centred. Communicative action deals with moral imperatives and the creation of freedom in which radical justice is realized. African debates on the topic are critically examined in relation to European discussions, and the idea of a specific Afriethics is critiqued, as are the concepts of ubuntu (communalism), communitarianism and African values.

Television Drama, Narrative Engagement and Audience Buying Behavior: The Effects of Winter Sonata in Japan

Do Kyun Kim, , Singhal, A., Hanaki, T., Dunn, J., Chitnis, K., Min Wha Han, — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:08:58 PDT

In the past few years, the popularity of Korean television dramas, songs and movies has skyrocketed in countries of North and Southeast Asia. This huge wave of Korean pop culture is referred to as the Hanryu (the Korean wave). One of the most significant trendsetters of the Hanryu was the Korean television drama Winter Sonata, which was remarkably popular in every Asian country where it was broadcast. The present article investigates the perception of Japanese audience members toward Winter Sonata’s narrative and how this perception influenced their buying behavior of Winter Sonata memorabilia, such as clothing, cosmetics, DVDs/CDs of the program, trips to Korea and the like. Employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, this study finds that the popularity of the drama was generated by Japanese audiences’ engagement with its narrative. Further, the audience perception of the narrative’s quality was found to predict whether or not they purchased a Winter Sonata product.

A Product of Their Culture: Using a Value Systems Approach to Understand the Work Practices of Journalists

Hanusch, F. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:08:58 PDT

Past approaches adopted by scholars in comparing international news have tended to concentrate on political and economic perspectives, while the role that culture plays in determining news has been somewhat neglected until recently. This article examines the role of culture in the development of journalistic practices and how a value systems approach can be applied to understanding journalism practices across cultures. Specifically, the article compares German and Anglo-American journalism practices with a view to locating differences between these traditions. The study demonstrates that using value systems as developed by Dutch anthropologist Geert Hofstede can be immensely useful in comparing the differences between the two traditions, as well as in understanding how journalists in these traditions report about the world.

Can Peace Journalism Make Progress?: The Coverage of the 2006 Lebanon War in Canadian and Israeli Media

Shinar, D. — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:41:35 PDT

Johan Galtung’s criticisms in the 1970s of media representations that glamorize war evolved as the peace journalism alternative approach. Since then, peace journalism has developed into a philosophical framework and an arsenal of framing techniques, but has been criticized for conceptual and practical weaknesses, and the need to strengthen its methodology, conceptual framework and empirical validation. This study of the 2006 Lebanon War press coverage in Canada and Israel aims at contributing to the empirical dimension. Stories published on and during the war by the Canadian Toronto Sun and the Israeli Yediot Aharonot were content analysed according to criteria adapted from the literature. General findings demonstrate an expected tendency towards ‘war journalism’. Comparative findings for each newspaper, however, show that peace journalism is not entirely disregarded. While the study indicates both the salience and the resilience of war journalism, it also concludes that there are opportunities for the advancement of peace journalism and professional practices that could be adopted to achieve this.

Media in Africa: Political, Cultural and Theoretical Trajectories in the Global Environment

Shepperson, A., Tomaselli, K. G. — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:41:35 PDT

This article tackles assumptions made by Louise Bourgault in her pioneering book, Mass Media in Sub-Saharan Africa. The article discusses her claims about African journalism in relation to her engagement with western approaches, and with regard to issues of orality, the Shannon and Weaver communication model and to the megadiscipline of media studies. Short case studies are provided of the emergence of print media in several African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya and South Africa), with the South African analysis looking more in-depth at the political economy of print media in the context of post-apartheid ideologies. The article concludes by positioning media studies in Africa against western media studies, and media studies as a ‘megadiscipline’, the intention being to account for and explain some of the disparities between North—South media studies and print media economies.

Towards an African Journalism Model: A Critical Historical Perspective

Shaw, I. S. — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:41:35 PDT

Much of the scholarly literature regarding theories of journalism practice is premised on the tenets of the western model of liberal democracy. To the extent that this model is held to be universal, it hinders the analytical theorization of journalistic precepts that have evolved locally in most countries of the developing world. This article seeks to address this problem by exploring the evolution of what may be aptly characterized as the African journalism model. This model is grounded in oral discourse, creativity, humanity and agency. By comparing and contrasting these two models, this article seeks to challenge the assumption that African journalism is one of mere ‘bandwagonism’ informed by western ‘modernity’ and ‘civilization’. In particular, by exploring the origin and transformation of journalism in sub-Saharan Africa before, during and after colonialism, this article contributes to the conceptual elaboration of alternative conceptions of the African model of journalism.

The Middle East in American Media: A 20th-Century Overview

Ibrahim, D. — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:41:35 PDT

This article chronicles 20th-century American media coverage of the Middle East. Communication scholars have been at odds with determining just how the region has been portrayed, and their descriptions are not entirely uniform. Many of these scholars have accused the American media of favoritism in its coverage of the region’s conflicts, arguing through their research that objectivity has been present but rare in the nation’s mainstream press. This article traces those research efforts in an attempt to establish a picture of the patterns and shifting paradigms of American media coverage of the Middle East, particularly the Israeli—Palestinian conflict.

Diversity in Foreign News in US Newspapers Before and After the Invasion of Iraq

Choi, J. — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:41:35 PDT

The objective of this study is to explore how the Iraq War affected the patterns of newspapers’ foreign news coverage, specifically how the war affected the quality of foreign news in three prominent US newspapers, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald in 2001, 2003, and 2005. Diversity was adopted as a criterion to measure the quality of foreign news coverage, employing the Herfindahl Index to calculate the level of diversity. The study reveals that, in general, the diversity of sources, geographic origins and topics significantly decreased after the start of the war. This was due to the pattern of concentration on a few categories. After the invasion of Iraq, newspapers’ preferences for government sources, Middle East origins, military/defence related stories and news about international politics increased.

How the Internet Impacts On International News: Exploring Paradoxes of the Most Global Medium in a Time of `Hyperlocalism'

Berger, G. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:04:10 PDT

/ Technologically, the Internet is the most global medium in the history of humanity. It shakes up traditional distinctions between local, foreign and international news. On the other hand, it would also appear that many news institutions in cyberspace still retain the character of the traditional media with regard to three features: preferencing local and national news, domesticating news about other countries and reflecting imbalanced flows between First and Third World countries. This article shows that while some First World media, both online and offline, are chanting the mantra of becoming `hyperlocal', it is much of the rest of the world that is experiencing the Internet as an international medium, albeit from a subordinate cultural and linguistic position. However, there are prospects for a new alignment.

The Development of an Instrument To Determine Different Levels of Interactivity

Koolstra, C. M., Bos, M. J.W. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:04:10 PDT

/ Many researchers suggest that communication is most effective if a high level of interactivity between participants is involved. As yet, however, there is neither consensus on how interactivity is defined, nor on how it can be measured. The present study is aimed at finding an operational definition of interactivity that can be used in almost all communication contexts. Additionally, based primarily on three recent reviews on the concept, the study proposes an objective instrument for determining different levels of interactivity. The instrument consists of a checklist for observing the presence of a set of representative characteristics such as synchronicity, timing flexibility, control over content, physical presence of participants and the extent to which participants in a communication situation use their senses. The applicability of the instrument is demonstrated by determining the interactivity levels of two exemplary communication situations.

Africa on YouTube: Musicians, Tourists, Missionaries and Aid Workers

Wall, M. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:04:10 PDT

/ YouTube videos featuring the countries Ghana and Kenya were assessed, finding that this citizen media tool is allowing ordinary people to construct representations of African countries but that these are much more likely to come from westerners. Although these African countries are not represented as chaotic and violent as has often been the case in the past, they continue to be stereotyped. Africans unaccompanied by westerners are most likely to appear in entertainment, especially music, videos.

War as a Moral Discourse

Mellor, N. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:04:10 PDT

/ The debate surrounding the coverage of the Iraq War in Arab and western news media has pinpointed the ethical role of the news media in the mediation of suffering. This article analyses the mechanism of mediating war in the front-page articles from four pan-Arab newspapers, printed during the war in 2003. The article draws on Boltanski's discussion of emotional politics or what he terms politics of pity, the aim of which is to trigger sympathy for the Other. The news texts included here are analysed according to their rhetorical strategies and to whether they aim at consolidating a certain ethical stance towards the war. Finally, the article attempts to answer the question of whether this coverage has contributed with rational arguments to the general public debate about the war, thereby fulfilling its role as mediator to the pan-Arab polity.

`From All My Teachers I Have Grown Wise, and From My Students More Than Anyone Else': What Lessons Can the US Learn from Broadband Policies in Europe?

Schejter, A. M. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:04:10 PDT

/ Rooted in what are already disparate programs of regulatory intervention, the European Union and the United States have identified differently their current challenges in telecommunications policy. This study describes the development of both regulatory frameworks through their philosophical roots and ideological transitions demonstrating how, on the one hand, American influences have affected the European policy language, but, on the other, the European policies have better implemented the same policies and as a result are being seen as contributing to higher levels of broadband penetration. This time around, it seems that attending to the strengths of the European process may help policy-makers in the US reformulate their own home-grown policies.