RISJ Digital News Report 2018
REPORT
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
This year’s edition of the ever comprehensive Reuters Institute Digital News Report highlights a fall in the use of social media for news in a number of key markets
The extensive report is based on an online survey of 74,000 people from 37 countries, across five continents, and explores issues such as trust in the media, disinformation, viewing trends, podcasting and ad-blockers to name but a few. It also includes new literacy and brand trust for the first time.
A major finding in this year’s report is that the use of social media for news has significantly declined in France, the UK and the USA – the latter being down six percent. According to a summary by report author Nic Newman, the decline is due to a decrease in the discovery, posting, and sharing of news in Facebook. However, there has been a significant rise in the use of private messaging apps as a means to communicate, share and discuss news stories.
Other findings include a relatively stable average level of trust in news, with 44% of respondents claiming they trust it overall. This declines to 34% if referring specifically to news found via a search engine and 23% if found via social media.
With regards to fake news, the survey found that just over half of respondents are concerned about fake news, with the highest percentages found in countries with the “most polarised political situations”. 75% of respondents also believe that responsibility to fix unreliable news lies with publishers, while 71% believe the same for platforms, with some appetite for government intervention.
Find out more about this in-depth report by following the link below.
Humanitarian Journalism
WEBSITE
Text from Humanitarian Journalism:
The Humanitarian Journalism project is seeking to better understand how the news media report on humanitarian crises and what shapes their coverage.
We are seeking to map the sub-field of humanitarian journalism and in doing so, further investigate:
1) How journalists define humanitarian news
2) How such news is shaped by political, economic and technological factors
3) What the impact of humanitarian news is on the humanitarian sector
This project is an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration that draws on newsroom ethnography, interviews and content analysis. Please get in touch if you have any questions about our work. Further details about the research team, our outputs, publications and partners can be found on this site.
The project is primarily a collaboration between Dr Mel Bunce (City, University of London), Dr Martin Scott (University of East Anglia) and Dr Kate Wright (Edinburgh University). Click on the link below to find out more and access resources.
The Public Media Alliance is an institutional partner of Humanitarian Journalism.
Featured Image: The NORAD of ABC in Austin. Image: Trey Ratcliff/Creative Commons
PSM research websites
WEBSITE
Are you interested in public service media (PSM) research? Are you struggling to find specific research articles related to contemporary PSM around the world?
Here you will find a number of recommended organisations that specialise in PSM and other relevant media research. Their websites play host to a wealth of publications, event listings and PSM research news.
Where possible we will link to organisations that make their research publicly available.
Remember to explore PMA’s Knowledge Hub for our recent publications, recommended articles and research news from around the world.
Deutsche Welle Akademie
DW Akademie is Germany’s leading organization for international media development. It supports the development of free and transparent media, quality journalism, and also offers programmes to boost media skills.
The Akademie offers a range of training opportunities for journalists and media organisations as well as clients from politics, business and civil society. Its Master’s degree program , “International Media Studies”, combines the disciplines of media and development, journalism, communication studies and media management.
Beyond media training, DW Akademie runs a variety of media development projects and research programmes around the world, with further efforts to promote media freedom and freedom of expression.
Its website hosts a number of articles and reports relevant to public media, such as In Service of the Public. You can find a wealth of other media development articles and publications here.
For more information, click here.
ECPMF & OBCT Resource Centre
An open and growing resource website developed by Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF).
The site has a broad range of resources ranging from academic papers to legal tools and practical instruments for training purposes. The resources are curated with a focus on Europe and issues surrounding democracy and particularly media freedom in the region.
Despite being launched in 2015 there are already over one thousand resource items available.
For more information, click here.
Global PSM Experts Network/PMR
The Global PSM Experts Network is a joint project of the EBU and the RIPE network which operates as a platform for bringing together researchers and experts of public service media around the world.
‘This Network will merge with the International Association of Public Media Researchers (PMR). PMR will be an association for scholars and industry experts who support Public Media worldwide. It’s a continuation of the RIPE network and, just like RIPE, will feature an online community, a bi-annual conference jointly hosted by a university and their local public service media, and a biannual edited collection of the most world-leading scholarly work for the year of publication.
The activities include:
– Bi-annual conferences
– Related open-access Readers by Nordicom
– Discussions and information exchanges in our social media communities on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, click here to access the network’s Facebook group whilst they launch their new website.
InnoPSM
Innovation in Public Service Media Policies (InnoPSM) is a new ARHC-funded research network, which uses a multi-stakeholder approach to bring together academic experts, practitioners and policymakers with a shared interest in PSM to discuss global, ‘innovative policy solutions and strategies’ to confront the contemporary challenges facing PSM in the digital age.
Read PMA’s report on InnoPSM’s launch and activities here.
NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute
Founded in 1946, The NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute was the “first facility for comprehensive research to be operated by a broadcasting station”.
Operated by Japanese PSB NHK, the institute conducts research into various media and social fields to deepen and enrich the quality of broadcasting culture in Japan, the Pacific region and worldwide. Its website hosts an extensive catalogue of open-source research reports and publications, with many available in English. According to the institute;
“The findings, which are made public, not only contribute to better NHK programming and program production, but also modify the basic framework of public broadcasting. The Institute suggests how broadcasting might change in the digital era and analyzes new broadcasting services.
The Institute surveys public opinion to generate data that can be used when preparing programs and publications, as well as in other planning activities. The Institute also conducts research on survey methods and data analysis.”
For more information, click here.
Nordicom
NORDICOM is a knowledge centre in the field of media and communication research – a cooperation between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Research at Nordicom is focussed on three core working areas: Media and Communication Research Findings in the Nordic Countries, Trends and Developments in the Media Sectors in the Nordic Countries and Research on Young People and Media Worldwide.
Their website plays host to a variety of open source and paid-for research publications and journal papers, with frequent calls for papers. According to Nordicom they specialise in the following:
“Starting from academic research, Nordicom collects and adapts knowledge, mediating it to various user groups in the Nordic region, Europe and elsewhere in the world. Nordicom is an institution under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Nordicom’s work aims at developing media studies and at helping to ensure that research results are made visible in the treatment of media issues at different levels in both the public and private sector. Nordicom’s activities are based on broad and extensive network of contacts and collaboration with members of the research community, media companies, politicians, regulators, teachers, librarians, and so forth, around the world.”
To find out more click here.
RIPE
The initiative for Re-Visionary Interpretations of the Public Enterprise (RIPE) is a non-profit international network of scholars and practitioners involved with the study, development and management of public service media organisations.
RIPE is an international project that is dedicated to reinventing, redefining, and recreating the meanings and practices of public service in media for the 21st century. Although many of the original conceptualisations of public media have continuing relevance today – despite rapid and sweeping changes – it is crystal clear that conditions, needs and situations are much different and more varied today when compared with the realities that legitimated the heritage approach that was developed in the early to mid-20th century in Western Europe.
RIPE has an astounding source of globally sourced and open articles on its website and hosts a biennial conference that brings together research contributors, PSM specialists and other contributors to discuss the current and future PSM landscape worldwide.
To find out more and access RIPE’s extensive research archives, click here.
Trust in Ethical Journalism – The Key to Media Futures
REPORT
EJN Report: Trust in Ethical Journalism – The Key to Media Futures
Ethical Journalism Network Press Release
If 2017 was the year the world finally woke up to the threat of disinformation and the way internet technologies are secretly and subtly used to undermine democracy, then 2018 is becoming the year when ethical journalism, a human instinct beyond encoding and algorithmic definition, finally gets the recognition it deserves.
This issue of Ethics in the News looks at how the communications revolution is continuing to pose more questions than answers over a public crisis of confidence, both in democracy and in sources of public information.
How do we build trust in journalism and news media? Must we sacrifice human rights and pluralism in return for free digital services? How do we stem the flow of hate speech, propaganda and malicious lies without endangering free speech? How do we pay for the journalism that democracy needs to survive?
Around the world these debates rage, but in some countries and regions, the arguments are anything but theoretical. The rise of populism accompanied by a discreet use of technology to target voters or promote hate speech is tearing into the fabric of democracy everywhere. In countries wracked by economic and social crisis or in the aftermath of war, these threats are a major obstacle to peace and development.
In this issue we examine the technological, political and social realities of the information crisis: how algorithms and artificial intelligence are setting a new and potentially troubling agenda; how advertising platforms and the business of social media are undermining public trust; how democracy and political elections are open to undue interference.
But it is not all bad news. From the Middle East and the Balkans there are inspiring stories of journalists and media working together, even across political divides, to develop new initiatives to challenge the hate-mongers. In Turkey a new spirit of media solidarity is in the air. In Africa there are new approaches to reporting terrorism and conflict and a fresh debate about the protection of authors’ rights in the digital age.
Everywhere ethical issues abound – improving the role and portrayal of women in media; combating discrimination and intolerance; improving coverage of migration and human trafficking; and, importantly for all journalists and media, building a sustainable future for journalism without surrendering the cardinal principle of editorial freedom and independence.
The messages are mixed, but they point in one direction, towards a communications landscape that people can trust. It won’t happen overnight, but such a vision will not be realised at all unless strategies for the future embrace public interest journalism, good governance in media, and a public information system rooted in ethics and transparency.
The Ethical Journalism Network is a partner of the Public Media Alliance.
Hate speech: What it is and how to contrast it?
Dossier
This special dossier compiled by Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa is the third in in a series of thematic publications exploring hate speech and its implications for media freedom in Europe.
This report reflects on the commonly used term and pinpoint its definition as it clashes within juridical, political-philosophical, and cultural debates over the boundaries of freedom of expression. In doing so it explores its changing terminology over time and potential ways of combating the issue within the context of the "post-truth era", rapid technological change and the rise of populism in recent years.
This publication has been produced within the project European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, co-funded by the European Commission.
Thumbnail Image: ECPMF/OBC Transeuropa
Measuring the reach of "fake news" and online disinformation in Europe.
JOURNAL
Comprehensive factsheet by the team at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) highlighting top-level usage statistics for the most popular sites that independent fact-checkers and other observers have identified as publishers of false news and online disinformation.
The factsheet was compiled by Richard Fletcher, Alessio Cornia, Lucas Graves and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen. The report focuses on Italy and France as both are widely seen as facing particular pressure from for-profit and ideologically/politically motivated online disinformation.
Follow the link below for the full report.
Thumbnail Image: RISJ
In the Service of Power: Media Capture and the Threat to Democracy
REPORT
This brilliant collection of essays explores media capture and the multifaceted threats facing independent journalism, beyond those posed by direct state control.
“In this volume of essays edited by Anya Schiffrin, media capture is shown to be a growing phenomenon linked both to the resurgence of authoritarian governments as well as to the structural weaknesses presently afflicting media markets. In this environment, political figures and economic elites are colluding to undermine the independence of privately-owned media, and efforts to stop this collusion by activists, regulators, and the international community have proven to be ineffective. CIMA is proud to present this collection and hopes it will inspire further research and thoughtful responses to this growing threat to democracies around the world.”
The is book is co-published by the Centre for International Media Assistance (CIMA) and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
[Text sourced from CIMA]
Far-Right Nationalism and Populism in Europe: Assaults on Press Freedom
JOURNAL
New research from the University of Vienna shows that growing support for far-right groups and populist politicians poses a severe threat to journalism across Europe.
The report explores the threat posed by far-right groups and populist political figures to press freedom and the watchdog role of independent journalism in 12 European democracies. The report covers the years of 2012-2016, which has been recognised as a period of significant growth in the support of such groups. Countries examined in this timely report include Austria; Bosnia & Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; France; Germany; Hungary; Italy; Montenegro; Poland; Romania; and Serbia.
The report examines a broad range of criteria that contribute to the term “assault on the media”, including legal action, physical attacks, intimidation verbal and online abuse, the use of employment as leverage and so on.
This timely report concludes by offering recommendations to governments and media owners as to how to best to avoid growing assaults on press freedom by the growth of far right nationalism and populist politics.
The report was published in May 2017 and authored by a team from the Media Governance and Industries Research Lab at the University of Vienna. It was funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
The Future of Public Service Broadcasting in Bosnia and Herzegovina
REPORT
This working paper explores the future of public service broadcasting (PSB) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in light of the complex situation it is currently facing.
Taking into consideration the challenges, development and most recent changes, this research argues that a transformation for a truly PSB in Bosnia and Herzegovina has failed so far in respect to the key elements of a public media system: funding, independence, remit and transition to new technologies.
The publication examines three main points that are relevant to understand PSB in Bosnia and its future prospects. Firstly, it discusses policies development for PSB, how they were adopted and who played a key role in the policy-making processes. Special attention is given to key actors such as the EU, local political elites, and civil society. Secondly, the paper analyzes the political, legal and financial factors that influenced the country’s current situation. Thirdly, the paper examines the way digitisation, convergence, new multimedia platform, and social media influence and change the PSB media system in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its future prospects.
The paper was produced as part of the project “The prospect and development of public service media: Comparative study of PSB development in Western Balkans in light of EU integration“, which is currently exploring the present and future roles and positions of PSB in seven countries across the Western Balkans. The project has been carried out by the Center for Social Research Analitika in partnership with the University of Fribourg.
Public Television in Latin America: Changing to the Digital Age
JOURNAL
(Florence Toussaint, published 2017)
This research article tracks the history of public television in Latin America and its journey towards digital transition.
This research briefly explores the history of public television in Latin America, a history that is strongly linked to the government and the political history of each state. Overall, the author highlights that only one public media institution across the region has full editorial independence, financial autonomy or financial support from their viewers. However, television (both public and private) has always held a crucial role in Latin American society as a mediator between the consumption and production of culture.
The birth and growth of public media in Latin America can be traced from the 1950s, but each country evolved differently with regards to growth and the model they chose to transition to the digital world. Countries adopted different digital models, some choosing from the American ATSC (Advanced Television System Commitee), others chose the Japanese-Brazilian ISDB-Tb (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial), the European DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial) and the Chinese model.
Some of the data analysed or displayed in the article are not official, but it’s nonetheless useful in highlighting trends and varying situations across the region.
Public television in Latin America continues to be characterised by pluralistic and fragmented media systems and is influenced by just as diverse an array of technologies. Public television will have to transition to the digital world to change and survive especially as quality becomes compromised and viewers head towards new, private options to be entertained, informed and educated.
The complete digitisation of the whole region could take up to 2021, with a few countries already halfway in the process of digitisation.
The full paper and more information can be found below.
(Toussaint Alcaráz, 2017)
Reference: Toussaint Alcaráz, F. (2017) ‘Televisión pública en América Latina: su transición a la era digital’, Revista mexicana de ciencias políticas y sociales, ISSN-e 0185-1918, Vol. 62, No. 229, 2017, págs. 223-242, 62(229), pp. 223–242.