Journalism and Media

This study aims to change the negative attitudes towards individuals with ASD, to analyse the news published about their success. The news reports published in The New York Times and The Washington Post newspapers, which were only about the success stories of individuals with ASD, were analysed by document analysis and content analysis, which are qualitative research methods. In this study, 40 news from the two international newspapers were analysed. It was revealed that success stories in the area of art were published more than other areas. In this study, it is noteworthy that the role of teachers, who are important sources of inspiration in the educational life of individuals with ASD, in success stories is quite low. In this respect, it may be suggested that in future studies, newspapers in the international newspapers may publish news in which the effect of teachers on the success stories of individuals with ASD is mentioned more. Full article

In the digital age, consumer complaints have become significant indicators of operational vulnerabilities, with social media amplifying their impact. Mishandling such complaints has the potential to escalate minor issues into full-scale organizational crises, damaging brand reputation and eroding consumer trust. This study employs a case study approach to examine the Patiswiss Chocolate crisis, where a single consumer complaint led to widespread backlash, executive resignation, and boycotts. The crisis is analyzed through three key frameworks of analysis: communication, marketing, and ethics, offering a comprehensive understanding of its evolution. The findings reveal that defensive or dismissive responses exacerbate reputational damage, triggering the Streisand effect, where attempts to suppress criticism amplify its spread. Ethical concerns, including misleading corporate claims and governance issues, intensified consumer backlash. From a marketing perspective, brand trust declined as consumer activism influenced purchasing behavior and retailer decisions. This study emphasizes that organizations must adopt strategic, ethical, and consumer-centric approaches to crisis management to maintain long-term brand resilience. Full article

Despite extensive scholarship on social media political party strategies or intra-party-political campaigns across digital platforms, it remains relatively unexplored how individual presidential candidates adopt social media to frame their messages on key political issues for voter engagement, especially in the West Africa region. To fill this gap, this study examines how the two major presidential candidates in Ghana, John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), use social media platforms to frame key political issues during the 2024 election campaign. Using framing theory and digital multimodal discourse analysis as the conceptual and methodological frameworks, the study examines content on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram, with a focus on issues related to the economy and education, while also assessing how platform-specific affordances shape the presentation and visibility of these frames. The findings of the study reveal three core dynamics in the framing strategies of both candidates: (1) contrasting economic narratives (‘Resetting Ghana’ vs. ‘It Is Possible’), (2) competing visions of education (reform vs. continuity), and (3) platform-specific engagement patterns. These findings offer insight into how political actors leverage digital affordances beyond simple messaging tools into structured framing mechanisms and strategically construct narratives to shape public discourse and influence voter engagement. Full article

On 8 September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch, died at Balmoral, aged 96. She had reigned for 70 years. The death of Queen Elizabeth II was met with mixed reactions worldwide. On the one hand, some mourners wanted to pay their last respects to the longest-ruling monarch in the world. On the other hand, disgruntled people wanted to remember and narrate the Queen’s legacy, including her role in British colonialism. The debates opened up conversations, questioning the British Royal Family’s relevance in today’s world, particularly in light of its largely unrevised colonial history. On X, debates were rife and played out much more fiercely. In this paper, the author undertakes a digital ethnography analysis of how Black Twitter worldwide received and responded to the death of Queen Elizabeth. The study found that Black Twitter reacted to the Queen’s death by (1) resisting respectability politics; (2) resisting the erasure of Black history in Britain and beyond; (3) educating Black people about their history. The study argues that Black Twitter is an essential digital space for people worldwide to mobilize and form racial identity politics. Full article

The 2022 floods in Pakistan, one of the most recent catastrophic natural disasters, highlighted critical vulnerabilities in governance, infrastructure, and climate resilience. This study investigates the framing of the floods in newspapers from the Global North and Global South. The newspapers under investigation included The Guardian, The New York Times, The Times of India, and Dawn. The study used a cross-sectional research design. Under the rubric of framing theory, utilizing quantitative content analysis, the study examines the prevalence of key frames in the press of the Global North and the Global South. The findings revealed a dominance of solution, vulnerability, and responsibility frames. Moreover, the Global North and Global South framed human causes, i.e., larger societal forces, as responsible, rather than natural causes. In addition, the victimization frame is more focused than community-led efforts. Notably, the solutions primarily emphasized international aid and climate adaptation, and other local governance and community adaptation frames. These results underscore the dual role of Global North and Global South media both as advocates for global climate justice and narrators of humanitarian crises, while also highlighting gaps in resilience narratives and local agency. This study contributes to framing theory by exploring the interplay of global and local narratives in disaster reporting. It emphasizes the need for balanced, actionable solutions in media discourse on climate-induced disasters to ensure climate justice. Full article

This study examines the role of creative resistance, or “artivism”, in Nigeria’s #EndSARS movement, a youth-led campaign against police brutality that peaked in October 2020. Drawing on Robert Entman’s Framing Theory, it analyzes how different art forms reframed public perceptions of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and countered government efforts to delegitimize the protests. Using a qualitative approach, the research employs purposive sampling of Twitter-sourced art forms to explore how these pieces exposed systemic injustice, amplified protester voices, and mobilized local and global support. Findings reveal that artivists personalized SARS brutality, dismantled narratives portraying protesters as criminals, and invoked moral urgency through evocative symbolism, leveraging social media’s virality to sustain the movement’s momentum. The study highlights SARS’ paradoxical role as a state-sanctioned yet reviled entity, demonstrating how creative expressions clarified this ambiguity into a clarion call for reform. By situating #EndSARS within Nigeria’s protest legacy, this analysis underscores art’s transformative power in digital-age activism, offering a blueprint for resistance against oppression. It contributes to scholarship on social movements by illustrating how art and technology intersect to challenge power, preserve collective memory, and demand accountability, with implications for future struggles in Nigeria and beyond. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how news is produced, curated, and consumed, challenging traditional gatekeeping theories rooted in human editorial control. We develop a robust theoretical framework to reconceptualize gatekeeping in the AI era. We integrate classic media theories—gatekeeping, agenda-setting, and framing—with contemporary insights from algorithmic news recommender systems, large language model (LLM)–based news writing, and platform studies. Our review reveals that AI-driven content curation systems (e.g., social media feeds, news aggregators) increasingly mediate what news is visible, sometimes reinforcing mainstream agendas, according to Nechushtai & Lewis, while, at other times, introducing new biases or echo chambers. Simultaneously, automated news generation via LLMs raises questions about how training data and optimization goals (engagement vs. diversity) act as new “gatekeepers” in story selection and framing. We found pervasive Simon’s theory that reliance on third-party AI platforms transfers authority from newsrooms, creating power dependencies that may undercut journalistic autonomy. Moreover, adaptive algorithms learn from user behavior, creating feedback loops that dynamically shape news diversity and bias over time. Drawing on communication studies, science & technology studies (STS), and AI ethics, we propose an updated theoretical framework of “algorithmic gatekeeping” that accounts for the hybrid human–AI processes governing news flow. We outline key research gaps—including opaque algorithmic decision-making and normative questions of accountability—and suggest directions for future theory-building to ensure journalism’s core values survive in the age of AI-driven news. Full article

The public debate on vaccines has been particularly relevant in Italy due to the introduction of childhood vaccination mandates and anti-COVID-19 vaccines. Our exploratory study focused on (1) identifying the media’s portrayals of childhood and adult vaccination, (2) highlighting the narratives used to portray individuals opposing vaccines and/or vaccine mandates, and (3) investigating the use of the term “No-Vax”. To these aims, we collected 2890 Facebook posts published by the Italian National Press Agency (ANSA) between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2023, via the (Meta) CrowdTangle application. Data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. Results show the presence of four main vaccine-related narratives in the pre-pandemic period (2016–2019)—i.e., vaccination as threatened by fake news, as a lifesaving practice, as a political matter, as a subgroup requirement—and three narratives during the pandemic and post-pandemic period (2020–2023)—depicting vaccinations as a long-awaited achievement, as a social requirement, and as a tool in need of confirmation. The results further show that the term ‘No-Vax’ has some negative connotations and is unable to represent the diversity of vaccine-critical positions. The media’s role in shaping public opinion suggests a need for more nuanced reporting that acknowledges the diversity of views and concerns regarding vaccination. Future research should explore how different media outlets frame vaccine hesitancy and the impact of these narratives on public health communication. Full article

Inspired by the Hierarchy of Influence model, the current study seeks to examine the perspectives of Israeli journalists and columnists on the media’s role in handling climate change. 25 in-depth interviews were conducted during March–April of 2021 with members of the media who cover the crisis. Findings indicate that the participants believe the media was failing in its mission. Explanations included fierce competition over the news, the exceptional complexity of the topic, and a lack of cooperation on the part of editors. The participants proposed two solutions for this alleged malfunction: reframing the field and providing training to journalists and editors on how to cover climate change. Full article

This study explores the factors influencing the sustainable adoption of AI technologies in journalism. It integrates the expectation confirmation model (ECM)—including expectation confirmation, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction—with knowledge management (KM) features (knowledge sharing, acquisition, and application), and other factors like ease of use, trust, and technological affinity. Data from an online survey of 396 Chinese journalists using AI for journalistic tasks were analyzed through structural equation modeling. Results show that expectation confirmation significantly influences perceived usefulness, while satisfaction is correlated with expectation confirmation, usefulness, and ease of use. Sustainable use of AI is impacted by usefulness, satisfaction, knowledge management practices, ease of use, trust, and technological affinity, with perceived usefulness being the most significant factor. These findings provide deeper insights into AI adoption in journalism, offering implications for AI developers, media enterprises, and training programs aimed at fostering sustainable AI use in journalism. Full article

This comparative case study interrogates how Zimbabwe’s independent press reported on ZANU-PF factionalism in the period from 2014 to 2017. It focuses on two dailies, Daily News and NewsDay. These were Zimbabwe’s only privately owned newspapers at the time. The other daily newspapers were The Herald and Chronicle, whose editorial was controlled by the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) government of Robert Mugabe. Whereas scholarship on ZANU-PF factionalism and the press is still burgeoning, little has been studied about how the independent press reported on Mugabe’s succession. The study is guided by framing theory. Data were gathered through archival research and in-depth face-to-face interviews with purposively selected journalists at Daily News and NewsDay who published stories on Mugabe’s succession. Findings reveal that rival ZANU-PF factions captured bribed journalists and influenced how they reported on Mugabe’s succession. Journalism grew “factionalized” (biased) as reporters became agents of the rival ZANU-PF factions. This disabled the newspapers from playing their informative and educative roles effectively. The factionalized reports left Zimbabweans ill-informed about developments in the governing party. Full article

This study takes the perspective of the theory of ethical witnessing. We analyse whether there is a difference in a discourse transmitted in a frame of reference based on ethical witnessing versus a discourse transmitted in the frame of hegemonic discourse based on the hierarchical testimony. This study tests the hypothesis that discourses diverging from the communication hierarchy and, consequently, from the interpretation frame established about gender-based violence, transform the elaboration, comprehension, and structure of questioning the victim’s suffering. The sample comprised 300 individuals, 85 identifying as male and 215 identifying as female. This study adopted a two-factorial (2 × 2) design comparing the testimony of gender-based violence (ethical witnessing vs. hierarchical testimony) and familiarity with the victim’s testimony (Yes vs. No). The results show that communications based on the ethical witnessing format are more effective in transforming the perception of gender-based violence than those using a hierarchical format. This study adopts the framework of ethical witnessing to examine whether discourse differs when conveyed through this lens, compared to discourse shaped by a hegemonic, hierarchical testimony. We test the hypothesis that narratives which deviate from traditional communication hierarchies—and thus from dominant interpretative frameworks surrounding gender-based violence—significantly influence how the victim’s suffering is processed, understood, and questioned. The global resonance of the #MeToo movement exemplifies the transformative potential of ethical testimony, as it amplified the voices of survivors while challenging traditional hierarchies of credibility and authority in public discourse. Full article

Social media (SM) platforms allow users to communicate rapidly, exchange information, and create and share real-time content. Currently, 4.5 billion people use social media worldwide, making it an influential part of daily life. Beyond information sharing, social media facilitates communication, transfers information, and serves as a platform for advertising and shaping public opinion. Researchers analyse these aspects to understand and describe societal realities. The primary purpose of this paper is to analyse social media’s impact on global research. The research included an analysis of the most popular social platforms, considering the number of Web of Science (WoS) articles relating to them and the year in which the platform was established or the Monthly Active Users (MAU) factor. Data were collected based on the WoS database in the topic (which contains texts of title, abstract, author keywords, and Keywords Plus) of the articles, where phrases containing names of SM platforms were used. Quantitative research is a type of research that analyses data numerically to find relationships and statistical regularities of searched phrases. The impact of social media on the dissemination of research and findings was analysed based on the results of the study and also on the literature data. This research reveals a lack of correlation between the number of articles indexed in the WoS and the MAU of individual social media platforms. This observation raises an important question: do social media researchers focus on studying the platforms used by the majority, thereby providing a more accurate representation of current social dynamics? This article is helpful for researchers, policymakers, and social media platform developers seeking to understand the role of social media in shaping modern communication and public discourse. The most important finding of the paper is the low correlation between the number of SM users and the impact of social media platforms on learning, as exemplified by the Twitter (Note: Twitter was an American social networking service rebranded as X in 2023. As the period of data analysed in this paper covered the years up to 2022, the authors decided to stay with the name Twitter) platform, which is the 17th largest SM platform but is the 2nd (after Facebook) in implications for science. Full article

Trust remains fundamental to an audience’s engagement with digital journalism, yet research has predominantly focused on Western contexts, overlooking trust dynamics in diverse digital environments. This study examines news media trust and civic engagement in Egypt’s evolving digital landscape, comparing Western and national digital news consumption patterns. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling with data from 426 Egyptian digital news consumers, we apply a four-factor trust model to analyze (1) the relationship between trust propensity and trust in digital news content and (2) how journalist assessment relates to both content trust and civic engagement across platforms. Our results reveal significant differences in trust formation, whereby trust propensity strongly predicts content trust for Western digital media (β = 0.440) but weakly for national digital media (β = 0.191), while journalist assessment consistently influences both content trust and civic outcomes across platforms. Our findings contribute to digital journalism theory by illuminating how journalist credibility functions as a trust anchor across platforms. For digital journalism practice, we identify platform-specific trust-building strategies for Western and national digital news organizations operating in complex media environments. This study extends digital journalism research beyond Western-centric models, demonstrating how cultural context, educational factors, and platform characteristics shape digital trust pathways. Full article

#MeToo furthered the debates about sexual harassment in academia in different contexts and locations. In Portugal, two moments drove the media debates around sexual harassment in higher education. Specifically, the allegations that emerged at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (FDUL) in 2022, and the case related to the Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra in 2023. This study aimed to investigate the media coverage of these cases and their respective contributions to the national debate on sexual harassment in academia. We analysed the opinion articles published online between April 2022 and June 2023 in five Portuguese newspapers, Diário de Notícias, Jornal de Notícias, Público, Expresso, Observador, and Correio da Manhã, conducting a comparative analysis of the two cases. Sexual harassment was broadly discussed as an endemic reality, exacerbated by the precariousness and gendered hierarchical structures of academia. At the same time, there was a tendency to personalize the debate, by focusing on Boaventura Sousa Santos, CES’s emeritus director. This served as a basis for the instrumentalization of sexual violence as a form of political attack against the left, thus weakening the potential of the debates about sexual and moral harassment in academia. Full article

This study investigates the evolving trends in social media usage in Pakistan across three key periods: pre-COVID-19, during COVID-19, and post-COVID-19. This research bases its analysis on data obtained from Stat Counter Global Stats to understand changes in user selection of platforms together with behavioral patterns and social consequences. To ensure validity and reliability, the data were cross-checked with publicly available statistics from individual social media platforms, ensuring consistency in reported usage trends. Facebook held the top spot on social media before the pandemic, yet YouTube together with Instagram and Twitter gained substantial growth from pandemic-era users seeking entertainment and information as well as social contact. Facebook resumed its leadership position following the pandemic period with Instagram and YouTube staying highly popular among users. This research shows Pakistan faces an ongoing digital disparity between metropolises and rural areas, thus requiring better Internet networks alongside digital education initiatives to overcome this gap. This research shows that social media platforms must deliver cultural-specific content together with features that address Pakistani user needs. This study recognizes mental health challenges from heavy social media usage, so it recommends platform-based tools establishing better online behavior practices. This paper proposes strategic guidance for policymakers and social media platforms to establish inclusive digital progress and achieve digital balance in Pakistan. Full article

The present study explores the emerging role of “public affairs live streamers” on the short video platform Kuaishou, examining how these individuals have evolved into new forms of rural elites, expanding opportunities for civic participation and rural governance in China. Through content analysis and case studies, the research identifies six key themes central to the streamers’ discourse: land and property issues, financial aid and subsidies, policy and governance, advocacy for the public, educational outreach, and customs. These themes underscore their role as rural knowledge elites who bridge the gap between the government and rural residents through digital platforms. The study further examines the mechanisms behind the emergence of “public affairs live streamers”. Empowered by the platform, these streamers effectively convert their cultural capital into online social capital, which may then be partially transformed into offline social influence and economic returns. However, their empowerment is constrained by the platform’s algorithm distribution mechanisms and opaque content regulation, making the conversion of capital unstable, traffic-dependent, and challenging to sustain. Linking to the broader socio-political landscape, the study delves into the empowering role of “public affairs live streamers” in society. These online rural elites blend knowledge with digital skills to facilitate public engagement and inspire civic awareness in rural areas through their activities. Nonetheless, their contribution to rural governance and civilization is often limited to informal mediation and emotional expression, with limited capacity to foster rational discourse or deeper improvements in rural governance. Overall, this study contextualizes the rise of rural elites within China’s rapid technological and rural development, offering a fresh perspective on how digital media can supplement governance strategies and enhance grassroots’ civic participation. Based on this analysis, the study proposes recommendations for improving platform governance and integrating public affairs streamers into broader participatory frameworks, thereby stabilizing their empowering effects and promoting sustainable rural governance. Full article

This article examines the work of journalists employed in communication offices within key centres of power, specifically, prominent institutions. It explores their professional self-perception, the working conditions they face, and how occupying such positions influences their subsequent career paths. To this end, the study conducted fourteen in-depth interviews with Spanish journalists who hold or have held significant roles in institutional communication offices in this country. Many of these professionals previously worked in the media, and some have returned to journalism after their tenure in administration. The results obtained from these interviews reveal a significant disparity in the levels of pressure experienced by professionals in offices closely tied to political decision-making compared to those in secondary institutions, despite similar financial compensation. Moreover, the study confirms that professionals working near major centres of power—referred to as “nuclear reactors” in their own words—encounter greater challenges when returning to journalism and the media due to increased political stigmatisation. Additionally, the interviews show that journalists in such offices experience stress and work pressures on a par with or exceeding those encountered in media roles. Full article

This article examines the audiovisual representation of violence during the armed takeover of the Ecuadorian television channel TC Television on 9 January 2024, an unprecedented event in the country’s recent media history. Employing a film analysis methodology, the study deconstructs the live broadcast by segmenting it into visual sequences and analyzing elements such as narrative content, shot composition, camera movement, sound design, and editing techniques. The interpretive phase includes narratological, iconic, and psychoanalytic readings. From a psychoanalytic perspective, the study explores the emotional impact of the broadcast on viewers, focusing on responses such as fear, anxiety, identification, projection, and the activation of psychological defense mechanisms. It also reflects on the broader sociocultural consequences of such representations of violence in public media. The article concludes by emphasizing the need for public investment in inclusive and high-quality education as a structural response to youth vulnerability, school dropout, and the risk of recruitment by organized criminal groups in Ecuador. Full article