Changing Media Environment Research Articles

Book Review: Politics Is a Joke! How TV Comedians Are Remaking Political Life, by S. Robert Lichter, Jody C. Baumgartner, and Jonathan S. Morris

Politics Is a Joke! How TV Comedians Are Remaking Political Life. S. Robert Lichter, Jody C. Baumgartner, and Jonathan S. Morris. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2015. 253 pp. $32 pbk. $22.99 ebk.In Politics Is a Joke! scholars S. Robert Lichter, Jody C. Baumgartner, and Jonathan S. Morris offer a comprehensive analysis of political humor over time. Their research analyzes the volume of political jokes, the targets of these jokes, and their content across multiple entertainment programs. The culmination of this work is a text that is not only accessible to undergraduate students but one that is suitable for a general audience. The authors offer strong support for the increasing relevancy of political humor; their vivid examples underscore the influence of humor in a modern democracy. Given the dearth of research exploring entertainment media in our polity, this text is a welcome addition to the literature.The text begins with a brief outline in Chapter 1, followed by an overview of the evolution of political humor in Chapter 2, noting its prolific nature in our changing media environment. Chapter 3 succinctly examines the individual and institutional targets of political jokes. Chapter 4 explores the event-driven nature of humor- the scandals and missteps fueling the punchlines; Chapter 5 explores the personal nature of these jokes (e.g., character and traits of targets). In Chapter 6, the authors nicely situate political humor in the context of the news media, exploring how patterns in humor influence public opinion. In Chapter 7, the authors discuss strategic implications of their work and strategies for candidate engagement with late-night comedy. In Chapter 8, the data are discussed in a broader context.A key strength of the text lies in its unique dataset gathered at George Mason University's Center for Media and Public Affairs, a dataset totaling more than 100,000 jokes. The authors identify correlations between political humor and public opinion of certain candidates. The implications of Chapter 6 are particularly compelling: In exploring the relationship between news and political humor, they find that jokes not only draw from negative news coverage, but further amplify negative news narratives. Another strength of the text comes from the accessibility of the literature review and its balance. The authors synthesize a highly measured review of the literature that balances the civic benefits of humor with the studies suggestive of cynicism and disengagement effects.The researchers acknowledge that the audience for late night talk shows is limited; however, by overlooking the role of social media, the authors somewhat undersell the significance of their work. Today jokes are swiftly disseminated online, and the longer shelf life afforded through social media may accidentally expose non-viewers to punchlines. Future research should also incorporate satirical programs such as Saturday Night Live, which one could argue is as or more influential than late night talk programs. …

Accidental, Assisted, Automated: An Emerging Repertoire of Infant Mobile Media Techniques

Accidental, Assisted, Automated: An Emerging Repertoire of Infant Mobile Media Techniques

방송영상 콘텐츠로서의 애니메이션 지원제도 연구

The crisis in profit and funding for animation is in evidence around the world. The change in media environment has forced broadcasting advertising revenue down and animation viewers spread out. Now, animation players in the strongest position are either the US major studios, or producers benefiting from domestic support schemes. Government support is available in many countries because many governments believe that support for domestic animation carries both economic and cultural benefits. This paper is designed to suggest new policy schemes for Korean animation industry. The new paradigm of animation policy needs a new perspective on content industry as a whole, not centered on the animation itself. The researchers on public policy for culture, audiovisual and content industry argued that the government should, (i) play the role of facilitator for virtuous cycle of industry value chain, (ii) provide fiscal support through automatic and selective schemes, (iii) provide tax benefit to strengthen the competitiveness of industry, and (iv) enforce the broadcasters to contribute to domestic programming and financing. Comparative analysis on French and Canadian audiovisual policy supports such arguments, and animation industry of two countries are enjoying the high audience ratings and sustainable production volume. From the analysis, this paper suggests the new government schemes for Korean animation industry, which are, (i) securing the public funding for fiscal support, (ii) introduction of automatic production support, (iii) modification of broadcasting quota, (iv) broadcaster`s performance envelope and production quota, and (v) tax benefit as indirect support.

Unveiling television’s apparatus on screen as a ‘para-interactive’ strategy

Broadcast television faces new challenges in the rapidly changing media environment. This article proposes ‘para-interactivity’ as a concept that identifies the ways television addresses its audiences in the digital age. Para-interactivity is a term that brings together several salient elements in contemporary television texts as well as positing a contemporary context for established and familiar television strategies. It identifies elements embraced by television, which echo interactive communication processes and are characteristic of digital media and participatory culture, but when employed by and adapted to television, they do not usually construct communication that is actually interactive. This article focuses on one of these para-interactive strategies: unvelling television’s apparatus on screen. This strategy implies an inclusive viewing experience and a seemingly more equal and reciprocal relationship between television and its viewers. However, I argue that what is presented to the viewers is nothing but a ‘staged backstage’, while television industry surrounds itself in real and legal fences. Drawing on Israeli commercial television texts, this article contributes to the understanding of contemporary transformations in television as a medium and as a cultural industry.

Causes and Consequences of Selective Exposure Among Political Blog Readers: The Role of Hostile Media Perception in Motivated Media Use and Expressive Participation

ABSTRACTConcerns about selective exposure to partisan information have become a mainstay for scholars of political communication in the changing media environment. This study draws on a survey of a unique population—readers of political blogs—to explore the relationship between perceptions of mainstream media bias (as hostile media perception) and selective exposure to media sources that provide like-minded information as well as social support. We find that hostile media perception is an important motivator for partisan selective exposure among this audience, and also that such perceptions can lead indirectly to expressive political participation by encouraging visits to politically homogeneous online spaces.

Public Service Television in a Multi-Platform Environment

Cultural and economic transformations have encouraged television companies to turn their attention to multi-platform practices so as to increase their compatibility with the changing media environment. While digital media provide public service broadcasting (PSB) institutions with new opportunities for meeting their public commitments and maintaining their relevance in national media systems, PSB is also faced with additional challenges. One of these is the tension between public service values on the one hand and digital technologies and practices on the other. In this article we discuss how Finnish and Israeli PSB managers and producers perceive the opportunities and challenges of multi-platform production. In both countries public service broadcasting is striving for public legitimacy and relevance in a changing technological environment. However, the two countries currently find themselves at quite different stages: Israel has a struggling public service agency, while Finland boasts a strong broadcasting company.

Perceived social and media influences on tobacco use among Samoan youth.

BackgroundTobacco use among young Pacific populations continues to undermine efforts to reduce the escalating rates of non-communicable disease in the region. Reducing tobacco use to less than 5 percent by 2025 is now a World Health Organisation (WHO) mandated target for the Pacific region. Yet, little is known about the drivers to uptake of tobacco use among young people in the Pacific. Family and peers are expected to be important in this process, but similarly, tobacco marketing may also play an important role. The tobacco industry has been highly adaptive to the changing media environment across the Pacific Islands. The aim of this study was to develop an understanding of the social cultural and media drivers to tobacco uptake and use among young Samoans to contribute to the design of effective tobacco control intervention.MethodsWe examined high school students (aged 16 and 17 years) perceptions of tobacco use in their community, access and use of media channels and the extent to which they are cognizant of both pro and anti-tobacco imagery across a range of media. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis of the interview data identified common and divergent beliefs, attitudes and behaviours surrounding tobacco use and the influence of the media.ResultsFamily is critically important for representing normative tobacco use in Samoa. The use of media, in particular digital media, was found to be conditioned by parental views on the use of media in the home. Media access remains highly regulated within more traditional households. Loyalty to traditional cultural practices (Fa’a Samoa) underpinned views on the limited influence of media on social norms around tobacco use. Parents were thought to have the greatest influence on youth smoking. Tobacco use was viewed as a personal, or family issue, and not a problem that was amendable to change at a societal level.ConclusionIn order to develop effective and culturally relevant tobacco control policies, the public health community must consider social norms around tobacco use as well as patterns of media use among young Samoans.

Social media use by legislative offices for constituent communications

An important function of a state legislator’s office staff is to communicate with constituents on a mass basis. The changing media environment challenges staffers to find new means of keeping the legislator foremost in constituents’ minds. New and social media provide an alternative to traditional media for this function. This study surveyed the legislator’s office staff in three states and was conducted by a former legislator who is a communication scholar. The qualitative data indicate recognition of the usefulness of new media, and a modest amount of its use, but a less than emphatic embrace of it. Findings also indicate benefits and limitations of social media as an alternative to the traditional modes of communication when used by legislative offices.

A Study on the Issue of Terrestrial TV’s Re-transmission System According to Changes in Media Environment

A Study on the Issue of Terrestrial TV’s Re-transmission System According to Changes in Media Environment

중국 80-90후(后)와 외국 대중문화의 선택적 수용: 베이징 사례

중국 수용자들은 아이치이, 유쿠, 러스왕, PPTV 등 온라인 동영상 서비스 같은 미디어 환경의 변화로 여러 채널을 통해 한국, 미국, 일본, 영국, 태국, 인도 등 다양한 국가의 드라마, 영화, 오락 프로그램 등을 선택, 시청할 수가 있다. 최근 다양한 장르의 한국 대중문화가 중국에서 인기를 끌고 있는데, 이러한 현상은 중년 여성을 중심으로 한 드라마가 인기였던 초기 한류 시기(1997-200년대 초)와는 달리, 현재는 드라마뿐만 아니라 K-pop, 오락 프로그램 등 다양한 장르로 퍼져나갔고 인터넷 동영상 서비스를 통해 한국 대중문화를 접할 수 있게 되었다. 본 연구는 중국 80-90호우(后)의 외국 대중문화 수용태도를 파악하고자 한국, 미국, 일본 대중문화의 선호 장르와 이유, 선호 대중문화 및 국가 이미지를 비교분석하였다. 분석결과, 국가별 선호 장르와 이유에서의 유사점과 차이점을 발견할 수 있었으며, 선호 대중문화와 국가 이미지와의 밀접한 관계를 파악할 수 있었다. 본 연구의 결과를 통해 중국에서의 한류의 지속가능한 발전 모색을 위한 기초자료로 사용하는데 기여하고자 한다. Young Chinese audience can select and watch TV dramas, movies and entertainment programs from many different nations, such as Korea, America, Japan, England, Thailand, India, and so on, through multiple channels, such as online video sites - iQiyi, Youku, LeTV, PPTV, and many others - which were induced by changes in media environment. Various genres of Korean popular culture have recently become popular in China, but this phenomenon differs from the early Korean Wave. During the earlier period (from 1997 to the early 2000s) of the Korean Wave, soap operas were popular among middle-aged women, but now various other genres, such as K-pop, entertainment programs, etc., are also popular in China. The purpose of this study is to explore how young Chinese audiences use foreign pop culture, including their preferred genres, reasons for preferring these genres, and the relationship between the preferred pop culture and national image in Korean, American, and Japanese pop culture were analyzed. According to the study results, similarities and differences between preferred genres and the reasons for preferring these genres, and also a close correlation between preferred pop culture and national image were found. These findings will be fundamental for supporting the continual development of the Korean Wave in China.

Children’s Responses to Traditional Versus Hybrid Advertising Formats: The Moderating Role of Persuasion Knowledge

Research on the impact of advertising on children has failed to keep pace with the rapidly changing media environment. Using an experimental approach, children’s responses towards traditional (television advertisement) versus new, hybrid advertising techniques (trailer, advergame, and their combination), and the moderating role of persuasion knowledge, are investigated. Results show that children who played an advergame have more difficulty recalling the advertised brand than children who saw a traditional television advertisement. When confronted with integrated marketing communications (a trailer followed by an advergame), children without knowledge of persuasive intent developed a more positive brand attitude than children with persuasion knowledge. The implications of these results are discussed.

Media discourse in a hyper connected society: a comparison between media frame and Twitter discourse during media strike

Purpose – This study aims to examine the impact of news frames associated with traditional media and with Twitter discourse on social issues. Design/methodology/approach – Using semantic network analysis, it identifies the role of new alternative channels as well as discussing ways of understanding and consuming news content in the changing media environment. Additionally, it focuses on the dominant Twitter communicators who rank high in betweenness centrality. Findings – The results confirmed that traditional news media tend to superficially describe main events and media strikes without comment. They tended to consciously or unconsciously favor media corporations by engendering anxiety and conflict or by restraining reports on the rationales of the strike. Twitter discourse, on the contrary, positively represents the striker's arguments and frequently reveals support of the strike. Research limitations/implications – The data set of this study was specialized, not generalized. However, the findings extend literature relating to the role of journalism and alternative channel. For example, this study indicated that the change of media environment has reinforced partiality of news, including both traditional and alternative channels. Practical implications – The findings imply that the advent of new media does not purely represent a laymen's voice and rather tends to strengthen the partiality of media, including both traditional and new media, beyond selective exposure on content of the receiver. Originality/value – By clarifying the influence of alternative channels, this study suggests the counterpart of traditional journalism in the near future.

From Public Spaces to Public Sphere

This study examines how journalists and technologists are re-imagining the construction of networked, dynamic spaces for online news discussion through a qualitative study of 126 idea submissions to a popular news innovation contest. We consider these submissions in the light of the concept of the public sphere, with a specific focus on how these submissions might address shortcomings identified in the literature about the ability of the internet, but of news commenting forums in particular, to serve as an extension of the public sphere. Four main themes emerged in the submissions: a need to (1) better organize content, (2) moderate content more effectively, (3) unite disjointed discourse, and (4) increase participation while promoting diversity. We find in these proposed solutions the possibility for relatively low-cost, easy-to-build systems that could moderate comments more efficiently while also facilitating more civil, cohesive, and diverse discourse; however, we also find the lingering danger of designing new systems that could perpetuate old problems such as fragmentation, filter bubbles, and homogenization. Ultimately, it remains to be seen how technological innovations might help or hinder the ability of the internet, and of news commenting spaces in particular, to serve as an extension of the public sphere. More broadly, by studying how these innovation-contest submissions sought to transform the discursive systems of news websites, we can begin to grasp how the evolution of digital journalism, technologically, might facilitate a broader rethinking about how news institutions could better serve the ideals of deliberation in a changing media environment.

Does NHK Make You Smarter (andSuper NewsMake You ‘Softer’)? An Examination of Japanese Political Knowledge and the Potential Influence of TV News

AbstractA fundamental component of liberal democracy – citizen knowledge – has only recently been examined in Japan; rarer still are assessments of the impact of media consumption on political awareness. In this paper, we utilize two recent sources – the Japanese Election Studies III (JESIII) and GLOPE2005 – to address two related questions: (1) what factors influence Japanese political knowledge? and (2) is the changing media environment in Japan having an influence on what citizens know about political affairs? With regard to the first question, we find, in line with previous studies in the US context, that knowledge is explained by education, gender, and politically impinged employment as base factors, with interest, efficacy, and civic duty playing a role as second-stage behavioral factors. Evidence of other traits presumed to distinguish the more informed Japanese – dissatisfaction with politics and community mobilization context (living in urban areas, districts with higher voter turnout, and having larger social networks – remains mixed. Regarding the second question, we find that the effects of media exposure on knowledge vary. Where the GLOPE2005 finds an influence of regular newspaper reading, the JESIII indicates that watching a TV news program ‘often’ also boosts knowledge. The JESIII results reveal further that,ceteris paribus, regular exposure to NHK contributes to higher levels of knowledge at a rate that is comparable to a one unit increase in educational attainment. Conversely, we find that softer news programs (e.g., Fuji TV'sSuper News) have a depressive effect that appears to decrease knowledge as exposure accumulates. The direction of the causal arrow is not entirely clear. At the same time, our findings lend credence to previous work that raises concerns about the ‘infotainization’ of Japanese (and US) news programming (e.g., Taniguchi, 2007; Prior, 2005). Rather than demystifying or democratizing Japanese politics, softer programs may simply be perpetuating extant gaps between elites and the public.

Promoting media literacy education in China: a case study of a primary school

With the changing media environment, media literacy education is an emerging field in China. Many studies have shown the significance of media literacy education, but they have mostly been conducted in the Western context, and there have been a few studies investigating media literacy education in the Asian context. Based on this understanding, this study aimed to explore the implementation of, and approaches to, media literacy education in a Chinese primary school. It aimed to shift media literacy education from an international context to a local setting, and offers a point of reference to enrich the theory and practice of the process of localisation. The research questions focused on how media literacy education was initiated in the context of the national curriculum reform in mainland, and two ways in which it was implemented in a primary school. It was a qualitative case study, using observation, interview, focus groups, group meetings and document analysis as the main methods of collecting data in the field.

Political Advertising in a Changing Media Environment(Modern Media and Political Participation through Networks)

Political Advertising in a Changing Media Environment(Modern Media and Political Participation through Networks)

The Economics of Media Companies

Media firms must be organized and operated as economic units in order to carry out production and distribution activities. A large number of decisions taken by media organizations involve resource and financial issues. In this context the paper discusses the requirements of media, the underlying economic and financial factors that affect the entire media, the challenges managers of media must contend with in a fast changing media environment where technological changes have progressively led to what is known as a buyer’s market, the characteristics of media in general and the specific demand and supply side characteristics of media products.

Ethics in the New Media, Print Media and Visual Media Landscape

The ethical dimensions of investment in media activities are becoming increasingly important especially as use of electronic media pervades our lives. Until recently, it has made sense to consider different types of media more or less independently. Now however, the lines are blurred and the worlds of television, newspapers and the Internet overlap considerably. Similar ethical issues apply across the types of media activity. In such a changing environment, it is important that the church in general develop a methodology to apply to media-related ethical issues. It is particularly important for the CFB to do this as media related companies account for at least 20% of the whole market. How is the rise of new media and online journalism affecting the traditional journalistic standards of objectivity, accuracy, and verification? How can the media show that it remains committed to a strong ethical code and to effective self regulation in a rapidly changing media environment? This paper surveys the media-related sectors and identifies some common and particular themes. A methodology is suggested for examining media issues from an ethical investment perspective. The pros and cons of new media have been suggested and some case studies have been given as examples of ethics, whether a myth or a reality.

Book Review: iPolitics: Citizens, Elections, and Governing in the New Media Era, by Richard L. Fox and Jennifer M. Ramos

iPolitics: Citizens, Elections, and Governing in the New Media Era. Richard L. Fox and Jennifer M. Ramos, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. 303 pp. $29.69 pbk. ISBN: 978-1-107-66765-5.The goal of iPolitics: Citizens, Elections, and Governing in the New Media Era, edited by Richard L. Fox and Jennifer M. Ramos, is twofold. One purpose is to explore recent changes in the traditional and media environment and the impact of these changes on the dynamics of domestic and foreign politics. Meanwhile, the second is-even more ambitiously-to assess how these changes in the media envi- ronment affect democratic and how effectively netroot activism organizes competing political constituencies to achieve desirable public policy outcomes. By assessing the impact of trends on the information environment as well as on governance and public policy debates, the book makes a stimulating contribution to the growing body of literature on the shift in relations between the government- which reinvents itself as e-government-and citizens-who are increasingly organiz- ing themselves as netizens. ten authors who contributed articles to this volume evaluate these and other issues by using case studies on the shifting media universe, changes in electoral process, governance, and civil mobilization.Richard L. Fox and Jennifer M. Ramos specialize in studying political changes and trends in governance and media, with a focus on the role of ideas, norms, media, and gender in modern politics. Both are professors of political science at Loyola Marymount University. In this volume, the authors address the following questions, among others: Has the media environment altered the tone or substance of political discourse? Have the changes to the news and information environment affected the ease of gov- erning? How does the information environment affect political norms and practices?The ten chapters of the publication are brought together under one theme-politics in the New Media era-and assess various aspects of interaction between media and governance in the globalizing media and political universes. They offer a quite innova- tive and critical overview of how new media environment fundamentally alters political and brings citizens closer to democratic ideals (p. 2). Issues of the changing nature of governance under the pressure of the increasing penetration of public space and public discourses by media have recently moved to the center of attention and have been covered by political scientists and media studies specialists.1-4 Yet, the editors of the volume believe that there is room for case studies and for con- textual assessment of the way in which the continually changing media environment influence political outcomes (p. 4). Most of the chapters focus on examples from the United States, including instances of political mobilization in the debates around health care reform, presidential elections, and civil mobilization. In addition, a couple of chapters are devoted to analyzing trends in Europe and-unavoidably-to the role of media in political changes in the Middle East-the so-called Twitter Revolutions in Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait.The chapters are divided into three sections organized around the book's three major themes: The Shifting Media Universe and New Consumers (Section One), Campaigns and Elections in the New Media Environment (Section Two), and Civil Mobilization and Governance in the New Information Age (Section Three). first section is entirely devoted to the rapid increase in the media penetration of the political and public policy domains and the emerging shift in the role of the public in the political process, from informed participants to [information] consumer participants reflecting growing consumerization of the political process through repackaging information. …

The Citizen as Issue Specialists in a Changing Media Environment

Although recent research suggests that the selective nature of new media helps foster issue specialists, little empirical evidence has been documented, mostly due to theoretical and methodological limitations. Extending the concept of issue publics, the present study proposes a method to estimate the degree to which an individual is a specialist- or a generalist-type citizen. Applying the method to the 2008 American National Election Studies data, the study reveals various characteristics of specialists and generalists. The results indicate that specialist-type citizens are positively associated with online news use, but negatively associated with conventional news media, such as television, newspaper, and radio. The implications of the growth of specialists as well as the validity of the proposed method are discussed.