Independent Outlets Research Articles

The Value of Independence: Making the Connection Between Quality Journalism and Editorial Control in Rwanda

This study evaluates which type of news outlets—independent or government aligned—produce higher quality stories in the East African country of Rwanda. A number of quality indicators are discussed in context, and hypotheses are proposed based largely on Scott, Gobetz, and Chanslor’s (2008) investment model. The data come from a global project —the Journalistic Role Performance Project— and specifically from a content analysis of 2,644 news stories published by Rwandan media in 2020. Findings reveal that independent news outlets outperform government-aligned outlets on the majority of quality indicators included in the study, especially in regard to story sourcing.

Analyzing online public discourse in Australia: Australian Twittersphere and NewsTalk corpora

ABSTRACT The online public sphere has ushered in a new era of public discourse, where people can engage in discussion, debates, and exchange of ideas online. Twitter (now called X) has been a significant arena for such online public discourse, providing space for Australians to voice their opinions and engage with a wide range of topics. Online news websites also play a pivotal role in shaping public opinion and fostering discussions on current Australian issues. The comments sections of these news websites offer valuable insights into the perspectives, attitudes, and interactions of individuals engaging with news content. This paper introduces two large-scale, longitudinal, and expansive datasets capturing the dynamics of online public discourse in Australia: the Australian Twittersphere (AuTS) and NewsTalk. AuTS is a well-established, longitudinal dataset that collates a broad array of “Australian” tweets, while NewsTalk is a newer, multi-platform compilation of reader comments on Australian news stories sourced from news platforms including ABC, Guardian, News Corp, Nine Entertainment, MSN, along with regional newspapers and independent news outlets. The shifting focus from a single platform (i.e. Twitter/X) to multi-platform collection reflects the increasing complexities of real-world online public discourse. We invite readers to consider these two expansive corpora (AuTS and NewsTalk) as representations of large-scale online Australian public discourse that can be mined and analyzed for insights to answer various research questions.

Media capture, captured: a new computational methodology to measure deteriorating media freedom

ABSTRACT The media are under increasing pressure by states to adopt a regime-friendly editorial line in many countries globally, raising the importance of understanding the conditions of successful and failed media capture. Unfortunately, the standard measurement of media capture – annual expert surveys – neither distinguishes between outlets nor offers the needed resolution to assess, e.g., the immediate impact of a new gag law. To remedy these shortcomings, we develop a computational measurement of media capture based on a comparison of nominally independent outlets and regime-owned outlets regarding media agenda and tone when referring to the regime. By relying on two unsupervised measurement methods – topic modelling and sentiment classification – the new method can assess the loss of editorial independence at the level of individual outlets on a monthly or even weekly basis. The methodology is validated by applying it to recent data from Nicaragua. There the two-pronged approach shows how outlets respond differently to regime pressure. While there still are limitations to consider, if further editorial aspects of media capture such as issue framing are added to the methodology, it has the potential of transforming the future study of media capture.

Developing the DIGIFOOD Dashboard to Monitor the Digitalization of Local Food Environments: Interdisciplinary Approach.

Online food delivery services (OFDS) enable individuals to conveniently access foods from any deliverable location. The increased accessibility to foods may have implications on the consumption of healthful or unhealthful foods. Concerningly, previous research suggests that OFDS offer an abundance of energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods, which are heavily promoted through deals or discounts. In this paper, we describe the development of the DIGIFOOD dashboard to monitor the digitalization of local food environments in New South Wales, Australia, resulting from the proliferation of OFDS. Together with a team of data scientists, we designed a purpose-built dashboard using Microsoft Power BI. The development process involved three main stages: (1) data acquisition of food outlets via web scraping, (2) data cleaning and processing, and (3) visualization of food outlets on the dashboard. We also describe the categorization process of food outlets to characterize the healthfulness of local, online, and hybrid food environments. These categories included takeaway franchises, independent takeaways, independent restaurants and cafes, supermarkets or groceries, bakeries, alcohol retailers, convenience stores, and sandwich or salad shops. To date, the DIGIFOOD dashboard has mapped 36,967 unique local food outlets (locally accessible and scraped from Google Maps) and 16,158 unique online food outlets (accessible online and scraped from Uber Eats) across New South Wales, Australia. In 2023, the market-leading OFDS operated in 1061 unique suburbs or localities in New South Wales. The Sydney-Parramatta region, a major urban area in New South Wales accounting for 28 postcodes, recorded the highest number of online food outlets (n=4221). In contrast, the Far West and Orana region, a rural area in New South Wales with only 2 postcodes, recorded the lowest number of food outlets accessible online (n=7). Urban areas appeared to have the greatest increase in total food outlets accessible via online food delivery. In both local and online food environments, it was evident that independent restaurants and cafes comprised the largest proportion of food outlets at 47.2% (17,437/36,967) and 51.8% (8369/16,158), respectively. However, compared to local food environments, the online food environment has relatively more takeaway franchises (2734/16,158, 16.9% compared to 3273/36,967, 8.9%) and independent takeaway outlets (2416/16,158, 14.9% compared to 4026/36,967, 10.9%). The DIGIFOOD dashboard leverages the current rich data landscape to display and contrast the availability and healthfulness of food outlets that are locally accessible versus accessible online. The DIGIFOOD dashboard can be a useful monitoring tool for the evolving digital food environment at a regional scale and has the potential to be scaled up at a national level. Future iterations of the dashboard, including data from additional prominent OFDS, can be used by policy makers to identify high-priority areas with limited access to healthful foods both online and locally.

Coping with Hate: Exploring Indian Journalists’ Responses to Online Harassment

ABSTRACT In India, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) employs a digital army of right-wing supporters to harass journalists who are critical of the party's Hindu-nationalist ideology. As a result, the country's press freedom rankings have significantly declined over the past decade. While scholars have examined the discursive strategies used by online Hindu nationalists against journalists, how reporters cope with these attacks remains unknown. This study investigates how Indian media professionals perceive the personal and professional consequences of harassment for themselves and the coping strategies they use to combat digital hate. In-depth interviews with 24 journalists reveal that they employ mechanisms such as strategic social disconnection, formation of alliance networks, and working for non-profit news sites and international media organizations to overcome the effects of social media harassment. The analysis also highlights that commercial media that are subservient to the Modi government failed to protect their reporters, while independent media outlets provide much more support to their employees. The findings underscore the need for social media companies to promptly respond to content flagged by journalists and allocate additional resources to moderate hate speech in India's local languages to safeguard journalists from sustained online abuse.

Strategies for the Growth of Radio and Television in China amid Media Convergence

Chinese radio and television have evolved as a consequence of the government's efforts to censor content and tighten its grip on the media industry. Independent media company expansion has been constrained as a result, strengthening governmental control over the media industry. The growth of Chinese radio and television has also been influenced by media convergence and the blending of new media technologies with established media platforms. However, attempts by the government to censor information have stunted the expansion of independent media outlets and strengthened the government's hold on the media industry. Through this integration, established media businesses like SMG have been able to reach a wider and more varied audience and develop new income streams from internet services and e-commerce. Additionally, by minimizing duplication of effort and facilitating resource sharing, media convergence has increased the effectiveness of traditional media firms. This article explained the principles of the Chinese government has implemented strict regulations and policies to control and shape the media landscape, which has resulted in a high degree of consolidation and centralization. For instance, the government has limited the number of licenses issued to television and radio stations, with many stations being owned or controlled by state-owned enterprises. This has led to a high degree of control over the content that is broadcast, with the government heavily censoring programming that is deemed to be politically sensitive or that contradicts the official narrative.

Selection bias in ESG controversies as a risk for sustainable investors

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) controversies data, based on the screening of independent media outlets by ESG data providers, has developed into an important dimension of ESG evaluations. Extant research has treated ESG controversies as a black box, applying the dataset without scrutinizing how it is constructed. Our research addresses this knowledge gap, utilizing a two-pronged analytical approach to the ESG controversies data of Vigeo-Eiris. We examine general trends and patterns in the sampling of 20,144 media sources over a 20-year period (2000–2019). This quantitative study is complemented by a qualitative, case-based analysis of the Kazakh operations of a multinational steel manufacturing company to further explore and contextualize the ESG controversies coverage of three leading ESG information providers (Vigeo-Eiris, RepRisk and Sustainalytics). We discover significant selection bias in the media sources that underlie the ESG controversies data, which presents a hitherto undetected risk for investors. Of note, the odds of being covered as part of a controversy are five times higher for companies headquartered in English-language countries than for companies in other language regions. Our study contributes by opening the black box of ESG controversies, scrutinizing their underlying sampling methodologies and highlighting the trade-off between completeness and cost of available ESG information.

Arab authorities use digital surveillance to control press freedom: journalists’ perceptions

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the extent of digital surveillance by Arab authorities, which face risks and threats of surveillance, and how journalists seek to press freedom by using tools and techniques to communicate securely.Design/methodology/approachThe study used focus group discussions with 14 journalists from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Yemen, Oman, Jordan and Egypt. While in Egypt, questionnaires were distributed to 199 journalists from both independent and semi-governmental outlets to investigate how Egyptian journalists interpret the new data protection law and its implications for press freedom.FindingsThe study indicated that journalists from these countries revealed severe censorship by their respective governments, an element inconsistent with the Arab Constitution. The recommendation of the study encourages media organisations to play a more active role in setting policies that make it easier for journalists to adopt and use digital security tools, while Egyptian journalists see the law as a barrier to media independence because it allows the government to exercise greater information control through digital policy and imposes regulatory rules on journalists.Practical implicationsThe study identifies practical and theoretical issues in Arab legislation and may reveal practices of interest to scientists researching the balance between data protection, the right of access to information and media research as an example of contemporary government indirect or “soft” censorship methods.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first research contributions to analyse the relationships between Arab authoritarians who used surveillance to restrict freedom of the press after the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011 to keep themselves in power as long as they could. In addition, Egypt's use of surveillance under new laws allowed the regimes to install software on the journalists’ phones that enabled them to read the files and emails and track their locations; accordingly, journalists can be targeted by the cyberattack and can be arrested.

When Censorship Works: Exploring the Resilience of News Websites to Online Censorship

AbstractTo what degree are news websites in autocracies resilient to online censorship? I explore this question in Egypt, which has begun to heavily censor news websites in recent years, alongside several other autocracies. Relying on a sample of 145 news outlets, I systematically explore how blocking affects traffic on outlets and their current statuses. Statistical tests show that blocked Egyptian outlets lost on average 54–55 per cent of their global traffic and are more likely to halt their activity. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the loss in traffic was particularly strong for independent, Islamist opposition and larger outlets, and that permanently blocked websites were substantially more likely to halt services. These results support previous work on state repression and information control showing that censorship often works in reducing the consumption and provision of alternative political information.

The Problem with Children in Politics

Abstract Inspired by the forceful emergence of youth activism around climate change in 2019 and the body of scholarship on youth political involvement, we evaluate youths’ claims to being political in the international climate governance process. To do this, we survey documentation of youth activity around the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), so we can gauge the extent of youth participation. We produce analyses of four sets of records: mainstream newspapers, UNFCCC programming, independent media outlets and youth NGO websites. We find that, while youth are participating more, existing forms of documentation are inadequate. We suggest that genre writing can capture lost voices in politics, and that standard documentation remains critically important to recording youth political participation.

Measuring Medicine Prices and Availability of Commonly used Essential Medicines using WHO/HAI Methodology in Hyderabad, India

Objectives: Access to health care is a basic right of population. Essential medicines are those which satisfy the priority of health care needs and intended to be available at all times. Hence prices and availability need to assess periodically. The objective of the study was to measure the variation in prices of selected medicines, to measure the availability of some selected medicines used for treating common diseases/ailments and to compare the prices and availability of medicines among the sectors. The present survey is conducted for 20 essential medicines in Hyderabad, Telangana. Methods: Medicines were selected based on the criteria of WHO/HAI methodology. Data was collected during October 2019 to March 2020 for originator brands and lowest priced generics in 60 medicine outlets. Prices were compared to international reference prices and expressed as median price ratio. Percent availability computed only on the day of data collection. Results: Median MPRs for originator brands and lowest priced generics were 2.20 and 1.53 in independent outlets, 2.20 and 1.61 in chain pharmacies respectively. Median MPR for generics in Jan Aushadhi Kendra was 0.38 i.e., all available medicines were priced less than international reference prices. Availability was 95.8%, 95.4% and 67.5% for generics and 12% and 13.3% for originator brands respectively. Conclusion: The survey revealed reasonable prices and high availability in private sectors but in JanAushadhi Kendra, prices are flattened with good availability. The maximum applicable Goods and Services Tax rate is 12% for medicines under price control and life-saving drugs resulted in 2.3% increase in tax rate ultimately causing burden to patients. Government should ensure certain policies about importance of generic drugs and their availability in Jan Aushadhi Kendra.

Ethical dilemmas of kazakhstani journalists

A journalist is supposed to provide society with true, objective, balanced, up-to-date information and act fairly and impartially, be truthful and transparent. Otherwise, journalists may cause harm by failing to act ethically. The purpose of this research is to examine journalism ethics in Kazakhstan, explain probable reasons for ethical misbehavior and suggest possible solutions to the existing problems in journalistic ethics. It is an important study because journalism misbehavior affects everyone and little attention is given in research about journalism ethics in Kazakhstan. To address research inquiry, this research study uses qualitative structured interviews with 11 working journalists and editors in the country. The interviews were conducted in Russian language during the fall 2021. Convenience and snowball sampling were used in the study. Specifically, seven journalists working in independent media outlets, three journalists from state-owned media outlets and one journalist working in international media outlet, participated in the study. The sample consisted of five women and six men, ranging in age from 29 to 49 years old and having experience in journalism from seven to 25 years. The interviewees did not receive a monetary compensation for participation. The findings suggest that socio-economic, political and personal factors explain ethical misbehavior in journalism. As for probable solutions to the current problems in journalistic ethics, the majority of the respondents believe that the situation may be improved through teaching ethics in universities, holding training and professional workshops for everyone involved in journalism. Some journalists suggest that nothing needs to be done with ethics and instead it is necessary to solve some complex issues in society. The value of the conducted research lies in the study of the reasons for ethical misbehavior. Keywords: journalistic ethics, Kazakhstan, journalism, ethical principles, deontology.

Independent media under pressure: evidence from Russia

ABSTRACT Existing literature recognizes growing threats to press freedom around the world and documents changes in the tools used to stifle the independent press. However, few studies investigate how independent media respond to state pressure in an autocracy, documenting the impact of tactics that stop short of shuttering alternatives to state media. Do independent outlets re-orient coverage to favor regime interests? Or does repression encourage more negative coverage of the regime instead? To shed light on these questions, we investigate how the abrupt removal of independent outlet TV Rain from Russian television providers influenced its coverage. We find that shortly after providers dropped TV Rain, the tone of its political coverage became more positive and its similarity with state-controlled Channel 1 increased. However, these effects were short-lived. Additional evidence suggests that subscription revenue contributed to the station’s resilience. These findings add to our understanding of media manipulation and authoritarian endurance.

Politicization of Science Journalism: How Russian Journalists Covered the Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has become a stress test for science journalism worldwide. In this paper, we explore the under-researched topic of the perceived role enactment of science journalists in non-democratic settings in the example of COVID-19 coverage in Russia. Drawing on 23 semi-structured interviews with Russian science journalists from pro-state and independent media outlets, we examine their perceived role enactment and politicization of reporting about the pandemic in Russia. We identify three major types of limitations of a political nature reported by journalists: (1) editorial guidelines; (2) accessibility and self-censorship of sources; (3) self-censorship. Manifestation of these three types of limitations differ depending on the political orientation of media outlets as well as on the aspect of the topic. Based on the findings, we discuss the influence of universal trends and contextual factors on science journalism covering the pandemic.

Hot topics: Denial-of-Service attacks on news websites in autocracies

AbstractMost authoritarian countries censor the press. As a response, many opposition and independent news outlets have found refuge on the Internet. Despite the global character of the Internet, news outlets are vulnerable to censorship in cyberspace. This study investigates Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks on news websites in Venezuela and details how news reporting is related to DoS attacks in an attempt to censor content. For this empirical test, I monitored 19 Venezuelan news websites from November 2017 until June 2018 and continuously retrieved their content and status codes to infer DoS attacks. Statistical analyses show that news content correlates to DoS attacks. In the Venezuelan context, these news topics appear to be not only on protest and repression but also on opposition actors or other topics that question the legitimacy of the regime. By establishing these relationships, this study deepens our understanding of how modern technologies are used as censorship tools.

Analysis of YouTube videos related to a child's first dental visit.

As parents increasingly turn to online videos for paediatric dental information, it is important to assess the content of those videos and determine whether parents are receiving accurate information. To describe and assess the video characteristics, viewer engagement, and content of the most-viewed YouTube videos about a child's first dental visit. The 100 most popular YouTube videos related to a child's first dental visit were assessed for consistency with current professional guidelines, which included a first visit by age 1, tooth cleaning or prophylaxis, fluoride application, caries risk assessment, dietary counseling, oral hygiene instruction, frequency of dental visits, and anticipatory guidance. Differences in video characteristics (length, age, and viewer engagement) were assessed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and the post hoc Mann-Whitney U test, and differences in content and characteristics by video upload source (healthcare professionals, parents/caregivers, and independent media outlets) were examined using the chi-square test and the Fisher's exact test. The predominant upload source was parents/caregivers (40%) followed by independent media outlets (32%) and healthcare professionals (28%). Median video length was 2min, 24s (IQR=2:05-3:49), and median video age was 4years (IQR=3-4years). Most videos were filmed in a paediatric dental office (73%) and focused on motivational vs. educational content (77% vs. 23%, respectively). With regard to viewer engagement, videos uploaded by media outlets generated higher viewing rates than those uploaded by parents/caregivers (mean rank [MR]=44.7 vs. 24.8, respectively) and healthcare professionals (MR=34.8 vs. 31.5) and higher interaction rates than those uploaded by parents/caregivers (MR=50.8 vs. 25.0) and healthcare professionals (MR=39.1 vs. 20.6). Videos uploaded by healthcare professionals were more likely to provide educational content consistent with professional recommendations, particularly regarding caries risk assessment (32.1%), dietary counseling (21.4%), and frequency of dental visits (10.7%), than videos uploaded by parents/caregivers (5.0%, 5.0%, and 0%, respectively) and media outlets (0%, 3.1%, and 0%, respectively). This study found that the most popular videos related to a child' first dental visit, as measured by viewer engagement, were uploaded by parents or caregivers, were longer and newer, and featured motivational rather than educational content. The 100 most-viewed videos rarely presented information that was consistent with professional recommendations for children's oral health, particularly regarding caries risk assessment and anticipatory guidance.

Visions of Europe in Crisis: Strategic narratives and their alternatives in Russian state and independent media coverage of the 2015-16 ‘Refugee Crisis’

What stories do states tell about themselves and their neighbours, and how are these narratives challenged? This study takes the case of the European ‘refugee crisis’ of 2015-2016, a period of hostile relations between Russia and the European Union, to examine the vision of Europe disseminated by Russian state-controlled media, and the alternative offered by independent media. It analyses 609 news reports on the ‘refugee crisis’ from state-controlled broadcaster Channel One and 181 news pieces from the independent web-based outlet TV Rain. Adopting the strategic narrative framework proposed by Miskimmon, O’Loughlin and Roselle (2013), this study both provides new detail on the narratives found on Russian state-controlled media, and asks the previously unresearched question: how do independent media outlets react to the dominant narratives seen on state broadcasters? It uses a grounded theory approach to elaborate new findings on the behaviour of independent media. The importance of independent media has traditionally been understood in terms of its ability to hold government to account, but the findings of this study suggest independent media can also act as a watchdog and corrective to state-controlled media. This study thus contributes to the literature on both strategic narratives, and media theory.

Kültür Balıkları Fiyat Analizi-2019, Sinop

The study aims to investigate the monthly changes in the prices of culture fish that were sold in retail fish outlets in Sinop in 2019 and determine the correlations between the prices of the species. The retail outlets were determined using stratified sampling and divided into three groups as I (high), II (medium), and III (low) with respect to their product range and sale amounts. Each sale group was represented by two independent retail outlets. The prices were determined twice a month at the same time of the day during the study. The retail outlets were determined to sell sea bream (Sparus aurata), sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), and rainbow trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) culturing of which are carried out in Turkey. The difference in the monthly prices of the species was not statistically significant. There was a positive and moderate relationship between the prices of sea bream and sea bass (r=0.69), a positive and strong relationship between the prices of sea bass and trout (r=0.85), and a positive and strong relationship between the prices of sea bream and trout (r=0.71).

Online misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.

Although rates of vaccination have increased worldwide, the rise in nonmedical exemptions for vaccination may have caused a resurgence of childhood vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccine hesitancy plays an important role in the decreasing rates of vaccination and is considered by the World Health Organization as a top ten global threat to public health. Online vaccine misinformation is present in news outlets, websites, and social media, and its rapid and extensive dissemination is aided by artificial intelligence (AI). In combating online misinformation, public health experts, the medical community, and lay vaccination advocates can correct false statements using language that appeal to those who are undecided about vaccination. As the gatekeepers to online information, they can implement and enforce policy that limits or bans vaccine misinformation on their platforms. AI tools might also be used to address misinformation, but more research is needed before implementing this approach more broadly in health policy. This commentary examines the role that different online platforms appear to be playing in the spread of misinformation about vaccines. We also discuss the implications of online misinformation on attitudes about COVID-19 vaccine uptake and provide suggestions for ways to combat online misinformation.

MEGAPHONE: SOCIAL-MEDIA-NATIVE OUTLETS BETWEEN EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE AND ALGORITHMIC CONSTRAINTS

Though the role of digital media in protest movements has received plenty of attention since the onset of Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Uprisings a decade ago, the way that protest movements have enabled the institutional development of independent digital news media has received less attention. How do protest movements enable the rise of independent digital news media? How do these emerging outlets interact with components of pre-existing media? And what techno political constraints do these outlets face? To answer these questions, we zoom in on Lebanon where an uprising broke out in 2019 and gave rise to a network of independent and interdependent digital media outlets. We focus on the rise of Megaphone, an independent social-media-native news outlet that left its mark on the country’s political and media scene. Based on a politico-economic analysis of the emerging digital media scene in Lebanon, a historical analysis of the distinctive meaning of media independence in that context, and a case study of Megaphone, we examine the notion of independent digital media in the context of protest movements and analyze the distinctive travails of social-media-native outlets. We also show how, in Lebanon, independence movements, protest movements, and uprisings have historically contributed to introducing new media forms and outlets and shaping Lebanon’s media. Our paper contributes to a techno-political and algorithmic notion of media independence and begins to theorize social-media-native independent news outlets as a peculiar form of emerging, and increasingly prevalent, media institution.