Media Ecology Research Articles

Remembering a disastrous past to imagine catastrophic future(s) on social media: The expected Istanbul earthquake

This article explores how collective memory of the 1999 Marmara earthquake frames collective thinking of “the expected Istanbul earthquake” through numerous catastrophic earthquake scenarios posted on the prominent Turkish social media platform called Ekşi Sözlük for nearly two decades. The article first integrates memory, media, and disaster studies to theorize how a looming catastrophe is (re)imagined in retrospect. It then analyzes earthquake scenarios using representative samples to illustrate how the oscillatory dynamics and acts of disaster memory shape the future thinking of a not-yet-come threat within a Turkish social media ecology.

The sociological measurement of individual adaptive potential in media ecosystem

The article presents the theoretical justification and empirical approbation of the author’s model of the individual adaptive potential in the conditions of the media ecosystem. The basis of the author’s approach is the consideration of the individual as the main subject of media activity practices that actualise the personal resources of Internet users associated with their readiness for effective communication, for production and consumption of media content in modern institutional conditions of the media ecosystem (considering existing risks and limitations). A theoretical model of adaptive potential is proposed, according to which such a potential is a complex multi-level education containing three successive levels: value, dispositional and practical. It is shown that each level consists of a number of sublevels, of including the types of values, dispositions and users’ practices prevailing in the media ecosystem. Based on the development of these operational indicators and a special scale, the author’s methodology for the adaptive potential sociological measurement of the individual in the media ecosystem is presented. According to the results of the author’s sociological research with the usage of cluster analysis (online survey of social networks and messengers’ users, N = 900), four clusters of media users were found, differing in the level of development and structure of adaptive potential. These clusters are characterised as “cautious users”, “theorists”, “unadapted”, “adapted”. The article concludes with promising directions for further scientific research on the topic.

Aotearoa New Zealand Climate and Environmental Journalists: Profiles, Practices, and Perspectives

This study investigates the profiles, practices, and perspectives of leading climate and environmental journalists from Aotearoa New Zealand. Based upon semi-structured interviews, this study discusses the state of national climate and environmental reportage, as well as possible and desired futures in the round, as responses to the rapidly emerging climate and biodiversity emergency. Within a comparatively small national media ecosystem, the interviews reveal a diversity of backgrounds and degrees of scientific expertise, a collegial relationship amongst the journalists, and a relatively high degree of autonomy in their respective newsrooms. The research notes the journalists believe climate and environmental reportage has increased in Aotearoa New Zealand in recent years although the level of coverage is still insufficient, and there are ongoing struggles to locate climate and environmental journalism within existing news frames. The interview discussion also explores features of reportage such as source relations, workload pressures, and audience engagement. This study explores how journalists negotiate their personal commitments to environmental change within the context of their professional practice. It also discusses the issue of advocacy reportage in climate and environmental journalism and possible critiques of existing journalistic practices and dominant news frames within the contexts of a climate and biodiversity emergency.

Impact of Symbolic Interactionism, Pragmatism and Social Constructionism on Communication and Media Practice

As communication technologies and media platforms continue to evolve, there is a growing need to re-examine the theoretical paradigms underpinning our understanding of human interaction and meaning-making. This research elucidates the enduring relevance of three sociological perspectives—Symbolic Interactionism, Pragmatism, and Social Constructionism—for making sense of contemporary communication landscapes. Employing a qualitative meta-synthesis methodology, we analysed 50 academic articles and book chapters discussing applications of these perspectives within communication and media studies. Our analysis reveals how core concepts from each tradition—including symbolic meaning-making, practical consequences of communication, socially constructed representations—contain explanatory power for grasping new communication patterns and challenges brought by digitalization. Researchers apply Symbolic Interactionist notions of symbolic cues and improvised self-presentations to study computer-mediated communication and social media self-constructions. Pragmatist views on communicative actions as tools for desired ends inform critical analyses of fake news propagation and disinformation campaigns. Social Constructionist emphasis on mass media representations shaping shared realities has expanded to deconstructions of algorithmically-curated information environments. By elucidating these and other linkages, our study aims to revitalize engagement with forgotten or overlooked theoretical foundations in order to advance communication scholarship and enhance reflexivity within emergent media ecosystems. We conclude that integrating insights from Symbolic Interactionism, Pragmatism, and Social Constructionism remains vitally important, both for scholarly aims of explaining reality and practical aims of consciously shaping it.

Strategi Media Sosial BEM Universitas Padjadjaran Dalam Memberikan Informasi Dan Advokasi Kepada Mahasiswa

This study investigates Padjadjaran Care's Social Media Strategy within the Padjadjaran University Student Executive Board (BEM Kema Unpad). This research uses a qualitative descriptive case study approach and drawing from media ecology and media dependency theories. The research also examines social media selection, content planning, interaction strategies, and management evaluation. Data collection involved structured and semi-structured in-depth interviews with Padjadjaran Care social media managers from 2019 to 2023 and long-term followers. Findings reveal key aspects warranting further exploration: the selection of social media platforms (Line and Instagram) influenced by the evolving audience characteristics; content planning focused on addressing student needs via Instagram's question boxes; a commitment to 24-hour responsiveness in interactions, offering informative content; and an evaluation process through a mid-year review uploaded on BEM Kema Unpad's Instagram, capturing aspirations conveyed via Instagram direct messages and Line Official Account chat.

Content Creator Strategy as Tourism Journalism for Post-Covid-19 Pandemic Recovery

Pikiran Rakyat Media Networks (PRMN) engaged in the digital media business, develops its business by creating a media ecosystem through multiple portals. The PRMN sub-domain news portal is managed and filled with content by content creators as PRMN partners. The phenomenon of content creators on news portals creates opportunities for strategies in tourism recovery. This research was conducted with the aim of looking at strategies for utilizing content creators as a form of journalism to advocate for tourism recovery in Indonesia. This study aims to get an overview of tourism journalism patterns carried out by content creators which can be a strategy for recovery and increasing the attractiveness of tourist destinations. This study uses a constructivist approach by finding qualitative data to be analyzed and categorized so that it becomes a pattern of tourism communication through journalism in digital media. The results of the study show that the strategy to restore the tourism sector after the Covid-19 pandemic requires the role of mass media and social media. The collaboration business strategy carried out by PRMN with the google algorithm supports the creation of positive tourism content in marketing tourist destinations according to tourist targets.

Do parent media habits contribute to child global development?

Parents of preschoolers' report using screen media frequently. More frequent screen use by parents may undermine child development by displacing time for foundational parent-child interactions. The objective of the present study is to examine the extent to which parent screen use contributes to child global development 1 year later. Data are from a cohort of 315 preschoolers from Nova Scotia, Canada and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents reported the number of hours per day they spent using screens, as well as child screen time and sex, and parent educational attainment. Our outcome is child global development scores, which combine assessments of communication, cognitive, personal-social, and motor skills measured at 4.5 using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) (N = 249, 79% retained). Parents in our sample spent on average 6.35 h per day using screen media outside of work (SD = 3.07) and children spent on average 3.43 h per/day using screens. Multivariate linear regression indicated that each 1-h increase in parents daily screen media use, corresponded to a 1.25 decrease in child global development scores, B = -1.25 p < 0.05, 95% CI between -2.37 and -0.13. Our results indicate that parent screen use may represent a key component of children's media ecology. Given the importance of global development in early childhood for later health and achievement, the present results suggest that interventions should include parent screen use habits in media wellness interventions.

“Deus, Pátria, Família e Liberdade”: a radicalização política no ecossistema de mídia evangélica digital no Brasil

In this paper, we aim to map the websites that make up the digital evangelical media ecosystem in Brazil and build our own typology to analyze it. Despite their internal differences, Brazilian evangelicals form an important political force, thanks to efforts that have lasted decades. However, little has been studied about its internet ecosystem and its role in reproducing divisive political positions. We identified evangelical websites shared by influencers on Facebook between April and October 2021, complementing the database with other previously known websites found on the platform. We evaluate these sites according to the typology constructed and present an analysis of the political narratives commonly supported by them. We demonstrate that these sites often reinforce an imaginary permeated by a political- cultural war waged against Christians, whose identity is redesigned by the threat of widespread persecution and the collapse of their values.

Communication and Social Sustainability: Information Disorder and the Risk of Pollution in the Italian Hybrid Media Ecosystem

Over the past three decades, a social dimension of sustainability has been established. Much like the environment, society also suffers from forms of pollution that pose a threat to community development. The phenomenon of information disorders, commonly referred to as fake news (FNs), represents an emblematic case of pollution of public discourse. This is particularly evident in the hybrid media ecosystem, where individuals construct their own information pathways in response to a process of deep mediatization. Considering this scenario, especially in the Italian context, research was conducted to investigate the impact of fake news on social sustainability. The survey was constructed around four research areas: sociodemographic factors, news consumption patterns, information disorders, and personal values. A non-probabilistic sample of the Italian population was drawn, totaling n = 399 individuals distributed throughout the country. The responses were analyzed using both single-variate and multivariate analyses. Specifically, a Social Sustainability Index (SSI) was synthesized from the analysis of sustainability indicators. This index revealed four levels of different behaviors concerning media use, political orientations, and especially, belief in fake news. Thus, a link seems to emerge between sustainability and the ability to inhabit the communication ecosystem properly.

Reading landscapes: Exploring drones in creative mapping

In Taking Measures across the American Landscape, James Corner and Alex MacLean explore the ever-changing landscape from the aeroplane. In this paper we replace the aeroplane with a drone and explore how drones can advance creative mapping through a combination of drone imagery and collage-like mapping techniques, as well as explore their use in onsite fieldwork. Throughout our explorations, we reveal how the drone as a media ecology mediates the designer’s understanding of the landscape and creates new site-specific landscape knowledge. We argue that the use of drones and drone imagery advances creative mapping by enabling a volumetric view that provides new spatial insights. Both in fieldwork and in the post-processing of drone imagery, the volumetric perspective helps to reveal the landscape’s vertical structures, the human, more than human and landscape relationships, and the tangible and material reality of the landscape. As such, drones in creative mapping expand our visual understanding and reading of landscapes.

Time Travel and Media Ecology: A Review of Paul Levinson’s “The Plot to Save Socrates” (2006)

Time Travel and Media Ecology: A Review of Paul Levinson’s “The Plot to Save Socrates” (2006)

The Value of Media Ecology for Enabling Human Rights Defenders to Advocate for the Protection of the Right to Mental Health in the Context of Deploying Artificial Intelligence Technology as part of the Decision-making Process

Traditionally, human rights activists gathered evidence about violations of particular individuals' human rights to demand that states change their conduct and adopt measures to prevent further violations. Deploying artificial intelligence as part of the decision-making process creates challenges for activists to detect all sources of harm and demand that states take action to address the harms. Abeba Birhane points out that employing artificial intelligence technology can generate harmful impacts that are either difficult to detect or invisible. If harms remain invisible, then it is difficult for human rights defenders to document them. Equally, it becomes challenging to articulate why the harms in question constitute international human rights law violations. As a result, it is harder for human rights defenders to call on states to take action to safeguard fundamental rights. This article puts forward that individuals can make harms arising from the deployment of artificial intelligence as part of the decision-making process more visible by using the theoretical framework of media ecology. It demonstrates that media ecology can provide an additional tool for human rights activists to detect how using artificial intelligence as part of the decision-making process can undermine the enjoyment of a human right. The article uses the right to mental health as a case study to develop this argument. In order to contextualise the analysis, the article focuses on the employment of artificial intelligence to screen candidates for employment as a case study.

How the Electric Toothbrush, Search Engine, Smartphone, Social Media and Artificial Intelligence Decision-Making Processes Amplify the Exercise of Power at State and Global Levels: A Media Ecology Analysis

Scholars disagree over whether the employment of artificial intelligence technologies entails an inevitable exercise of power over people or whether such technologies can be configured in such a way as to allow a plurality of possible ways to engage in governance. This article uses the media ecology approach to analysis to demonstrate that the concern that artificial intelligence technologies that appear to be mundane are in fact involved in the exercise of power over people is valid. It contributes to the existing literature by showing that numerous applications of artificial intelligence that people use on an everyday basis interact to amplify one another’s effects. These technologies are the electric toothbrush, internet search engine, smartphone, social media and the use of artificial intelligence as part of the decision-making process. These effects occur at the levels of the individual, city, state and inter-state. These effects are cascading and interconnected rather than occurring on distinct planes. The exercise of power over the individual by the state and the corporations becomes difficult to disentangle. Therefore, states need to cooperate regarding governing artificial intelligence and technology companies if they are to meaningfully protect people from harmful effects.

Research on the media field of tourism culture communication under the background of omnimedia

Tourism culture is an intuitive presentation of local culture. Tourism culture communication is an important part of mass communication. Influenced by the subject, object and media carrier of communication, tourism culture communication has formed the characteristics of content diversification, communication fragmentation and audience differentiation. ’Mass communication ecology ’ puts forward: ’ From the perspective of McLuhan ’s communication ecology, media ecology is the core of communication ecology. In the sense of cultural anthropology, McLuhan regards communication as a civilized phenomenon in the overall sense. He is committed to expounding the psychological and ecological characteristics of contemporary media from the cultural and historical characteristics of media. Therefore, from the perspective of communication ecology theory, studying the field of tourism culture communication media under the background of all media can construct the subject and object of tourism culture communication and analyze the influencing factors of tourism culture communication.

Citizen TV’s Viusasa: A Tool for Encouraging Local Content Creators

Video-on-Demand (VoD) platforms have revolutionized media consumption globally, offering personalized content experiences and challenging traditional broadcasting norms. This paper investigates the role of Citizen TV’s Viusasa in promoting local content within Kenya’s dynamic media landscape and evaluates the effectiveness of its personalized content delivery. Through a comprehensive analysis of user feedback, scholarly perspectives, and industry insights, the study examines how Viusasa leverages VoD technology and personalized recommendation algorithms to enhance user engagement and satisfaction. The Mediamorphosis Theory provides a conceptual framework, illustrating Viusasa’s adaptation to technological advancements while supporting local content creators amidst competition from global streaming giants. This research highlights Viusasa’s strategic initiatives in content diversification, user interface enhancements, and market positioning, underscoring its impact on Kenya’s media industry. By fostering a platform that accommodates indigenous storytelling and cultural expression, Viusasa bridges the gap between traditional broadcast media and modern digital platforms. The findings suggest that Viusasa’s success hinges on its ability to sustainably meet the evolving preferences of Kenyan audiences while navigating challenges such as financial sustainability and content diversity. Looking forward, Viusasa’s strategic growth initiatives and partnerships with local stakeholders are crucial for its continued relevance and influence in Kenya’s media ecosystem.

Learning to See on the Screen: Exploring Female Performance in Early Film through the Media Ecology Project

Learning to See on the Screen: Exploring Female Performance in Early Film through the Media Ecology Project

Eric McLuhan, Marshall McLuhan, Walter Ong, and Connection Consciousness

In this article, I highlight the lives and works of three distinguished media ecology theorists: (1) Eric McLuhan (1942-2018; Ph.D. in English, University of Dallas, 1982); (2) Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980; Ph.D. in English, Cambridge University, 1943); and(3) Walter J. Ong, S.J. (1912-2003; Ph.D. in English, Harvard University, 1955). Throughout this article, I use Eric McLuhan’s 2015 book The Sensus Communis, Synesthesia, and the Soul: An Odyssey as a touchstone for my discussion of connection consciousness. I round off this article by listing a wide range of other books and articles that are also related to connection consciousness.

Research on the Impact of Perfect Diary Brand Strategy

The arrival of the new media era has brought new publicity ideas to enterprises, enriched marketing methods and channels, and allowed brand and product information to be delivered to consumers in a more comprehensive and rapid manner, thereby achieving more efficient and comprehensive marketing. Effect. Through digital means, brands can better find target audiences, provide personalized interactive experiences, and achieve precision marketing. Among them, social media platforms are the main platform for Perfect Diary brand communication. Perfect Diary can be said to be a successful example of social media marketing. Through short videos, grass planting notes, combination of pictures and text, and social marketing, it has been widely used on Douyin, Kuaishou, Xiaomi, etc. Conduct all-round publicity on social media such as Red Book and WeChat to cater to the viewing habits and consumption habits of the younger generation on social media, communicate more directly with users, understand consumer psychology and needs, provide products that meet user requirements in a timely manner, and fully penetrate The social media ecology of the younger generation establishes deeper connections with consumers through social media.

Doris Kearns Goodwin and Thomas J. Farrell on the History of the 1960s

In the opening and closing sections of the present essay, I succinctly highlight Dr. Doris Kearns Goodwin’s new 2024 book An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s(Simon &amp; Schuster). In the wide-ranging and somewhat lengthy middle section of the present essay, I construct my own personal history of the 1960s. I especially highlight the work of my former teacher in the 1960s, the American Jesuit Renaissance specialist and cultural historian and pioneering media ecology theorist Walter J. Ong(1912-2003; Ph.D. in English, Harvard University, 1955) of Saint Louis University.

UNDERSTANDING HOW HARIAN JOGJA NEWSPAPERS FACE THE CHALLENGES OF MEDIA DIGITALIZATION

The print media industry is experiencing a decline in circulation. One of the causes is advances in communication technology or digitization. The aim of this research is to describe how Harian Jogja faces the challenges of media digitization. This research uses the media Ecology theory initiated by McLuhan to help broadly describe the phenomena that occur. The method used refers to phenomenology which is used as an analytical tool. The results of this research show that Harian Jogja is trying to create a new alternative to enable their agency or company to continue to survive in any conditions and situations. The Harian Jogja print media tries to shift its marketing strategy to non-print form. The Harian Jogja creates a strategy in presenting news, namely regional news and also an ABC reporting strategy, namely accurate, actual, brief, balanced, clear and complete.