Virtual Lightening Talks / Ponencias virtuales breves
The Kashmir Dispute as a Test Case for International Media: Understanding the Politics and Construction of Conflict Coverage
Online Lightning Talk Ravale Mohydin
This paper examines the international coverage of the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India. The study proceeds with a theoretical background to explore the political ramifications and foreign policy dynamics surrounding the Kashmir issue since the beginning. Then, the research relies upon discourse analysis as the key methodological tool to analyse four English language websites from American, Turkish, Pakistani, and Indian news outlets in relation to this conflict in 2018. These news media outlets are CNN, TRT World, GEO News, and NDTV, respectively. The findings uncover the role of digital media in positioning and packaging the Kashmir dispute and aid in understanding the politics and construction of conflict coverage in this particular case. Ultimately, the paper aspires to offer a methodological rationalization of the framing approach adopted by the four outlets under study.
Audience Democratic Voting for Talents on Reality Television Shows: A Case Study of X Factor
Online Lightning Talk Patience Achakpa Ikyo
Audience democracy and participation in voting for talents on reality TV has been investigated to determine the factors promoting voting and understanding of talents. The audience of the X Factor, a UK reality TV show, were interviewed through an online-based questionnaire survey. Results indicate that the audience of reality TV talent search understand that high competencies and excellent performances are the main determining factors for identifying talent on reality TV talent search. The research also found out that other factors such as fun, age, physical attraction, and location make some contestants popular but the audience do not consider them to be a determinant factor for democratic voting. The research also shows that the talents identified do not democratically represent the audiences but the audience becomes fans of the contestants/talents due to their outstanding abilities. They therefore define talent as natural abilities. The research therefore recommend that, TV talent search shows should not project fun, age, physical attraction and location more but rather project high competencies and excellent performances.
A Magazine "on" Your Smart Fridge: An Approach to a Value Chain for Publishing Houses in the "Internet of Things"
Online Lightning Talk Valerie Thiele
In recent years, the "Internet of Things" (IOT) has gained enormously in importance in various industries – whether warehouses with transport robots, agricultural vehicles with extensive sensor technology and data processin,g or intelligent everyday objects. One sector that has not yet concentrated on the IOT are publishing houses. On the bright side, they already own the essential component of their potential IOT product: high-quality content. However, publishers need technical know-how to present their product in the IOT: Possible partners could be manufacturers of intelligent everyday objects such as refrigerators, stoves or “smart tables“. The "X-model" by Tzouvaras, Schumann, and Hess shows that cross-media multiple use of media content represents the performance core within the value chain of publishers. With the IOT, this model is suitable for publishers to reuse their existing content with intelligent everyday objects as playout channels. The model serves as an analytical-ideal-scientific approach. The "X-model" aims at successfully introducing the distribution of rights and products. Partnerships with manufacturers of intelligent everyday objects offer great potential to profitably introduce the new technologies of the IOT into a publisher's value chain. The manufacturers are the technological experts, the publishers can concentrate on the content – a win-win situation! The "X model" can be used to identify opportunities for publishers in the IOT to tap new sales potential within the value chain. In addition, it becomes clear that the "X-Model" must be expanded in order to create a competitive value chain for publishers in the IOT.
Media Narratives about Rio 2016 Paralympics: (Re)producing Cultural Values and Social Identities
Online Lightning Talk Lyusyena Kirakosyan
Because media plays a fundamental role in the (re)production of cultural values and social identities, researchers, athletes, and organizers alike consider it an essential tool for publicizing paralympic sport and games. This talk discusses broad themes and issues concerning the underlying assumptions, frames, and patterns in the interviews with journalists who covered the Rio Paralympic Games. The main questions that shape this talk are: What frames did journalists evidence when describing their work to cover Rio Paralympics? Did the interviews indicate any common frames in their journalistic practices? What are the implications of the journalistic framing of Rio Paralympics for power dynamics within the Paralympic sport in Brazil and abroad? The talk starts outlining the central debates in the existing critical literature regarding media representations of disability and disability sport that help situate the later discussion of the media frames as they relate to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Following a brief overview of the study’s methodology, the talk moves to discuss the journalist frames identified in the interviews and the patterns that make up the media narrative about Rio Paralympics. The talk concludes by outlining the potential effects of journalistic framing of Rio Paralympics for the empowerment and inclusion of disabled athletes and disabled people in Brazil.
Class Identity in the Internet World: A Case Study of the Middle Class in Today’s China
Online Lightning Talk Abigail Qian Zhou
With the popularity of the Internet and the rapid increase in the number of netizens, many scholars have conducted multi-method and multi-angle research on the link between Internet and identity. However, existing research mostly focuses on the impact of the Internet as a whole on interpersonal communication and social identity. Compared to the identity of ethnicity, nation, and youth, research on the Internet and identity of a particular class is rare. In today's China, whether on general public’s social media or elite-oriented professional network platforms, the well-educated with relatively stable work and income, who are called the middle class, have become the main force of the Chinese network society. The middle class in today’s China is an emerging class that was born after 2000. It can be said that this class developed along with the Internet. In the above academic background and social context, this study focused on the middle class in today’s China. Through a statistical analysis of 497 samples, semi-structured interviews of 50 middle-class respondents, and the non-participation observation on two popular social media, this study examines how the Chinese middle class uses the Internet and how to construct the self-identity and group identity of a social class by using the Internet. The findings of this study provide a new direction for class research, to rethink the formation of class identity in the present era and provide a new supplement to media studies to explore the relationship between media utilization and identity construction.
Grassroots Communication: The Need of Community Radio Stations in the Digital Age
Online Lightning Talk Moina khan Khan
The onset of globalization accompanied with digitization and digital culture revolutionized democratic culture across the globe. The gradual spread of democratic values in the digital age in the various nooks and corners of the globe has several times transformed the political structures even in highly autocratic regimes. Hence, it may not be an exaggeration to postulate that communication and democracy bear a reciprocal relationship and emerging trends in digital technology could further strengthen them. As we depend more and more on digital media, there also exists a threat to the world in the form of online disinformation in the background of intensification of false and destructive narratives. There are debates all over to counter this by addressing issues of anonymity on digital platforms and recognising trustworthy sources. In an era when the audience is consuming information flooded towards him, what we also require is an informed and involved citizen and articulation of concerns in a collective and organized manner particularly at various grassroot levels in a state. This is where an alternative medium like community radio plays a pivotal role. In this context, the study looks at the data collected from the audience of three community radio stations in India and understands through their narratives of their involvement with their respective stations, as to how community radio stations existing alongside digital platforms can play a significant role in strengthening the democratic culture while contributing in combating the threats of digital age.
Challenging Censorship: Analysing the Role of Internet as a Combating Tool for independent Documentary Filmmakers in India
Online Lightning Talk Akanksha Jain
India is considered to be one of the biggest democracy of the world. The constitution of the Republic of India ensure the freedom of speech and expression to the citizens offering the right to speak their mind and voice their opinions with facts. However In today’s India, citizens are struggling to express their dissent under the constant threat of being called anti national thus damaging the democracy of the country (Sen, 2017). The past few years saw a continuous stifling of free speech under gambit of security issues and national harmony. Independent documentary filmmakers are not far behind in this struggle. In their constant endeavors to bring forth the truth, highlighting social issues and fighting social evils, these filmmakers are facing censorship as a tool to curb their voices bringing a state of cultural emergency in the country. In their fight against this censorship, today, the Internet has become a great tool. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to talk about the issue and raising a support while Youtube, Vimeo and other online websites to screen the otherwise banned content on Internet provide these filmmakers a democratic platform. The researcher through this paper looks at the particular cases of documentary films that were denied censorship certificate and through in-depth interviews of the filmmakers will try to understand the role of internet as free and democratic space for all.
