Peruvian Infotainment: From Fujimori's Media Dictatorship to Democracy's Satire

This article explores how Peruvian sensational and spectacular media served the authoritarian discourse of Alberto Fujimori's government (1990–2000), and how TV infotainment evolved under democracy after 2000. Through interviews with producers and hosts of the TV shows and by reviewing specific episodes and media events, this article analyses five of the most representative Peruvian infotainment TV shows of the last two decades in Peru. Building upon a theory on media spectacle, infotainment and tabloidisation, this research shows how an increasing process of media hybridity–the blending of journalism, entertainment, politics, and popular culture–has challenged traditional notions of journalism and has become a prevalent strategy of new political communication forms in Peru, connecting with the global trend towards political infotainment in the media.     

Ethnographic filmmaking as narrative capital enhancement among Atauro diverwomen: a theoretical exploration

This article reports on a project involving the development and release of an ethnographic film about the women divers of Atauro Island, Timor-Leste, and suggests a theoretical framework to interpret its outcomes. It describes the project aims and the filmmaking process, and reports on its results. In doing so, the paper explores the potential use of an agent-based concept of narrative capital focused on collective agents. The article suggests that the ideas of narrative capital and transformations of capital by collective agents can provide a valuable interpretative framework for the design, implementation, and analyses of results of development interventions involving filmmaking.     

Presidential Agenda-Setting of Traditional and Nontraditional News Media

The president’s ability to influence the news agenda is central to the study of American politics. Although there is a large literature that examines presidential agenda-setting vis-à-vis traditional news sources, such as newspapers or broadcast television networks, there is little research that explores the effects of presidential agenda leadership of nontraditional media whether online or cable television. This study remedies this state of affairs by examining the relationship between the president’s daily agenda and traditional and nontraditional daily news agendas. I argue that although the president should find similar space on all news for topics he raises in his speeches, nontraditional sources are more likely to cover other stories that reference the president. Analysis of 748 stories on the presidency for 63 days in early 2012 from 7 traditional, cable, and online news sources provides support for my argument, with cable news providing the most presidential news coverage. I conclude with some implications about what my findings mean for presidential leadership of nontraditional media.     

The Impact of News Photos on Support for Military Action

Drawing on two experiments embedded in online surveys, this article examines the impact of news photos on support for military action. In 2011, respondents were asked about support for ongoing military involvement in Afghanistan while being randomly exposed to one of two photos—one of a soldier with a child, the other of a soldier with a gun. The former photo increased expressed support for war; and the effect was greater for those who self-identify as being very interested in international affairs. Three years later, a follow-up experiment was fielded that looked both at the past intervention in Afghanistan and ongoing interventions in Syria; results were very similar. Both experiments speak to the potentially profound role of mass media in generating support (or not) for foreign military engagements, and the increased impact of frames on those who are more attentive to the issue domain.     

From Warfare to Imagefare: How States Should Manage Asymmetric Conflicts With Extensive Media Coverage

Conflicts in the 21st century differ from past conflicts based on two central factors: the level of asymmetry and disparity between the actors taking part in the conflict and the amount of foreign media coverage that a conflict receives. This article aims to develop a new theoretical perspective on the implications of these two factors on how the involved states manage a conflict. Most actors in current conflicts have vast levels of disparity and receive extensive media coverage; events in those conflicts are referred to as occurrences in the “information space” because a conflict's borders are anywhere people can receive information about it. “Imagefare”—the use of images as a guiding principle or a substitute for traditional military means to achieve political objectives—is argued to be the main tool for better facing adversaries in the information space.     

Social Media and E-professionalism in Child Welfare: Policy and Practice

The professional child welfare literature offers little guidance to child welfare managers and agency policy makers about the use of social media to search for or communicate with clients. Ethical social media use relies upon e-professionalism, defined as the professional identity established by workers through the way they utilize digital communications. This article offers considerations for standards of e-professionalism in child welfare policy and practice. Specific considerations are outlined for social media policy and practice scenarios are offered, which can be used to prompt agency discussions with child welfare workers.     

新闻内容的历史构成及其特征分析

不同历史时代、历史时期、历史阶段的社会变化内容和形式,总会清晰地或者模糊地留存在新闻的记忆当中。历史的轨迹就是新闻的轨迹。新闻图景与时代主体具有一致性,与一定的社会制度具有相适性,与一定社会拥有的新词媒介的数量、质量是高度相关的,与新闻媒介生态是直接相关的。     

论公共安全危机事件中公安机关与媒体的良性互动关系

我国当前正处于经济转轨和社会转型的关键时期,因人为的、社会的或管理的等因素引发各种社会矛盾和社会问题接连不断,由此导致公共安全危机事件日益凸显。由于民主政治建设的需要,保障和实现公众知情权,特别是公共安全危机事件的特点和媒体的特性,决定了媒体必然介入公安机关应对公共安全危机事件中。公安机关为及时有效地应对、管理、处置公共安全危机事件,提高公安机关驾驭社会治安能力和水平,履行好公安机关的任务和职责,必须与媒体建立良性互动关系。     

构建现代女性的媒介视觉形象——以《妇女时报》的女性摄影形象为例

《妇女时报》的编辑者自觉地大规模刊登女性照片,这在女性报刊史上尚属首次。这些女性摄影形象展现了清末民初上海中上层社会女性的现代生活方式、人生理想和性别观念。她们既是现代性进程的产物,又借助于媒介的构建作用而反作用于女性群体本身。她们以其过渡时期特有的矛盾特质,标志着从传统向现代的转变,开辟了现代女性视觉形象的第一个阶段。从此,围绕女性形象的视觉文化进入了现代时期。