Political Entertainment in a Post-Authoritarian Democracy


Book Description

The book offers an analytical and empirical account of the specificities of political entertainment in post-authoritarian democracies. Centered around Mexico as a case study, the book explores the production of political entertainment in post-authoritarian legacy media and how political and economic conditions constrain the range and edge of discourse; how political entertainment in social media is shaped by the structure of platforms, as creators are encouraged to conform to specific norms such as constant publication; and the impacts of these media on attitude formation among the population. The book proposes a theoretical framework for identifying the specific conditions of post-authoritarian democracies that constrain the production of political entertainment, as well as its outcomes in terms of content and effects. This framework can be applied to the analysis of similar case studies, particularly in the Global South at large. With an analysis drawing on hard data, historical accounts, and anecdotal evidence, this volume will resonate within academic communities interested in political communication, media studies, transitional democracies, and popular culture.




News Media Coverage of Environmental Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean


Book Description

This edited collection provides a unique survey of the ways in which news media organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean cover global, regional and local environmental issues and challenges. There is growing recognition within academia, governments, industries, NGOs and civil society about the importance of strategic communication and the news media in informing current societal and policy discussions about environmental issues. With this in mind, this volume explores the content of reporting as well as the structural and individual contests faced by media organizations and journalists, with a focus on the very unique political, social, cultural and environmental conditions that affect the countries individually. The book provides a survey of the most relevant and current environmental issues that have attracted public attention across the region and within countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in the first part of the 21st century. This volume will be of interest to students, instructors and researchers interested in Latin America and the Caribbean, media and the environment.




Media Systems and Communication Policies in Latin America


Book Description

Media Systems and Communication Policies in Latin America proposes, tests and analyses the liberal captured model. It explores to what extent to which globalisation, marketization, commercialism, regional bodies and the nation State redefine the media's role in Latin American societies.




International Handbook of Media Literacy Education


Book Description

At the forefront in its field, this Handbook examines the theoretical, conceptual, pedagogical and methodological development of media literacy education and research around the world. Building on traditional media literacy frameworks in critical analysis, evaluation, and assessment, it incorporates new literacies emerging around connective technologies, mobile platforms, and social networks. A global perspective rather than a Western-centric point of view is explicitly highlighted, with contributors from all continents, to show the empirical research being done at the intersection of media, education, and engagement in daily life. Structured around five themes—Educational Interventions; Safeguarding/Data and Online Privacy; Engagement in Civic Life; Media, Creativity and Production; Digital Media Literacy—the volume as a whole emphasizes the competencies needed to engage in meaningful participation in digital culture.




The Great Gap


Book Description

The relationship between socioeconomic inequality and democratic politics has been one of the central questions in the social sciences from Aristotle on. Recent waves of democratization, combined with deepened global inequalities, have made understanding this relationship ever more crucial. In The Great Gap, Merike Blofield seeks to contribute to this understanding by analyzing inequality and politics in the region with the highest socioeconomic inequalities in the world: Latin America. The chapters, written by prominent scholars in their fields, address the socioeconomic context and inequality of opportunities; elite culture, public opinion, and media framing; capital mobility, campaign financing, representation, and gender equality policies; and taxation and social policies. Aside from the editor, the contributors are Pablo Alegre, Maurício Bugarin, Daniela Campello, Anna Crespo, Francisco H. G. Ferreira, Fernando Filgueira, Liesl Haas, Sallie Hughes, Juan Pablo Luna, James E. Mahon Jr., Juliana Martínez Franzoni, Adriana Cuoco Portugal, Paola Prado, Elisa P. Reis, Luis Reygadas, Sergio Naruhiko Sakurai, and Koen Voorend.




The Oxford Handbook of Mexican Politics


Book Description

Since achieving independence from Spain and establishing its first constitution in 1824, Mexico has experienced numerous political upheavals. The country's long and turbulent journey toward democratic, representative government has been marked by a tension between centralized, autocratic governments (historically depicted as a legacy of colonial institutions) and federalist structures. The years since Mexico's independence have seen a major violent social revolution, years of authoritarian rule, and, finally, in the past two decades, the introduction of a fair and democratic electoral process. Over the course of the thirty-one essays in The Oxford Handbook of Mexican Politics some of the world's leading scholars of Mexico will provide a comprehensive view of the remarkable transformation of the nation's political system to a democratic model. In turn they will assess the most influential institutions, actors, policies and issues in its current evolution toward democratic consolidation. Following an introduction by Roderic Ai Camp, sections will explore the current state of Mexico's political development; transformative political institutions; the changing roles of the military, big business, organized labor, and the national political elite; new political actors including the news media, indigenous movements, women, and drug traffickers; electoral politics; demographics and political attitudes; and policy issues.




Muy Buenas Noches


Book Description

By the end of the twentieth century, Mexican multimedia conglomerate Televisa stood as one of the most powerful media companies in the world. Most scholars have concluded that the company’s success was owed in large part to its executives who walked in lockstep with the government and the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), which ruled for seventy-one years. At the same time, government decisions regulating communications infrastructure aided the development of the television industry. In one of the first books to be published in English on Mexican television, Celeste González de Bustamante argues that despite the cozy relationship between media moguls and the PRI, these connections should not be viewed as static and without friction. Through an examination of early television news programs, this book reveals the tensions that existed between what the PRI and government officials wanted to be reported and what was actually reported and how. Further, despite the increasing influence of television on society, viewers did not always accept or agree with what they saw on the air. Television news programming played an integral role in creating a sense of lo mexicano (that which is Mexican) at a time of tremendous political, social, and cultural change. At its core the book grapples with questions about the limits of cultural hegemony at the height of the PRI and the cold war.




Online synergizing alternative media for empowering people in India


Book Description

Essay from the year 2017 in the subject Communications - Multimedia, Internet, New Technologies, , language: English, abstract: This paper analyses three examples of alternative media in India. These are "The Citizen", "The Wire" and "News Laundry". The main task is to show the advantages and limitations of alternative media compared with mainstream media. Historically and conceptually the roots of media go back to the prophetic times and prophetic mission respectively. The prophetic times were a difficult period in the history of Israel. At that time the prophets were charged with a message to communicate. The prophetic role had a social dimension; it wasn’t purely a personal religious experience. On the one hand the prophets belonged as a religious model in the king’s entourage but on the other they did not refrain from castigating the ruler for their misdeeds often by pointed parables. They also performed their role as critics of the Israelite society. Prophetic castigation and criticism was to empower the ruler and the society and not to pull the ruler down and leave the society in tatters. Thus it was a very positive role. Historically and conceptually has the role of media been any different? Should the role of media today be any different? But the concern the world over regarding mainstream media today is its big fall from genuine and even limited expectations. The concern of failure of not living up to the expectations of media’s role was there even in the age of the old media. Therefore the need for an alternative media was very much felt. This need was partly taken care of by Non-Governmental Organizations, their affiliates, and other cultural, religious, and social organizations. But there were limitations imposed by various factors such as scarcity of resources, state and government interferences and regulations. The post-truth nature of our world has influenced today’s mainstream media very badly. Thankfully, the age of the internet has facilitated to some extent to overcome the drawbacks of the mainstream media and provide an alternative forum. The present contribution is focused on how the online has synergized an alternative media that might empower the people in terms of information gathering and information dissemination. For, today information is power.




The Handbook of Media and Culture in the Middle East


Book Description

The Handbook of Media and Culture in the Middle East The Handbook of Media and Culture in the Middle East is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to understand the profound and complex changes shaping the 21st century. With trans-regional contributions from established and emerging scholars, this ground-breaking volume offers conceptual essays and in-depth chapters that present rich analyses grounded in historical and geopolitical contexts, as well as key theory and empirical research. Rather than viewing the Middle East as a monolithic culture, this Handbook examines the diverse and multi-local characteristics of the region’s knowledge production, dynamic media, and rich cultures. It addresses a wide range of topics, including the evolving mainstream and alternative media, competing histories in the region, and pressing socio-economic and media debates. Additionally, the Handbook explores the impact of regional and international politics on Middle Eastern cultures and media. Designed to serve as a foundation for the next era of research in the field, The Handbook of Media and Culture in the Middle East is essential reading for all academics, scholars, and media practitioners. Its comprehensive scope makes it an excellent primary or supplementary textbook for undergraduate or graduate courses in global studies, media and communication, journalism, anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, and history.