Foreign Political Image of the Chechen Republic in Foreign Media

The article examines the external media image of the Chechen Republic, which is formed, among other things, through publications in foreign media. It is noted that the issues of its formation and adaptation to the conditions of external positioning are important points of strategic communication in the media policy of the region. The results of the research will help to develop criteria for the effectiveness of submitting materials for foreign authors, as well as to identify the main trends in the strategy and tactics of media policy in relation to foreign media.The purpose of the study is to identify criteria and trends in the coverage of the life of the Chechen Republic by foreign media. The objectives of the research were to study the techniques and tonality of coverage of the life of the Chechen Republic in foreign media, as well as to identify the most popular and effective tools for working with foreign authors.The methodology and methodology of the research is determined by the set goals and objectives, the author used thematic monitoring, comparative analysis, content analysis as a standard method of research in the field of social sciences, the subject of analysis of which is the content of text arrays and products of communicative information.The hypothesis of the study was generally confirmed: the fragmentary coverage of events and the life of the Chechen Republic was revealed, the media image of the republic in foreign media is formed spontaneously. The opportunism of the media image is formed under the influence of political events in the world that are not directly related to the life of the region.

INTEGRATION CHALLENGES OF MEDIA POLICY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

In the process of political transition of the Western Balkan countries, the non-EU countries in particular, the reform of communication systems occupies one of the primary places within the implementation of economic, cultural, political and integration processes of each country. Communication research that seeks to define the dilemmas of the current communication situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a determining framework of the media system, includes many socio-political factors conditioned by structural changes within the society of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 25 years. The complete cultural and political deconstruction of the Bosnian society at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century destabilized the internal organization of the political, cultural and economic system, especially in the domain of public communication and organization of the media subsystem. Apart from the numerous current challenges, the development of a unified media policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the establishment of a public media system in accordance with the requirements of the European Union and the interests of all citizens, are among the key issues that state institutions are facing at the moment. This paper primarily deals with the analysis of the European Commission’s annual reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress in the process of implementing reforms in the media policy sector and based on these annual reports it suggests the key factors for future national media policy definition. The goal is to establish a national media policy and reform the communication system in a broader context as a political, cultural and economic issue, i.e., as an institutionally agreed path for political compromise, integration of society and definition of collective identities.

Film and Video Censorship in New Zealand, 1976-1994

<p>This thesis is an historical analysis of cinema and video censorship in New Zealand focusing on the period from 1976 to 1994. This is bookended by two significant changes in censorship legislation: the introduction of the concept of “injurious to the public good” as the guiding principle for film censorship in 1976, and the consolidation of censorship of film, video and other publications under one censorship authority in 1993 legislation (which came into force in 1994). My theoretical approach can be broadly classified as institutionalist political economy. The emphasis is on what Des Freedman regards as the “deeply political” nature of media policy development and implementation¹, as well as the role of many key actors, including politicians and civil servants, but also lobbyists and pressure groups, and “the importance of informal as well as formal modes of policy behaviour”.² Also, rather than simply looking at censorship decisions as the work of individuals, I have examined the way in which, as B. Guy Peters notes, “structures persist while individual members of those structures come and go”, and that “structures (institutions) create more regularity of human behaviour than would otherwise exist”.³ Rather than attempting to provide an exhaustive narrative of film censorship during this period, the focus is on detailed case studies of individual films which were the subject of censorship controversy in New Zealand, including Last Tango in Paris, Mad Max, Life of Brian, I Spit on Your Grave, Hail Mary and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. As these were contentious decisions, with a number of different voices competing for discursive legitimacy, they help to illustrate what Annette Kuhn describes as the idea of censorship as “a matter of relations…a process, not an object”, emphasising “the interactions between the various institutional practices involved….the relations between them, the ensemble of practices condensed in any one instance of film censorship”.⁴ These case studies also provide significant insight into the decision-making process of the film censors, demonstrating that this goes far beyond “objective” judgements about the manifest content of the films, and into more contentious and subjective areas such as the perceived tone of films (how they present certain content, rather than simply the content itself), views on media effects, the imagined audience, and the wider societal context. The decisions made by the censors depend very much on how these various factors are weighed, and which are given the most importance in the decision-making process. I have also examined the operation of formal home video censorship in New Zealand, which was introduced in 1987, taking a broader approach rather than focusing on individual film case studies, as no individual videos resulted in the level of controversy or media coverage as the film case studies. ¹ Des Freedman, The Politics of Media Policy (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2008), 1. ² Ibid., 217. ³ B. Guy Peters, “Institutional theory: problems and prospects.” In Debating institutionalism, edited by Jon Pierre, B. Guy Peters and Gerry Stoker (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008), 6. ⁴ Annette Kuhn, Cinema, censorship, and sexuality, 1909-1925 (London: Routledge, 1988), 127.</p>

Film and Video Censorship in New Zealand, 1976-1994

<p>This thesis is an historical analysis of cinema and video censorship in New Zealand focusing on the period from 1976 to 1994. This is bookended by two significant changes in censorship legislation: the introduction of the concept of “injurious to the public good” as the guiding principle for film censorship in 1976, and the consolidation of censorship of film, video and other publications under one censorship authority in 1993 legislation (which came into force in 1994). My theoretical approach can be broadly classified as institutionalist political economy. The emphasis is on what Des Freedman regards as the “deeply political” nature of media policy development and implementation¹, as well as the role of many key actors, including politicians and civil servants, but also lobbyists and pressure groups, and “the importance of informal as well as formal modes of policy behaviour”.² Also, rather than simply looking at censorship decisions as the work of individuals, I have examined the way in which, as B. Guy Peters notes, “structures persist while individual members of those structures come and go”, and that “structures (institutions) create more regularity of human behaviour than would otherwise exist”.³ Rather than attempting to provide an exhaustive narrative of film censorship during this period, the focus is on detailed case studies of individual films which were the subject of censorship controversy in New Zealand, including Last Tango in Paris, Mad Max, Life of Brian, I Spit on Your Grave, Hail Mary and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. As these were contentious decisions, with a number of different voices competing for discursive legitimacy, they help to illustrate what Annette Kuhn describes as the idea of censorship as “a matter of relations…a process, not an object”, emphasising “the interactions between the various institutional practices involved….the relations between them, the ensemble of practices condensed in any one instance of film censorship”.⁴ These case studies also provide significant insight into the decision-making process of the film censors, demonstrating that this goes far beyond “objective” judgements about the manifest content of the films, and into more contentious and subjective areas such as the perceived tone of films (how they present certain content, rather than simply the content itself), views on media effects, the imagined audience, and the wider societal context. The decisions made by the censors depend very much on how these various factors are weighed, and which are given the most importance in the decision-making process. I have also examined the operation of formal home video censorship in New Zealand, which was introduced in 1987, taking a broader approach rather than focusing on individual film case studies, as no individual videos resulted in the level of controversy or media coverage as the film case studies. ¹ Des Freedman, The Politics of Media Policy (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2008), 1. ² Ibid., 217. ³ B. Guy Peters, “Institutional theory: problems and prospects.” In Debating institutionalism, edited by Jon Pierre, B. Guy Peters and Gerry Stoker (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008), 6. ⁴ Annette Kuhn, Cinema, censorship, and sexuality, 1909-1925 (London: Routledge, 1988), 127.</p>

Farmers’ Use of Social Media and its Implications for Agricultural Extension: Evidence from Thailand

Social media are viewed as having potential for agricultural extension. This study therefore surveyed social media use by farmers in a developing country, and their role as a source of agricultural information. To this end, 365 farmers in Chiang Mai, Thailand, were sampled and interviewed using a questionnaire. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents (81.92%) did not adopt social media and, these remained marginal as a source of agricultural information for farmers. Those using social media (18.08%) employed certain applications, i.e., LINE, Facebook and YouTube, mainly for communication, new updates and entertainment. Younger farmers and farmers with a higher formal education related to social media use significantly. To fully harness the potentials of social media for agricultural extension, more farmers need to be encouraged to use them, while relevant agencies also are required to provide support for this effort, such as staff training in social media use, and enabling a social media policy.

PERFORMATIVE MEDIA POLICY: SECTION 230’S EVOLUTION FROM FOOTNOTE TO LOYALTY OATH

This study examines the legislative evolution of Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, a widely discussed and frequently misunderstood dimension of American telecommunications policy that provides a “safe harbor” provisionally shielding internet companies from liability for law-breaking content published by third parties who use their platforms and networks. Though this provision originated in the mid-1990s as an effort to minimize the legal and economic risks facing fledgling internet startups, we argue that efforts to reform it during the Trump era reflected an unprecedented transformation of an arcane policy point into a highly public subject for “messaging bills” intended principally to signal political loyalty to the president.

Re-Visiting Tom O’Regan’s Australian Television Culture: Why Media Ownership, Regulation and Policy Still Matter

Almost 30 years after its publication, Tom O’Regan’s innovative and ambitious, multi-layered analysis of Australian television culture remains an important text for contemporary scholars of television studies, cultural and communications studies, and media industries. In this article, I re-visit the multiple lessons of value that we can take from Australian Television Culture and its distinctive analytical frameworks. Two of the book’s key areas of focus, media ownership structures, and media policy and regulation are explored further, including in work Tom and I would go on to do together.