|
COVID-19 AND THE MEDIA
Access to accurate information is essential to fighting a pandemic. However, many governments hide behind the emergency to restrict media freedom. Restrictions include intimidations or other forms of harassment that make the work of journalists more difficult if not impossible, arrests and assaults, and legal threats. Read more details about the attacks against press freedom and the recommendations of international organizations in our article.
The outbreak also affects net neutrality. Its purpose is to ensure that the net infrastructure is neutral by prohibiting internet service providers to block, slow down or prioritize traffic. Because of Covid-19, internet providers might have no choice but to break net neutrality rules. If it benefits us all, regulators will likely turn a blind eye. Read more in the latest article by our Fellow, Zsuzsa Detrekői.
|
|
|
|
Kate Coyer, Research Affiliate with the Center, talks about how to combat misinformation during the epidemic
|
|
LYING FOR MONEY
Unlike in many other countries, established websites dominate the misinformation landscape in Serbia. They employ highly organized marketing teams that produce detailed advertising price lists. Read our report, Misinformation Inc. to learn more about their political agenda.
The sources of misinformation are located in state and commercial mainstream media in Moldova. There are smaller websites spreading false news as well, but they have a hard time to survive, our report, No Country for Small Liars found.
In Romania, the misinformation business is elusive and difficult to measure, but click-bait content, which is funded mostly by advertising, is the norm. When it comes to content, misinformation websites are creative: Dacian mysticism, mystery-miracle-conspiracy, alternative medicine, historical topics with a strong ultra-nationalist interpretation or religious ultra-Orthodox content – everything is on the table. Read our report, Monetizing Dacians and the Apocalypse to learn more.
|
|
|
WHO INFLUENCES MEDIA?
In our flagship project, the Media Influence Matrix, we focused on Georgia, Slovakia and Spain in recent weeks.
Georgia has experienced a boom in internet and mobile penetration. That's not enough for the country's digital media to take off, still, the internet is expected to lead to substantial changes in the country’s news media market, according to our report.
In Slovakia, the oligarchs’ grip on the media continued to strengthen in the past year, but a few doughty independent media put up fierce resistance. Read our report to find out whether they can do it in a profitable way.
In Spain, the news media industry is vibrant, with a wealth of players competing for funding and eyeballs, but at the same time it is extremely concentrated, especially financially. The largest spender is the government, but advertising is also a key source of funding. Read our report to find out what kind of impact the internet had on news media consumption. A summary of the report is also available in Spanish.
|
|
|
HOW DATA VISUALIZATION CHANGES STORYTELLING
Many media outlets are still reluctant to spend time on visualizing their stories, even though a good visualization in an article can boost the audience and even make the journalistic work easier, by uncovering hidden connections and patterns. Read our article to learn more about how visualizations change the way journalists tell stories.
|
|
|
|
Our Fellow, Attila Bátorfy talks about the costs of visualizations
|
|
|
PODCAST: INNOVATIONS IN ROMANIAN JOURNALISM
Media outlets are constantly looking for new funding models. Our researcher, Dumitrita Holdis collected three initiatives or efforts that try new ways of doing journalism. Listen to the podcast here, and learn more about Inclusiv, a journalistic project that managed to get a community of members to support them not just financially, but also with their expertise and their feedback; about Press Hub, a network of independent local media outlets trying to bypass local pressure in order to survive financially; and Radio Civic, the first rural community radio in Romania.
|
|
|
RADIO GAINS IN DIVERSITY IN MOST OF AFRICA
Ensuring diversity in radio broadcasting is crucial for democracy in Africa as radio remains one of the most popular media. The picture is still patchy. Many African countries have improved significantly. But there are still nations where promoters of radio diversity face an uphill battle. To learn more, read the article of our Fellow, John Masuku.
|
|
|
DRAGOMIR APPOINTED TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMITTEE
Our Director, Marius Dragomir has been appointed as a member of the Committee of Experts on Media Environment and Reform (MSI-REF) of the Council of Europe, which will prepare a standard-setting proposal on election communication and media coverage of electoral campaigns. The Committee will also work on guiding principles for media and communication governance in order to address the shift from established channels to social networks and of related risks. |
|
|
DENNÍK N PUBLISHES SERIES BASED ON CMDS' RESEARCH
Slovak media outlet Denník N published a series of investigative articles based on the findings of the report on Slovakia in our Business of Misinformation project. The articles covered how hoaxes can cause the death of cancer patients, the connections of a far-right party and websites spreading misinformation, the connections between a misinformation website and another far-right party leader, and a politician whose popularity on social media defeats all Slovak misinformation websites. |
|
|
ÁTLÁTSZÓ PUBLISHES INVESTIGATION IN COOPERATION WITH CMDS
Átlátszó, an independent online media outlet in Hungary, investigated the hazardous waste deposit at the red sludge reservoirs in the Hungarian village Almásfüzitő. This article is the result of the cooperation of academic researchers and journalists in our Black Waters project, a hybrid investigative-research and advocacy project that responds to the need for engaging reporting on environmental damage, corruption and the consequences for social justice in Central and Eastern Europe. Learn more about their findings here.
|
|
|
CMDS’ RESEARCH FEATURED IN HVG
Hvg.hu, one of the most trusted and read media outlets in Hungary published an investigative article on the connections between fake parties and false news sites in Hungary. The story is based on the findings of the Hungarian report of our Business of Misinformation project. |
|
MEDIA INFLUENCE MATRIX
CMDS’ flagship project, Media Influence Matrix now covers more than 50 countries. The main goal of the project is to investigate the profound impact that rapid shifts in policy, funding and technology are having on journalism today. New reports on India and Slovakia will be published in the upcoming weeks.
THE BUSINESS OF MISINFORMATION
While it is hard to remember a media studies topic that has ever attracted so much time and money, there is still little research on the business side of misinformation, on who hides behind the liars. Our The Business of Misinformation project keeps track of individuals and companies that own them and their links to institutions, political parties and other individuals. The final report of the project is expected in the following weeks.
JOURNALISM BREAKTHROUGHS
The project aims to collect examples, best practices and lessons from a more diverse set of contexts to enrich the knowledge about innovation in journalism. In the next weeks we will cover innovative methods related to covering the Covid-19 epidemic, and how solutions journalism can help journalists all over the world.
|
|
|
About the Center for Media, Data and Society
The Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) is a research center for the study of media, communication, and information policy and its impact on society and practice. Founded in 2004 as the Center for Media and Communication Studies, CMDS is part of Central European University’s School of Public Policy and serves as a focal point for an international network of acclaimed scholars, research institutions and activists. In support of promoting the values of an open society, CMDS produces scholarly and practice-oriented research addressing academic, policy and civil society needs, coordinates course offerings at CEU, provides trainings and consulting services and organizes scholarly exchanges through workshops, lectures and conferences on current developments in the field. Read our strategy here.
|
|
|
|
