JournalTOCs

Journalism Research
Number of Followers: 5

This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Print) 2029-1132 - ISSN (Online) 2424-6042
Published by Vilnius University

[38 journals]

Editorial Board and Table of Contents
- Authors: Andrius Vaišnys
  Abstract: -
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +000
Towards a Digital Fourth Estate
- Authors: Hatem El Zein
  Abstract: -
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +000
Shifting from Individualism to Genericism: Personalization as a Conspiracy
Theory
- Authors: Ebrahim Mohseni Ahooei
  Abstract: With severe mistrust around classical approaches to consciousness, this paper claims that arguments around the notion of “personalization” of media or messages are grounded on a misinterpretation. Based on the two presuppositions of respective differentiation of human beings and the power to make choices based on reasoning, these approaches have been the reference for many well-known scientific studies, mainly in the fields of media studies, economics, political sciences, and psychology. Despite refuting their results via meta-analyses, such theories have so far sought to maintain their position by resorting to conspiracy theories, the promotion of which, ironically, leads to the syndrome of skepticism, which supports its origins in a vicious circle. While these approaches have been ubiquitous in so-called cognitive priming, projection of mass movements and political abuses of the concepts such as misinformation or disinformation, the mainstream workouts in the fields including but not limited to Perception Management, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning have significantly relied on both de-individualistic and irrational processes. This article aims to prove that the ontological claims about the centrality of individualism in the latest fields of all media and communication technological procedures are grounded in a conspiracy theory. Relying on the method of epistemological reasoning, this article attempts to prove that individualism and personalization in the field of the media industry are the principal tools of social control through the spread of skepticism, which takes advantage of the fictitious nature of the new media sphere for commercial and political purposes.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +000
Artificial Intelligence and Fake News
- Authors: Fadia Hussein Hussin J. Hejase
  Abstract: Artificial intelligence depends on digital devices’ performance to perform tasks regularly, requiring human intelligence, using special software to accomplish work easier and faster, carrying out data-packed tasks, and providing useful analytics or solutions. It also requires a specialized laboratory that provides high-performance computing capabilities and a technical platform for deep machine learning. These resources will enable the artificial intelligence platform to master the machine learning techniques of using, developing, simulating, predicting models, and building ready-to-use technological solutions such as analytics platforms. In general, the artificial intelligence system manipulates and manages large amounts of training data to form correlations and patterns used in building future predictions . A limited-memory artificial intelligence system can store a limited amount of information based on the data that have been processed and dealt with previously to build knowledge by memory when combined with pre-programmed data. Consequently, one may ask how artificial intelligence applications contribute to verifying the truthfulness of the media through digital media. How do they contribute to preventing the spread of misleading and false news' This study tries to answer the following question: What methods and tools are adopted by artificial intelligence to detect fake news, especially on social media platforms and depending on artificial intelligence laboratories' This paper is framed within automation control theory and by defining the needed control tools and programs to detect fake news and verify media facts.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +000
Tweeting television between innovation and normalization: How Lebanese
television and audiences are making use of Twitter in political talk shows
- Authors: Chirinne Zebib
  Abstract: Traditional media have progressively integrated newer media practices, with the constant emergence of new digital technologies, without abandoning their former ones. The adoption of Twitter by TV channels and by other social actors during political talk shows is a case in point. This article aims to assess whether the hybridization of TV talk shows and Twitter has innovated or normalized existing patterns of communication. In the former case, by enabling more interaction between different actors and space for audience deliberation, or in the latter case, by reproducing a traditional one-way communication and a centralized network of information that remains controlled and oriented by the elite (journalists and politicians). The incorporation of older and emergent media logic has an impact on the construction and distribution of political information as well as on the power relationships between journalists, politicians, and TV audiences. Besides allowing political talk shows to expand their flow of information, and to promote their news online, hybridized practices have not only altered the way citizens consume and engage with political information but also how they counter-frame traditional political media content by producing new ones. The research methodology consists of descriptive, content, and network analyses of tweets collected from three Lebanese local TV political talk show “Sarelwa2et” (MTV), “Btefro’ aa Watan” (Al Jadeed), and “Vision 2030” (LBCI) between February and March 2022. Results revealed that TV talk shows are making use of Twitter as a top-down transmitter of information and resorting poorly to its interactive potential. Some newer media practices of Twitter, such as @mention and replies are being applied but only to interact with politicians and journalists, failing to engage with a larger array of voices and thus, leading to an elite-centric discourse within the network. Also, tweets are mostly used to inform audiences and promote TV programs. In addition, network analyses of talk shows via hashtags demonstrated the central and not monopolized role of politicians and journalists as influencers, bridges, and quick spreaders of information. Finally, content analysis of dual screeners’ tweets (n=6000) indicated very little space in a Habermasian public sphere. The total of subjective opinions, irony, and attack/insult tweets are still higher than the total of the introduction of new issues and counter-frames tweets.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +000
Journalism: As Seen in the Eyes of Current Journalism and Digital Media
Students
- Authors: Rana Aladdine
  Abstract: The world of journalism is complex, multifaceted, and intricate. No consensus exists on the definition of journalism or its characteristics, skill set, and career choices. Differing perceptions stem from journalism’s shifts to new forms, practices, and ways of thought. The digital revolution has drastically transformed the understanding and definition of journalism. Journalists, journalism educators, and even social critics have all offered varying notions on the field. However, the students, a key element, are often neglected in this equation. This paper explores how students view journalism. The current generation is arguably highly equipped with digital media through regular practice, consumption, and exposure to digitization. Journalists-to-be are considered to be the future shareholders and may be the directors of the profession. The study focused on how journalism and digital media students specifically classified journalism characteristics, the educational background they found necessary for journalists, as well as their work aspirations. As journalism is evolving and, in particular, digital journalism is a key factor in the study, the student sample was limited to those registered in the Journalism and Digital Media department at Al Maaref University. Al Maaref University has been categorized as one of the first universities in Lebanon to include the term “digital media” in their journalism degree in hopes of reflecting the fast-changing industry. This study used a quantitative approach based on a survey questionnaire administered online to all students enrolled in the above-mentioned department. Findings showed that the majority of students considered the top characteristics of a journalist to include traditional journalism skills before any digital journalism skills. Students also expressed areas of study at times consistent with those skills and other times consistent with their career choices. Moreover, a majority of current journalism students aspire to work in front of the camera.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +000
SmartNews: An Automatic Approach for Event Detection on Media Platforms
- Authors: Hussein Hazimeh
  Abstract: Social Media Platforms (SMPs) are currently the leading media data sources in the world; billions of people’s electronic devices have adopted these SMPs for their use. The users ‘ accounts on these platforms generate massive amounts of data daily. Data have become an essential building block for many organizations of different domains. Recently, media organizations started using social media as a principal source to collect data, mainly news. Having recognized the importance of SMPs and data availability, media organizations are not using these data efficiently. Many media organizations still use and analyze internet data, especially from social media, manually, which leads to many disadvantages. This research proposes a more efficient and automated approach to collecting information from social media. Actually, this paper proposes an integrated framework that can extract data from multiple SMPs and merge them, store them, and finally allow media workers to extract fundamental data (events) automatically and smartly from social media. The proposed framework takes input from a query and finds the following information: top tweets, total likes and retweets on this query, user’s identity, sentiment analysis, and finally, the prediction component that can classify if a particular item has classified an event or not. An advantage of this approach is to help media leaders control and track their performance in the media sector and maintain popularity on the internet. The proposed system has been validated on real datasets collected from different data sources. Findings show that this proposed system has remarkable accuracy, precision, and recall results, after evaluating different machine learning algorithms.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +000
Digital Transformation of Media Companies in Lebanon from Traditional to
Multiplatform Production: An Assessment of Lebanese Journalists’
Adaptation to the New Digital Era
- Authors: Ali El Takach Farah Nassour Hussin Jose Hejase
  Abstract: This research aims to assess Lebanese media organizations’ and journalists’ readiness and adaptation to the new digital era requirements. Journalism has always been affected by technology. Adopting new information and communications technology has obliged changes in journalistic practices and led to new business models and journalistic practices. For example, implementing Newsroom Computer Systems (NRCs) in media companies has led to radical changes in the departments of these organizations, and in particular in the newsrooms. The journalists in newsrooms are the human factor that is considered an essential element in this change. It touched on the depths of productivity and the mode of journalistic work. In the new era of media convergence, journalists are called upon to follow this trend (modern journalism) and become more versatile, where their work becomes streamlined and redesigned. The new and more flexible journalistic practices emerging in newspaper and television production, in combination with online journalism, have a profound effect on the role of journalists and their competencies requirements. Having multi competencies is explained by mastering the basic rules (writing, etc.) in the journalism profession and digital knowledge related to this profession (visualizing data, using the digital tools necessary for work, etc.). This study uses quantitative, descriptive, and deductive approaches supported by a structured survey questionnaire. The sample in this research constituted 96 respondent journalists selected conveniently. Data were analyzed descriptively and reported in charts for clarity. Results show that from an overall analysis, Lebanese media organizations and journalists are moderately prepared to deal with the digital era requirements. Most of the research variables scored between 40 to 50% in terms of preparedness and functionality during the digital transformation era. The research implications show that in Lebanon, as elsewhere in the media industry, the human factor’s digital culture plays an essential role in the advancement of the companies towards the digital environment. In the Lebanese organizations’ case, the economic and monetary crisis factors besides the human factor, have affected the technical implementation and the digital transformation of the media outlets. In this media landscape, the role of academic institutions (i.e., universities and research centers) must be proactive to define the new set of digital and journalistic skills required and needed to enhance the transformation towards the digital multitasking and cross-platform profiles needed to adopt the digital mindset effectively and efficiently.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +000
Information for authors and bibliographic data
- Authors: Andrius Vaišnys
  Abstract: -
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +000