Mediascape

In the good “old world” embargoes used to be timed particularly to print deadlines of newspapers. But that was the old world; the world itself has changed – digitalisation has accelerated news cycles. The ancient relic called the “news embargo” ought to have disappeared by now, but it hasn’t. A researcher now says this will take time, and the embargo still makes sense. Sonja Gruber, an...

Less than one in five (18 per cent) people online follow the show they’re watching on television via Twitter. Traditional TV viewers in the US, dubbed "couch potatoes" in a recent report, are the largest segment but only account for one third (33 per cent) of people online who watch TV. Very focused on TV when watching it, they never phone or text people about what they’re watching and hardly...

The global media has turned a blind eye to the issue of human trafficking, focusing on conflict around the globe instead. It is estimated that some 2,5 million people are victims of trafficking each year but the issues are not covered in great depth by the world’s media. Incidentally, last week marked world human trafficking awareness week. The United Nations, which is at the forefront of the...

People can accurately detect the personality traits of strangers through Facebook activity; however, changes to the social media site in the past three years could be making it harder to do so. Researchers from the University of Kansas sampled 100 Facebook users, paralleling the demographics of the social networking site, and asked them to fill out a personality survey. A group of coders looked at...

Online networking can play a positive role in subjective well-being through its impact on physical social interactions. Can, of course. But, the overall effect of networking on individual welfare is significantly negative. That's because participation in social networking sites (SNS) might destroy social trust, while on the other hand, face-to-face interactions are positively associated with...

Nowhere to be “scene,” women protagonists have less than one-third of all speaking roles in film and are largely absent from powerful positions, according to a United Nations-backed survey released recently. The study argues for the involvement of more female filmmakers in the industry, and for greater sensitivity to gender imbalance on screen. “The first-ever global study of female...

More than 75 per cent of Zimbabwean women own a mobile phone, only 18 per cent of women in Niger listen to the radio on a daily basis, and approximately half of women in Côte d’Ivoire watch TV daily. The Broadcasting Board of Governors, together with Gallup, recently hosted a research briefing about women’s media consumption habits across seven African countries, and how those choices affect...

Almost three in five people (57 per cent) in Australia are calling their family and friends less frequently since the rise of social media. According to a survey of more than 1,000 Australians, nearly four out of five (79 per cent) believe social media and technology are causing us to lose the art of conversation. Some two-thirds (63 per cent) say it's easier to text a friend or a loved one...

Women are severely underrepresented on international TV news and are frequently framed as victims as opposed to political leaders, business people, and other high-achieving public figures, according to new research from Media Tenor International. “Not only do women represent only 11 out of the 100 most visible people on international TV news,” says Racheline Maltese, a researcher at Media...

Social networking programmes designed to help people lose weight could play a role in the global fight against obesity. Analysis by researchers from Imperial College London combining the results of 12 previous studies shows that such programmes have achieved modest but significant results in helping participants lose weight. The paper is one of 10 reports on global healthcare policy written for...