Newswatch | Newswatch

You are here

Newswatch Desk

Issue: July 6, 2015

Media use in excess of 45 minutes per day negatively affects children

It takes only three-quarters of an hour to do the damage. After about 45 minutes of media, children's grades, sleep, social skills, and emotional balance start to decline. After four hours, only 1 per cent of children in middle school receive A's in Mathematics and English Language Arts. And, after four hours of screen time, children take 20 times longer to fall asleep than children with limited media use. That's what the Learning Habit study has found after examining family routines in 46,000... MORE
Issue: July 6, 2015

The press release is still a valid, and valued, tool

Journalists are not giving up on the press release , much as it may seem to many public relations (PR) professionals. Nearly 90 per cent of responding journalists to a survey in the US have said they had used a press release within the last week with most reporters (62 per cent) having used one in the past 24 hours at the time they were surveyed. The findings are from Business Wire ’s 2014 Media Survey, which queried 300 North American journalists to determine the types of information and... MORE
Issue: July 6, 2015

Social media may discourage free expression on controversial subjects

No, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are not fronts for free expression when it comes to controversial issues. Certainly not in the United States. In fact, social media has been discouraging free expression, rather than encouraging it, when the subjects at hand are controversial, even offline. The conclusions are from a study conducted by the Pew Research Center , in association with Rugers University , which looked at Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelations of widespread government... MORE
Issue: July 6, 2015

Cellphone addiction an increasingly realistic possibility among youth

We have all along suspected it. But now, we have research findings to confirm our suspicions: female college students spend an average of 10 hours a day on their cellphones and male students spend nearly eight, with excessive use posing potential risks for academic performance. The study — based on an online survey of 164 college students — examined 24 cellphone activities and found that time spent on 11 of those activities differed significantly across the sexes. Some functions — among them... MORE
Issue: July 6, 2015

News media in the US losing role as gatekeepers

The US government is doing a better job of communicating on Twitter with people in sensitive areas like the Middle East and North Africa without the participation of mainstream media organisations, according to a study co-authored by a University of Georgia researcher. The study looked at the US State Department's use of social media and identified key actors who drive its messages to audiences around the world. In particular, it examined the role played by news media and the government in... MORE
Issue: July 6, 2015

Social conversations are driving resurgence in linear TV

It is now conversations on social media that are driving viewers back to television in the United Kingdom. Must-see TV is driving consumers back towards planning evenings around the linear TV schedule, despite the availability and convenience offered by video on demand services. The data from CCS – media agency Carat’s consumer research and insight tool that surveys 11,000 British consumers – has found that 35 per cent of people are now actively planning their evenings around the TV schedule... MORE

Pages

Date posted: April 22, 2015Last modified: May 23, 2018Total views: 34