New media forums have created a unique opportunity for citizens to participate in a variety of social and political contexts. As new social technologies are being utilized in a variety of ways, the public is able to interact more effectively in activities within their communities. The Handbook of Research on Citizen Engagement and Public Participation in the Era of New Media addresses opportunities and challenges in the theory and practice of public involvement in social media. Highlighting various communication modes and best practices being utilized in citizen-involvement activities, this book is a critical reference source for professionals, consultants, university teachers, practitioners, community organizers, government administrators, citizens, and activists.

Winner of the 2018 Media Ecology Association's Erving Goffman Award for Outstanding Scholarship in the Ecology of Social Interaction Winner of the Eastern Communication Association's Everett Lee Hunt Award A behind-the-scenes account of how death is presented in the media Death is considered one of the most newsworthy events, but words do not tell the whole story. Pictures are also at the epicenter of journalism, and when photographers and editors illustrate fatalities, it often raises questions about how they distinguish between a "fit" and "unfit" image of death. Death Makes the News is the story of this controversial news practice: picturing the dead. Jessica Fishman uncovers the surprising editorial and political forces that structure how the news and media cover death. The patterns are striking, overturning long-held assumptions about which deaths are newsworthy and raising fundamental questions about the role that news images play in our society. In a look behind the curtain of newsrooms, Fishman observes editors and photojournalists from different types of organizations as they deliberate over which images of death make the cut, and why. She also investigates over 30 years of photojournalism in the tabloid and patrician press to establish when the dead are shown and whose dead body is most newsworthy, illustrating her findings with high-profile news events, including recent plane crashes, earthquakes, hurricanes, homicides, political unrest, and war-time attacks. Death Makes the News reveals that much of what we think we know about the news is wrong: while the patrician press claims that they do not show dead bodies, they are actually more likely than the tabloid press to show them-even though the tabloids actually claim to have no qualms showing these bodies. Dead foreigners are more likely to be shown than American bodies. At the same time, there are other unexpected but vivid patterns that offer insight into persistent editorial forces that routinely structure news coverage of death. An original view on the depiction of dead bodies in the media, Death Makes the News opens up new ways of thinking about how death is portrayed.

Through analysis of three case study videogames - Left 4 Dead 2, DayZ and Minecraft - and their online player communities, Digital Zombies, Undead Stories develops a framework for understanding how collective gameplay generates experiences of narrative, as well as the narrative dimensions of players' creative activity on social media platforms. Narrative emergence is addressed as a powerful form of player experience in multiplayer games, one which makes individual games' boundaries and meanings fluid and negotiable by players. The phenomenon is also shown to be recursive in nature, shaping individual and collective understandings of videogame texts over time. Digital Zombies, Undead Stories focuses on games featuring zombies as central antagonists. The recurrent figure of the videogame zombie, which mediates between chaos and rule-driven predictability, serves as both metaphor and mascot for narrative emergence. This book argues that in the zombie genre, emergent experiences are at the heart of narrative experiences for players, and more broadly demonstrates the potential for the phenomenon to be understood as a fundamental part of everyday play experiences across genres.

This books provides a critical perspective on entrepreneurialism in the creative industries. Split into three sections, the book first asks the contextual question; why, at this point in time, did we arrive at such a focus on entrepreneurship in the creative industries? Examining the historical, social, cultural, economic and political background, the book places the creative industries and entrepreneurship firmly within a systemic approach to creativity and cultural production. Given this emphasis on entrepreneurship in the creative system, the second part of the book asks, what do those who want to work in the creative industries need to do to pragmatically gain an income? The practices, skills, business models and plans necessary to master in order to successfully run a business are explored in this section. The final section contains detailed case studies that reveal the lives of those who found a way to successfully gain an income in the creative industries. It highlights the practical knowledge they gathered, how they negotiated their field of endeavour, and the decisions they made in the real world. Fundamentally the book answers three questions: How and why did we get here? Given that we are here at this point in time, how do we go about being entrepreneurial? And who has managed to do this in the creative industries and how did they do it? Covering both theoretical debates in detail, and practical case studies in key sub-sectors of creative industries, this truly integrative and far-reaching volume will be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners alike.

The digital age has made it easy for anyone, even those with limited technology proficiency, to create some form of media. With so many different types of media and the sheer volume of information coming from a wide array of sources, media literacy has become an essential skill that can be very difficult to learn and teach. The Handbook of Research on Media Literacy Research and Applications Across Disciplines aims to present cross-disciplinary examinations of media literacy, specifically investigating its challenges and solutions and its implications for P-20 education. An assemblage of innovative findings centered on national and international perspectives, with topics including critical thinking and decision-making processes, smart consumerism, recognizing point-of-view, media influence, responsible media creation, cyber threats, media literacy instruction, among others, this book is ideally designed for educators, researchers, activists, instructional designers, media specialists, and professionals.

Branded Women in U.S. Television examines how The Real Housewives of New York City, Martha Stewart, and other female entrepreneurs create branded televised versions of the iconic U.S. housewife. Using their television presence to establish and promote their own product lines, including jewelry, cookware, clothing, and skincare, they become the primary physical representations of these brands. While their businesses are serious and seriously lucrative, especially reality television enables a certain representational flexibility that allows participants to create campy and sometimes tongue-in-cheek personas. Peter Bjelskou explores their innovative branding strategies, specifically the complex relationships between their entrepreneurial endeavors and their physical bodies, attires, tastes, and personal histories. Generally these branded women speak volumes about their contemporaneous political environments, and this book illustrates how they, and many other women in U.S. television history, are indicative of larger societal trends and structures.

People have described nature since the beginning of human history. They do it for various purposes, including to communicate about economic, social, governmental, meteorological, sustainability-related, strategic, military, and survival issues as well as artistic expression. As a part of the whole world of living beings, we use various types of senses, known and unknown, labeled and not identified, to both communicate and create. Describing Nature Through Visual Data is a collection of impactful research that discusses issues related to the visualization of scientific concepts, picturing processes, and products, as well as the role of computing in advancing visual literacy skills. Organized into four sections, the book contains descriptions, theories, and examples of visual and music-based solutions concerning the selected natural or technological events that are shaping present-day reality. The chapters pertain to selected scientific fields, digital art, computer graphics, and new media and confer the possible ways that visuals, visualization, simulation, and interactive knowledge presentation can help us to understand and share the content of scientific thought, research, artistic works, and practice. Featuring coverage on topics that include mathematical thinking, music theory, and visual communication, this reference is ideal for instructors, professionals, researchers, and students keen on comprehending and enhancing the role of knowledge visualization in computing, sciences, design, media communication, film, advertising, and marketing.

While transitioning from autocracy to democracy, media in Africa has always played an important role in democratic and non-democratic states; focusing on politicians, diplomats, activists, and others who work towards political transformations. New Media Influence on Social and Political Change in Africa addresses the development of new mass media and communication tools and its influence on social and political change. While analyzing democratic transitions and cultures with a theoretical perspective, this book also presents case studies and national experiences for media, new media, and democracy scholars and practitioners.

Approved by AQA. The AQA GCSE Media Studies Student Book has been revised and updated to reflect the latest amendments to the specification. This accessible and engaging resource will support students through their GCSE Media Studies course. What's new in the Revised Edition? - Coverage of the new close study products for assessment from 2023 onwards, including: Black Widow (film - media industries) How You Like That by Blackpink (music video - media industries and media audiences) KISS Breakfast (radio - media industries and audiences) His Dark Materials: The City of Magpies (television programme - all four areas of the theoretical framework) The social media and online output of Marcus Rashford (online, social and participatory media - all four areas of the theoretical framework) - New examples of contemporary media products across a range of forms. - Updated sections on media contexts to reflect recent developments in culture and society. - Up-to-date statistics and information about media industries and audiences - New activities to reinforce students' knowledge and understanding. What have we retained? - Highly visual and engaging design. - Detailed coverage of all areas of the specification, supported by highly illustrated examples. - Exploration of the theoretical framework of Media Studies, applied to a range of media forms and products. - Dedicated chapter on the Non-Exam Assessment element of the specification provides clear guidance on how students will be assessed. - Additional online exam guidance chapter introduces students to practice questions and the assessment objectives. - A variety of activities and extension tasks to help students broaden their knowledge and understanding and encourage independent learning.

Modern populations are superficially aware of media potentials and paraphernalia, but recent events have emphasized the general ignorance of the sentient media. Advertising has long been suspected of cognitive manipulation, but emergent issues of political hacking, false news, disinformation campaigns, lies, neuromarketing, misuse of social media, pervasive surveillance, and cyber warfare are presently challenging the world as we know it. Media Models to Foster Collective Human Coherence in the PSYCHecology is an assemblage of pioneering research on the methods and applications of video games designed as a new genre of dream analogs. Highlighting topics including virtual reality, personality profiling, and dream structure, this book is ideally designed for professionals, researchers, academicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists, media specialists, game designers, and students hoping for the creation of sustainable social patterns in the emergent reality of energy and information.

The Political Economy of News in China: Manufacturing Harmony is the first full-scale application of Herman and Chomsky's classic propaganda model to the news media content of a country with a system that is not outwardly similar to the United States. Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman examines the news media of the People's Republic of China using the five filters of the original model. He asks provocative questions concerning the nature of media ownership, the effect of government or private ownership on media content, the elite-centered nature news sourcing patterns, the benefits and costs of having active special interest groups to influence news coverage, the continued usefulness of the concepts of censorship and propaganda, the ability of advertisers to indirectly influence news production, and the potential increase of pro-capitalist, pro-consumerist ideology and nationalism in Chinese news media. This book will appeal to scholars of international media and journalism.

How do countries democratize? What route does the way out of totalitarianism take? Students of Russian politics have pursued answers to these questions by surveying Russians on a variety of attitudes, beliefs, norms, and practices. This book attends to political discourse to demonstrate how it creates and constraints political opportunities. It examines an important period of Russian political history: from Boris Yeltsin's second presidential election in 1996, when democracy was pronounced victorious, through its gradual slide toward authoritarian practices during Vladimir Putin's initial two terms in office, and to the election of his protege Dmitry Medvedev in 2008. This analysis challenges the assertions of Russian democracy as doomed by the governing rationalities of the elites. Likewise, it refutes the notion of Russians as an apathetic nation in chronic need of a "strong hand." It argues that if we are to understand how Russia lives, how it endures, and how it can change, we need to pay attention to the discourses that shape Russian political identities and the nation's political future.

The cultural politics creating and consuming Latina/o mass media. Just ten years ago, discussions of Latina/o media could be safely reduced to a handful of TV channels, dominated by Univision and Telemundo. Today, dramatic changes in the global political economy have resulted in an unprecedented rise in major new media ventures for Latinos as everyone seems to want a piece of the Latina/o media market. While current scholarship on Latina/o media have mostly revolved around important issues of representation and stereotypes, this approach does not provide the entire story. In Contemporary Latina/o Media, Arlene Davila and Yeidy M. Rivero bring together an impressive range of leading scholars to move beyond analyses of media representations, going behind the scenes to explore issues of production, circulation, consumption, and political economy that affect Latina/o mass media. Working across the disciplines of Latina/o media, cultural studies, and communication, the contributors examine how Latinos are being affected both by the continued Latin Americanization of genres, products, and audiences, as well as by the whitewashing of "mainstream" Hollywood media where Latinos have been consistently bypassed. While focusing on Spanish-language television and radio, the essays also touch on the state of Latinos in prime-time television and in digital and alternative media. Using a transnational approach, the volume as a whole explores the ownership, importation, and circulation of talent and content from Latin America, placing the dynamics of the global political economy and cultural politics in the foreground of contemporary analysis of Latina/o media.

What Movies Teach about Race: Exceptionalism, Erasure, & Entitlement reveals the way that media frames in entertainment content persuade audiences to see themselves and others through a prescriptive lens that favors whiteness. These media representations threaten democracy as conglomeration and convergence concentrate the media's global influence in the hands of a few corporations. By linking film's political economy with the movie content in the most influential films, this critical discourse study uncovers the socially-shared cognitive structures that the movie industry passes down from one generation to another. Roslyn M. Satchel encourages media literacy and proposes an entertainment media cascading network activation theory that uncovers racialized rhetoric in media content that cyclically begins in historic ideologies, influences elite discourse, embeds in media systems, produces media frames and representations, shapes public opinion, and then is recycled and perpetuated generationally.

From the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and the fight for ratification of the Constitution in the pages of America's newspapers through the digital era of 24/7 information technologies and social media campaigns, this book tells the story of the press as a decisive and defining part of America's elections, parties, and political life. The Press In American Politics, 1787-2012 supplies a far-reaching and fast-moving historical narrative of the decisive and defining moments in U.S. politics as told through the history of America's press, beginning from the emergence of the press in American politics during the 1787 Constitutional Convention through to 21st-century campaigning that utilize "big data" and harness the power of social networking. Suitable for general readers with an interest in the history of American elections and political campaigns and students and academic scholars studying the press and American politics, the book tells the story of "the press"-collectively, some of the most familiar institutions in American news, broadcasting, and technology-as a defining part of America's elections, political parties, and political life. Author Patrick Novotny examines topics such as the expansion of the press into the Western territories and states in the early 19th century, the growing independence of the press after the Civil War, the early history of wireless communication, the emergence of radio and television as powerful media, and the daunting challenges newspapers face in the Internet era. Provides a compelling and unique perspective of American politics through the early adoptions of technology by the press, especially in the era of electronic broadcasting and information technology in the 20th century Thoroughly documents the early emergence of the uses of radio, television, and the Internet across history Offers up-to-date accounts of some of the latest campaigning for elective office in the past decade, up to and including the 2012 presidential election

Brenda Laurel is best known for her work with Purple Moon, the pioneering game company she cofounded in the 1990s. Purple Moon's games were based on years of research Laurel completed in an effort to understand why computer games seemed to be of so little interest to girls. Using diverse archival sources such as trade journals, newspapers, and recorded interviews, alongside Laurel's completed games and own writings and an original interview with Laurel herself, this volume offers insight into both the early development of the games for girls movement of the 1990s and the lasting impact of Laurel's game design breakthroughs. In her work with Purple Moon, Laurel drew on her background in theatre as well as her expertise in human computer interaction and qualitative research. By relying on this interdisciplinary background, Laurel made significant contributions to our understanding of the design and development of games as a medium for emotional rehearsal and storytelling. Additionally, her dedication to research-informed design has had a longstanding impact as companies and designers increasingly rely on audience research and metrics to shape their practices. The newest in Bloomsbury's Influential Video Game Designers series, Carly Kocurek highlights the contributions of a designer whose work has had a profound impact on the development of both games for girls and empathy games.

TV Futures: Digital Television Policy in Australia brings together leading writers from both law and media studies to examine the implications of the shift to digital television for the platforms and audiences, copyright law and media regulation. The book combines writers with expertise in media law and copyright law with those skilled in media policy and social and cultural research. Through its scope and topicality, the book substantially develops the literature on digital television to serve readers from across the fields of law, the humanities and social sciences.

Does the internet facilitate social and political change, or even democratization, in the Middle East? Despite existing research on this subject, there is still no consensus on the importance of social media and online platforms, or on how we are to understand their influence. This book provides empirical analysis of the day-to-day use of online platforms by activists in Egypt and Kuwait. The research evaluates the importance of online platforms for effecting change and establishes a specific framework for doing so. Egypt and Kuwait were chosen because, since the mid-2000s, they have been the most prominent Arab countries in terms of online and offline activism. In the context of Kuwait, Jon Nordenson examines the oppositional youth groups who fought for a constitutional, democratic monarchy in the emirate. In Egypt, focus surrounds the groups and organizations working against sexual violence and sexual harassment. Online Activism in the Middle East shows how and why online platforms are used by activists and identifies the crucial features of successful online campaigns. Egypt and Kuwait are revealed to be authoritarian contexts but where the challenges and possibilities faced by activists are quite different. The comparative nature of this research therefore exposes the context-specific usage of online platforms, separating this from the more general features of online activism. Nordenson demonstrates the power of online activism to create an essential 'counterpublic' that can challenge an authoritarian state and enable excluded groups to fight in ways that are far more difficult to suppress than a demonstration.

Although definition can vary, to be a Furry, a person identifies with an animal as part of their personality; this can be on a mystical/religious level or a psychological level. In modern Western society having a spirit animal or animal identity can sometimes be framed as social deviance rather than religious or totemic diversity. Jessica Ruth Austin investigates how Furries use the online space to create a 'Furry identity'. She argues that for highly identified Furries, posthumanism is an appropriate framework to use. For less identified Furries, who are more akin to fans, fan studies literature is used to conceptualise their identity construction. This book argues that the Furries are not a homogenous group and with varying levels of identification within the fandom, so shows that negative media representations of the Furry Fandom have wrongly pathologized the Furries as deviants as opposed to fans.