Mass Communication Commons^™

#Bolivia: Trascendiendo Las Fronteras De La Participación Social Y Política A Través De Los Hashtags, Azella Markgraf

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En los últimos años, el uso masivo de los medios de comunicación a través del internet ha cambiado irrevocablemente las formas de socialización y participación pública de la humanidad. Con la existencia de las redes sociales como Facebook y Twitter, los discursos políticos que hace unas décadas hubieran sido restringido por las fronteras materiales ahora se extienden a nivel mundial. Siguiendo la elección nacional de Bolivia el 20 de octubre de 2019, el hashtag #Bolivia se viralizó mientras personas de todas partes del mundo iban discutiendo lo que pasaba en el país. En el presente estudio, observo y analizo el …

Queer Connections: Social Media As A Versatile Tool Of The Marginalized Moroccan Lgbt, Savannah Vickery

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper examines the role of social media in the Moroccan LGBT sphere. It draws on personal narratives from LGBT men and women as well as activists in order to establish the various ways that social media is employed in the interests of the individual, the community, and the activist. While social media has been a tool to expand the LGBT community around the world, it is specifically and unusually useful in Morocco where there is considerable censorship of incoming and outgoing media. Additionally, many public displays of resistance are considered to be counter productive to the pro-LGBT movement because …

Media For The Masses The Usage Patterns And Social Consequences Of A Mobile-Phone Based Citizen Journalism Platform In Madhya-Pradesh , Sarah Corsa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a country as diverse and hierarchical as India, certain marginalized populations are bound to be excluded from the mainstream media. In particular, the adivasi and lower caste populations in rural regions receive either no representation or biased coverage. CGNet Swara, a citizen journalism initiative, seeks to remedy these disparities by utilizing cellphone technology to report and distribute news in the Central Gondwana region. Each citizen with a cellphone in his or her hand, regardless of religion, caste, age or literacy level, can disseminate information he or she sees as valuable by leaving a voice recording at a certain number. …

Is The Smartphone Smart In Kathmandu?, Seth Bird

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is the extensive study of the smartphone in the developing country of Nepal, specifically the Kathmandu valley. Throughout my research I conducted various interviews with businesses, Tibetan refugees, and Nepali millennials (18yrs-33yrs) with the goal of identifying how the smartphone is used and understood. I chose the Kathmandu valley as my main area of research because the usage of smartphones in rural Nepal is extremely limited, and the valley represents the economic hub where progressive thinking flourishes. As a main objective I sought to understand how, if at all, the smartphone is used differently between Nepal and America. All …

On Air With The Community An Exploration Of Five Community Radio Stations In The Western Cape, Kelsey Warren

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The closing of apartheid in South Africa was brought by new measures for democracy in 1994. Community radio stations were seen as measures for local communication and involvement in giving different communities voices that has formerly been lost. This paper attempts to discover the relevance of community radio stations twenty years after democracy and just how citizens are participating.

The paper begins with a review of history of community radio on different levels around the world through the use of literature. The arguments made centralize around the necessity of specialized community stations, the effect of community engagement, the lack of …

Social Media & Revolution: The Importance Of The Internet In Tunisia’S Uprising, Aamna Dhillon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Our world has entered a digital age, where technology has made leaps and bounds and is accelerating in development. With this digital age came the widespread use of the internet and the emergence of “social media”—online platforms for communicating with others. Though the initial use of these social media platforms was to stay connected with friends and family, a sect of users have used the platforms to share news and important information. In the past few years, people have come together to demand change in their countries by protest and eventually even revolution, all of which is said to have …

Headlines In Rhyme: A Case Study On Le Journal Rappé As An Agent Of Senegalese Sociopolitical Change, Jessica Hackel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Le Journal Rappé is a weekly Senegalese television segment presented and created by “old-school” rappers Cheikh “Keyti” Sene and Makhtar “Xuman” Fall. Each Friday on the Senegalese television station 2S, the rappers take on the personas of broadcast journalists, delivering the week’s top headlines in rhyme—they literally rap the news. Since its initial inception on April 11^th, 2013 as a YouTube venture, Le Journal Rappé has garnered both national and international praise. The program superficially serves as an alternative source of media, one that deviates from the mainstream in its format, entertainment value, and appeal to …

Vital Correspondence: Analyzing Local And International Media Coverage Of Armed Conflict, Marissa Moran

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The atrocities of armed conflicts such as those in Israel’s Gaza Strip and the Darfur region of Sudan are not reaching and affecting Westerners as clearly and potently as they should, considering the technological capabilities of today’s international news media. In this paper, I will argue that media coverage of armed conflict in the developing world is stifled by the politics of international and transnational news media organizations and the unique challenges and limitations to local news organizations at the site of conflict. Private interests, financial constraints, and physical and political limitations cause global media to emphasize mainly the violent …