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International conflicts in the mirror of constructive journalism: media geographical research
- Authors: Yakova T.S.1
-
Affiliations:
- Lomonosov Moscow State University
- Issue: Vol 29, No 4 (2024): MAGICAL AND HORRIBLE IN LITERATURE
- Pages: 757-771
- Section: JOURNALISM
- URL: https://journals.rudn.ru/literary-criticism/article/view/42295
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.22363/2312-9220-2024-29-4-757-771
- EDN: https://elibrary.ru/QVNKFY
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Abstract
Presents the results of the study of publications by influential global mass media about international conflicts from the standpoint of the concept of constructive journalism. Examines the dynamics of the transformation of media behavior of Internet audiences in different regions of the world in relation to the topics of international conflicts through the prism of media-geographical views on the processes of formation of media reality. The research methodology was based on the implementation of media metric analysis, rank analysis and content analysis in the context of constructive journalism. During the study, special attention was paid to the interpretation of meanings (substantially related to international conflicts) and spatial analysis of big data. The empirical basis of the study was Google Trends statistics and data obtained as a result of processing publications of influential global mass media devoted to international conflicts and crises, interest in which was shown by Internet audiences of countries of the world (the Arab-Israeli conflict, the conflict in Afghanistan, the US-Iran conflict, the Taiwan crisis). Content analysis of media texts confirmed the conclusion that the topic of international conflicts attracts the attention of Internet audiences and occupies a significant place on the agenda of influential global mass media, but only about 10% of materials published in 2023 meet the criteria for constructive journalism.
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Figure 1. Dynamics of popularity of the search query international conflicts by country of the world, 2004–2024
Source: Google Trends. Accessed: 19.08.2024.
Table 1
Ratio of popularity of the search query international conflicts in countries of the world (10 out of 78), 2004–2024
Rank | Country | Share of total number of requests, % | Rank | Country | Share of total number of requests, % |
1 | Zimbabwe | 100 | 6 | Cameroon | 28 |
2 | Rwanda | 46 | 7 | Ethiopia | 26 |
3 | Malawi | 40 | 8 | Tanzania | 22 |
4 | Uganda | 35 | 9 | Nigeria | 20 |
5 | Kenya | 33 | 10 | Zambia | 20 |
Source: compiled by the author on Google Trends statistics.
Table 2
Results of the analysis of queries in the Google Trends system on international conflicts, 2004–2024
| Conflict | Number | Countries with the largest share of total requests (>1) |
1 | Arab-Israeli conflict
| 49 | Lebanon, Palestine, USA, Kenya, Israel, Jordan, Ethiopia, Australia, UK, Nigeria |
2 | Conflict in Afghanistan
| 49 | Afghanistan, Pakistan, USA, UK, Australia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, New Zealand |
3 | US-Iran conflict | 6 | USA, Canada |
4 | Taiwan crisis | 32 | Philippines, Singapore, China, USA, Australia, UK |
Source: compiled by the author based on Google Trends statistics.
Table 3
Number of publications devoted to international conflicts in 2023 in the mass media of different countries
| Topic / Mass Media | The New York Times | The | The Times | The | Global Times | Al Jazeera |
1 | Arab-Israeli conflict | 551 | 491 | 388 | 472 | 74 | 319 |
2 | Conflict in Afghanistan | 206 | 224 | 196 | 311 | 14 | 187 |
3 | US-Iran conflict | 107 | 109 | 91 | 220 | 19 | 318 |
4 | Taiwan crisis | 91 | 58 | 57 | 98 | 53 | 17 |
Source: compiled by the author.
Table 4
Results of the analysis of publications according to the criteria of the concept of constructive journalism (examples)
No. | Article Title | Topic | Mass Media | Criteria | ||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||
1 | ‘Like we were lesser humans’: Gaza boys, men recall Israeli arrest, torture [1] | Arab-Israeli conflict | Al Jazeera | – | – | – | – | – |
2 | Iran prisoner release deal may signal new direction in western diplomacy 2 | US-Iran conflict | The Guardian | + | + | + | – | – |
3 | Driven Out of Pakistan, Afghans Face an Uncertain Future3 | Conflict in Afghanistan | The New York Times | – | – | – | – | + |
4 | Chinese mainland is the ultimate playwright of Taiwan Straits’ drama series4 | Taiwan crisis | Global Times | – | + | ± | – | – |
Note. The numbers correspond to the following criteria: 1 – balance of positive and negative information; 2 – focus on finding a solution to the problem and action; 3 – examples (precedents) of conflict resolution; 4 – answers to the questions posed; 5 – positive elements in the structure of the publication.
1 Alsaafin L., Humaid M. ‘Like we were lesser humans’: Gaza boys, men recall Israeli arrest, torture // Al Jazeera, 2023, 12 December. URL: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/12/12/like-we-were-lesser-humans-gaza-boys-men-recall-israeli-arrests-torture (дата обращения: 23.08.2024).
2 Wintour P. Iran prisoner release deal may signal new direction in western diplomacy // The Guardian. 2023, 18 September. URL: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/18/iran-prisoner-release-deal-may-signal-new-direction-western-diplomacy (дата обращения: 23.08.2024).
3 Goldbaum С., Padshah S. Driven Out of Pakistan, Afghans Face an Uncertain Future // The New York Times. 2023, 30 October. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/30/world/asia/afghanistan-pakistan-deportations.html (дата обращения: 23.08.2024).
4 Xijin H. Chinese mainland is the ultimate playwright of Taiwan Straits’ drama series //Global Times. 2023, 25 January. URL: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202301/1284230.shtml (дата обращения: 23.08.2024).
About the authors
Tamara S. Yakova
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Author for correspondence.
Email: t-yakova@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5640-267X
PhD in Philology, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Journalism and Literature, Faculty of Journalism
9 Mokhovaya St, bldg 9, Moscow, 125009, Russian FederationReferences
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