Public Communication Contexts & Cultures

Introduction to Course and “From Samizdat to the Arab Spring”

Professor Eric Freedman9 September 2011

freedma5@msu.edu

Today’s Outline

• Course overview• Upcoming lecture topics• Academic expectations and assignments• Research & using academic journal articles &

studies• Break• Lecture: “From Samizdat to the Arab Spring”

The Political Power of Communications Technologies

“Why should any man be allowed to buy a printing press and disseminate pernicious opinions calculated to embarrass the government?”

Vladimir Lenin (1920)“Print is the sharpest and the strongest

weapon of our party.”Josef Stalin (1923)

Common Themes

• Power of the media in a variety of countries and political systems.

• Conflicts between those with political and economic power on one side and those with less power or no power on the other side.

• Impacts of changing communication technologies and economic models.

• Role of the press in bringing events to light, helping to set the public agenda for discussion and action by citizens and policymakers.

Goals and Expectations

• Academic integrity• Respect for the class and your classmates• Critical—analytical--thinking• Intellectual and professional curiosity• Clear and precise communication• Meet deadlines

Lecture Topics• From Samizdat to the Arab Spring: Government controls over social and new media, Use of

Information and Communication Technologies as citizen tools for political organization.• Coverage of foreign affairs: Reporting on foreign affairs from home; identifying newsworthy

impacts and implications at home of distant events and controversies; finding local “ordinary” and elite sources for such stories.

• The U.S. press system: Trends in media consolidation; blurring definitions of “journalists”; citizen journalism; challenges to credibility; revenue and staffing losses; entertainment versus news; changing patterns in coverage of public affairs; journalism education trends.

• Media constraints in formerly Soviet Central Asia: How repressitarian regimes in former Soviet republics control and censor media content; legal/extra-legal impediments to professional practices; libel & honour-and-decency; prospects for financial sustainability of independent media; role of Western trainers/educators. Foreign coverage of Central Asian news.

• Coverage of international NGOs: Reporting on the UN, other world organizations & NGOs; human rights crises & how the press covers them (for example, religious persecution of Christians in Muslim countries, suppression of political dissent in Iran, genital mutilation in Africa, ethnic persecution of Tibetans in China.

• Peace journalism: Role of the press in conflict resolution; ethics and activism; covering genocide; elitism; psychological trauma of journalists.

Research Procedures

1. Select a problem2. Review existing research & theory3. Develop hypotheses and/or research questions4. Determine methodology/research design5. Collect relevant data6. Analyze & interpret the results7. Present the results8. Replicate the study when necessary.

Wimmer & Dommick

Academic Journal Articles, Conference Papers & Similar Research Studies I

• What they are

• Why they’re important

• And why they’re not important

Academic Journal Articles, Conference Papers & Similar Research Studies I

Political Contest, News Bias, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: How and Why Rival Official Sources Were Unevenly Treated in Four Major U.S. Newspapers AbstractGuided by the political contest model and concepts of indexing and cascading, this study examined how and why news bias—uneven treatment of Israeli and Palestinian official sources—occurred in four major U.S. newspapers’ coverage. Findings suggest that press access to rival official news sources, U.S. foreign policy, and the ratios of local Arab-American to Jewish-American population are strong predictors of the occurrence of news imbalance. Also the outcomes suggest that contending nations and sources should free, not impede, press access to help achieve fair and balanced treatment of their sources and viewpoints.

Keywords: news treatment, official sources, media bias, Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hypothesis

Assumption as a starting point for researchers trying to find data to supportExample: Cigarette smoking can cause lung cancer.Example: Cigarette smoking does not cause lung cancer.

Research Question

Subject of researchers’ inquiry without a formal assumption (hypothesis)

Example: What cause-and-effect relationships exist between cigarette smoking and human health?

Quick Quiz

Hypothesis? Barak Obama is more handsome than GeorgeW. Bush.

Hypothesis? Svyturys alius tastes better than Volfas Engelman.

From Samizdat to the Arab Spring: Lecture Outline

• Questions to ponder• Samizdat in the Soviet era• Modern regime efforts to suppress

cyberdissent• Arab Spring 2011• Implications & unresolved issues for the

future

Glossary

• Repressitarian: Both authoritarian in governance and repressive in human rights practices

• Samizdat: Illegal. underground publications during Soviet times

• ICT: Information and communication technology

• Stakeholder: A person, group of institution affected by a decision or policy

• NGO: Nongovernmental organization

From Samizdat to the Arab Spring: Questions to Ponder

• Is grassroots-generated political change always good, and for whom?

• Can communications technology be misused, and who determines that?

• What happens when established power institutions themselves wield new communications technologies?

• Are there important things that the “old,” “traditional” or “legacy” media do—or at least did—better than online and social media do—at least so far?

Samizdat in the Soviet Era

,

"I myself create it,edit it,censor it,publish it,distribute it, and ...get imprisoned for it.”

Vladimir Bukovsky

самиздат

Laisves SauklysVytis

“Recent developments demonstrate how bloggingand social media tools may fulfill a crucial role for non-journalists and oppositional groups that journalism serves in more democratic societies.”

Bowe, Freedman & Blom, 2011

Theory: UNESCO Model for Digital Rights—Part 1Goals Main Stakeholders Strategies/ObjectivesAccess-Freedom of connection

E-businesses; governments;civil society advocates; consumers of info & com

Infrastructures/services; media literacy/skills; public access facilities; lower access costs

Freedom of expression Civil society & human rights groups; press & media

Challenge laws, practices & regulations interfering with free expression

Censorship Governments; ISPs; political & interest groups; regulators; human rights advocates

Filtering; block websites; arrest bloggers; impose other legal restrictions

Equality Press & media groups; developing & developed countries

Rebalance coverage; reduce inequities; decentralize news production; reduce dominance of global media

Theory: UNESCO Model for Digital Rights-Part 2

Goals Main Stakeholders Strategies/ObjectivesFreedom of information Civil society; politicians,

NGOs; citizen groupsPromote access to government & public info through policies & laws

Privacy & data protection Courts; law enforcement; government agencies; citizens; users

Enable data-sharing; try to protect personal information from unauthorized disclosure; avoid unjustified surveillance

Reality: Prisoner of Free Expression in an Electronic World

Scenes from the Arab Spring

Reminder: Questions to Ponder • Is grassroots-generated political change always

good, and for whom?• Can communications technology be misused,

and who determines that?• What happens when established power

institutions themselves wield new communications technologies?

• Are there important things that the “old,” “traditional” or “legacy” media do—or at least did—better than online and social media do—at least so far?

Readings for Next Week

MAIN READING“Diplomacy and Journalism” in International Reporting: Frontlines & Deadlines (2009)

SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS“Assad Legalizes Opposition Parties” (Agence France Press, 2011)“French Deal to Sell Ships to Russians Is Criticized” (New York Times, 2010)“Poland: Immigration to UK is back for good life despite economic crisis” (Guardian, 2011)