Countering Islamophobic media representations: The potential role

of peace journalism

Leticia Anderson

Abstract

Representations of Muslims in the Australian media have been routinely stereotyped;

have failed to reflect the diversity of origin, outlook, and aspirations of Muslim
Australians; and have negatively impacted perceptions of Islam and treatment of
Muslims by non-Muslim Australians. This article explores findings from a study involving
content and discourse analysis of representations of Muslims in Australian broadsheet
newspapers. Lower levels of Islamophobia in news articles within the sample were
associated with a peace journalism approach to reporting. Peace journalism promotes
the contextualization of conflict narratives and challenges dominant news conventions
such as the focus on elite, bureaucratic sources. It is therefore suggested that
potentially fruitful strategies for countering Islamophobia in the news media could
include the adoption of standards for conflict reporting and expanding opportunities for
peace journalism in reporting on issues relating to Muslims and Islam.

Mainstream medias coverage of the Gezi protests and protesters

perception of mainstream media

Mustafa Oz

Abstract

This article seeks to analyse how different sets of media covered the Gezi protests,
whether the protest paradigm model varied according to the ideological leanings of
newspapers, and whether social media created an alternative way for citizens to gather
information while bypassing domestic news media. Furthermore, the study examines
protesters perceptions of mainstream media coverage of the Gezi Park protests. It is
important to understand how the exchange of information and idea flows in a polarized
media environment and social media tools affected this process in Turkey.

The cost of humour: Political satire on social media and censorship

in China

Luwei Rose Luqiu

Abstract

On the basis of interviews with several of the most well-known political satirists in China
and content analysis of a corpus of satirical texts, this study demonstrates how
censorship has been strengthened since the creation of the State Internet Information
Office in 2011. It also examines censorships different forms and its impact on
individuals. The Chinese government imposes mainstream censorship policies on social
media, and it is impossible for political satirists to avoid the red line to lower political
risk. The threat of censorship causes political satirists to self-censor, abandon their
creations and reduce their output. The influence of those who continue to work is
diminished because the government controls all Chinese social media platforms.
However, political satire still has strong vitality thanks to collective action, such as the
anonymous production, distribution and sharing of work on Chinese social media. The
future of political satire on social media depends on whether the race between netizens
and censors continues.

When citizen photojournalism sets the news agenda: Neda Agha

Soltan as a Web 2.0 icon of post-election unrest in Iran

Mette Mortensen
Abstract

The article discusses the current rise of citizen photojournalism, which has received little
scholarly scrutiny. Drawing on a case study of the mobile telephone footage of the
Iranian woman Neda Agha Soltan, who was killed during a demonstration in Iran in
June 2009, the article investigates the ethical dilemmas of the Western news medias
eager use of citizen photojournalism as a unique and headline-grabbing source. While
these images may grant us insight into areas of tension, to which the media has no
other access, amateur footage challenges the ethical standards of conventional
journalism with its fragmentary and subjective format, not to mention the difficulties
involved in tracking a clips author and origin. Even though the news media indisputably
play an essential role as a platform for editorial selection and communication of citizen
photojournalism, this article points to a general lack of editorial procedures for
accommodating these new sources.