International Communication Gazette

This study empirically analyzed the relationships between emerging media as tools in fomenting anti-government protest as well as government repression of political opposition. Using a dataset of 162 democratic and autocratic countries over 18 years, potential differences between these phenomena were examined. The results of a series of analytic models suggest that higher levels of internet and mobile phones are positively associated with more instances of both political protests and political repression, which have increased dramatically in recent years. The differences between democratic and autocratic countries' emerging media and sociopolitical instability trends are explored and discussed.

Minority integration is a highly contested topic in public debates, and assimilationist actors appear to have gained discursive ground. However, it remains difficult to accurately depict how power relations in debates change and evolve. In this study, the public debates on minority integration in Flanders and the Netherlands between 2006 and 2012 are studied to ascertain changing power relations. We use a relational method to identify clusters formed through discursive contention and study polarization in the debates as well as several aspects of discursive power between and within clusters. In the Netherlands, a pattern identified in earlier research is reproduced, whereby a unified but small cluster of assimilationists with strong discursive leaders is able to dominate the debate on integration. In Flanders, group consolidation is too low, so the clusters cannot be viewed as cohesive groups. Another difference to the Dutch debate is that the volume of opinion articles is much lower and the actors in the Flemish debate are more often foreign opinion leaders. We conclude that the assimilationists have increased their discursive power in the Dutch debate, while the anti-assimilationists have lost power. The stark contrast between the Dutch and Flemish discursive landscape highlights the need for more research on the causal mechanism behind discursive struggles.

Differences in climate change learning frames (from a pedagogical perspective) between member state government (or official), non-governmental, financial and technical assistance, and network organizations are herein examined as these constitute important sources of information in Latin America but are largely disregarded in the climate change communication literature. A mainly quantitative approach through content analysis of 55 texts published in 2014 showed emphasis on the problematization of climate change by most organizations. Also, analysis showed that learning frames found in texts may promote only descriptive knowledge acquisition with no significant differences overall. There is a limited use of the affordances of online platforms for better textured stories and services that encourage readers' improved learning.

Eight journalism educational programs outside the United States are certified by the U.S.-based Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. A survey of journalism undergraduate program directors in the United States indicated that many respondents see opportunities for expanding this voluntary curriculum evaluation and endorsement as a way of spreading U.S. values, in particular to countries lacking press freedoms. However, other respondents worry about the cultural imperialism of imposing U.S. cultural norms and practices on those in other countries. And, some directors questioned the ability to apply standards equitably across all programs, in countries with different political and cultural environments. The results indicated a lack of consensus and the need for a thorough discussion about Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s role in promoting journalism education and practice around the globe and what forms that education should take.