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Digital media can provide an important contribution to the development of local communities by creating digital environments that facilitate the sharing of information, dissemination of knowledge and construction of organizational learning. Digital media can also promote interaction and collaboration processes among different regional agents, fostering a continuous flow of territorial based innovation. The study reported in this paper was carried out within the research activities of the (REMOVED) project, aiming to deepen the knowledge about the conditions that influence the dynamics of community-led territorial based innovation in the Centro Region of Portugal, focusing on the areas of Tourism, Health, and Wellness. As part of this project, a mobile application is being designed, aiming to strengthen the relationship among agents of local communities/entities and to promote mediation mechanisms among all stakeholders in the process of territorial based innovation. This paper presents the main concepts underlying the development of the REMOVED digital platform and the outcomes from a usability evaluation of the platform mobile app prototype. The first section discusses the most relevant topics that this paper covers. In the second section, an overview of the state of the art in the field of digital media used to promote territory-based innovation is presented. The third section describes the concept of the REMOVED digital platform and the main features of the prototype/mobile app. The fourth section addresses the methodology adopted for the evaluation of the prototype and the fifth exhibits the main outcomes of this process. Finally, the sixth and final section present the main conclusions about the potential of the REMOVED platform, and current and future research activities.

Instagram has become an important tool to contact the audiences both in commercial and political communication. Of special interest is the use of this social network by politicians, who can use the image to portray a humanized version of themselves: it is not the candidate but the person who is talking to citizens through impacting images posted on their personal profiles. The present study posits that Instagram is a key tool for self-representation. This paper offers a specific study about the use of Instagram by the five main candidates in the Spanish general elections in 2019. The main aim of this paper is to study if the Spanish candidates showed themselves on Instagram in a more humanized way during the electoral campaign. Departing from Goffman’s theory about the presentation of the self, a content analysis has been carried out as methodology, where Goffman’s concepts have been operationalized. The analysis was applied to a total of 473 Instagram posts, covering both a pre-election period and an election period. Results show that Spanish candidates tend to show themselves as professional politicians, but some candidates of new parties increment their humanization in the elections period.

Ideology and political ideologies in general have been addressed both from theoretical and applied perspectives by media and communication scholars in an attempt to reveal whether pluralism is present or absent in the media. However, the complexity of such a task has proven to be high as well as very problematic. The efforts to systematise the study of ideology in the media in order to make it objective and systematic have been scarce. This paper tries to contribute to such systematising by providing a method to analyse political ideologies in the media that aims to be objective and replicable in the political context of Western democracies. Our work was inspired by previous studies that were mostly conducted in the field of political sciences and political communication. The main goal of this paper is to reach a deeper comprehension of ideology, in general, and political ideology in particular, and to conceptualise a method that aims to be instrumental in the analysis of the media from the viewpoint of political ideologies but without being restricted by traditional labels that may reproduce cultural biases. The theoretical-analytical method here suggested addresses ideologies in newspapers to identify worldviews according to four general values: individualism, communitarianism, egalitarianism and elitism.

El presente estudio presenta una visión exploratoria de las estrategias y conductas de comunicación internacional universitaria en Chile y España. Mediante una encuesta a 66 responsables de comunicación internacional en las universidades, se determinó que la comunicación internacional en Chile, está en manos del Departamento de Relaciones Internacionales en un 86% de los casos, en cambio en España, se reparte entre, un 44% únicamente en Relaciones Internacionales y un 40% en ambos, el de Comunicación y el de Relaciones Internacionales. No parece haber planes periódicos de Comunicación Internacional (solo 29% sí los tiene en Chile y España); tampoco los presupuestos aparecen con gran relevancia (43% de las chilenas y 36% de las españolas sí los tiene). Ni los equipos de gestión ni los responsables tienen formación en comunicación. Las universidades en ambos países usan material impreso tradicional; participación en ferias y misiones internacionales; y la sección web con contenido específico como acciones más comunes en sus estrategias de comunicación. El articulo presenta algunas ideas de cómo se estructura la gestión de la comunicación internacional en las universidades y líneas de investigación que pudieran ayudar a incrementar el marco de conocimiento para la profesionalización de la disciplina. The present paper offer an exploratory vision of the strategies and behaviors of international communication on Chilean and Spanish universities. Through a survey applied to 66 Directors of International Communications, we found out that the International Relations Office is in charge of international communications in Chile, in an 86% of the cases. On the other hand, in Spain, in the 40% of the universities, International Relations Office performs this job, but in the 44% of the institutions, this responsibility also rely on two offices, International Relations and Communications. It seems they have not periodical plans of International Communications (only 29% of Chilean and Spanish universities has it), also budgets not appear very often (43% of Chilean and 36% of Spanish universities has it). Neither the team nor the responsible of international communication has preparation in Communications. In both countries, universities use traditional printed brochures, fairs and international missions and web sites as more common international communication activities. This paper presents some ideas of how the management of international communications is structured in universities and it suggest some future research lines that could help to increase the knowledge frame, for the professionalization of the International Communications in the Universities.

El estudio de los asuntos públicos que adquieren relevancia mediática gracias a su difusión a través de los medios plantea una problemática que debe ser abordada desde una perspectiva científica multidisciplinar. El presente trabajo analiza algunos de los conceptos clave que protagonizaron la campaña presidencial de Le Pen y Macron durante las elecciones de Francia en 2017, prestando especial interés a la detección de falacias y a los giros argumentativos. El abordaje metodológico del estudio de casos se lleva a cabo a través de la aplicación de una perspectiva interdisciplinar fundamentada en el análisis de algunos de los argumentos y/o falacias más comunes en la estrategia mediática de Macron y Le Pen durante las elecciones presidenciales en Francia. Para ello se ha seleccionado tres noticias publicadas por medios españoles de referencia tanto nativos digitales, eldiario.es y elconfidencial.com, como diarios nacionales consolidados, es el caso de La Razón, acerca de cada uno de los candidatos. Los resultados nos permiten identificar algunas de las pautas discursivas comunes a la estrategia de comunicación política en Francia, y desentrañar el uso de algunas de las falacias más frecuentes que son compartidas por ambos candidatos. The study of public issues that become prominent as a result of their dissemination in the media poses a problem that should be addressed from a multidisciplinary scientific perspective. This paper examines some of the key concepts that played a significant role in Le Pen’s and Macron’s political campaigns during the 2017 French presidential election, and focuses on the detection of fallacies and turns of argument. The methodological approach of the study applies an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of some of the most common arguments and/or fallacies used in Macron’s and Le Pen’s media strategies during the election. In order to do so, three pieces of news about each candidate have been selected to be published with regard to Spanish native media, such us eldiario.es and elconfidencial.com, as well as national newspapers such as La Razón. The results allow us to identify some of the discursive guidelines that are common to political communication strategies in France, and to uncover the use of some of the most frequent fallacies shared by both candidates.

Este artículo pretende introducir al lector en una serie de elementos y, en el necesario, cambio de paradigma de la Comunicación. Su apuesta no es otra que servir de reflexión, para señalar que el mundo cambió y que la Comunicación lo hizo y lo hará. Los públicos y sus audiencias tienen la palabra; son el sentido y constituyen la razón de ser del mensaje. Este artículo recoge los resultados de dos investigaciones, realizadas en momentos distintos y con públicos y actores diferentes, bajo la aplicación de metodologías de análisis que apelaron al método ecléctico. Entre algunos de los hallazgos de estas investigaciones, se encuentran que la Comunicación cambió y lo hizo, debido a la incursión de nuevas pantallas, que son medios, y a nuevos actores, que somos ahora celebrities ciudadanas. El siglo XXI llegó con cambios que nos obligan a cambiar nuestros viejos paradigmas. Los nuevos sujetos actúan y conviven en el ciberespacio; seleccionan sus propios medios y desarrollan sus propios contenidos. La realidad no es que sea virtual, sino que es una realidad enriquecida por las nuevas pantallas (nuevos medios). This paper introduces some of the main elements that configure a paradigm shift in Communication, with the aim of providing a reflection on the ever-changing nature of both the World and our discipline. This is the time for publics and audiences; they embody the message´s sense and its raison d´être. The present paper collects the results of two different research studies conducted at different times and with diverse actors and audiences, applying the eclectic method. Some of these findings are as follows: communication has changed due to the appearance of new screens (media) and new actors, who have now become “citizen celebrities”. The Twenty First Century has arrived, bringing with it changes to our old paradigms. The new subjects act and live together in cyberspace; they select their own media and develop their own content. Reality is not really virtual, but it is enriched by these new screens (new media).

Este artículo se encuentra disponible a texto completo en la siguiente URL: http://obs.obercom.pt/index.php/obs/article/view/1516/pdf This paper presents the main findings of a qualitative study of news on femicides appearing in leading native digital news outlets in Spain. The study focused on 267 news items published in five digital news outlets between 1 January and 31 December 2017. The selection of the news outlets was based on their readership numbers and whether or not their editorial lines adopted a gender or feminist perspective. In order to assess ethical quality, the tool designed by Zurbano-Berenguer and García-Gordillo (2017) was used. Based on this tool, the results indicate the following: (1) news about femicides is of medium quality; (2) native digital news outlets with a gender perspective offer better and higher quality coverage; and (3) the extent to which ethical recommendations are followed is still very patchy, thus calling for more in-depth multi-methodological analyses. These findings allow us to conclude that there is a need to conduct further qualitative research involving media professionals that helps us to understand why, despite the clear recommendations and rules established in media ethical codes, there are still considerable deficiencies in ethical quality and sensitivity when reporting on such a key issue for democratic society.

Estudo sobre o uso da televisão pelo parlamento brasileiro, com base no exame da política de programação da TV Câmara, de 2010 a 2016. A pesquisa identifica quatro estratégias que a emissora emprega para ampliar as possibilidades de divulgação política: a transmissão ao vivo das sessões legislativas; a divulgação de informações políticas no formato de telejornal; a realização de debates e de entrevistas; e a produção de programas históricos, culturais e documentários. O artigo avalia os conteúdos sob a perspectiva dos mediamakers, dos parlamentares e do público. Mostra que os mediamakers defendem que a programação da emissora deve ser instrumento de promoção da transparência das atividades legislativas, do debate público e da cultura nacional. Já os deputados reivindicam maior atenção às suas atividades, inclusive bases eleitorais, enquanto o público destaca a função de monitoramento das atividades legislativas. This paper analyzes the use of television by the Brazilian parliament, based on the examination of the programming policy of TV Câmara, the channel maintained by the Chamber of Deputies (2010-2016). The research identifies four strategies the channel uses to broaden the possibilities of political dissemination: live transmission of the legislative sessions; news shows; debates and interviews; cultural and documentary programs. This article examines the evaluation of the content from the perspective of mediamakers, members of Congress and the public. Mediamakers defend the TV schedule as an instrument of transparency of legislative activities, promotion of public debate and national culture. Members demand more attention to their activities, including in their electoral bases, while the public highlights the function of monitoring legislative activities.

Framing empirical research analyzes the construction (frame building) and influence (frame effects) of the frames with which different social agents interpret and communicate reality. Based on Entman’s (2004; 2008) and Kuypers’ (2008; 2009) contributions, this paper proposes and applies a qualitative methodology for the analysis of frame building in political discourse. It is located, therefore, on the strategic and methodological lines of framing research in political communication (Bartolomé; Rodríguez & Sádaba, 2012). As Kinder and Sanders state, frames are “invented and employed by political elites, often with an eye on advancing their own interests or ideologies, and intended to make favorable interpretations prevail” (Kinder & Sanders, 1990, p. 74). The paper includes a theoretical framework that reviews the evolution of framing literature in Communication, focusing especially on empirical studies. The contributions adopted for the elaboration of the methodology and the application process are explained in detail. The context of the case study, Bush’s discourse about the War on Terror on his trip to Europe in February 2005, is revised. Finally, the results obtained and the conclusions are detailed.

Digitization has greatly influenced the functioning of the television industry. This paper analyzes in particular how French television channels have innovated and adapted to digital technologies. We begin with a typology of innovation in the media by drawing a distinction between product innovations and process innovations, as well as between companies according to whether they were the first to adopt an innovation, or only adopted it once it was already well established in the field. A total of 21 criteria for innovation are analyzed for each of the 15 TV channels in our sample. This paper shows that TV channels have varied innovation strategies. Rather than some channels being innovators on all criteria and others being followers on all criteria, we show that channels adopt, more or less rapidly, certain types of innovation according to the channels’ characteristics. The characteristics that play the greatest role are the age of the channel, whether it is public or private, and whether it is general or thematic.

This paper analyzes the consumers in the context of non-professional subtitling (NPS). Using web scraping techniques to collect data about the downloading rate of non-professional subtitles we explore the behavior of consumers. Drawing on the case of the subtitles for House of Cards in Addic7ed.com, a popular multilingual non-professional subtitle distribution website, we describe the consumption of non-professional subtitles and the users’ response. After outlining the situation of the international audiences for audiovisual products and the relevance of consumers as the driving force behind NPS communities, we analyze the collected data in terms of their interest in the originality of the content and their wish to access the content immediately after it is available. Our findings indicate that the users of non-professional subtitles are highly engaged consumers, eager to access the content as soon as possible and interested in watching it in its original language (English), even with intralingual (same-language) subtitles.

El objeto de este trabajo es analizar los aspectos visuales de los perfiles oficiales en Twitter de los principales candidatos a las elecciones generales de España de 2015. Para ello se emplea una metodología cualitativa a través de un sistema de categorías aplicado a la muestra del estudio, conformada por 527 imágenes. Esta investigación concluye que la gestión de las imágenes realizada por los perfiles de los principales candidatos políticos, que concurren a las elecciones generales, se centra sobre todo en la propia figura del político, dejando a un lado aspectos fundamentales como la exposición de propuestas y nuevas iniciativas para la ciudadanía. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the visual aspects of the official profiles on Twitter of the main candidates for the Spanish general election of 2015. For this purpose, a qualitative methodology is used through a category system applied to the study sample, which is composed of 527 images. This research concludes that the management of the images made by the profiles of the main political candidates, who attend the general elections, focuses especially on the figure of the politician, leaving aside fundamental aspects such as the presentation of proposals and new initiatives for citizenship.

This paper presents an overview of how social media is used by Brazilian autism communities, aiming at including the perspectives of the Global South into discussions surrounding the topic, which are mostly focusing on English speaking groups. The results are based on a digital ethnography conducted in three Facebook groups about autism. We observed that groups composed by parents looking for information and social support are predominant in Brazilian social media. Autistic people also engage in information gathering and the exchange of personal experiences, mainly the ones with Asperger Syndrome. Additionally, we saw that Facebook offers enough affordances to allow the participation of people with different levels of digital literacy. However, there is still a lack of representation from autistic people who have more challenges, such as non-verbal individuals, which may be a consequence of the digital divide, not only in terms of economical means, but also education and inclusion.

As images become more and more omnipresent our relation to them assumes new contours. Contemporary social networks place a singular emphasis in the optic apparatus challenging traditional networked media studies to take into account new objects and social processes. This paper aims to bring contributions from visual culture studies into the research about social networks audiences and the relations they establish with the medium and with its users. It will argue that scopophilia may be a dear concept to evaluate how people socially interact in social networks. This scopophilic dimension transforms users into spectators. Spectatorship is, then, a fundamental notion, not only to understand the social role of pictures and videos on social networks as also to understand how social networks contribute to the promotion of social organization and cohesion. The paper will discuss how scopophilia and spectatorship lead to the formation of communities of vision and the redefinition of intimacy in contemporary societies.

The protection of pluralism in a cross-media scenario is a major concern for regulatory authorities in all democratic countries. This paper presents the outcome of in-depth interviews with members of six independent audiovisual regulatory authorities. They were questioned about the assessment of measures being taken to protect external pluralism in their respective countries, and about the problems and shortcomings they encounter during their implementation. In spite of the difficulties that arise when trying to compare different national realities and to gather qualitative data from legal bodies, this paper draws several conclusions on current policy trends for the protection of pluralism. This paper is part of the research project “Pluralism and communication groups in Spain: audience concentration”, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (National RD&I Plan 2009-2011). The first part of the study analyses to what extent and in which way several European countries and the U.S. have set limits on audience reach/concentration as a communication policy instrument aimed at protecting pluralism in a cross-media scenario.

Digital technologies are transforming audiences and media practices and in a context of serialization this paper wants to make the case for television series as much of the attention from the industry and the academy is drawn by music and cinema neglecting the effects on television viewing. Lawrence Lessig has proposed "remix" as one of the main outcomes of social and cultural practices enabled by new technologies that allow for easy production and sharing. Henry Jenkins talks of a "convergence culture" and many other authors refer a participatory turn. But this surge of creativity and participation poses new challenges to the industry and to the study of audiences. With the surge of transmediality and new platforms such as mobile phones and tablets, as well as enabling tools for massified DYI, the experience of television series consumption has been completely changed. This is particularly notable in youth audiences where television is still pervasive but networked media practices are gaining ground, namely a serialized participation culture characterized by immediacy, anticipation, control, emotional affordance and freedom. Based in a mixed methodology, composed of a quantitative online survey and a qualitative focus group approach, this paper will offer a case study of Portuguese College students’ serialized participatory culture regarding television series.

India is the most populous democracy in the world. In the early years after attaining independence, as a new democracy, Indian development strategy was driven by what Francine Frankel (2005) calls the “the Gandhian-socialist consensus” that was predominantly value oriented. Frankel enumerates the areas of consensus - first, there was the general agreement that economic policy should aim for the progressive removal of inequalities in Indian society, and ultimately result in the complete disappearance of class distinctions. Second, the Gandhians and the socialists concurred on the need to limit sharply the existing scope of the acquisitive instinct in Indian economic life, and to create a new set of cooperative motives. The Nehruvian socialist state envisioned a strong industrial base under state ownership (Frankel, 2005) and wage labour was seen within the ethical context of productive employment and as a defining frame for good citizenship. This and the Constitutional guarantee of Fundamental Rights helped to give legitimacy to wage labour’s expectation of citizenship rights through provision of jobs, better working conditions, better social services and healthcare. By the 1990s, after economic liberalization, the basic premises of this vision were discarded even in populist political rhetoric, while the state embraced neo-liberal ideology and economic policies. The changed economic agenda impacted severely on the working classes. Primarily because of the nature of growth and specifically because of the pressure from the Indian industrial houses, the policies encouraged relaxation of the already weakly implemented labour laws. This paper will examine the role media played in debating these issues. As media are event oriented and not process oriented in their coverage, coverage of labour issues is unlikely on an ordinary news day. This paper, therefore, will examine the news and opinion pieces that have appeared in mainstream media when the CEO of a multinational auto component manufacturer, Graziano Transmissioni, located in Noida, India, died following an altercation with the dismissed workers of the factory. The paper will begin by giving a background to the industrial dispute that provoked the event, followed by the perspectives on the role of media in a democracy. Prof Noam Chomsky and Prof Amartya Sen are two of the great contemporary philosophers who have written extensively on media’s role in society, though from different analytical perspectives. The coverage of the event itself in the media will be presented and the paper will discuss the coverage from the two theoretical perspectives on media expounded by professors Sen and Chomsky.

Local dynamics play a key role in individual and collective empowerment for digital literacy and citizenship. This paper presents the results and reflections from a broader investigation into the public Internet access places in Portugal in the inland municipalities of the country's coast, undertaken by ObLID Network. Specifically, we intend to reflect on the actual mission of these places and reveal the actual profile, activities and training needs of their monitors and coordinators. In the first stage of the empirical study, several documents available on the Internet Spaces Network are analyzed. In the second stage, a questionnaire was applied to monitors and coordinators of the Internet access places, in seventeen Portuguese municipalities. The research results warn of the need to redefine and clarify the social and educational value of Internet spaces, indicating that the dominant activities of monitors in the Internet access places do not induce the foster of literacy and digital inclusion of the most vulnerable groups. In this context, actions are proposed that can contribute to improving the mission of Internet places, as well as the training quality of their monitors and coordinators. Internet Access Spaces, made available by municipalities, should be used to promote digital literacy programs, for individuals and groups. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The exploratory study we present is the result of the analysis of five news reports on corruption cases in Portugal and Brazil, with developments in Angola, a Portuguese speaking African country. The journalistic coverage and the mediatization of this issue were investigated in a project developed in Portugal and Brazil between 2012 and 2015. In this paper, we aim to analyze: how the networks of sociability are described in the texts and accompanying infographics; how the relationships between institutions and actors of the Lusophone space are presented in the news and in its infographics; the articulation between news coverage and infographics (Gray, Chambers and Bounegru, 2012); and infographics as devices for the mediatization of corruption and politics (Stromback, 2008; Hepp, 2012). Portugal, Brazil and Angola integrate the Lusophone space, a regional space within globalization, with historical roots in the Portuguese colonial empire, characterized by the sharing of a common language and by cultural proximity (Straubhaar, 1991; Davis, Straubhaar, Cunha, 2016). O estudo exploratório que apresentamos neste texto é resultado da análise qualitativa de cinco notícias sobre casos de corrupção em Portugal e no Brasil, que foram interrelacionados pela investigação judiciária, com desdobramentos em Angola, um país africano de língua portuguesa. A cobertura jornalística e a mediatização desta problemática foram investigadas num projecto desenvolvido em Portugal e no Brasil entre 2012 e 2015. Neste artigo, pretendemos analisar: como as redes de sociabilidade são descritas nos textos e na infografia que o acompanha; como os relacionamentos entre instituições e atores do Espaço Lusófono são desenhados na notícia e em sua infografia; a articulação entre cobertura de notícias e infografia (Gray, Chambers and Bounegru, 2012). Assumimos que os infoGráficos que acompanham o texto jornalístico são dispositivos para a mediatização da corrupção e da política (Stromback, 2008; Hepp, 2012). Portugal, Brasil e Angola integram o Espaço Lusófono, um espaço regional dentro da globalização, com raízes históricas no império colonial português, caracterizado pela partilha de línguas e a proximidade cultural (Straubhaar, 1991; Davis, Straubhaar, Cunha, 2016).

La producción de contenidos de calidad, de proximidad y especializados es una de las vías principales para la supervivencia del periodismo en la actualidad. En este sentido, la especialización aporta un valor añadido ya que enlaza directamente con los intereses de la sociedad. La presente investigación se centra en un tema de interés creciente como es la gastronomía y el periodismo gastronómico. Aunque la televisión e Internet han jugado un rol primordial en la mediatización del fenómeno gastronómico, la prensa diaria sigue desempeñando una función clave en su popularización. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar los contenidos de cuatro de los principales medios españoles – El Mundo, El País, El Periódico y La Vanguardia, en el período 2005-2015 – para analizar los géneros que engloban la presencia del periodismo gastronómico; determinar las secciones a través de las cuales se expresan las narrativas sobre gastronomía en la prensa diaria; y categorizar las principales temáticas tratadas. Para llevar a cabo el estudio se ha utilizado la herramienta de análisis de contenido. Los resultados revelan que los espacios que sirven para la mediatización de la gastronomía son cada vez más específicos y disponen de mayor personalidad propia. La gastronomía deja de ser una disciplina para minorías y los medios contribuyen a una popularización del arte del comer. Los contenidos gastronómicos son atractivos para una audiencia cada vez más sensibilizada por una gran diversidad de aspectos como una alimentación sana o el turismo sostenible. The production of quality, proximity and specialized contents is one of the main pathways for the survival of journalism. In this sense, specialization means an added value since it directly links to social interests. The current paper focuses on a field of growing interest such as gastronomy and food journalism. While television and the Internet have played a key role in the mediatisation of the gastronomy phenomenon, daily press still plays a crucial role in its popularization. The goal of this research is to review the food contents of the main Spanish newspapers – El Mundo, El País, El Periódico and La Vanguardia, during the period 2005-2015 –, in order to analyse the genres of food-based contents; to determine the sections that gather the narratives on gastronomy; and to categorize the topics developed. A content analysis approach is used as research method. Results reveal that food contents are found within different and specific spaces, and thus they count recently on a greater independency. Gastronomy is not anymore a minor field and media heavily contributes to the popularisation of the art of eating. Food-based contents are attractive for an audience who increasingly worries about a wide range of aspects like healthy diets or sustainable tourism practices.

En este artículo exploraremos las principales tendencias analíticas de la investigación sobre videojuegos en América Latina y España. Para ello presentaremos tres vías de análisis de los videojuegos cuya presencia es indudable en nuestro contexto regional e idiomático. Primero nos abocaremos a los intentos de definición de los juegos digitales desde aquellos estudios que hacen hincapié en su carácter narrativo hasta los que subrayan sus componentes interactivos. En un segundo momento, rotaremos el eje de análisis para comprender la centralidad en el contexto elegido de las aproximaciones sobre videojuegos que indagan su relación con la educación y el aprendizaje. Por último, nos concentraremos en las investigaciones que ven a los videojuegos como problemas para las teorías sociales. En el último apartado señalaremos cuánto pueden ayudar estos múltiples aportes de diversas tradiciones teóricas para pensar nuevos problemas (como los que se desprenden de las actuales condiciones de producción de videojuegos en la región delimitada). This paper approaches the main analytical trends in video game research in Latin America and Spain. To achieve such aim, three paths are followed analyzing video games, which are undoubtedly present in our regional and idiomatic context. Firstly, the attempts to define digital games ̶ starting from those studies highlighting their narrative nature to those which underscore their interactive components ̶ are addressed. Secondly, attention is turned to understanding the core issue of the approaches linking video games with education and learning in the chosen context. Finally, this study focuses on research which regards video games as problems in the field of social theories. The last section points out how much these multiple inputs from diverse theoretical traditions may contribute to the creation of new problems, as those arising from the current conditions of video game production in the region chosen.

This paper gives an up-to-date analysis of trends in managing intangible assets reflecting the various agents comprising the communication system in Spain. To this end, qualitative techniques were applied (Delphi questionnaires and in-depths interviews) on the understanding that the best way to find out the underlying reasons for a change and its subsequent consequences is to examine quality over quantity. Experts and academics, professionals in brand communication, advertisers and media managers replied to questions on the current method of managing a company's intangible assets and thus define the discourse issued from corporations and commercial brands to their stakeholders. Analysis of the results will enable us to confirm that we are certainly looking at a new communication scenario, if not a change in paradigm.

O Programa Mais Médicos foi instituído, no Brasil, em 2013. Desde então, tem recebido especial atenção da mídia em decorrência de suas inovações no campo da atenção à saúde, mas também pelo fato de incluir médicos provenientes de outros países para atuarem aqui. O objetivo deste trabalho é compreender o estado da arte do conhecimento produzido academicamente sobre a relação da mídia com o Programa Mais Médicos. Utiliza a revisão narrativa como metodologia e se divide em duas partes: a primeira, de caráter histórico e, a segunda, reservada a indicar as análises acadêmicas sobre a produção midiática relativa ao Programa. Identifica um volume ainda modesto de pesquisas sobre este tema e que os resultados conhecidos se referem prioritariamente ao período de anúncio, lançamento e início da execução do Programa. Conclui que as pesquisas realizadas já permitem indicar ao menos três elementos importantes que caracterizam a cobertura da imprensa brasileira acerca do Mais Médicos: o viés político, a polarização das opiniões inicialmente veiculadas e o princípio do que se pode considerar uma mudança de enfoque, a partir do momento em que pesquisas de opinião revelam a aprovação popular do programa. The More Doctors Program was established in Brazil in 2013. Since then, it has received special attention of mass media due to its innovations in the field of health care, but also because it includes doctors from other countries to work here. The objective of this work is to know the current understanding of the academic knowledge about the media's relationship with the More Doctors Program. Uses narrative review as methodology and is divided into two parts: the first, about the history and, the second, reserved to indicate academic analyzes of the media production about the Program. We identified a still small number of papers about this topic and the results that are known refeer prioritily at the anouncement time lapse, launch period and execution of More Doctors. Concludes that it is still modest the volume of research on this topic and the results are known primarily refer to the announcement period, launch and early implementation of the Program.

La postmodernidad ha traído consigo una híper-valoración del uso de las TIC, dejando muchas veces de lado, el impacto que estas tienen en la conformación de una sociedad más igualitaria. Consciente de la importancia de este tema, presentamos a la comunidad académica los principales resultados que se obtuvieron tras la aplicación de una herramienta de evaluación cualitativa a un proyecto TIC en una comunidad educativa con la aplicación de una prueba piloto. Dicha herramienta fue diseñada tras un proceso de fundamentación teórica y de aplicación que se viene desarrollando desde el 2013. Este escrito hace un recorrido por el proceso de investigación antes mencionado, iniciando por la justificación teórica y metodológica de la necesidad de generar una herramienta de evaluación TIC que vaya más allá de lo cuantitativo. Luego se centra en la formulación misma de la herramienta, su aplicación en un proyecto de inclusión digital de la Fundación Telefónica y en la presentación, desde una perspectiva comunicativa, de los resultados más relevantes, para terminar con las posibilidades ofrecidas por la Herramienta de Evaluación. Postmodernism has brought about a hyper-valuation of the use of ICT, often leaving aside the impact that these have in shaping a more egalitarian society. Aware of the importance of this issue, we offer to the academic community this article that gathers, succinctly, the main results obtained after the application of a qualitative assessment tool to an ICT project in a learning community. This tool is the result of a more than three-year-long research process, which included the design of the theoretically supported model and its application via a pilot test. This paper describes the aforementioned research process, starting from the theoretical and methodological justification of the need to generate this ICT evaluation tool that goes beyond the quantitative, going through the development tool itself, to its application in a project of digital inclusion sponsored by Telefónica Foundation. It also discusses the reasons within the communicative perspective that justify it, its most relevant results and, finally, the possibilities offered by said Assessment Tool.

Social Networking Sites (SNS) and Instant Messaging (IM) applications have become very popular in the last decade. This article aims to investigate to what extent university students make use of SNS and IM in relation with learning and university-related work. In order to do so, a survey was conducted among 115 university students. Results show that answering surveys posted by other students (for their university work), being part of groups created for doing university work or studying and sharing university-related links are some of the education-related activities that students most perform on Facebook. Alongside Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and LinkedIn are the most popular SNS or IM applications when it comes to studying, doing and organizing university-related work. Some differences among male and female students can be inferred from the data though, although it was not the aim of this study to explore such differences and further research would be needed. The paper concludes that university students make good and ample use of SNS and IM applications for education-related purposes and a recommendation for lecturers to adopt these tools is made.

This paper addresses the role of open data in the development of civic technologies in Spain. We have analysed organisations that are using technology as a tool to improve transparency, democracy and citizen participation in public matters. During this research we run through the evolution of the use of technologies by civil society in Spain, we define the concept of civic technologies and propose a set of typologies, paying special attention to the source of data, with the final aim of knowing how often public open data has been used. We conclude by highlighting the need to increase the communication between public and private institutions and the organisations that use data in favour of providing useful information and making easier the development of civic technologies.

The political thematic and the fiction on TV: a reflexion based on the miniserie O Brado Retumbante. The proposal of this work paper is to study the presence of the political thematic in television fictional works, with the application of semiotic concepts in the analysis of narrative threads and also in the construction of the image of Brazilian politicians through the use of characters that integrate a plot. In order to discuss these questions, it has been selected a television miniseries O Brado Retumbante presented by Rede Globo in 2012. This has been evaluated how this TV production incorporated political facts and subjects of great repercussion, as elections, corruption and political agreements,which are part of the recent story of the country, mixing fiction and reality in the narrative. A proposta deste trabalho é estudar a temática política nas obras ficcionais televisivas, a partir da aplicação de conceitos semióticos da análise dos percursos narrativos e também da construção da imagem dos políticos brasileiros por meio dos personagens que integram uma trama. Para discutir estas questões, a série televisiva selecionada foi a minissérie O Brado Retumbante, exibida pela Globo em 2012. Avaliamos como esta produção incorporou fatos políticos e assuntos de grande repercussão, como eleições, corrupção e acordos políticos, que fazem parte da recente história do país, mesclando ficção e realidade na narrativa.

Este artículo presenta la viabilidad de articular la comunicación corporativa de las empresas biotecnológicas en torno a un ejercicio básico: nutrir su Responsabilidad Social Corporativa con actuaciones de divulgación científica. Tales intervenciones contribuirían, no solo a mejorar el conocimiento científico de la sociedad y a que sus opiniones sobre los ámbitos de aplicación de la biotecnología estén fundados, sino también, a dialogar sobre estos y otros asuntos con la ciudadanía, en especial la más cercana. Pero tal implementación precisaría, en primer lugar, que la empresa perciba a sus vecinos como público de interés. De ahí que esta investigación parta del análisis de la comunicación externa de este tipo de empresas. Nuestra muestra la constituyen las 32 pymes biotecnológicas asentadas en cuatro parques tecnológicos de Andalucía. Los resultados de ese trabajo muestran que la divulgación científica tiene una presencia casi nula en sus sitios web y apenas se alude en ellos a alguna actuación de RSC; además, su aparición en los periódicos locales es escasa y se liga a aspectos estrictamente empresariales. Sin embargo, una encuesta a la que han contestado los gestores de esas firmas nos descubre que una amplia mayoría están dispuestos a aumentar los vínculos con su entorno., This paper discusses the feasibility of joint Corporate Communication of biotech companies around a basic exercise: nourish its Corporate Social Responsibility activities in Science Communication. Such interventions would help not only to improve the scientific understanding of society and that their views on the areas of application of biotechnology are founded but also to discuss these and other issues with the public, especially the closest. But such implementation would require, first, that the company perceives its neighbors as public interest. Hence, this research starts from the analysis of the external communication of these businesses. Our sample are the 32 biotech SMEs settled in four techn ology parks in Andalusia. The results of this work show that disclosure has almost no presence on their websites and hardly aware of them of any action of CSR;also appeared in local newspapers is scarce and is linked to strictly business aspects. However, a survey of the managers of these firms reveals that the vast majority are ready to expand ties with their environment.

This article analyses and compares, in terms of five analytical categories, how three Western news channels (Telecinco, CNN and the BBC) cover a news story about a new Egyptian channel called Maria TV presented by Muslim women wearing the niqab. Although the Western TV channels narrate the same event, they build different representations of reality. The paper concludes with a reflection on how, in focusing on different aspects of the story, the Western TV channels inevitably distort a holistic view of the event.

Este artículo pretende mostrar cómo las redes sociales están afectando a las estructuras tradicionales de poder en México, considerado como un país de gobierno predominantemente autoritario. Las conversaciones en línea aportan gran visibilidad a sus usuarios. Enunciaremos las características del porqué consideramos que México es un país autoritario. Posteriormente, con el #YoSoy132, demostraremos que las conversaciones en línea se han vuelto prácticas comunes que pueden fortalecer la ciudadanía. Éstas prácticas innovan la producción informativa y permiten la vigilancia ciudadana, por lo que vuelven visible a los actores. Antes de la existencia de ellas, el control gubernamental iba de la mano de prácticas opacas con la complicidad de los medios masivos. Examinamos el conflicto existente entre las prácticas autoritarias y la lógica de la visibilidad, la cual entendemos como un nuevo comportamiento ciudadano que emerge del discurso aficionado de las redes sociales y del mundo audiovisual. Gracias a la metodología construida y el marco conceptual de movimientos sociales, analizamos las conversaciones en línea como evidencia empírica de una nueva forma ciudadana encarnada en el movimiento nacido en las redes. Encontramos un nuevo imaginario simbólico cívico correspondiente al momento sociocultural de la primera década de 2000. This paper seeks to address how social media is shaping the traditional structures of power in some countries known to have an authoritarian government, such being the case of Mexico. Online conversations give users tremendous visibility. We will enlist the characteristics of why Mexico is considered authoritarian. Then, with the example of #YoSoy132, we will argue how social media conversations are becoming a common practice that can strengthen citizenship. We will prove that these practices innovate information production and allow citizen surveillance, therefore they make users visible actors. Before social media, government control went hand in hand with opaque practices and collusion of mass media. We examine the conflict between authoritarian practices in Mexico and the logic of visibility, that we understand as a form of citizenship behavior emerging in amateur social media discourse that nourishes itself from the audiovisual world. Relying on a methodology based on a conceptual framework of social movements, we analyzed online conversations as empirical evidence of the social media movement. We find a civic symbolic imaginary that corresponds to the sociocultural moment of the first decade of 2000.

Este trabajo aborda dos movimientos que emergieron en el año 2011: La Mane en Colombia y Ocupa Sampa en Brasil. El primero es un movimiento estudiantil que comparte características en común con movimientos en España y Chile. El segundo es un movimiento urbano que integra factores locales con diversos elementos simbólicos del movimiento Occupy. La investigación se centra en los usos de internet analizando las disputas por la visibilidad en la calles y en la web. La noción de red como cronotopo se propone como herramienta de análisis para entender la integración de los órdenes espacio-temporales de realidad online y offline. A través del estudio de los grafos realizados basados en las dinámicas en Facebook de ambos movimientos se analiza la emergencia de realidades multi-centradas y multi-temporales: la yuxtaposición entre diversos centros y periferias y entre diversos referentes del tiempo crean un nuevo marco de interpretación de los movimientos contemporáneos que usan plataformas digitales como Facebook. La red como cronotopo se constituye en una herramienta para interrogar procesos socio-políticos actuales de continuidad y cambio. This paper compares two movements that emerged during the same 2011 period: the Mane in Colombia and Ocupa Sampa in Brazil. The first is a student movement that has similarities with the cases of Spain and Chile. The second is an urban movement that mixes local factors with many of the symbolic elements of the Occupy movement. The study focuses on the political uses of the internet, analysing battles for visibility in the streets and on the net. The concept of the network as chronotope is used to understand the hybrid forms that integrate online and offline spatio-temporalities. Comparing activity graphs based on the Facebook sites of both movements, a multicentered and a multitemporal social reality emerges: a mixture between several centres and peripheries and between several past-present-future moments that creates a new interpretive framework for the contemporary movements that use digital platforms as Facebook. The network as chronotope is a way to question the current socio-political processes of continuity and change.

Este artículo presenta algunos resultados de investigación sobre la expresión pública de los activistas en internet, en contextos locales. El objetivo del texto es explorar algunos desafíos de las prácticas de comunicación en línea al concepto de espacio público. Se incluye una breve descripción del contexto mediático-tecnológico en diferentes niveles: global, latinoamericano, nacional y local. El marco teórico se sitúa en la comunicación, desde una perspectiva sociocultural, y dialoga con la sociología de movimientos sociales y la filosofía política. El enfoque metodológico fue etnográfico, con dos grupos activistas en Aguascalientes, México, en tres espacios de comunicación: la red, la calle y los medios. Los datos fueron recabados mediante etnografía virtual, entrevistas semi-estructuradas, observación participante y monitoreo de medios. En este texto, presento tres hallazgos principales: 1) la visibilidad de la expresión pública de los activistas en internet tiene diferentes lógicas, se relaciona con coyunturas específicas y con las lógicas de las comunidades activistas; 2) la comunicación puede ser entendida como espacio de desacuerdos, los activistas tienen sus propias visiones del mundo, que generalmente se oponen a las visiones dominantes del mundo; 3) la comunicación puede ser también entendida como espacio de desigualdades, los activistas acceden a la expresión pública en condiciones de desigualdades y asimetrías. Estos resultados contribuyen a discutir sobre el espacio público en la era global. This article reports some findings of a study about the online public expression by activists in a local context. The objective of this paper is to explore some challenges of online communication practices to the concept of public space. There are a short description of media and ICT's context in different levels: global, Latin American, national, and local. The theoretical framework in communication, from a sociocultural perspective, dialogues with sociology of social movements and political philosophy. The methodological approach was ethnography, with two activist groups in Aguascalientes, Mexico, in three spaces of communication: internet, the streets, and the media. The data collection methods included virtual ethnography, semi-structured interviews, participative observation, and media monitoring. In this text, I present three main findings: 1) visibility of online public expression by activists has different logics, it is related with specific social situations and with the logics of the activist communities; 2) communication could be understood as a space of differences, activists have their very own worldviews and those are generally opposed to the dominant worldviews; 3) communication could be understood too as a space of inequalities, activist access to public expression in conditions of inequalities and asymmetries. These findings contribute to the discussion about public space in the global age.

The renewed focus on the study of corporate reputation shows an increasing acknowledgement that this intangible asset has a strong role to play in a company’s ability to thrive. Notwithstanding, managing the reputation of an organization seems to be a difficult task, or one that is neglected by most executive managers, who fail to defend their companies from crisis situations. In this paper, our purpose is to analyze the corporate communication programs of the company Bosch Car Multimedia - Braga (Portugal) and thereby gain a deeper understanding of the role played by ‘safety nets’ in managing reputational risk and preventing crisis scenarios at a local level. In this context, we conducted a study in order to analyze the state of the art of BCMP’s corporate communication programs, which were created locally with the aim of contributing to the development of ‘safety nets’. BCMP is an interesting case for study and debate with respect to reputational risk and crisis communication, along with the development of ‘safety nets’, since the company has to face the challenge of combining a centralized communication structure (based in Germany) with a strong and demanding union workforce., (undefined)

El objeto de este artículo es doble. En primer lugar, se exponen las oportunidades que el nuevo paradigma comunicativo, generado por la irrupción de la web social, ofrece a las Organizaciones no Gubernamentales de Desarrollo para gestionar la relación que mantienen con sus grupos de interés cuando pretenden informar, sensibilizar, educar para el desarrollo, captar recursos o presionar. Tras ello, se describe, analizando diversas variables, cuál es el estado actual de implantación de las herramientas de la web social en este sector en España. Las conclusiones obtenidas en esta investigación provienen de un análisis de contenido cuantitativo de las web y de las herramientas de la web social de las 95 ONGD que componen la Coordinadora de ONGD de España. Los datos obtenidos muestran que se ha producido un aumento en la activación de estas herramientas por parte de las ONGD, cuantifican la posibilidad de interactuar que les ofrecen con sus grupos de interés y apunta futuras líneas de investigación en este campo. The aim of this article is twofold. First, to highlight the new communication paradigm and opportunities generated for NGDOs by the emergence of social Web. Secondly, the paper will offer a description of the current status of the implementation of the social web tools in this field in Spain. The conclusions come from a quantitative content analysis of webs and social Web tools of the 95 NGDOs that make up the NGD Coordinator in Spain. These results are an open opportunity for a future research in the field of development communication.

El objetivo de esta investigación ha sido analizar la publicidad de alimentos emitida por los canales temáticos infantiles de carácter privado y con mayor audiencia en España (Neox y Boing). Para ello se ha realizado un análisis de contenido de las pausas comerciales que estas cadenas realizan durante las franjas de protección reforzada de la infancia que la normativa de este país determina. El estudio evidencia cómo el creciente problema de obesidad entre la población infantil ha supuesto la implicación de las marcas de la industria alimentaria. Se promocionan hábitos de vida saludable mediante sobreimpresiones que llegan a los niños a través de la pequeña pantalla. Sin embargo, el mensaje de seguir una alimentación variada y practicar ejercicio con regularidad queda relegado ante la fuerte estrategia comercial que el sector de productos de consumo realiza. Se emplea un argumento de venta basado en un incentivo que el consumidor obtiene con la compra del producto frente a las cualidades nutritivas que este ofrece. The goal of this research was to analyse the advertising of food broadcast by the two Spanish private thematic channels aimed at children with more audience in Spain (Neox and Boing). A content analysis was made in order to study the commercials showed during the hours of children’s enhanced protection established by the normative of this country. The paper presents the increasing concern about kids´ obesity and the role of food industry. Healthy lifestyles are promoted through messages printed in the ads that children see on television. Nevertheless, a varied diet and regular exercise is pushed into the background as a result of the strong commercial strategy of this sector’s brands. The pitch is the bonus that the consumer receives with the product instead of the nutritive characteristics.

This study explores the dynamic interaction between government and news media in the frame-building process, the process of shaping journalistic news frames, during the financial crisis that erupted in September 2008. The unexpected as well as event-driven character of the financial crisis is expected to create dynamics that challenge journalists’ dependence on powerful political actors as the national government by opening up the news gate wider to various voices and perspectives. However, the findings of this study indicate unexpected results as the government dominates the frame-building process. In order to empirically explore the frame-building process, this paper employs framing theory to analyse political actors’ messages and news media coverage. The study employs two sets of data, the first a content analysis of news coverage and the second a content analysis of political messages, during a three month period in Sweden following the eruption of the financial crisis. Overall, the results of this study indicate that powerful political actors’ ability to influence frame-building follows the predictable pattern of indexing also during an unexpected event thus limiting press independence.

As many authors suggest, nowadays the distribution arms of the major info-entertainment conglomerates heavily invest in feature films that promote their own intellectual properties. As a result, the variety of features films that these companies contribute to produce increasignly depends on the revenues that the embedded intellectual properties can generate on secondary and ancillary markets, while the theatrical release is frequently an expensive loss leader mainly designed to create awareness of these properties. Using publicly available data from various internet databases, the present paper provides a contribution to the understanding of this trend by analyzing the portfolio of feature films released in 2007 and distributed by the mainstream and minor divisions of the six largest ‘Majors’. Specifically, the purpose of this analysis is to assess the use of three cardinal principals of this business strategy valorising intellectual properties: (1) ‘Strike while the iron is hot’, (2) ‘Open Big’, and (3) ‘Diversify your slate’. This analysis shows that in the year in question, about 60% of funding allocated to feature films was invested in ‘non-original’ content and that the conglomerates that were the most efficient in applying these principles were also the best earners.

This paper uses the topic of the New England execution sermon to make an argument about how social classes use, and then lose, their power to control communication media. The class in question here is the Puritan clergy, once a dominant group in colonial New England. The author constructs the argument primarily through the use of three different sets of literature. First, the theoretical literature on the use of media technologies as power (Innis, Marvin, and others). Second, the secondary historical literature that already exists on the phenomenon of the execution sermon. Third, the primary sources, which are 73 different sermons listed in the early American imprints series (both First and Second series). I argue that the clergy’s loss of control over how to portray the ritualized retribution of the execution provides us with a case study of how dominant classes use media to control populations, and how they lose that control.

Using some recent examples as a starting point, this paper discusses catastrophe reporting. The claim is that catastrophe reporting reveals some sore points in journalistic professionalism as a whole. The theoretical frames are sought from research on “agency”. According to this approach, distances can be overcome through a purely personal effort. The agency component potentially invites the spectators to feel and act for the sufferers. In order to do that, journalistic professionals are compelled to use new tools in news reporting: emotions and sources, which qualify via experience and suffering rather than rationality and observation. The basic question here is whether the journalistic profession itself, with its fixed and stereotyped norms and practices, has driven the profession into a delicate situation. Natural, participatory contact with the people-on-the-street is regulated by professional rules. Accordingly, the profession tends to express itself with clumsy, even vulgar and artificial terms; professional ethics cannot follow the new trend.

Nos Estados Unidos está quantificada a erosão nas audiências de rádio entre os públicos mais jovens, mas essa investigação está por fazer em Portugal. Com este trabalho pretendemos mostrar, através de números oficiais, que a erosão também se verifica, relacionando-a com a realidade digital. Por outras palavras, se é verdade que a crise da rádio começou antes da chegada da Internet, esta está a contribuir para que se possa falar num divórcio entre os mais jovens e a rádio. In the United States, radio erosion in younger audiences is already measured, but this research is still to be done in Portugal. In this paper we intend to show, by official data, that this erosion is also observed, linking it with the digital reality. In other words, if it is true that the crisis of the radio started before the arrival of the Internet, it is also true that this digitalization is leading to a divorce between youth and radio.

Com a migração da televisão brasileira do padrão analógico para a plataforma digital, iniciada em 2006, os canais de interesse público criados a partir da Lei da Cabodifusão (Lei 8.977/1995) rediscutem seu modelo e se organizam em redes. O objetivo principal é garantir espaço no cenário que começa a se reconfigurar. Neste texto, examinaremos o caso da TV Câmara, emissora da Câmara dos Deputados. A partir dessa experiência, poderemos refletir sobre as características e a importância das TVs legislativas no campo televisivo não-comercial, amadurecendo as discussões sobre os sistemas estatal e público de radiodifusão. O objetivo é avaliar que tipo de papel é exercido por essas emissoras: em que medida são canais estatais institucionais, sem autonomia e voltados prioritariamente para proteger a imagem dos órgãos que as mantêm? Não poderiam ser considerados, como pretendem, veículos de comunicação pública, que contribuem para ampliar o debate democrático e tornar as instituições mais sujeitas ao controle dos cidadãos e mais abertas à participação popular? With the migration of Brazilian television to the digital platform, launched in 2006, the channels of public interest created after the Cable Television Law (Law 8.977/1995) are discussed again and organize themselves into networks. The main objective is to ensure space in the scenario of digital communications that begins to configure itself. In this paper, we examine the case of TV Câmara, a station of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. From this experience, we discuss the characteristics and importance of the legislative channels in the field of noncommercial television, including the questions about the state systems and public broadcasting. The objective is to evaluate what kind of role is played by these stations: in which extent these channels are governmental and institutional, without autonomy and directed primarily to protect the image of the organs that keep them? Could be they counted, as they intended, as vehicle of public communication, which help to broaden the democratic debate and make the institutions more subject to the control of citizens and more open to popular participation?

This paper presents the key results arising from a study about representation of male and female characters of the teen series. The main aim of the study is to build knowledge about the images of young people portrayed in a television show featuring teenagers. The study has consisted in the analysis of the antecedents about gender representation on television fiction and the content analysis of the American teen drama Dawson‟s creek. The content analysis was conducted on a representative sample of 18 episodes of three seasons of the series, measuring 29 variables. The key findings on gender role representation are based on physical and social descriptors, personality traits attributed to the characters, and plot-related variables. Among the principal results, it has to be stressed the presence of traditional gender stereotypes within the socio demographical characteristics of the characters, especially the physical and social traits.

Planning for the systematic upgrading to ‘superfast’ broadband networks has emerged as a key communications infrastructure in many countries throughout the developed world. These governance processes combine centrally directed state measures with laissez-faire market or civil society organisation components. In some cases we are witnessing the kinds of arrangements typically encountered when governments pursue capital works initiatives in collaboration with privately controlled corporations. In this sense broadband networks can be another instance of ‘public-private’ infrastructure partnerships, just as governments have constructed joint arrangements for the ubiquitous supply of telecommunications, transport, electricity, gas and water. Yet media and communications systems are simultaneously cultural industry sites that often represent a profound culture-economy disconnect. In such systems, because they culturally distribute ‘public goods’ that work to shape peoples’ deliberation and participation in society, there is the tendency for conflict with the defining features of market liberalism (Keane, 1991). This dual life of media and communications systems, as both economic input to key infrastructure and foundational to political democracy is frequently highlighted (McChesney, 2008). And as is often argued, media and communications are not simply ‘just another business’ (Shultz, 1994) when it comes to the provision of media content such as news and information. How is nation-state planning for new broadband networks that works closely with commercial interests likely to articulate those regulatory reforms for content provision that arise as legacy systems subside and new convergent media systems flourish? Which structural priorities are embedded in the planning statements for the development of national broadband systems, and can we make any assessments of the likely policy consequences for content provision by forms such as IPTV? In particular, the paper highlights examples of those traditional laws and regulation governing content provision for citizenship building (including media diversity, local content, ‘must carry’ and fair use requirements) that will be placed under pressure in the mainstreaming of national broadband networks.

A reconstituição da história do Jornal Pessoal é o objetivo central deste artigo. Considerado a mais importante e longeva experiência alternativa do jornalismo na Amazônia brasileira, o periódico é conduzido solitariamente pelo jornalista Lúcio Flávio Pinto. Criado em 1987, em Belém, no Estado do Pará, representa um modelo de imprensa contra-hegemônica no Brasil da pós-ditadura. Tem na ausência de publicidade uma de suas principais características. A linha editorial é inspirada no I.F Stone’s Weekly, um semanário produzido durante 19 anos nos EUA, pelo jornalista Isidore Stone. Este estudo visa discutir as razões da existência e longevidade do Jornal Pessoal, que sobrevive a despeito de uma intensa campanha de processos na Justiça. Também pretende demonstrar de que forma seu editor consolida, por meio do jornal, a função de intelectual público, a qual incorporou depois de exercer o jornalismo diário por 21 anos. A história do JP, seus campos de interesse, e suas preocupações quanto aos fundamentos e ao exercício da profissão, são os eixos de investigação do estudo, que utiliza como procedimentos metodológicos a pesquisa documental e bibliográfica, entrevista e análise de conteúdo. The historical reconstitution of Jornal Pessoal is the main goal of this paper. Considered as the most important and lasting experience of alternative journalism in brazilian Amazon, the newspaper is lead by the journalist Lúcio Flávio Pinto. Created in 1987, in Belém (state of Pará), it represents a model of counter-hegemonic press in Brazil, during the post dictatorship period. The Jornal Pessoal has the absence of advertising as one of its most important characteristics. Its editorial guideline is inspired in the I.F Stone’s Weekly, self-published for 19 years in U.S.A, by the journalist Isidore Stone. This study intends to discuss the reasons of the existence and lasting of Jornal Pessoal, which survives inspite of an intense campaign against it, in the court. The study also tries to demonstrate how its editor consolidates, by the newspaper, a function of public intellectual, which he incorporated after working in daily journalism for 21 years. The JP's history, its interests fields, and his concerns about the foundations and practice of journalism are the axes of this investigation, that uses documental and bibliographic research, interview and content analyses as methodological procedures.

Alternative media, which have historically been created in explicit opposition to the mainstream, are increasingly drawing from mainstream practices to gain visibility in a crowded media market. However, the nascent field of alternative (or community) media scholarship has not fully embraced the intrusion of mainstream practices nor has scholarship added meaningfully to the debates surrounding future growth possibilities of alternative media within this competitive framework. The paper will apply previous hypotheses and research from the field of alternative media scholarship to a small sample of alternative blogs in New Zealand. The methodological aspects of producing these blogs and their resulting content will be explored against present research in an effort to conceptualize future media formats for the alternative press.

La investigación fue realizada a través de un seguimiento cuantitativo y cualitativo de las noticias en la prensa impresa de Veracruz, para averiguar la influencia de la prensa en el comportamiento electoral, mediante el análisis de la tendencia de los medios de comunicación de 10 periódicos locales, mismos que fueron seleccionados a partir de su cobertura geográfica regional; el moniotero se llevó a cabo durante las elecciones para elegir diputados federales en 2009. El planteamiento teórico de la investigación se basó basa en el modelo psicosocial del comportamiento electoral, que coincide con las investigaciones de los medios de comunicación, cultura política y opinión pública, enmarcadas en representaciones sociales. It is investigated through a careful quantitative and qualitative monitoring of the news in Veracruz, to figure out the influence of the press in the electoral behaviour through the analysis of the media tendency of 10 local papers, selected from their regional geographical cover, during the Elections to choose Federal Representatives in 2009. The Theory is based on the paradigm of the electoral behaviour in the psychosocial model that matches with the researches of the mass media, political culture, and public opinion, all these framed in social representations.

The increase of competition in the European television market has raised concern about commercialisation of public broadcasting. European public television struggles to survive, adapting to a competitive environment and maintaining the principle of public service. Some public broadcasters -it is argued-, have been forced to follow a strategy of convergence of their programming with that of their commercial competitors. In other cases, public televisions have maintained a highly distinctive programming, with more “serious” content, including political issues. This paper presents the main results of a study on prime-time programming of European public and commercial broadcasters, which has been carried out in 14 countries of the European Union, in 2003 and 2004. The main results indicate that European public television has reached a significant level of commercialisation, although there are still some differences with private programming, since public broadcasting is more oriented to information and maintains a higher level of diversity

This paper initially identifies the main transformations of the television system that are caused by digitalization. Its development in several broadcasting platforms is analyzed as well as the particular obstacles and requirements that are detected for each of them. Due to its technical characteristics and its historical link to the public services, the terrestrial network requires migration strategies different from those strictly commercial, and public intervention might be needed. The paper focuses on such migration strategies towards DTT and identifies the main issues for public intervention in the areas of the digital scenario: technology, business and market transformation and the reception field. Moreover, it describes and classifies the challenges that public broadcasters should confront due to digitalization. This paper finally concludes that the leadership of the public broadcasters during the migration towards DTT is an interesting tool for public policy. The need for foster the digitalization of the terrestrial platform and to achieve certain social and public goal besides the market interest brings an opportunity for public institutions and public broadcasters to work together. That leading role could also be positive for the public service to face its necessary redefinition and reallocation within the digital context.

Este artículo tiene como propósito conocer la relación que existe entre los periodistas y los políticos para saber qué necesitan los periodistas del poder político y qué tipo de vínculos se establecen entre estos dos ámbitos. Asimismo, este estudio compara el punto de vista de los periodistas con el parecer de los ciudadanos. Esto permite conocer si los periodistas y la audiencia piensan de manera similar sobre la relación que debe establecerse entre los medios de comunicación y el poder político. Asimismo, uno de los principales objetivos de este proyecto ha sido contrastar las normas y códigos existentes con los criterios éticos que son puestos en práctica por los profesionales del periodismo. La metodología que se presenta en este artículo toma como base un cuestionario de 26 preguntas que se refiere a temas muy diversos, tales como la influencia que ejerce el poder político en el ejercicio cotidiano del periodismo o en situaciones concretas. La muestra utilizada para contestar a este cuestionario ha sido diseñada en función de diferentes variables independientes: tipo de medio de comunicación, puesto de trabajo, departamento, ámbito de difusión, género, ideología y edad, etc. con el fin de que la diversidad de la profesión esté representada. La misma metodología ha sido utilizada en cada una de las regiones autónomas, ya fuera Cataluña, Madrid, País Vasco o Andalucía. El presente estudio ofrece las respuestas dadas por un total de 3000 periodistas de todo el país. The aim of this paper is to focus on the relationship between Spanish journalists and politicians in order to understand what journalists require from political power and how collaborative ties between governments and reporters could be established. This study also compares the views of journalists with citizens in order to know if there is a relationship between what media professionals and audience think about the relationship between media and political power. One of the project’s main goals is to contrast the existing normative framework with the prevailing value system in ethical criteria as taken onboard by media professionals. The methodology used in this paper to achieve this goal is based on 26 questions that refer to different issues, such as the influence of political power in their daily professional lives or in certain case scenarios. The sample was designed in accordance with different independent variables: type of media, position, department, sphere of diffusion, gender, ideology and age, so that the entire profession was represented in some way. The same methodology was applied to each autonomous region, whether it be Catalonia, Madrid, the Basque Country or Andalusia and the paper as a whole offers the answers given by about 3000 Spanish journalists throughout the whole of the country.

La independencia y autonomía real de los medios de comunicación, especialmente en su quehacer periodístico, está estrechamente vinculada a diversos factores, entre los que destacan la naturaleza de la propiedad empresarial y la libertad o presión bajo la que toman las decisiones los órganos de gobierno corporativos. Estos factores, tradicionalmente estudiados principalmente en relación a los lazos y dependencias establecidos por las empresas de comunicación con los grandes anunciantes, asumen una nueva dimensión con la financiarización de los grandes grupos de comunicación. Esto es, con la preeminencia de los objetivos financieros –supeditando a los profesionales o vinculados a la responsabilidad democrática– que experimenta la empresa periodística a partir del momento en que ésta empieza a cotizar en bolsa. Esta comunicación presenta datos recabados a principios de 2009 sobre la estructura de propiedad y los consejos de administración de los grupos propietarios de medios de comunicación más importantes de Europa. La finalidad de este ejercicio es identificar quienes son los sectores económicos conectados con la propiedad y los órganos de gobierno de los propietarios de los principales medios de comunicación que ofrecen contenidos periodísticos en Europa. Media groups’ independence and autonomy levels, in particular their journalistic task, are tightly connected with several factors, of which the type of corporate ownership and the freedom or pressure under which corporate governance makes decisions are most relevant. Scholarly research has traditionally considered those factors in relation to the dependencies and links established between corporate media and larger advertisers. However, financialization adds up a new dimension to the study –since it stresses the subordination of professional logics and democratic responsibilities to the financial logics dominating media groups listed in stock exchanges. This paper discusses some data gathered at the beginning of 2009 regarding ownership structure and composition of the boards of directors of the largest European media groups. The aim of this work is to identify the economic agents linked to both, ownership and boards of directors, of the main European commercial news producers.