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The upsurge of press titles in eighteenth‐century Britain provided unprecedented public arenas to discuss socio‐political issues within a global context. Imperial sovereignty became an item of debate infusing as much the commentaries on current affairs as the fictional pieces that contributed to the popularity of newspapers and magazines. This article explores a selective stock of press narratives where Britain's imperial aspirations are set against the backdrop of the fall of the Inca Empire, a theme that became increasingly popular in the wider literary spectrum. This corpus is examined in light of the transnational circulation bearing on the Andean utopia discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. In the following analysis, we investigate the determinants of government efforts to censor media. We develop and test a new theory that argues executive-level corruption influences when governments are more likely to attempt media censorship. After modeling the media-government dynamic in game form, we utilize the new Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset to empirically test this relationship on both traditional media (print and broadcast) and new media (Internet). Using panel, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with a lagged dependent variable and country fixed effects, we examine the relationship from 1960 to 2015 for traditional media and from 1993 to 2015 for new media. The results suggest that as governments become more corrupt, governmental efforts to censor both forms of media are likely to increase. We further examine the relationship among different world regions and regime types; we find overall confirmation of our hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented where in the editor discusses articles published within the issue on topics including the interdisciplinary study of comparative political communication, press-state relations, and representation of women in news media.

In this article, I engage with Edward Said's Orientalism and various perspectives within the othering paradigm to analyze the emergence and transformation of radicalization discourses in the news media. Employing discourse analysis of 607 New York Times articles from 1969 to 2014, this article demonstrates that radicalization discourses are not new but are the result of complex sociolinguistic and historical developments that cannot be reduced to dominant contemporary understandings of the concept or to singular events or crises. The news articles were then compared to 850 government documents, speeches, and other official communications. The analysis of the data indicates that media conceptualizations of radicalization, which once denoted political and economic differences, have now shifted to overwhelmingly focus on Islam. As such, radicalization discourse now evokes the construct radicalization as symbolic marker of conflict between the West and the East. I also advanced the established notion that the news media employ strategic discursive strategies that contribute to conceptual distinctions that are used to construct Muslims as an 'alien other' to the West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores Ernest Blythe's tenure as minister for finance of the Irish Free State, 1923-32. Using a range of sources, but particularly his papers in University College Dublin Department of Archives, this work aims to redress the academic neglect of one of the Free State's most infamous characters. In a broader sense, this study offers a commentary on Blythe's party, Cumann na n Gaedheal, and Irish political culture generally. Throughout the text, attention is paid to the existing historiography of the period, and, where deemed necessary, some critiques are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Australian reporting in East Timor from 1975 to 1999, and the changing professional practice of Australian journalists who reported from the region during this time. Research conducted for this article includes testimony from the journalists, and a collating of 3,456 newspaper articles published in the mainstream Australian press on the East Timor situation between 1998 and 1999. It will show that in addition to new regulations over access to the region, new mobile media technologies pushed journalism in new directions, adding to the ability of the journalist to facilitate instantaneous delivery of news to Australia. These reports filed by Australian journalists from East Timor were crucial in fostering the Australian government's decision to send troops to the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most memorable campaigners for the New Interest whigs in the Oxfordshire election of 1754, Lady Susan Keck inevitably became the subject of press ridicule and criticism. Undaunted and irrepressible, she not only continued to campaign, but also turned the criticism back on the Old Interest, effectively neutralising it. This detailed examination of Lady Susan's electioneering illustrates the possibilities for electoral involvement at mid-century that were available to a woman of rank and spirit who was determined to make a difference. Propelled into action by sheer frustration with the poor planning and lacklustre campaigning that had marked the New Interest campaign in the 1751 election, Lady Susan put her, not inconsiderable, energy into securing a victory for the New Interest. Driven by ideology rather than by family interests, she used her age, rank, sex and connections, to political advantage. Confident and characterful, she was ideally suited to the rumbustious, personal politics of the age. Most importantly, her canvassing achieved results and the eventual New Interest victory owed, at least in part, to her efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrary to widespread belief, Franklin Roosevelt’s disability was never entirely hidden from the public—during his presidency, articles in leading publications even mentioned that he used a wheelchair—but Roosevelt generally succeeded in getting the press to present his condition the way he wanted. While most authors have attributed this positive treatment to a “gentlemen’s agreement” between Roosevelt and journalists, coercion on the part of the White House and pragmatic concerns on the part of the press were much more important factors. This dynamic would help FDR win reelection in 1944 despite his failing health and would influence the relationship between presidents and the press for decades to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A well-functioning democracy needs the news media to provide information to its citizens. It is therefore essential to understand what kinds of news contents contribute to gains in citizens' political knowledge and for whom this takes place. Extant research is divergent on this matter, especially with respect to 'softer' news coverage. This cross-national study investigates the effects of exposure to human interest and conflict frames in the news on political knowledge. Drawing on panel surveys and media content analyses in three countries, the study shows how these two frames contribute positively to political knowledge gain. This relationship is moderated by political interest so that those who are least interested learn the most from this type of easily accessible news coverage. The results are discussed in the light of research on news media and knowledge acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. We investigate the ideological orientations of U.S. statehouse journalists, asking whether reporters hold similar political ideologies to their audiences, and under what conditions reporter ideology diverges from audience ideology. Methods. We use an original survey of statehouse journalists, and employ both traditional OLS regressions and a heteroskedastic regression. Results. We find that reporters tend to reflect the political leanings of their audiences. Considering reporters in the context of the states they serve, we find that journalists who are racially and economically dissimilar from their constituents have less representative political predispositions than journalists who have characteristics similar to their readers. Conclusions. In the case of statehouse reporters, descriptive representation leads to substantive representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses key issues concerning government policies towards newspapers in Russia during the constitutional era lasting from 1906 to 1917. It includes an in-depth analysis of how newspapers continued to exist in Russia in spite of the administrative and judicial repression that resulted to the shutdown of the revolutionary press after the Revolution of 1905. The article also examines the impact that newspapers had on political development in Russia after the revolution of 1905, noting that the press developed before political parties emerged from the revolution.

Policy facts are among the most relevant forms of knowledge in a democracy. Although the mass media seem like an obvious source of policy-specific information, past research in this area has been plagued by design and methodological problems that have hindered causal inferences. Moreover, few studies include measures of media content, preventing researchers from being able to say what it is about media coverage that influences learning. We advance the literature by employing a simple but underutilized approach for estimating the causal effects of news coverage. Drawing upon a unique collection of cross-sectional survey data, we make under conditions of high and low media coverage. We show how the volume, breadth, and prominence of news media coverage increase policy-specific knowledge above and beyond common demographic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political leaders rely upon particular individuals or party organisations to reach potential constituencies, but they can only guess at the probable effect any agent has on those electors. For politicians anxious to seize and hold power, it is very good news when one of their partisans establishes and maintains a faithful following. The complexities of understanding influence, especially in the 20th century, are compounded by the difficulties of identifying the myriad interests expressed in a variety of contending forums as well as at the polls. While archives of printed, spoken, and viewed materials allow us to recover what political figures said to various audiences, it is very difficult to demonstrate that expressed ideas actually affected political thinking or political conduct. It is a further speculative leap to imagine what audiences actually heard, what they wanted to hear, and what they made of what they believed they heard. In a written or spoken or pictorial effort to transmit ideas, the intention and purpose may be stated explicitly but the contents of the ideas may still be equivocal. Different kinds of audiences and different members of the same audience will find a variety of meanings, often contradictory, in what they read, hear, or see. Arthur Bryant, a popular historian, journalist, and polemicist was remarkably successful in proclaiming the merits of a pragmatic and ideological conservatism to a multiplicity of large, loyal audiences through the end of the Second World War. This essay examines Bryant's remarkable audience in the Illustrated London News and the ways in which he engaged and retained them for nearly 50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of the press in the political chaos of Great Britain under the leadership of British Admiral Augustus Keppel. It has been noted that the success of the press in making parliamentary politics more accessible to the nation is well known that made it subservient to both government and political leaders. Public opinion invoked in the press to support the positions for, and against Admiral Keppel above the political fray.

The article presents an essay on the relation between politics and the press which is considered as interactive and symbiotic during the late Hanoverian era in Great Britain. The author explains how these interactions enhanced the political awareness and broadened the populist dimensions of parliamentary politics of the British state. According to the author, these have led to renewed emphasis on the newspaper press as a critical organ of public opinion

Reports on the condition of the press in various African countries. Ownership of the press by the government; Imprisonment of journalists and newspaper editors; Heavy toll on press freedom in Cote d'Ivoire.

Reports developments related to mass media and the government in Africa. Funds for public service broadcasting; Increase in media control; Resolution to protest the killing of an editor of "The Point."