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In periods of political unrest, media habits change significantly, allowing for new patterns of selectivity. This study's main contribution lies in its application of selective exposure theory and its comparison of people's media uses in five Global South polities that witnessed widespread protests in 2019: Chile, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. It examines the relationship between people's trust in the media and selective exposure at a global comparative level and within the contexts of political upheavals and hyperconnected media systems. The study also assesses the relationship between issue publics and participation in protests. Using cross-sectional surveys in each of the five countries/regions, it compares participants' support for the protests and their exposure to legacy and social media. The findings reveal that media trust and issue publics play a significant role in determining the level of preference for pro-attitudinal news content. Trusting pro-attitudinal TV channels relates to following pro-attitudinal TV channels, and trusting counter-attitudinal TV channels relates to following counter-attitudinal TV channels. In addition, the strong issue publics group was more likely than the weak and moderate issue publics groups to participate in street protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seong Jae Min's book, "Rethinking the New Technology of Journalism: How Slowing Down Will Save the News," challenges the fast-paced nature of newsrooms and argues for the importance of slow journalism. The author examines the history of technological innovations in newsrooms and suggests that while these advancements are significant, they should not define the purpose of journalism. Min advocates for a gradual and mindful approach to adopting new technologies in the newsroom, emphasizing the core values and strengths of journalism. While the concept of slow journalism is promising, the book raises questions about its practicality in today's media environment. Further investigation is needed to explore how slow journalism can be operationalized and introduced into the field. [Extracted from the article]

Emerging research has examined the role of media coverage of diseases in influencing people's health behavior, particularly their compliance with prevention measures. This study examines whether increased media exposure to COVID-19 news and interpersonal communication about the disease positively relate to people's abidance by prevention measures, and whether perceived knowledge and fear mediate this relationship. The study focuses on Lebanon, whose government and media responses led to a successful containment of COVID-19 in its first phase, although the country was experiencing a severe economic crisis, widespread political unrest, and a massive influx of refugees. It examines both legacy media (Television) and social media, as well as interpersonal communication, through a cross-sectional researcher-administered phone survey of 1,536 adults and a nationally representative probability sample. The fieldwork was conducted between March 27 and April 23, 2020, and resulted in a 51.6% response rate. The findings support the hypotheses that increased media exposure to COVID-19 news positively relates to people's abidance by prevention measures and that perceived knowledge and fear mediate this relationship. However, the same hypotheses for interpersonal communication were not supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]