Search

Recent research has called on scholars to develop pedagogical interventions to address issues of media literacy. This teaching note answers that call by describing a media literacy project designed for use in social problems classes. The project acquaints students to the constructionist approach to social problems and the method of content analysis. Guided by the principles of scaffolding, the note discusses how students are guided through a series of readings, assignments, and activities that enables them to analyze how social problems are portrayed in news media. Analysis of student papers and comments reveals an increased understanding of the rhetorical strategies that are commonplace in media coverage of social problems. While designed for social problems, the project can be adjusted and modified for use in other sociology courses.

Textual data such as tweets and news is abundant on the web. However, extracting useful information from such a deluge of data is hardly possible for a human. In this paper, we discuss automated text analysis methods based on sparse optimization. In particular, we use sparse PCA and Elastic Net regression for extracting intelligible topics from a big textual corpus and for obtaining time-based signals quantifying the strength of each topic in time. These signals can then be used as regressors for modeling or predicting other related numerical indices. We applied this setup to the analysis of the topics that arose during the 2016 US presidential elections, and we used the topic strength signals in order to model their influence on the election polls.

In this paper, we address the task of zero-shot cross-lingual news sentiment classification. Given the annotated dataset of positive, neutral, and negative news in Slovene, the aim is to develop a news classification system that assigns the sentiment category not only to Slovene news, but to news in another language without any training data required. Our system is based on the multilingual BERTmodel, while we test different approaches for handling long documents and propose a novel technique for sentiment enrichment of the BERT model as an intermediate training step. With the proposed approach, we achieve state-of-the-art performance on the sentiment analysis task on Slovenian news. We evaluate the zero-shot cross-lingual capabilities of our system on a novel news sentiment test set in Croatian. The results show that the cross-lingual approach also largely outperforms the majority classifier, as well as all settings without sentiment enrichment in pre-training.

This study aims to bring about a novel approach to the analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based solely on the appearance of news. Our purpose is to provide a monitoring tool that enables world news to be detected in an SDG-oriented manner, by considering multilingual as well as wide geographic coverage. The association of the goals with news basis the World Bank Group Topical Taxonomy, from which the selection of search words approximates the 17 development goals. News is extracted from The GDELT Project (Global Database of Events, Language and Tone) which gathers both printed as well as online news from around the world. 60 851 572 relevant news stories were identified in 2019. The intertwining of world news with SDGs as well as connections between countries are interpreted and highlight that even in the most SDG-sensitive countries, only 2.5% of the news can be attributed to the goals. Most of the news about sustainability appears in Africa as well as East and Southeast Asia, moreover typically the most negative tone of news can be observed in Africa. In the case of climate change (SDG 13), the United States plays a key role in both the share of news and the negative tone. Using the tools of network science, it can be verified that SDGs can be characterized on the basis of world news. This news-centred network analysis of SDGs identifies global partnerships as well as national stages of implementation towards a sustainable socio-environmental ecosystem. In the field of sustainability, it is vital to form the attitudes and environmental awareness of people, which strategic plans cannot address but can be measured well through the news., Sustainable development goals; Climate sensitivity; News analysis; Network analysis

The determination of the firm life cycle has been carried out in relation to the establishment of corporate strategy in the field of accounting or management. The life cycle prediction based on financial information is long because it is determined based on the financial performance of the entity over a year. This study sought to lay the foundation for overcoming this by using news articles to predict the life cycle of a company. In the process of quantifying news article data and predicting the firm life cycle, the method of selecting keywords that can represent the firm life cycle is presented, and the life cycle prediction model is verified with four machine learning techniques using selected candidate keywords. In this study, all four machine learning techniques showed a predicted static classification rate of nearly 60%, demonstrating the availability of news articles, which are unstructured text data, in predicting the corporate life cycle.

En las televisiones generalistas españolas existe una homogenización de la información considerable. La estructura de las redacciones y el análisis de los contenidos reflejan un funcionamiento basado en equilibrios muy definidos, donde compiten la política, la economía y las noticias de sociedad, y se silencian o minimizan temas que afectan a sectores desvinculados del poder. La aparente pluralidad formal no se corresponde siempre con un tratamiento periodístico objetivo y, además, abunda la información gubernamental e institucional. Los recursos tecnológicos están infrautilizados y predominan los formatos de noticias clásicos sobre las propuestas innovadoras. There’s a great homogeneity on Spanish television. The structure of many tv production departments and the contents analysis of their news show that television works are based in strictly defined balances between political, economical and society news. Powerless people are silenced. Their problems aren’t correctly reflected. Formal pluralism doesn t means objective journalism. Governmental and institutional focuses are oversized. Technical resources are underused and classical news formats are preferred to the newest ones.

ObjectiveAt the end of 2012, the Indonesian government enacted tobacco control regulation (PP 109/2012) that included stricter tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) controls. The PP did not ban all forms of TAPS and generated a great deal of media interest from both supporters and detractors. This study aims to analyse stakeholder arguments regarding the adoption and implementation of the regulation as presented through news media converge.DesignContent analysis of 213 news articles reporting on TAPS and the PP that were available from the Factiva database and the Google News search engine.SettingIndonesia, 24 December 2012–29 February 2016.MethodsArguments presented in the news article about the adoption and implementation of the PP were coded into 10 supportive and 9 opposed categories. The news actors presenting the arguments were also recorded. Kappa statistic were calculated for intercoder reliability.ResultsOf the 213 relevant news articles, 202 included stakeholder arguments, with a total of 436 arguments coded across the articles. More than two-thirds, 69% (301) of arguments were in support of the regulation, and of those, 32.6% (98) agreed that the implementation should be enhanced. Of 135 opposed arguments, the three most common were the potential decrease in government revenue at 26.7% (36), disadvantage to the tobacco industry at 18.5% (25) and concern for tobacco farmers and workers welfare at 11.1% (15). The majority of the in support arguments were made by national government, tobacco control advocates and journalists, while the tobacco industry made most opposing arguments.ConclusionsAnalysing the arguments and news actors provides a mapping of support and opposition to an essential tobacco control policy instrument. Advocates, especially in a fragmented and expansive geographic area like Indonesia, can use these findings to enhance local tobacco control efforts.

Web archives provide access to snapshots of the Web of the past, and could be valuable for research purposes. However, access to these archives is often limited, both in terms of data availability, and interfaces to this data. This paper explores new methods to overcome these limitations. It presents "sprint-methods" for performing research using an archived collection of the Dutch news aggregator Website Nu.nl, and for developing and adapting a search system and interface to this data. The work aims to contribute to research in the humanities and social sciences, in particular New Media research employing digital methods to study the Web of the past. Secondly, this work aims to contribute to Computer Science, in the development of novel access tools for Web archives, that facilitate research.

On the same day that Formula One (F1) strategies to undermine tobacco control legislation were discussed at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Helsinki, news agencies reported that the Canadian Grand Prix was to be dropped from the 2004 calendar. F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone insisted that tobacco advertising was the sole reason for the decision. “Our problem is quite simple. The Formula One teams with tobacco-related sponsorship lose part of their revenue when a certain percentage of the events ban tobacco sponsorship.” This was the reason the Belgian Grand Prix was not included in the 2003 calendar, he added. ![Graphic][1] Canada: A bilingual postcard created by Carte Blanche, a communication marketing agency in Montreal, pre-addressed to Bernie Ecclestone for Canadians to send to the Formula One boss to protest against the loss of Canada’s top motor race. In all, 108 000 cards were distributed by the Pop Media network, and several newspapers ran ads to build awareness and support for the campaign. On the back of the card was a message asking Ecclestone whether F1 was as addicted to the tobacco industry as are billions to cigarettes, and demanding that he reconsider his sponsorship policy. In Belgium a law was passed in 1997 banning all tobacco advertising and sponsorship from 1 January 1999 (including F1 sponsorship). Since January 1997, there have been five attempts in the Belgian … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif

SPACE EXPLORATION has always had a fairly high-profile political element, from the Cold War days of the 'space race' to the cross-border collaboration that brought about the International Space Station, placing Russia and America essentially on the same team.

Objective—To describe the extent of the tobacco industry involvement in establishing international standards for tobacco and tobacco products and the industry influence on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Methods—Analysis of tobacco industry documents made public as part of the settlement of the Minnesota Tobacco Trial and the Master Settlement Agreement. Search words included “ISO”, “CORESTA”, “Barclay”, “compensation and machine smoking”, “tar and nicotine deliveries”, and the name of key players, in diVerent combinations. Results—It is clear that the tobacco industry, through the Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA), play a major role in determining the scientific evidence and suggesting the standards that are eventually adopted as international standards for tobacco and tobacco products in several areas, including the measurement of cigarette tar and nicotine yield. Conclusions—ISO’s tobacco and tobacco products standards are not adequate to guide tobacco products regulatory policies, and no health claims can be made based on ISO’s tobacco products standards. There is an urgent need for tobacco control advocates and groups worldwide to be more involved with the work of the ISO, both directly and through their national standardisation organisations. (Tobacco Control 2001;10:96‐104)

To make the public in general and shareholders in particular aware of the true character of tobacco companies is an important part of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy. This report describes an activity carried out in May 1997 at the annual shareholders’ meeting of the Swedish Match company. We owe the idea to an Australian ‘Tobacco Company Alternative Report’ of 1987.

Turkey, strategically placed between Europe and Asia, is understandably seen by tobacco companies as a key market. The struggle to obtain comprehensive tobacco control legislation has been long and strewn with setbacks, as frequently reported in these pages (see Tobacco Control2001;10:208 ). As with any legislation passed without a strong, cabinet-wide commitment to effective action on tobacco, there are limited resources, and more than a hint of limited enthusiasm, for monitoring and enforcing the law. Blatant tobacco industry lobbying and promotional efforts aimed at establishing Formula 1 (F1) motor racing, in a country with no popular interest in motor sport, have now gone underground. However, there are frequent signs that tobacco interests are still actively pushing for the establishment of motor racing as a handy means of mass cigarette promotion in the region, and it seems inevitable that a tobacco friendly F1 or equivalent race will come to Turkey within …

Many readers will have been nauseated by reports generated from the publication of British American Tobacco’s (BAT’s) first “social report”, part of its massive self rehabilitation exercise. Even the mere linking of a tobacco company’s name to the concept of corporate social responsibility in a glossy document, while absurd to most people, seems enough to fool others into thinking it has changed its ways. On all the issues …

Even in countries with the strongest tobacco control laws, tobacco companies will always explore whether they can get away with breaking or getting round them. So it was that last October Thai health workers were informed that a large group …

Last November, Philip Morris (PM) announced that it was going to ask its shareholders' approval to change the company's name to the Altria Group, Inc. PM is the world's 48th largest economic entity with a market capitalisation value of $105 billion, placing it ahead of the value of all stock combined in nations such as Greece, Ireland, and Chile. The company produces Miller beer, Kraft, and other well known food products in addition to its cigarettes mainstay. Chairman and chief executive officer, Australian born Geoffrey C Bible, said he proposed the change for two reasons. One was “a need for clarity” and the other reason was “the evolution of Philip Morris Companies Inc”. PM's internal documents, however, reveal very different reasons for the company seeking to change its name. A corporate marketing strategy document written for PM in December 1993 by an “identity consultant”, as part of PM's …

Health advocates in Uganda were justly proud when the first anti-tobacco billboard at a sports ground in East Africa was unveiled at the Kampala Rugby Football Club last year. It resulted from a Ush2 000 000 (US$1250) sponsorship package for the Kobs Rugby Football Club put …

It has long been accepted that every decent health improvement plan, from the humblest local education campaign right up to a comprehensive national tobacco control act, should end with a section on the need for constant monitoring and evaluation, followed up by adjustments to the policy if necessary. Few governments that survive the countless rounds in the heavyweight ring of anti-tobacco legislation seem to remember the bit about review, but not surprisingly, Australia is once again a model. After just 10 …

Despite all newspaper, magazine, and billboard advertising of tobacco products having been banned in the UK since last February, several features on the British Grand Prix extolling the Jordan team, sponsored by Benson & Hedges (B&H) cigarettes, appeared in …

For once, it seems that one of the new democracies of the former Soviet Union may be able to avoid the worst of the enslavement to western tobacco companies that has happened to so many other countries in the same situation. Latvia, in fact, is actually quite an old democracy, having tasted independence and freedom in the early part of the 20th century, developing to have one of the highest standards of living anywhere in Europe in the 1930s. From 1940, it was occupied with extreme brutality first by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany, and then again by the Soviets, whose pretence of allowing independence turned into forcible membership of the USSR. But eventually, in 1991, this small nation finally regained its independence. Nowadays it has around two and a half million people, including a …

Another in our occasional series about real health ministers, the sort who ignore the fact that the president’s cousin is on the local board of a big tobacco company, and tell the people how it really is. Our last example was from Fiji (see Fiji: finger for BAT, Tobacco Control 2003; 12 :7), and now a rival has been spotted in the same …

Last November, BAT launched a promotional campaign called “Experience It” in Nigeria, featuring five blockbuster Hollywood films. All five movies screened or advertised—Ocean’s Eleven, Matrix, ShowTime, Romeo Must Die, …

Despite persistent activity by energetic and dedicated groups and individuals in Sri Lanka, there is still little sign of the government really embracing tobacco control; and there are still frequent reminders of which side seems to be winning the tobacco war. One reason may be that in official circles, and among the business community, the tobacco industry is still not seen as the pariah it is, allowing it access to activities that only serve to prolong its ability to suppress the widespread dissemination of the health message. The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka …

BAT Germany recently released its social report for 2003. Where tobacco is concerned, Germany is the sick man of western Europe. Rampant tobacco promotion saturates youth oriented media, especially student publications, and the government is infamous among its European Union partners for taking a fiercely pro-tobacco line at intergovernmental negotiations (see Tobacco Control2002;11:90 [OpenUrl][1][FREE Full Text][2] Tobacco Control2002;11:291 [OpenUrl][3][FREE Full Text][4] ). So it takes more than average industry duplicity for a German tobacco company to portray itself as socially responsible. But even German health advocates, accustomed to industry excesses not seen … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DTobacco%2BControl%26rft.stitle%253DTobacco%2BControl%26rft.issn%253D0964-4563%26rft.aulast%253DSimpson%26rft.auinit1%253DD.%26rft.volume%253D11%26rft.issue%253D2%26rft.spage%253D90%26rft.epage%253D90%26rft.atitle%253DGermany%253A%2Bbogus%2Bpolls%2Band%2Bthe%2BEuro-pain%2Bsyndrome%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1136%252Ftc.11.2.90%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F12034992%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/ijlink?linkType=FULL&journalCode=tobaccocontrol&resid=11/2/90&atom=%2Ftobaccocontrol%2F12%2F3%2F246.2.atom [3]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DTobacco%2BControl%26rft.stitle%253DTobacco%2BControl%26rft.issn%253D0964-4563%26rft.aulast%253DSimpson%26rft.auinit1%253DD.%26rft.volume%253D11%26rft.issue%253D4%26rft.spage%253D291%26rft.epage%253D293%26rft.atitle%253DGermany%253A%2Bhow%2Bdid%2Bit%2Bget%2Blike%2Bthis%253F%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1136%252Ftc.11.4.291%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F12432147%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [4]: /lookup/ijlink?linkType=FULL&journalCode=tobaccocontrol&resid=11/4/291&atom=%2Ftobaccocontrol%2F12%2F3%2F246.2.atom

According to Godfrey Philips, the Indian subsidiary of Philip Morris that makes Red & White cigarettes, the emphasis of the Red & White bravery awards is “selfless action”. The same phrase could hardly describe the company’s motives for using the name of its cigarette brand instead of its company name for the scheme, whose well funded advertising campaign associates its cigarettes with bravery (see Tobacco Control 2002; 11 :10–11, 91). With not only the brand’s name but also its …

One of the more bizarre accounts of the tobacco industry’s influence on the Bush administration in the USA emerged recently from Michael Moore, film maker, journalist, and best selling author of the satirical and less than flattering book about his country, Stupid white men . Moore revealed that during a nationwide book promotion tour, he had asked his audiences if they knew the answer to a question that was increasingly bothering him. As he flew from city to city, he repeatedly passed through airport security checks. At each one, he dutifully emptied his pockets of anything that might be considered a potential security threat, in the climate of greatly increased security awareness following …

Earlier this year, one of the leading cigarette manufacturers seemed to be making special efforts to exploit the advantages afforded by hesitant public policies and the absence of serious controls on the publicity and sale of tobacco in Uruguay. In the capital, Montevideo, a new advertising campaign appeared for Montana cigarettes, using large posters in almost all the city’s bus stops. They showed a young couple who appeared to be no more than 15 or 16 years old, looking carefree and contented, the epitome of wellbeing in full Montevidean style. …

To western observers interested in tobacco control policy, Japan is a fascinating anomaly. Despite its extraordinary achievements in manufacturing and technology, coupled with its high levels of education and research, and an economy that until a recent blip, probably only temporary, has been a world leader, its smoking rates have been sky high, with subsequent disease levels to match. In many ways, to a westerner it is rather like a Germany of the East. Two decades ago, Japan had the highest male smoking prevalence of any industrialised country, at around 80%, but an almost negligible prevalence among women. Then came the invasion of American tobacco companies led by the US Trade Representative in 1985. Along with Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea, Japan rolled over and modern tobacco promotion began. Until then, the Japanese tobacco monopoly (ironically, in view of Japan’s high incidence of hypertension and stroke, it was called the Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation) had been supplying a large and eager male market but had desisted from what must have so attracted the foreign invaders—the almost totally non-smoking female half of the population. A wind of change was in any case blowing through Japanese society, with increasing numbers of young women not only having significant disposable incomes—it is still quite common for young working women to live with their parents until marriage, usually later than their western counterparts—but traditionally strict attitudes to women’s behaviour were softening. What better way for tobacco companies to recruit them than by somehow exploiting this new mood of liberation? Just as in many emerging, fast growing developing countries, the potential to nearly double the market by recruiting women to smoking must have been the western tobacco companies’ dream come true. Within a decade, smoking rates among young Japanese women had shot up, well …

November 8 is a date of special significance in Thailand, as it is both the date of official funding of ThaiHealth in 2001 and the effective date in 2002 of new restrictions banning smoking in public places, including air conditioned restaurants. A previous article has highlighted that the adoption of the health promotion fund is a crucial milestone for tobacco control ( Tobacco Control 2001; 10 :48–54). While a quick survey shows tremendous strides …