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Computerization, digitalization and datafication are by far no neutral or self-dependent occurrences. They are, to a large degree, co-determined by heterogeneous actors who reflect about, construct, configure, manipulate or even control media. The contributors to this issue put the spotlight on these actors and investigate how they influence, shape and (re)configure broader social constellations. Instead of exploring what people do with media, the articles focus on the many ways individuals, civil society initiatives, corporations and social movements act on media. The notion of acting on media denotes the efforts of a wide range of actors to take an active part in the molding of media organizations, infrastructures and technologies that are part of the fabric of everyday life. Therefore, by conceptualizing acting on media as a form of political action, the issue aims to contribute to ongoing discussions on the media practice paradigm.

This article presents a qualitative study of ICT use among Finnish young people attending training programmes for youth outside employment and education. The data come from six focus group interviews and three individual interviews, as well as a single focus group interview with involved supervisors. The data was analyzed using McQuail’s (1983) theory regarding the motives for individual media use. The results show that the young people use ICT primarily for entertainment, but their use is diverse. Young people choose the tools and dimensions for interaction that best fulfill their needs, blending together ingredients from both online and offline sources. Unlike previous research, young people in this study stated that they prefer talking to someone face-to-face about severe (health-related or emotional) problems. If social and youth services want to meet young people on their own terms, both online and offline services are needed.

The advent of social media can be seen both as a risk and an opportunity by armed forces. Previous research has primarily examined whether or not the use of social media endangers or strengthens armed forces’ strategic narrative. We examine armed forces’ perceptions of risks and opportunities on a broad basis, with a particular focus on areas of deployment. The article is based on a survey of perceptions of social media amongst the armed forces of EU member states, thus adding to previous research through its comparative perspective. Whereas previous research has mainly focused on larger powers, such as the US and the UK, this article includes the views of the armed forces of 26 EU states, including several smaller nations. In analyzing the results we asked whether or not risk and opportunity perceptions were related to national ICT maturity and the existence of a social media strategy. The analysis shows that perceptions of opportunities outweigh perceptions of risks, with marketing and two-way communication as the two most prominent opportunities offered by the use of social media. Also, armed forces in countries with a moderate to high ICT maturity emphasize social media as a good way for marketing purposes. (author's abstract)

The article is devoted to the influence of media and communication technologies on society. Main dates and researches are described. Several social risks of using virtual communication networks are mentioned.

The aim of this study is to examine new media competencies of the members of the Serbian academic community in relation to their digital participation (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, forums and message boards). The questionnaire has a high representativeness coefficient of KMO=.90, while the questionnaire as a whole has a high reliability of .91. The results indicate that there is a significant correlation between the respondents’ digital participation and almost all NML components. The greatest contribution of this study is in overcoming the empirical and theoretical dilemmas about the relationship and interactions between the modern man and social networks within the digital environment. Our research shows that there is a positive correlation between the respondents’ participation in digital social networks and new media literacy.

Objective During a disease outbreak, media serve as primary transmitters of information from public health agencies to the public, and have been shown to influence both behavior and perception of risk. Differences in news frequency, framing and information source can impact the public's interpretation of risk messages and subsequent attitudes and behaviors about a particular threat. The media's framing of an outbreak is important, as it may affect both perception of risk and the ability to process important health information. Methods To understand how risk communication by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the 2014 Ebola outbreak was framed and delivered and to what extent primetime broadcast news media mirrored CDC's framing and authoritative voice, 209 CDC communications and primetime broadcast transcripts issued between July 24 and December 29, 2014 were analyzed and coded by thematic frame and authoritative voice. Dominant frame and voice were determined for each month and for overall period of analysis. Results Medical frame was dominant in CDC (60%), Anderson Cooper 360 (49%), The Rachel Maddow Show (47%) and All In with Chris Hayes (47%). The human interest frame was dominant in The Kelly File (45%), while The O'Reilly Factor coverage was equally split between sociopolitical and medical frames (28%, respectively). Primetime news media also changed dominant frames over time. Dominant authoritative voice in CDC communications was that of CDC officials, while primetime news dominantly featured local and federal (non-CDC) government officials and academic/medical experts. Conclusion Differences in framing and delivery could have led the public to interpret risk in a different way than intended by CDC. Overall, public health agencies should consider adapting risk communication strategies to account for a dynamic news environment and the media's agenda. Options include adapting communications to short-form styles and embracing the concept of storytelling., Highlights • Analyzes frames in CDC's primetime news risk communications during Ebola outbreak. • CDC consistently used medical frames and “CDC official” voices. • Primetime news predominantly used human interest, sociopolitical, and medical frames. • Primetime news dominantly used local/federal officials, academic/medical experts. • Framing differences could impact risk perception, attitudes, and subsequent behaviors.

The term “Native Advertising” in the marketing sense has been characterised as an “advertising evolution”, and it is usually considered to belong to the group of new marketing tools. However, due to the subtle way in which it presents “editorial” content in the media, PR practitioners are increasingly describing native advertising as one of the most desirable PR tools. Guided by this situation, in this paper, the authors compare theoretical knowledge on advertising with Native Advertising as a new and innovative form of advertising, and connect it with application in the field of public relations. The obtained results of the comparison are contrasted with the opinions of six experts who have been working in the media, marketing agencies and PR agencies. By means of in-depth interviews, they present diverse takes on Native Advertising as a new advertising form, that is, a new PR tool. By comparing their opinions, the authors prove that Native Advertising is primarily a marketing tool that, due to its secondary (promotional) function, serves as support to PR activities, and not vice versa.

Normatively, media functions as a means of conveying information, education, andentertainment as well as controlling and relating the society. On the basis of its function,media has a chance to build a direct communication with the society so that it has a strategicposition that may give benefits not only to the social aspect, but also to economic and politicalaspects.One way to develop communication with the public is through soap opera program.This TV program is chosen since it can highly attract public interest. In the point of view ofmedia industry, public or audience are considered as customers who have to be served by theproducer. The more the customers are satisfied, the more the producer gets benefit. One themeof soap operas that can highly attract public interest is religion-related theme.It reflects the normative society understanding of religion. As a result, the religiousmessage contained in the soap operas is very formal. Moreover, since it can highly attractpublic attention, it can be utilized by media industry to get as much profit as they can and itdoes not function to give education and wholesome entertainment.

On April 5, 2013, under the Plan for Children and Adolescents 2013-2016, the adoption of new Self-regulatory codes on audiovisual content on the part of the media was announced. On January 14, 2013 the first Co-regulation Agreement applicable to broadcast advertising was signed by radio service providers. Proper assessment of instituting these codes requires previous analysis of more than one issue, one being the reason for applying these instruments to the audiovisual market, and another being an analysis and evaluation regarding the characteristics of the digital audiovisual market. This study delves deep into said aspects for the purpose of evaluating the future application of self-regulation and of co-regulation to the media sector within Spain.