Corona, the Lockdown, and the Media investigates media influence on policies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Bernhagen and Kybelka propose that news reporting on the pandemic pitches human impact against economic consequences of the virus and of restrictive policy measures designed to contain it. They argue that the use of these frames influences governments’ decisions to enact or lift lockdown measures. Using time series data from England, France, and Germany, the authors show that news reporting on COVID-19 was indeed characterized by these media frames. However, there is no evidence of media influence on government policy. Instead, the authors find that anti-pandemic policy decisions were responsive to public opinion in these countries.

This edited collection provides an in-depth, interdisciplinary critique of the acts of public communication disseminated during a major global crisis. Encompassing contributions from academics working in the fields of politics, environmentalism, citizens’ rights, state theory, cultural studies, journalism, and discourse/rhetoric, the book offers an original insight into the relationship between the various social forces that contributed to the ‘Covid narrative’. The subjects analysed here include: the performance of the ‘mainstream’ media, the quality of political ‘messaging’ and argumentation, the securitised state and racism in Brazil, the growth of ‘catastrophic management’ in UK universities, emergent journalistic practices in South Africa, homelessness and punitive dispossession, the pandemic and the history of eugenics, and the Chinese media’s attempt to disguise discriminatory practices. This is one of the first comparative studies of the various rationales offered for state/corporate intervention in public life. Delving beneath established political tropes and state rhetoric, it identifies the power relations exposed by an event that was described as unprecedented and unique, but was in fact comparable to other major global disruptions. As governments insisted on distinguishing their own propaganda from unregulated disinformation, their increasingly sceptical ‘publics’ pursued their own idiosyncratic solutions to the crisis, while the apparent sacrifice of a host of citizens – from the most dedicated to the most vulnerable – suggested that inequality and exploitation remained at the heart of the social order. Power, Media, and the Covid-19 Pandemic is essential reading for students, researchers and academics in media, communication and journalism studies, politics, environmental sciences, critical discourse analysis, cultural studies, and the sociology of health.

This two-volume set LNCS 12774 and 12775 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Social Computing and Social Media, SCSM 2021, held as part of the 23rd International Conference, HCI International 2021, which took place in July 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually. The total of 1276 papers and 241 posters included in the 39 HCII 2021 proceedings volumes was carefully reviewed and selected from 5222 submissions. The papers of SCSM 2021, Part I, are organized in topical sections named: Computer Mediated Communication; Social Network Analysis; Experience Design in Social Computing.

Social Media has taken the world by storm. Unlike other prevalent media of Mass Communication, it thrives on the user generated content. It is the only podium on which people have unbridled liberty to give vent to their thoughts. People conceive, write and share their thoughts by making use of the Social Media apps of their own choice. Though it has changed the communication patterns of all sections of society through out the globe yet studies reveal that the youth is most affected by the immense potential of Social Media. Young boys and girls are often seen busy in having interaction with their friends, peers, classmates and relatives. They spend most of their quality time on Social Media. It offers ample opportunity for females for learning culinary items, knitting, tailoring, cooking, exercising and learning virtual anything under the sun on You Tube. Succinctly speaking, this media has changed the very definition and modes of communication. This book on Social Media carries expert opinion about various aspects of Social Media. Intellectuals have richly contributed by way of their write ups for this book.

The national lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in India resulted in the loss of work and displacement of thousands of urban migrant workers. This book records the arduous journey home for many of these workers and analyses the grave effects the pandemic has had on jobs, livelihoods, and the health of urban migrant workers. A rich compilation of deep analytical articles by journalists, academics, lawyers, and social activists, this book explores various facets of the crisis as it unfolded. It examines the welfare policies of state and central governments and discusses the role of the judiciary and the public policy response to the unemployment, health risks, and mass migration of workers. It also offers readers a better understanding of the complexities of the migrant crisis, how it unfolded, and how it was addressed by the media. This timely and prescient book will be of great interest to the general reader as well as researchers and students of media studies, journalism, sociology, law, public policy, labour and economics, welfare economics, gender studies, and development studies.

This volume presents key international research on journalism and safety with a focus on conceptual, global, and transnational approaches, as well as conflict, challenges, and consequences for democracy. It offers an overview of the latest research and ongoing developments in the field of journalism and safety and speaks to the ways in which digital developments have worsened the risks surrounding journalists, with online harassments, security breaches, surveillance and so forth challenging their safety like never before. The first of two volumes, this book comprises a handpicked collection of cutting-edge research articles authored by distinguished international scholars. The chapters in the book were originally published in Digital Journalism, Journalism Studies, and Journalism Practice during the years 2019-2023, and have thus been through rigorous double-blind peer-review. The chapters draw on data from diverse geographical locations such as U.S, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Palestine, Latin America, Pakistan, Philippines, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, and Slovakia. The first section of the book focuses on research that either has made significant conceptual advancements on journalism and safety, and/or has contributed with global or transnational approaches, and the second section focuses on challenges in conflict coverage and the impact it has on democracies. This collection offers important points of entry for understanding this area of research and insights into worthwhile concepts and approaches that can be used to further study and advance knowledge. It will be a key resource for scholars, practitioners and researchers of journalism, media and cultural studies, communication studies, and sociology, while also being of interest to those seeking an introduction to the field.

Corona, the Lockdown, and the Media investigates media influence on policies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Bernhagen and Kybelka propose that news reporting on the pandemic pitches human impact against economic consequences of the virus and of restrictive policy measures designed to contain it. They argue that the use of these frames influences governments’ decisions to enact or lift lockdown measures. Using time series data from England, France, and Germany, the authors show that news reporting on COVID-19 was indeed characterized by these media frames. However, there is no evidence of media influence on government policy. Instead, the authors find that anti-pandemic policy decisions were responsive to public opinion in these countries.

Not much is known about what is arguably the world's, and certainly India's, largest Islamic organization -- the Tablighi Jamaat. From poverty-stricken peasants of Bihar to dairy farmers of Mewat, its members attend three-day retreats in local mosques, and at times, the Markaz in Delhi. They come of their own free will, at their own expense. The Tabligh tells its members to look within, that life is about internal cleansing with regular prayer that paves the path to spiritual uplift. Unlike other Islamic organizations that balance the here and the hereafter, the Tabligh is concerned only about 'matters beyond the sky and under the earth'. Its steadfast refusal to take a political stand has stood it in good stead. It is the 'ideal Muslim organization' for some -- focused solely on introspection in isolation. Now, for the first time, author Ziya Us Salam provides an inside view of the organization that unwittingly became a 'hotspot' during the novel coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

The nationwide lockdown in 2020 to curb the spread of Covid-19 left millions of migrant labourers without jobs, food and shelter. Desperate and helpless, most took to the road, embarking on the long, often fatal, journey home. Ritesh, Ashish, Ram Babu, Sonu, Krishna, Sandeep and Mukesh-migrants from Bihar-undertook a similar journey on their bicycles that lasted for seven days and seven nights. Their harrowing trip from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, to their hometown of Saharsa as they braved police lathis and insults, and battled hunger, exhaustion and fear, was documented by National Award-winning filmmaker Vinod Kapri. 1232 km is a story of the extraordinary courage of seven men in the face of tremendous odds.