World of Media-2020. Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies. Issue №2.

The issue was published in 2020 by the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

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Lisser, I. &  de Smaele, H. (2020) Faceless: The visual representation of overweight people in Flemish and Dutch online newspapers // World of Media. Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 2: 5-19.

We conducted a quantitative visual content analysis to examine how overweight and obese people are portrayed in online newspaper photos in the Netherlands and Flanders compared to non-overweight individuals. Overall, we found that 68% of the obese/overweight people were depicted in a stigmatizing way. Their heads were more likely to be cut out of the image, they were more often dressed sloppily and more frequently portrayed with only their lower body in comparison with non-overweight people. Furthermore, overweight people were more often associated with passive behavior and portrayed as patients in a medical environment. Tabloids were found less likely to publish stigmatizing images than broadsheets as they used more often photos supplied by the subjects themselves.

Key words: Content analysis, Dutch-language newspapers, obesity, overweight, stigmatization, visual representation.

Received: 14.04.20

Accepted: 21.05.20

ARTICLE

Gladkova, A. & Cherevko, T. (2020) Online media in the languages of Russian ethnic groups: Current state and key trends // World of Media. Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 2: 21-35.

The paper examines 75 online media outlets, registered in the biggest cities of eight republics of the Russian Federation: Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chuvashia, Chechnya, Mordovia, Dagestan, Udmurtia, and Crimea. The choice of the republics among 22 republics of Russia was determined by the size of nonRussian ethnic groups residing in those areas (i.e. the number of people, who consider their native language a language other than Russian, according to the state census of 20103 ). We supposed that ethno-cultural heterogeneity of these eight republics should be somehow connected with the number of ethnic media registered and issued there: in other words, the bigger the number of ethnic groups in the republics, the bigger the number of ethnic media there. When analyzing online media, we paid attention to the following criteria: the official status of a web-site as media outlet; the choice of languages – Russian language or/and the language of an ethnic group; the owners of media outlets, etc. The research revealed a number of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of online ethnic media registered in the republics under analysis, the challenges they face today, some trends of their development, the role of the state in creating and supporting such media, and much more.

Key words: Online media, ethnic media, ethnic groups, web-sites, Russian Federation.

Received: 04.04.20

Accepted: 30.05.20

Okinda, T. I., Nyambuga, C.O. & Ojwang, B.O. (2020) Nexus between women voters’ radio exposure and grassroots electoral participation under the new devolved political dispensation in Kenya // World of Media. Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 2: 36-52.

This article examines the nexus between women voters’ radio exposure and participation in the 2013 Kenyan general election in Kakamega County located in the western part of the country. This research grounded in political mobilization theory and uses and gratifications theory utilized a descriptive quantitative correlational research design. Data was collected from 372 women voters using a survey-interviewer administered questionnaire. Data gathered was analyzed through descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression. Results reveal medium to high radio exposure and limited electoral participation among women voters. Consistent with past findings, the correlation between women voters’ radio exposure and electoral participation is positive and statistically significant. This has implications to radio practitioners and political stakeholders’ approaches towards promoting gender equality in electoral participation in Kenya. We propose an increase in gender-sensitive political education radio programmes targeting women based on their sociodemographics. This article contributes to knowledge on the relationship between radio exposure and electoral participation in developing democracies in which the legacy medium of radio remains dominant. A nation-wide study on the influence of radio exposure on women voters’ electoral participation in Kenya is suggested.

Key words: Electoral participation, Kakamega County, Kenya, media use, radio exposure, women voters.

Received: 12.04.20

Accepted: 18.05.20