Suchergebnisse

Letters to the editor are valuable tools improving feedback procedures for traditional print media, placing topics that occupy the public at large on the public agenda. In this article, the results of research on selection procedures and editing practices in Flemish newsrooms are presented. In addition to content analysis of published letters in several Flemish newspapers and in-depth interviews of the editors-in-chief, the study includes some qualitative, innovative and creative research techniques. In an attempt to analyse objectively the selection procedures, the researcher wrote more than 100 letters to the newspapers' editorial offices. The outcome of this part of the study offers a thought-provoking insight into the selection criteria as well as the editing of the letters section.

This article evaluates trends in young people's reading habits. In order to get a better understanding of reading habits, the article compares the results of comparative and longitudinal research with results of time budget analysis studies. In accordance with the principle of displacement, time consumption analysis confirms a relationship between television viewing time and reading time, although many variables are influential in this process. Time budget analysis also indicates that the decline in reading time has not been equal across different print media. The article presents the results of a research project that combined qualitative and quantitative research techniques to analyse the media usage of Flemish 16-to 18-year-olds. The results demonstrate that reading is influenced by many different variables, among which socializing variables are the strongest. The hypothesis that television viewing time has a negative effect on reading time has to be differentiated since the results show a different relationship between viewing time and the reading of books, magazines and newspapers respectively.

Der Beitrag untersucht Trends im Leseverhalten Jugendlicher. Um Leseverhalten besser verstehen zu können, werden die Ergebnisse vergleichender Langzeitstudien mit denen von Zeitbudgetanalysen verglichen. In Übereinstimmung mit dem Verdrängungsprinzip bestätigen Analysen zum Zeitaufwand, dass eine Beziehung zwischen der Zeit, die mit Fernsehen und der, die mit Lesen verbracht wird, besteht, obwohl es eine Vielzahl von Variablen gibt, die diesen Prozess beeinflussen. Die Zeitbudgetanalyse zeigt auch, dass die Abnahme der Lesezeit nicht für alle Printmedien gleichermaßen gilt. Der Beitrag präsentiert die Ergebnisse eines Forschungsprojekts, das qualitative und quantitative Methoden mit dem Ziel kombinierte, die Mediennutzung von flämischen Jugendlichen im Alter von 16 bis 18 Jahren zu analysieren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Lesen von vielen unterschiedlichen Variablen beeinflusst wird, unter denen, die, die mit der Sozialisation zusammenhängen, die stärksten sind. Die Hypothese, dass die Zeit, die mit Fernsehen verbracht wird, einen negativen Effekt auf die Lesezeit hat, muss differenziert werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen unterschiedliche Beziehungen zwischen der Zeit, die mit Fernsehen verbracht wird und dem Lesen von Büchern auf der einen und dem Lesen von Zeitschriften und Zeitungen auf der anderen Seite. (UNübers.)

By means of a quantitative content analysis of two Belgian net-native health news websites, this article investigates the reliability and usability of the hyperlinks in various forms of online news. Hyperlinks in our sample overwhelmingly redirect readers to government websites and
websites that contain scientific information such as websites of universities, scientific research groups and peer-reviewed academic journals. Hyperlinks to information generally perceived as less reliable and possibly biased such as user-generated content or pharmaceutical companies are used
rarely. This suggests that online health journalists strongly share the preferences of their offline colleagues. However, in terms of the potential of hypertext to tailor health news to the needs of the audience, for instance by including multimedia content or even simply by hyperlinking to
webpages in the same language as the original, there are clear indications that Belgian online net-native health news falls short. The practical hindrances and hurdles identified in this content analysis constitute an invitation for online health journalists to consider the possibilities of
hypertext in the light of how users might appreciate this practice.

Various authors suggest that the public's knowledge of the Israeli—Palestinian conflict is inadequate. As it is generally accepted that public opinion on international news items is mainly formed by media content, the international media are often held responsible for sustaining the prevailing misconceptions about the Israeli—Palestinian conflict by covering the conflict parties in a biased and imbalanced way. This study focuses on the representation of Israelis and Palestinians in the news coverage of the first and second intifada by the Flemish press. By way of a content analysis, evolutions and discrepancies in the coverage of both intifadas are described in a longitudinal analytical perspective. The authors conclude that the portrayal of the Palestinian actors shifts from a rather positive view during the first intifada period to a more critical portrayal during the period of the second intifada. At the same time, there is an opposite move in the representation of the Israeli actors in the conflict. Although our results show differences in the distinct portrayals, they do not provide sufficient evidence to conclude unequivocally that the coverage of the first and second intifada is unbalanced. Indeed, the authors find that while some variables definitely favour the Israeli point of view (e.g. the use of sources), others clearly sustain the Palestinian side (e.g. the individualization of victims). In other words, the Flemish dailies cover the first and second intifada in quite a balanced way, contrary to what international studies on the coverage of the Israeli—Palestinian conflict have concluded regarding the media in different national settings.

Frame analysis, based on the hybrid frame concept, has proved difficult to translate into a comparative, replicable and longitudinal research design. This article seeks to place the study of media frames in a wider theoretical framework with special interest for the various methods of empirical research. The article focuses on a further operationalization of the law and order frame and the injustice and defiance frame as introduced by Wolfsfeld. For this purpose, different framing and reasoning devices are ascertained and applied to the study of the coverage of the First and Second Intifada in the Flemish press. While its emphasis lies on the empirical testing of a framing research tool, this article also aims to broaden empirical data on the coverage of the Intifada beyond the American, British and Israeli media context.

For some time European newspaper markets have been confronted with decreasing circulation and readership figures. Research focused on patterns of consumption reveals that young people in particular spend less time reading newspapers. Since 2003, the government in Flanders has supported the Newspapers in Education programme in search of more qualitative and long-term alternatives to press subsidy, aimed at the preservation of the future readership market. As a result, the government and Flemish newspaper publishers distribute almost 1 million newspaper copies to schools every year. Each school year, approximately 100,000 students participate in the Newspapers in Education project. Over the years the financial support has grown and recently the Flemish government decided to substantially increase its contribution to γ1.2 million, which will make it possible to expand the target group considerably, beyond the original focus on 16- to 18-year-olds. The research presented in this article analyses the shifts in pre and post test design survey results of the participants who took part in the Newspaper in Education project between February and May 2005.

"In this chapter, major problem areas of the daily news and information 'machinery' concerning EU politics as analysed by the AIM project are being described and analysed. The chapter shows that the theoretical model of European communication concerning political decision-making is not in line with research results concerning the existing practice of information and news management. Instead of a two-step process, i.e., the traditional flow of information, there exists a three-step one. Based an insights gained through the AIM project, a fundamental conclusion is that the weaker side of EU reporting lies in the analytical capacity involved at the second level of mediation, enacted by Brussels correspondents. Indeed, Brussels correspondents participate in various communication 'circles', which create specific 'interpretative communities', whose judgments become crucial in conveying EU information from Brussels to the national level." (author's abstract)