Observatorio (OBS*)

To be or not to be the media industry: Delineation to a fuzzy concept

Even though media industry studies are on the rise, there is a major issue: the concept itself is “fuzzy”. The goal of this paper is to shed light on the concept. To do so, the paper analyses existing approaches, combining academic references as well as sources commonly used by practitioners (e.g. the OECD, the EU, DCMS). It allows to give three delineations to the media industry: (1) A novel theoretical delineation, (2) a sectoral delineation, and (3) a delineation through the NACE statistical classification system. The main research findings are: (i) the development of a so-called circling model that shows how “mediated content” is at the core of the definition of the media industry; (ii) through the convergence tendencies, many different media activities can play a supporting or facilitating role; (iii) a list of NACE codes to guide statistical analysies.

‘Add Twitter and Stir': The Use of Twitter by Public Authorities in Norway and UK during the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak

This article examines how Norwegian and UK health authorities used social media, and especially Twitter, during the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak. The microblogging service has been regarded as a promising medium for crisis communicators due to its immediacy and dialogical potential. Twitter allows communicators to respond directly to users' concerns and provide them with more precisely tailored information. However, scholars have raised questions over organizations' ability to respond to the the medium. We address these questions in two ways: 1. we examine the social media strategies adopted by the health authorities at the time of the outbreak. 2. we conduct an analysis of tweets produced by health authorities concerning the Ebola outbreak. Our analyses display some differences between UK and Norwegian authorities in terms of the strategies they adopted and the tweets they produced. However, neither country fully exploited Twitter's dialogical potential. Both countries authorities preferred a vertically integrated approach with minimal opportunities for the public to engage and little monitoring of the wider Twitter ‘conversations'. We conclude that the emergence of social media has not led to a paradigm shift in crisis communication for these countries' health authorities, rather to an evolution and adaption of practices and policies.

Branding Rio, Brazil and the environment: A global media coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

The Olympic Games are always a great opportunity to brand the city and country hosting such a big global event. The opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics was the best moment to show different values and images of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, but also to promote a global environmental idea with the message “let's save the planet”. Global media coverage of the ceremony should strengthen the messages. In this article an analysis of 30 articles published in 30 different newspapers (online) from different continents, reporting the opening ceremony, has been made to answer the question: how important were the environmental issues, comparing with presentations of different values of Rio and Brazil, in the global media coverage of the event. In concrete: did the global media coverage of the opening ceremony serve above all for branding Rio and Brazil or for promoting environmental issues as an important global problem? The results show that Rio and Brazil brands were promoted strongly (however with some critical views in different articles), while the environmental issues were mentioned in most articles, but highlighted only in a few of them.

Benfica vs Sporting: o derby visto a partir do Twitter

O presente artigo tem como objetivo encontrar e analisar um determinado conjunto de perfis, o tipo de vínculos sociais que estabelecem, assim como a importância e influência dos seus papéis no Twitter durante o derby de Lisboa entre o Sport Lisboa e Benfica e o Sporting Clube de Portugal, realizado no dia 11 de dezembro de 2016. Apresentamos como estratégia de pesquisa um estudo de caso baseado no fluxo de mensagens publicadas na rede social indexadas com as hashtags #benfica e #sporting no dia e hora do derby. Foram interpretados através da Análise de Redes Sociais (SNA) uma amostra de 39.540 tweets e retweets postados por 18.710 perfis, provenientes da análise exploratória da rede de relações mediadas entre utilizadores da Twittersphere. Com base na observação da importância das relações entre unidades de interação, derivamos para o modelo de Análise e Visualização de Rede (NAV) e identificámos, através de grafos representativos dos dados obtidos, pistas que julgamos pertinentes para o entendimento de uma audiência moldada pela lógica da produção e circulação de mensagens afetas a uma determinada cultura de fãs cada vez mais em rede.

This article aims to find and analyse a special group of profiles, the type of social bonds which they establish as the importance and influence of their preponderance on Twitter during the Lisbon derby between Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal, played on the eleventh of December, 2016. We present as a search strategy a case study based on the flow of messages published on the referred network marked with the #benfica and #sporting hashtags during the hour and day of the match. A total sample of 39,540 tweets and retweets posted by 18,710 profiles were interpreted through the Social Networks Analysis (SNA), from the exploratory analysis of the network of mediated relations among Twittersphere users. Based on the observation of the significance of relationships between the interaction unities, we derived to the Network Analysis Visualization (NAV) model and identified, through graphs representative of the data obtained, clues that we believe to be pertinent for the understanding of an audience shaped by the logic of the production and flux of messages affected by a certain culture of fans increasingly connected to the networking world.

**Critical Readings of The Salesman in Iran**

Asghar Farhadi's cinema has found a worldwide audience in recent years, and most of his movies have been globally celebrated. His most recent movie The Salesman, however, has had a dialectical existence in his own homeland. The nature of this controversy reveals up a number of dominant social issues in contemporary Iran. Accordingly, Iranian could be divided into supporters and critics of Farhadi's The Salesman. The former believe that it is about social problems and in association with Farhadi's cinema. The latter see it as his attempt for international celebration even to the point of dishonoring his homeland. This essay offers two contrasting readings of Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman by the Iranian film reviewers and critics. Data collection includes texts which were taken from the most leading cinematic publications, websites and TV shows.

As notícias sobre corrupção e as redes de sociabilidade: um estudo exploratório em Portugal, Brasil e Angola

The exploratory study we present is the result of the analysis of five news reports on corruption cases in Portugal and Brazil, with developments in Angola, a Portuguese speaking African country. The journalistic coverage and the mediatization of this issue were investigated in a project developed in Portugal and Brazil between 2012 and 2015. In this paper, we aim to analyze: how the networks of sociability are described in the texts and accompanying infographics; how the relationships between institutions and actors of the Lusophone space are presented in the news and in its infographics; the articulation between news coverage and infographics (Gray, Chambers and Bounegru, 2012); and infographics as devices for the mediatization of corruption and politics (Stromback, 2008; Hepp, 2012). Portugal, Brazil and Angola integrate the Lusophone space, a regional space within globalization, with historical roots in the Portuguese colonial empire, characterized by the sharing of a common language and by cultural proximity (Straubhaar, 1991; Davis, Straubhaar, Cunha, 2016).

O estudo exploratório que apresentamos neste texto é resultado da análise qualitativa de cinco notícias sobre casos de corrupção em Portugal e no Brasil, que foram interrelacionados pela investigação judiciária, com desdobramentos em Angola, um país africano de língua portuguesa. A cobertura jornalística e a mediatização desta problemática foram investigadas num projecto desenvolvido em Portugal e no Brasil entre 2012 e 2015. Neste artigo, pretendemos analisar: como as redes de sociabilidade são descritas nos textos e na infografia que o acompanha; como os relacionamentos entre instituições e atores do Espaço Lusófono são desenhados na notícia e em sua infografia; a articulação entre cobertura de notícias e infografia (Gray, Chambers and Bounegru, 2012). Assumimos que os infoGráficos que acompanham o texto jornalístico são dispositivos para a mediatização da corrupção e da política (Stromback, 2008; Hepp, 2012). Portugal, Brasil e Angola integram o Espaço Lusófono, um espaço regional dentro da globalização, com raízes históricas no império colonial português, caracterizado pela partilha de línguas e a proximidade cultural (Straubhaar, 1991; Davis, Straubhaar, Cunha, 2016).

Deciphering specialist journalism: food in Spanish newspapers

La producción de contenidos de calidad, de proximidad y especializados es una de las vías principales para la supervivencia del periodismo en la actualidad. En este sentido, la especialización aporta un valor añadido ya que enlaza directamente con los intereses de la sociedad. La presente investigación se centra en un tema de interés creciente como es la gastronomía y el periodismo gastronómico. Aunque la televisión e Internet han jugado un rol primordial en la mediatización del fenómeno gastronómico, la prensa diaria sigue desempeñando una función clave en su popularización. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar los contenidos de cuatro de los principales medios españoles – El Mundo, El País, El Periódico y La Vanguardia, en el período 2005-2015 – para analizar los géneros que engloban la presencia del periodismo gastronómico; determinar las secciones a través de las cuales se expresan las narrativas sobre gastronomía en la prensa diaria; y categorizar las principales temáticas tratadas. Para llevar a cabo el estudio se ha utilizado la herramienta de análisis de contenido. Los resultados revelan que los espacios que sirven para la mediatización de la gastronomía son cada vez más específicos y disponen de mayor personalidad propia. La gastronomía deja de ser una disciplina para minorías y los medios contribuyen a una popularización del arte del comer. Los contenidos gastronómicos son atractivos para una audiencia cada vez más sensibilizada por una gran diversidad de aspectos como una alimentación sana o el turismo sostenible.

The production of quality, proximity and specialized contents is one of the main pathways for the survival of journalism. In this sense, specialization means an added value since it directly links to social interests. The current paper focuses on a field of growing interest such as gastronomy and food journalism. While television and the Internet have played a key role in the mediatisation of the gastronomy phenomenon, daily press still plays a crucial role in its popularization. The goal of this research is to review the food contents of the main Spanish newspapers – El Mundo, El País, El Periódico and La Vanguardia, during the period 2005-2015 –, in order to analyse the genres of food-based contents; to determine the sections that gather the narratives on gastronomy; and to categorize the topics developed. A content analysis approach is used as research method. Results reveal that food contents are found within different and specific spaces, and thus they count recently on a greater independency. Gastronomy is not anymore a minor field and media heavily contributes to the popularisation of the art of eating. Food-based contents are attractive for an audience who increasingly worries about a wide range of aspects like healthy diets or sustainable tourism practices.

Recommender systems as “tastemakers”: Collaborative filtering as a market strategy for online cultural products

In the cultural market, the operation of which depends on the creation of intersubjective values to generate the production of consumers, the market strategies to adjust supply and demand have been historically characterised by mechanisms of social recommendation; a phenomenon that has intensified and changed on the Internet. The aim of this paper is to discuss the social conditions for the production of belief in symbolic goods and their applications in online markets. Pierre Bourdieu's theory on the field of cultural production provides the conceptual grounding for the proposal of a theoretical study that compares traditional instances of symbolic goods recommendation and today's online recommender systems. This analysis diagnoses the transformation of social processes of influence on online cultural consumption through collaborative filtering and identifies relevant topics for future research in the domain of cultural goods e-commerce.

The framing of rare diseases in the Spanish media

El colectivo de pacientes con enfermedades raras en España ha destinado sus esfuerzos en los últimos cinco años en lograr mayor visibilidad en los medios de comunicación. Con patologías que afectan a menos de 5 por cada 10.000 habitantes, se enfrentan al reto de ocupar un lugar en la sociedad como colectivo para legitimar sus propuestas y sensibilizar a la opinión pública. En este artículo analizamos 527 piezas que se han publicado en prensa, (El País, El Mundo, ABC, La Vanguardia, El Periódico), que se han emitido en radio (SER, COPE, Onda Cero, RNE), y televisión (TVE, Telecinco, Antena 3, La Sexta, Cuatro), en el periodo de 2012 a 2014. Los resultados muestran que ha aumentado la visibilidad y el conocimiento sobre estas patologías y se refleja una imagen proactiva de este colectivo gracias a sus iniciativas y reivindicaciones.

Patients with rare diseases have aimed their efforts in the last five years to achieve greater visibility in the media and get funds to suplir the research of their treatmens. For these patients, with diseases affecting less than 5 per 10,000 of the population, it is a challenge to take their place in society as a group to legitimize their proposals and make aware the public opinion. We have analyzed 527 pieces in press (El País, El Mundo, ABC, La Vanguardia, El Periódico), radio (Cadena Ser, Onda Cero, Cope and RNE) and television (Telecinco, Antena 3, La 1, La Sexta, Cuatro), from 2012-2014. The results show that it has increased the visibility and the knowledge of these diseases and the image of this group has improved because of their initiatives and demands.

Political stability, terrorism and media. An analysis of the effect of media perceptions in receptive tourism

La presente investigación analiza la relación entre atentados terroristas, inestabilidad política y el discurso de los medios de comunicación y de agencias internacionales de noticias sobre el turismo receptivo, tomando como referencia países que presentaron diversas situaciones de conmoción interna entre 2012 y 2015: Egipto, Túnez, Venezuela y España. Para ello, se combinaron metodologías cuantitativas a partir de datos oficiales de organismos internacionales con el análisis del discurso periodístico de 4 agencias de noticias y 4 medios internacionales a través del uso de la herramienta informática MAXQDA (v. 11.0.11). Los resultados demuestran que la información transmitida por los medios y agencias internacionales sobre los atentados terroristas tienen mayor efecto sobre el turismo que aquellas referidas a la inestabilidad política.

The present research seeks to analyze the existing relationship between terrorist attacks, political instability, discourse from international media outlets and news agencies in receptive tourism. To accomplish this, four countries that have different internal situations will be studied in the period 2012-2015: Egypt, Tunisia, Venezuela and Spain combining quantitative methodologies using official data from international and national organisms, with journalistic discourse analysis from 4 international news agencies and 4 international media outlets through the use of the MAXQDA (v. 11.0.11) software tool. The results have shown that the information spread by media about terrorist attacks have more effects on tourism than those about political and economic instability.

The use of children in solidarity communication campaigns. The case of Manos Unidas

La comunicación de las ONGs se desarrolla con el objetivo de visibilizar las carencias en determinadas poblaciones con la intención de encontrar alternativas o soluciones eficientes a ellas. Hablamos de un canal de transmisión para que los individuos puedan llegar a conocer cómo viven, o sobreviven, las personas que habitan los países en desarrollo. Este tipo de comunicación utiliza como reclamo en muchas ocasiones a los menores, ya sea para informar o para persuadir dependiendo de las campañas. En este artículo, analizamos la labor de la ONG Manos Unidas a través de los spots que ha desarrollado para dar a conocer sus actividades, con el objetivo de analizar la presencia de menores en ellos y la labor que pretende desarrollar con ese tipo de imágenes.

The communication of NGO's is aimed at highlighting the deficiencies in specific populations, with the goal of finding efficient alternatives or solutions. This is a transmission channel used to help individuals understand how the inhabitants of developing countries live, or survive. These communications ofter use children as a a trigger, either to inform or to persuade, depending on the campaigns. In this article, we analyze the work of the NGO Manos Unidas through the advertising spots they have produced to promote their activities, with the objective of analyzing the presence of children and the goals that the organization intends to reach by using this kind of images.

Mediating towards digital inclusion: the monitors of internet access places

Local dynamics play a key role in individual and collective empowerment for digital literacy and citizenship. This paper presents the results and reflections from a broader investigation into the public Internet access places in Portugal in the inland municipalities of the country's coast, undertaken by ObLID Network. Specifically, we intend to reflect on the actual mission of these places and reveal the actual profile, activities and training needs of their monitors and coordinators. In the first stage of the empirical study, several documents available on the Internet Spaces Network are analyzed. In the second stage, a questionnaire was applied to monitors and coordinators of the Internet access places, in seventeen Portuguese municipalities. The research results warn of the need to redefine and clarify the social and educational value of Internet spaces, indicating that the dominant activities of monitors in the Internet access places do not induce the foster of literacy and digital inclusion of the most vulnerable groups. In this context, actions are proposed that can contribute to improving the mission of Internet places, as well as the training quality of their monitors and coordinators. Internet Access Spaces, made available by municipalities, should be used to promote digital literacy programs, for individuals and groups.

A visão de jornalistas brasileiros sobre o potencial de influência dos editoriais políticos no debate público atual

O editorial jornalístico já exerceu grande influência no debate político. Entretanto, com as transformações tecnológicas e as mudanças culturais recentes, ainda é possível afirmar que esse gênero é influente politicamente na atualidade? Essa é a principal questão discutida no texto. Para tanto, foram entrevistados 120 jornalistas brasileiros que atuam na área política, a fim de captar suas percepções. A pesquisa foi realizada em março de 2017. As principais conclusões mostram que os jornalistas que atuam na área política são leitores de editoriais sobre o tema com regularidade e consideram que este gênero jornalístico ainda é relativamente influente no campo político e no debate público de modo geral, embora seja expressiva a parcela que considera que tal influência é cada vez menor. A diversidade de canais de opinião na atualidade, especialmente com as mídias digitais, e o declínio da mídia impressa são apontadas como as principais razões para a crescente perda da influência dos editoriais na arena política e na opinião pública.

The journalistic editorial has already exerted great influence in the political debate. However, with technological changes and recent cultural changes, is it still possible to affirm that this genre is politically influential today? This is the main issue discussed in the text. For that, 120 Brazilian journalists were interviewed who work in the political area, in order to capture their perceptions. The research was conducted in March 2017. The main conclusions show that journalists who work in the political field are regular readers of the subject and consider that this journalistic genre is still relatively influential in the political field and in public debate in general, Although the portion that considers such influence is decreasing is significant. The diversity of opinion channels today, especially with digital media, and the decline of print media are singled out as the main reasons for the growing loss of editorial influence in the political arena and in public opinion.

Televised football: an experience enriched through the use of second screens

En Colombia el fútbol televisado es uno de los eventos mayormente consumidos, pero los aficionados ya no solo ven el juego a través de la TV sino que también opinan y participan del encuentro a través de sus pantallas móviles. Este estudio busca conocer las motivaciones y gratificaciones que llevan a este nuevo tipo de comportamiento de consumo. Para esto se realizaron encuestas a 384 hinchas que consumen FPC-TV y que utilizan una segunda pantalla al tiempo, complementadas con entrevistas en profundidad. La actividad más realizada es comentar por redes sociales, la cual está relacionada principalmente con la necesidad de compartir con otros y de mejorar conocimientos sobre fútbol. El principal beneficio percibido al utilizar la segunda pantalla es estar actualizado, seguido por la gratificación de obtener humor o risa. Los hallazgos dan ideas sobre cómo las empresas que pautan en las transmisiones de fútbol podrían generar contenidos en segundas pantallas para enganchar mejor a los aficionados al fútbol

In Colombia the televised football is one of the mostly consumed events, but fans already not only see the game on TV, they also take part of the meeting through their mobile screens. This study seeks to understand the motivations and gratifications that lead to this new type of consumer behavior. For this, surveys were conducted to 384 fans who consume Colombian professional football on TV and at the same time use a second screen. Subsequently, interviews were conducted to refine the results of the survey. The most realized activity is comments for social networks, which is related principally to the need to share with others and to improve knowledge on football. The main benefit received by using the second screen is being updated, followed by the gratification of obtaining mood or laughter. The findings provide insights on how companies that guide in football broadcasts could generate content in second screens to better engage football fans.

Big Data e política: **aferindo o potencial preditivo da world wide web nas eleições europeias de 2014**

Inversamente à tendência dominante nos estudos eleitorais previsionais em ambiente digital, focados no microblogue Twitter como universo de análise, neste artigo desenvolve-se uma abordagem ecológica integrada ao posicionamento da opinião pública portuguesa durante a campanha eleitoral para as eleições europeias de 2014. O potencial preditivo de três categorias é testado – partido/coligação; cabeça-de-lista e lista – assim como o é a representatividade da world wide web, enquanto Big Data cientificamente válida para a investigação em Ciências Sociais. A primeira categoria revelou maior valor empírico relativo e a adequabilidade das redes sociais para a antecipação de acontecimentos sai parcialmente reforçada, reiterando-se, no entanto, a necessidade de mais estudos, em particular no plano nacional, onde a investigação nesta área é praticamente inexistente.

Inversely to the dominant trend in predictive electoral studies in a digital environment, focused on the microblogue Twitter as a universe of analysis, this article develops an integrated ecological approach to the positioning of Portuguese public opinion during the electoral campaign for the European elections of 2014. The predictive potential of three categories is tested - party / coalition; head-of-list and list - as well as is the representativeness of the world wide web, considered a Big Data scientifically valid for Social Sciences research. The first category revealed a higher relative empirical value and the suitability of social networks for the anticipation of events is partially reinforced. However, there is a need for further studies, especially at the national level, where research in this area is practically non-existent.

Presence of Extrinsic Motivational Factors for Entrepreneurship in the Electronic Governments of the Countries of the Andean Community

El estudio tiene como finalidad detectar la presencia de factores motivacionales extrínsecos para el emprendimiento, desde las capacidades comunicacionales en los portales de Gobiernos Electrónicos (GE) de los países que conforman la comunidad Andina (CAN) para el apoyo al ciudadano que busca emprender. Para ello se utilizó una metodología evolutiva/ incremental, que revela la secuencialidad procesual que subyace en las primeras fases de un emprendimiento, mediante un conjunto de variables implícitas en cada una de las dimensiones/fases seleccionadas apriorísticamente que dan cuenta de: a) presencia de factores motivacionales, b) información relativa a los mismos y c) comunicación Gobierno- ciudadano. Los resultados indican la alta presencia de factores motivacionales y de información sobre los mismos en los sitios Web gubernamentales de la CAN. Sin embargo, la secuencialidad del proceso se ve alterada en la dimensión comunicación del ciudadano con los entes gubernamentales, debido a la baja presencia de servicios en línea y herramientas activas que faciliten el proceso comunicacional en tiempo real. Se concluye que los GE de los países de la CAN entendidos como concepto integral coadyuvan en el empoderamiento de la ciudadanía y pueden llegar a tener incidencia relacional con la población mediante la mejora de su cultura emprendedora.

The purpose of the study is to detect the presence of extrinsic motivational factors for entrepreneurship, from the perspective of the role of communication in the portals of Electronic Governments (EG), of countries that form the Andean Community (CAN), for the support of the aspiring entrepreneur. An evolutionary/incremental methodology was used to reveal the underlying procedural sequence in the initial phases of an enterprise, by means of a group of implicit variables in each dimension/phase chosen a priori. These variables account for: a) the presence of motivational factors, b) relative information of these factors and c) government/citizen communication. The results indicate both a high presence and information of motivational factors on CAN government websites. Nevertheless, the sequence of the process is affected in the ‘communication' dimension between governmental entities and citizens due to the reduced presence of online services and active tools that facilitate communication in real time. The study concludes that the EG of CAN countries, understood as an integral concept, contribute to the empowerment of citizens and may have a relational impact on the population through the improvement of its entrepreneurial culture.