Government Public Relations and Broadcast Regulation: Evaluating Electronic Media Regulations in South Asia

In South Asia, the public relations departments of the Indian and Pakistani governments have been playing a critical role in the making of broadcast regulation policies and enactment of media laws, which helped successive governments and bureaucracies intervene in the business and functioning of the companies providing electronic media services to millions of people in the region. The regulatory processes and enactment of laws governing electronic media help public relations departments of various regional governments maintain their control over the content and routine operations of media organizations. This article examines why and how bureaucratic powers have hampered the process of broadcast regulation in India and Pakistan. The comparison is heuristically significant despite social and political differences between Pakistan and India, as both countries have inherited similar laws governing broadcasting from the British colonial rule and most of the pre-partition regulations are still in place. The article concludes that a great deal of political effort is required to establish independent regulatory authorities in both countries due to the overarching control of bureaucracies in both societies

Regulation and media monopoly: A case study of broadcast regulation in Pakistan

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Morality, Technology, and Enjoyment: Meta Analyzing the Enjoyment of Mediated Violence

This meta-analysis addressed the effects of mediated violence on the enjoyment audiences experienced after exposure to a diverse array of entertainment programs. Published journal articles were collected and effect sizes were analyzed to examine if there were differences in the enjoyment of violent content. Through the lens of a fixed effects model, the results indicated that the morality of audiences and nature of visual media did not impact enjoyment of violence and the selected experiments shared a statistically significant common effect size (d = 0.33). Although synthesized data signified a fairly homogeneous effect of mediated violence on enjoyment, the experiments employing morality and video games as moderators were heterogeneous. The current study offered guidelines for further inquiry to explicate the nature of heterogeneity and generalizability of the study results

Secondary, security threat, and sage: Eulogy effect and the framing of female politicians as political martyrs in the Elite press of South Asia

How do newspapers frame female politicians, and does this framing change after a female politician\u27s death during an election campaign? Benazir Bhutto, who served two terms as prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated in 2007 by a terrorist group. South Asian newspapers framed her as corrupt, inefficient, and a threat to national security before her death; however, the elite press characterized her as a martyr and sage posthumously. Using qualitative content analysis, this study examines the editorial coverage of two newspapers ( The Hindu and The Times of India) in India and two newspapers ( The News and The Dawn) in Pakistan to examine how these elite newspapers framed Benazir Bhutto before and after her tragic death. We found that the framing of the slain leader changed from negative to positive after her assassination. The study concludes that her assassination influenced the media coverage and produced a eulogy effect that helped her party stay in power after her assassination

Identification and political advertising: Exploring the role of ethnic identification in political advertising campaigns

Issues of race and ethnic diversity have emerged as important consideration in campaigning and developing political advertising. This study examines the moderating effect of the strength of ethnic identity for Hispanic and non-Hispanic White voters. The results of the between-subject factorial design indicate that non-Hispanic White individuals with strong ethnic identities hold more favorable attitudes toward a political candidate that advocates against same-sex marriage than non-Hispanic Whites with weak ethnic identities. Non-Hispanic White individuals with strong ethnic identities also expressed greater intentions to vote for and perceptions of similarity to the anti-same-sex marriage candidate. Conversely, Hispanic individuals with strong ethnic identities hold more favorable attitudes toward a political candidate that supports same-sex marriage than Hispanic individuals with weak ethnic identities. Findings show that the degree to which racial/ethnic members affirm their racial/ethnic affiliations influence their voting proclivities when facing a religiously controversial and morally framed social issue such as same-sex marriage

Learning Politics through Entertainment: Exploring the Effects of Biographical Films on Political Learning and Attitude Toward Female Politicians

This study examined the effects of semi-fictional biographical political films on political learning and attitude change in audiences of fictionalized accounts of female politicians. Data from 310 participants indicated that content-related political learning significantly increased and attitude toward female politicians positively changed after exposure. A conceptual model of the political entertainment effects indicated that initial political learning transported the audience into the biographical narrative, which led to greater enjoyment, as well as learning gain and a positive attitude toward female politicians. Our findings provide important clarification to existing research and offer both theoretical, methodological, and practical implications

Understanding religious influence through elevation on green advertising effectiveness among Muslims: an examination from the UAE and the USA

Given the growth of green advertising due to increasing environmental concerns, as well as the scarce religious advertising research on Muslims, this research investigates religious and cultural effects on Muslims’ purchase intentions when reacting to green advertising. The results from two experimental studies show that Islamic religious appeals exert a moderated mediation effect on Muslims’ intentions to purchase green products. Specifically, a self-transcendent emotion–elevation–conditionally mediated the effects of religious appeals via the moderation of individual Muslims’ religiosity. However, cultural appeals did not affect Muslims in the United States of America (USA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) differently

Why am I seeing this? Deconstructing algorithm literacy through the lens of users

Purpose: As algorithms permeate nearly every aspect of digital life, artificial intelligence (AI) systems exert a growing influence on human behavior in the digital milieu. Despite its popularity, little is known about the roles and effects of algorithmic literacy (AL) on user acceptance. The purpose of this study is to contextualize AL in the AI environment by empirically examining the role of AL in developing users\u27 information processing in algorithms. The authors analyze how users engage with over-the-top (OTT) platforms, what awareness the user has of the algorithmic platform and how awareness of AL may impact their interaction with these systems. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed multiple-group equivalence methods to compare two group invariance and the hypotheses concerning differences in the effects of AL. The method examined how AL helps users to envisage, understand and work with algorithms, depending on their understanding of the control of the information flow embedded within them. Findings: Our findings clarify what functions AL plays in the adoption of OTT platforms and how users experience algorithms, particularly in contexts where AI is used in OTT algorithms to provide personalized recommendations. The results point to the heuristic functions of AL in connection with its ties in trust and ensuing attitude and behavior. Heuristic processes using AL strongly affect the credibility of recommendations and the way users understand the accuracy and personalization of results. The authors argue that critical assessment of AL must be understood not just about how it is used to evaluate the trust of service, but also regarding how it is performatively related in the modeling of algorithmic personalization. Research limitations/implications: The relation of AL and trust in an algorithm lends strategic direction in developing user-centered algorithms in OTT contexts. As the AI industry has faced decreasing credibility, the role of user trust will surely give insights on credibility and trust in algorithms. To better understand how to cultivate a sense of literacy regarding algorithm consumption, the AI industry could provide examples of what positive engagement with algorithm platforms looks like. Originality/value: User cognitive processes of AL provide conceptual frameworks for algorithm services and a practical guideline for the design of OTT services. Framing the cognitive process of AL in reference to trust has made relevant contributions to the ongoing debate surrounding algorithms and literacy. While the topic of AL is widely recognized, empirical evidence on the effects of AL is relatively rare, particularly from the user\u27s behavioral perspective. No formal theoretical model of algorithmic decision-making based on the dual processing model has been researched

Effective Cross-cultural Advertising: Moderating Roles of Ethnic Identity and Religiosity in Pitching Controversial Vs. Non-controversial Products to Diasporic Communities

This study evaluates the impact of casting ethnically identical actors in advertisements to elicit a favourable attitude towards the advertisement and the product. Our study explores the effectiveness of cross-cultural advertising and investigates the effectiveness of advertisements. In this experimental study, a national sample (N = 252) was recruited with an equal number of Indian and Middle Eastern subjects, which were randomly chosen across the United States. The results reflect that attitude formation patterns for Indians and Middle Easterners are dissimilar when they are exposed to advertisements containing actors with varied ethnicities

Fictional politainment: Exposure to international television drama and attitude toward female politicians

We examine the relationship between media use motivations and attitudes toward female politicians by proposing a conceptual model explaining the role of key mediating variables such as identification, narrative transportation, enjoyment, and political self-efficacy in influencing the attitude of the viewers of international TV drama towards female role models (politicians). We investigated the direct and indirect effects between media use motivations and attitudes toward female politicians by recruiting 359 students from two large public universities in the Southeastern United States. The hypothesized model supported the evidence presented in extant scholarship, suggesting that a meaningful entertainment experience could foster an appreciation of the fictional televisual entertainment and positively change attitudes toward female lead characters playing the role of a viable and competent politician. This study resonates with politicians, academics, and activists’ concerns that a positive media portrayal could promote the acceptability of female leaders in powerful positions. Our study clarifies the direct and indirect effects between media use motivations and attitudes toward female politicians and the role of crucial mediating variables such as identification, narrative transportation, enjoyment, and political self-efficacy in influencing the attitude of the viewers of international TV drama towards female politicians