Students' dissertations: Analysis of Social Media interaction and local newspapers' content

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07 Jan 2020

JMI – Amman

Analytical and statistical research results, which have been discussed as part of Master's degree dissertations in the Journalism and New Media program at the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), have recently shown that only 58% of public opinion leaders who use Facebook discuss matters with their followers.

The Master's degree dissertation submitted by student Ithar Alathem included a research sample of 570 students at the University of Jordan. Her dissertation shows that those persons who can be characterized as being “public opinion leaders” or “influencers” in their field, participate at a rate of less than two-thirds in discussions with their followers, to exchange opinions on public affairs.   

In a different context, the dissertation of Sultan Aldroobi unveiled that coverage of children’s’ rights issues in daily Jordanian newspapers in 2018 did not exceed 3% of total content published.

While discussing his dissertation with media experts from both within JMI and externally, Aldroobi pointed out that in the same year, violations of the law against children took place in daily papers at a rate of 76%, in regards to publishing the photos or names of these children. Meanwhile, “ethical” violations monitored by the researcher had exceeded the “legal” violations by 2%.

In another dissertation discussed at the end of last year, student Nizar Alsarayra presented the role of digital media applications in the production of media content from the perspective of Jordanian journalists. He affirmed that said applications are effecting the “flexibility” and the “interactivity” of media products with the audience. The thesis showed that one of the most significant reasons for the regression of media products was the non-utilization of digital applications in producing content.    

Student Walaa’ Alrawashdeh analyzed survey results relating to 200 Jordanian households in Amman, in regards to the role of parents in guiding their children on the usage of Youtube, from the perspective of “Media literacy”, one of The JMI inclusive projects, deals with Media content and public practices using pedagogy, education, and awareness programs. JMI was a pioneer in adopting and developing this project at the national level, along with educators, journalists, and legal experts, and implements it with various local institutions in the public sector and civil society.

Her dissertation concluded that the majority of parents in the sample are skilled on how to observe what their children watch, however, this skill decreases with a diminished educational level among the parents. The knowledge of individuals in the sample -on Youtube safety and privacy policies- was also low, the sample indicates.

Also, the dissertation shows that more than half of parents don't follow-up nor guide their children while watching Youtube. Further, there was no variation in the results regarding the gender factors in the households surveyed in the sample.  

JMI delivers a Master’s degree program in Journalism and New Media. Ten classes inclusive of 250 students have graduated from the program so far, Who are working on the development of media content locally and globally.

 

 

 

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