{"title":"The postcolonial route of WeChat: technological mimicry, excess, and orientalism","authors":"Fan Yang","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2022.2077972","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2077972","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT With more than 1 billion monthly active users recorded since 2018, WeChat (Weixin) is the primary digital platform for Mandarin speakers globally. This paper ‘traces back’ the development of WeChat through its connections to the Anglo social platforms and analyses the unfavourable sentiment that WeChat has received from the West. The analysis is informed by ‘postcolonial technoscience’ – a theory and methodology that unveils the mobilisation of science and technological ideas between the West and the non-West, which are otherwise treated apart or perceived through certain hierarchies, in the technosphere dominated by the West. The paper argues that WeChat was developed through mimetic practices to the Western corporate social media and later engages in its mimetic excess – imitating and exceeding the West; the further innovation and expansion of WeChat intensify techno-orientalism that triggers fear, anxiety, and platform otherisation especially in the United States and Australia. The analysis presents valuable applicability for understanding non-Western technologies in the fabric of contemporary postcolonial technosphere dominated by the West.","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"32 1","pages":"448 - 461"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45452317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"News framing through English-Chinese translation","authors":"Junfeng Zhang, Qijun Song","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2022.2118800","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2118800","url":null,"abstract":"courier services, and the billion-dollar industry of Philippine migration (p. 22). The ‘(im)mobile home’ lens, therefore, provides a vantage point to situate transnational family in the existing inequality of a neoliberal global economy from a broader sense. Cabalquinto’s work offers a good example of understanding the politics of (im)mobilities (Cresswell, 2006; Urry, 2007) in the context of transnational family life. Beyond the rich and emotionally laden stories presented in the book, this book foregrounds the conceptual entanglement of mobility and immobility through elucidating their contingent consequences (p. 186, Chapter 8). It is certainly true that ‘mediated/communicative mobility’ can be achieved more easily by the use of today’s mobile devices and platforms when compared to the ‘cheap calls’ era. Yet, these new forms of ‘social glue’ also contributes to immobilizing individuals’ situations in their transnational family lives from micro to macro levels, ranging from personal access to socio-technical resources to their socio-structural positionality in broader transnational social network. In this sense, this book concurs with the social shaping tradition of understanding technology (MacKenzie & Wajcman, 1999), which rejects a strong techno-determinist stance and highlights the co-constitution of technological engagement and the specific social-cultural contexts where the technology is consumed. Despite the specific focus on the Filipino context, this book certainly appeals to wider audiences concerned with the intersection of migration, transnational families, and digital media. Given the turbulence and uncertainties produced by Covid-19 crisis, the notion ‘(im)mobile home’ in this book is of particular relevance for those who are plagued by long-term familial separation, since anyone can become a transnational/translocal family member in this (im)mobile post-pandemic era.","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"32 1","pages":"464 - 468"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44217552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"(Im)mobile homes: family life at a distance in the age of mobile media","authors":"Hong Chen","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2022.2097716","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2097716","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"32 1","pages":"462 - 464"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42436223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"China’s mediated public diplomacy towards Japan: a text-as-data approach","authors":"Yuanxia Zhou","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2022.2034901","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2034901","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT As a rising power, China has realized that it is an urgent task to improve its national image among foreign publics. In the era of Xi Jinping, China has invested a substantial amount of resources in its foreign-language media to present a more favorable national image to an international audience. This study provides a novel approach to examine the content of China’s Japanese-language media and its dissemination. The study found that the Chinese state media promotes China’s soft power using two main strategies: (1) highlighting China’s culture and economic achievements, and (2) providing positive stories of China. A comparative content analysis of Chinese and Japanese media shows that Chinese media’s narratives are not well circulated in Japan’s public opinion field. This study has both substantive and methodological significance. Substantively, this investigation enhances our understanding of China’s strategic use of state-owned media for public diplomacy. Methodologically, this research contributes to the employment of quantitative text analysis methods on Japanese-language data.","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"32 1","pages":"327 - 345"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41706487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In Memoriam","authors":"","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2022.2069830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2069830","url":null,"abstract":"Published in Asian Journal of Communication (Vol. 32, No. 3, 2022)","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138507460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Media freedom in Asia: challenges from below","authors":"Cherian George, K. Youm","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2022.2068915","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2068915","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The scholarship on media freedom has tended to focus on threats from state and corporate power, avoiding the awkward reality that ‘people power’ can also be a source of constraints. These ground forces can work in tandem with political and economic power, or independently. They contradict the common assumption that the public is the natural ally of independent media, against the tyranny of states and markets. While Asian publics are more able than ever before to make themselves heard, it is naive to believe that they will always use their rising voices in support of democratic values. Apathetic silence is common, especially when people do not identify with the victims of human rights abuses, or when they do not feel directly harmed by official corruption. Today, there is ample evidence that the glare of publicity does not guarantee justice. In highly polarised societies, public opinion can even turn against journalists and other critics who malign leaders, parties and movements that are seen to represent the masses. Such dynamics require closer attention to what it means for the media to be free from power, and whom exactly the media should use their freedom for.","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"32 1","pages":"194 - 199"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45717464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cyber-troops, digital attacks, and media freedom in Indonesia","authors":"Masduki","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2022.2062609","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2062609","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article examines media freedom in Indonesia in the age of social media and cyber-troops. Scholars and media advocates have extensively debated social media's effects on freedom of expression and media, with some arguing that it offers room for citizens’ voices to be heard. Countering this argument, this article explores how social media-based attackers have undermined media freedom in Indonesia. It does so through in-depth analysis of digital attacks conducted before and after the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections, during which politician-sponsored actors spread disinformation and waged cyberwar to achieve political goals. This study employs a descriptive qualitative method to contribute to the broader debate on media freedom and digital authoritarianism in the context of Indonesia's digital communication landscape. This paper shows how digital attacks and attackers are increasingly violating the media's autonomy and stymieing its service of the public interest. This paper expands on previous observations of media freedom, which have traditionally held that state intervention and media ownership concentration are political authorities’ main means of disciplining critical media and journalists.","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"32 1","pages":"218 - 233"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46301546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Polyphony: Listening to the Listeners of Community Radio","authors":"T. Hazeena","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2022.2065688","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2065688","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"32 1","pages":"392 - 395"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46304376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Kim, Yong-Chan Kim, Ahra Cho, Euikyung Shin, Yeji Kwon
{"title":"How do social media affect people’s compassion and civic action? The case of the Sewol Ferry disaster in Korea","authors":"J. Kim, Yong-Chan Kim, Ahra Cho, Euikyung Shin, Yeji Kwon","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2022.2061541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2061541","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The purposes of the current study were to examine the effects of social media use on facilitating compassion and civic actions regarding the Sewol Ferry disaster in Korea and mitigating compassion fatigue compared with the uses of traditional media, and to investigate whether the link between compassion (and compassion fatigue) and civic action would be moderated by social media use. With online survey data (n = 717) collected in 2017, we found that (1) social media users experienced less compassion fatigue than other media users for news about the disaster: (2) there was no difference in compassion among the different media use groups; and (3) social media users were more likely to participate in disaster-related civic actions than were network TV users and newspaper users; (4) we did not find a moderation effect of social media use between compassion (and compassion fatigue) and civic actions.","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"32 1","pages":"469 - 486"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44511392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Facebook populism: mediatized narratives of exclusionary nationalism in the Philippines","authors":"J. L. Ragragio","doi":"10.1080/01292986.2021.1993943","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2021.1993943","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Nationalism is presumed to promote individual and collective freedoms. Under contemporary populism, however, its inclusive vision is reformatted toward an ‘us-versus-them’ form. Against the backdrop of media populism, this article shows how exclusionary nationalism hinges on the communicative might of Facebook which forms part of the bigger project of mediatization of politics in Rodrigo Duterte’s Philippines. Through a reading of Duterte pages and interviews with journalists, it examines the prominent themes and narratives that stitch the ‘pro-Duterte’ and ‘anti-critics’ divide. The former is characterized by pro-masses icon, mainstreaming of infrastructure programmes, and police-military forces, and the latter by anti-indigenous hate, homogenization of opposition, and red-tagging. The implications of these narratives on media populism are presented.","PeriodicalId":46924,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Communication","volume":"32 1","pages":"234 - 250"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45056093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}