The Potential Role of News Literacy in Security Studies Curriculum (original) (raw)

Information, Press, and Media Influence on Security Studies in the Past Forty-Five Years

45 YEARS HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE AREA OF SECURITY – EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES AND SECURITY PERSPECTIVES

Disputed discourse in the field of private security in media shapes the public opinion about research on security (Choi, 2021). The need for services provided by private security organizations is increasing, which is a fact that is widely acknowledged due to private security organisations' near-omnipresence. The growing security concerns, which include organised crime, terrorism, cyber security, and post-Covid-19 pandemic security barriers, have had an impact on the development of reliance on and use of private security services. However, despite the rise in growth, continuous expansion, and ever-increasing demand for private security services, narratives in the media do not portray the professionalism of the security industry, which is often regarded as a business (Cusomano & Kinsey, 2022). The study applied a narrative analysis research design, comprising investigations of recent media publications, state journals, and commentaries on the functions played by private security i...

Media Literacy Beyond the National Security Frame

2020

The Trump administration’s delegitimizing refrain characterizing legacy media as “fake news” institutions has doubtless exacerbated growing public distrust in government and accountability institutions. It has also promoted arrogation of power by the Executive. Media literacy must be broadened to encompass the more capacious goal of helping citizens understand the structure, operations, and structural role in democracy, and the interconnected ways in which it is threatened. Expanding the public’s understanding of the proper role of the press and the ways in which modern information industries operate attention markets, promoting the audience’s awareness of its own cognitive blind spots, increasing reporters’ critical acumen when dealing with information, and reframing newsworthiness norms and awareness of disinformation techniques in order to lessen the mainstream press’s vulnerability to informational manipulation can all be positive expansions of the notion of media literacy beyon...

Defining Mass Media’s Threats to National Security

Canadian Social Science, 2020

Violence is escalating rapidly, impacting on local communities, sparking dissensions and eventually, further tensions. The mass media, despite being a potent instrument to fighting terrorism and insecurity, also pose their own kind of challenges to national security, given that the mass media themselves sometimes are a form of threat to the security of nations and their peoples. Hinged on the Boomerang Effect theory, this study uses the Narrative Analysis methodology to discuss the role mass media play in the business of human security versus national security. It identifies espionage, propaganda, cultural imperialism, regulatory concerns, editorial manipulations, as well as the Internet as some of the threats. Terrorist groups including Islamic State in Syril, Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA), Boko Haram, Hamas and al-Qaeda use mediatised gadgets, e-mails and encryptions to support their operations. It is therefore recommended that media professionals must ensure systems protect...

Course Syllabus. Strategic Communication to Counter Security Threats in the Disinformation Era

2020

This document is the O2 deliverable of the CRESCENT, Strategic Communication to Counter Security Threats in the Disinformation Era. It contains the syllabus of the course with the detail of Student Learning Outcomes, Topic Outline, Grading Policy - Certification and Course Policies. The course is developed in collaboration between: "Mihai Viteazul" National Intelligence Academy (MVNIA) – Romania, Ciberimaginario Research Group of the University Rey Juan Carlos– Spain, Kentro Meleton Asfaleias (KEMEA), Center For Security Studies – Greece and Ministry of Internal Affairs, Directorate for Information and Public Relations (MAI-DIRP) – Romania. The course is a result of the project CRESCEnt Project. Mind the gap in media CoveRagE and Strategic communication in CasE of security Threats – the development of critical thinking and responsible reaction, adn Strategic partnership project within ERASMUS+ Program AGREEMENT NO. - 2018-1-RO01-KA202-049449.Z

Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and the Press: A Codependent Cycle

The primary focus of this paper is to offer an in-depth analysis of the media as it relates to terrorism, specifically the promotion of and counter-tactics for terrorism. Marshall McLuhan, shortly after the advent of the 24/7 news cycle said, “The satellite will distribute terrorist paranoia around the world in living color to match each extracting disruptive event.” It was McLuhan’s work that also set forth the dictum of “the medium is the message.” This means that it is the medium that dictates the message. The press is a tool unlike any other; it shaped the way people are able to communicate and express ideas. What was once relegated to small regional distribution has evolved into a vast network of instant communication and information distribution. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the now technological giant Alphabet owned the company “Google” and set their page on the World Wide Web to display a message that told visitors that to find information about the events unfolding on that day they must turn on their television or radio. The reason for this, as stated by Google, was that the Internet was unable to keep up the speed of the latest information. Almost 20 years later, this idea seems absurd, as the most real-time updates in news and events are executed in the World Wide Web.

The National Security - Media Power Linkage. A Theoretical Framework

Challenges of the Knowledge Society, 2013

The mechanism of national security policy is an issue of increasing interests in post cold war era. But what is the impact of the media upon national security policy decision making? New world wide events show us that more than ever national policy is often at the mercy of the media. The Wiki leaks, the Murdoch inquiry, the impact of new social media on Arab democratic movements are just some examples regarding the effect of nearly simultaneous presentation of information around the world. The world is changing, and the processes by which national policy is developed may also be changing especially in the security domain. The essence of this study, as the title suggests is the idea of a "dual use" media in the national security issues. This study employs a relatively narrow definition of national security issues as only those which are concerned with national survival and preservation of our society. The media affects us as individuals and as a collective body so we will l...

Mass Media, Terrorism and National Security: Defining the Threats

Cross-cultural Communication, 2019

The menace of terrorism has been a source of worry to communication specialists. This is more so due to the centrality of communication, particularly the mass media, to the challenge posed by different security concerns, especially national security and terrorism. Violence is escalating rapidly, impacting on local communities, sparking dissensions and eventually, further tensions. Despite being a potent instrument to fighting terrorism and insecurity, this research explores the interface of mass media with security issues, as well as the challenges the media pose to national security, given that the mass media themselves sometimes are a form of threat to the security of nations and their peoples. This study discusses the role mass media play in the business of human security versus national security. It identifies espionage, propaganda, cultural imperialism, regulatory concerns, editorial manipulations, as well as the Internet as some of the threats that the mass media industry pose...

Media Literacy and Cyber Security: Theory and Practice in Education

Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference - Sinteza 2022

The ubiquitous digital communication platforms and the growing significance of virtual reality platforms have brought along the dawn of the post-postmodern cyber era. The new historical times have also resulted in the rising importance of digital applications aiming for spreading mass persuasion, disinformation, propaganda and fake news, primarily targeting users belonging to two distinguished age groups: teenagers, young adult and senior citizens. The pandemic and the war in Ukraine have also demonstrated the enormous power and influence of informational warfare and cyber security operations, which may threat even the normal operation of democratic societies and jeopardize the right of millions for reliable and authentic information resources and knowledge. The article presents a designated educational module and a special game book on media literacy with the objective to prepare both students and educators for the various challenges of the new cyber era.

A Fearful Engine of Power: Conceptualizing the Communication–Security Relationship

Annals of the International Communication Association, 2017

This essay isolates and explores a growing body of communication research concerned with ‘security.’ It opens by defining this concept, and discussing recent geopolitical and interdisciplinary trends contributing to its association with communication. It subsequently reviews distinctive engagement with ‘security’ displayed in five disciplinary subfields, including strategic communication, discourse analysis, public argument studies, rhetoric, and critical-cultural communication studies. It concludes by providing four sets of recommendations for future development of this research program.