The works presented here constitute an examination of the impact of new media technologies (focusing on social media) on the practice of journalism, with an emphasis on integrating empirical and sociological research. The use of a combination of content analysis, interviews and personal reflections and columns by journalists, case studies and observations, serves to verify and triangulate the evidence. The use of a comprehensive model to examine and analyse media products is a substantial contribution to the field of journalism studies. Previous studies that focused on new media technologies tended to either simply describe these technologies and their potential for change, or to analyse them purely in relationship to older technologies and processes, reducing both forms of practice to a tautological definition: each is that which the other is not. Taking a clear snapshot of the current landscape, and examining it without reference to specific technologies or past practices, the model allows for clear examination of relationships and practices, without being limited by the previous analyses. A number of key themes emerge from research: the tension between the potential of new technologies to expand and improve journalistic practice and output is countered by the fear that the technology will render journalists and their practices redundant. The impact of economic forces is also apparent in the research. The economic structures that underpin journalism were undergoing substantial changes as new media was introduced, and have undergone additional changes as a result of the social and usage changes that technology has wrought. Technology cannot be abstracted from society and economics, and this interrelationship is apparent in the development of the model of the new media ecology which we developed. The work expands on ideas of the first wave of sociological research into the practice of journalism, taking the methods and ideas and applying them to current environments. The iterative development of a model for the new media environments, and its application to empirical and observed research is a key contribution to the field.

This study examines the domestic media coverage of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. It focuses on the media coverage between 2011 and 2014. The thesis employs a mixed methods approach - content analysis, interview and questionnaire to critically evaluate the nature of coverage of the insurgency. The use of mixed methods allows the study to not only analyse media content but also situate it within its context of production thus broadening our understanding of the relationship between media and terrorism. The study applies seven predetermined (deductive) frames in its analysis. It establishes that political, religious and 'ethnic' frames were dominantly used in the coverage of the insurgency. The frames indicate a lack of nuance or texture in the coverage with various critical aspects of the insurgency ignored. Beyond the predetermined frames, ten new sub-thematic (inductive) frames also emerged from the analysis. By knitting the multi-layered arguments in the coverage of the insurgency, this study finds evidence of the Government's hegemonic narratives and strategic influence in the coverage of the insurgency. The study also notes that institutional weaknesses within news organisations and a hostile legislative environment forced journalists to source stories from the foreign media. Most of these stories are often decontextualized and therefore only give a partial view of a situation and particularly conflict situations in Africa. As a consequence, the domestic media adopted the language of 'international terrorism' and now institutionalised the 'war against terror' narrative. This 'homogenous' or 'universal' 'war against terror' implies that the media covered the Boko Haram insurgency from the same perspective that terrorist groups in the Middle East and other parts of the world are covered without necessarily recognising the different dynamics that led to their emergence. The thesis thus argues that overtly or covertly, external forces influenced the direction of the coverage thereby eroding the domestic media's editorial independence. This study therefore offers both quantitative and qualitative contributions to an issue that has largely been approached from normative and prescriptive perspectives.

Die Posterausstellung des Lehr- und Praxisprojekts von Studierenden des Bachelorstudienganges Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft anlässlich der 61. Tagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik gibt in Kooperation mit dem Universitätsarchiv Leipzig Einblicke in die wechselvolle Geschichte des Instituts für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft der Universität Leipzig im 100. Jahr seiner Gründung.