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The internet has impacted on how media organisations do journalism. Many media organisations both print and broadcast now have an online presence to reach out to fragmented audiences that have migrated to online platforms. Television stations have increasingly embraced the use of digital (online) media to gain better access to their audiences in terms of content distribution and audience engagement. The rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram have given journalists and media organisations the ability to reach their audiences immediately, with the added benefit of audience responses which come almost immediately. The use of new digital media has created platforms for news stations to share digital clips of news items or excerpts of news programmes to keep the audiences informed or enticed by the highlights.

This chapter makes an empirical contribution to challenges the developing economies, often referred to as the global south, face when it comes to digital migration. This challenge has citizens of what were previously regarded as ‘third world countries’ having to rely on predominantly state and to a limited extent, public broadcast media for current news and information. This contribution, in making a seminal contribution on digitisation in Zimbabwe, demonstrates the challenges the country faces as to allow citizens access to more diversity and not just plurality. Conceptually, digitisation is defined as the conversion of analogue content and production processes into digital format (Manzuch 2009). Seabright and Weeds (2007, 1) observe that digitisation has to do with ‘replacing analogue signals with digital format economises on processing, storage and transmission capacity, reducing costs and expanding capabilities’. Seabright and Weeds (2007) submit that moving from analogue to a digital space brings changes in digital recording and production techniques, digital compression in transmission, proliferation in transmission platforms (terrestrial, cable, satellite and broadband); digital set-top boxes and encryption technologies; and digital personal video recorders. These interventions contribute to lowering of costs, improving of picture quality and improving speed in news gathering and dissemination (Koss et al. 2013). Other than the financial and technical imperatives that come with digitisation, the transition comes with certain cultural and political implications (Gripsrud 2009).

The year 2015 was set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for most of its member states globally to switch from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting. Digital television broadcasting is generally implied as transmission of broadcast content signals in the form of binary data, specifically 0 s and 1 s. Digitisation of television merges broadcasting, computing and telecommunications to transform both the way television content is made and consumers interact with content (Chalaby and Segell 1999). Referring to digital content, Flew (2004) suggested that digitisation of media and communication content grows “informatisation” of society.

There has been a hype regarding the benefits of digital migration, which refers to switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting. Commonly referred to as digital migration, the switchover emanates from a decision made at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in 2006 to release a valuable spectrum, which can be used for other services. Other benefits of digital TV include good sound and picture quality and availability of more channels giving viewers more choice. It has also been said that digital broadcasting will save the broadcasting stations’ cost, as transmitting content via digital platforms is less costly than transmitting via the analogue platform (Muthomi 2012). This implies that media houses can capitalise on this migration as a competitive advantage. Countries across the world have been undergoing this necessary switchover from analogue to digital platforms, with varying degree of success. While the merits of digital television are clear, it is not clear how this digitisation will realistically help in bridging habitual inequalities in developing countries.

This chapter explores the extent to which Zimbabwe’s single public service television station (as of 2019), ZBC, employed hate language on its online news broadcasts during the 2008 presidential rerun election. Anchored on discourse theory and utilising discourse analysis, this chapter explores hate discourses on Zimbabwe’s online television news during the 2008 election. It seeks to answer the question: To what extent did the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Television (ZBC TV) online news rhetoric constitute hate discourses?

The purpose of this chapter is to examine how the digitization of television has impacted the architecture of television content generation, dissemination consumption in Kenya. Its key motivation is to answer two main questions: How has the digitization shift in Kenya’s television impacted the trends in production, dissemination, reception and consumption of television content; what is the effect of digitization on viewer satisfaction; and how has this shift transformed the role of television medium in the country? The chapter, therefore, answers these questions focusing on the television channels under study, namely, Citizen TV, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and Nation TV (NTV).

Audiovisual news media are compelling texts to study when it comes to how mass media shapes an audience’s perspective of the world (White 1998). This is due to the pivotal role these forms of media play in creating an informed citizenry as mediums that transmit information from news creators and news sources to the public as a mass audience (McQuail 1987). Even more significant than this is the function of audiovisual news media as constructors of reality and ideology because of their pervasiveness in society (McLuhan and Fiore 1967; Hughes 1942). The advent of digital media has been touted as a means of diluting the influence of traditional mass media formats, such as television, with digital news media being forecast to take audiences away from these traditional media platforms (Lotz 2014).

Seeking ways to understand video games beyond their imperial logics, Patterson turns to erotics to re-invigorate the potential passions and pleasures of play.

Independent Videogames investigates the social and cultural implications of contemporary forms of independent video game development. Through a series of case studies and theoretical investigations, it evaluates the significance of such a multi-faceted phenomenon within video game and digital cultures. A diverse team of scholars highlight the specificities of independence within the industry and the culture of digital gaming through case studies and theoretical questions. The chapters focus on labor, gender, distribution models and technologies of production to map the current state of research on independent game development. The authors also identify how the boundaries of independence are becoming opaque in the contemporary game industry – often at the cost of the claims of autonomy, freedom and emancipation that underlie the indie scene. The book ultimately imagines new and better narratives for a less exploitative and more inclusive videogame industry. Systematically mapping the current directions of a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly difficult to define and limit, this book will be a crucial resource for scholars and students of game studies, media history, media industries and independent gaming.

Gender and the contemporary audio-visual landscape of Mexico.

The term digital “disruption” conjures up negative connotations, with implications of disturbance, interference or interruption. Certainly, virtually every aspect of life has been affected by digitisation, but it has been pointed out that it is detrimental “only for those who chose to ignore it or try to fight it” (“Digital Disruption: What Is It?” 2016, para 2). One case in point is the American company Kodak. Where it once dominated the film and camera market for most of the twentieth century, the company recently filed for bankruptcy. Kodak’s mistake was continually opposing the digitisation of the industry and failing to read the writing on the wall (“Digital Disruption: What Is It?” 2016). Digitisation is as much a reality of life in the newsroom as it is in the boardroom.

"This book investigates how telenovelas may be the key to the future of Brazilian television and how this content can survive in an interconnected media landscape. Recognised writer and scholar Rosane Svartman considers the particular characteristics of the telenovela format - number of episodes, melodrama influence, and influence of the audience on future writing - to explore how these can be preserved on multimedia platforms, and the challenges this change may present. Svartman further charts the transformations of the telenovela throughout its history and its major influences and unveils the main storytelling elements and writing processes. Chapters examine the business model of Brazilian corporate television within the current context of hypermedia and analyse how this relationship evolves as it is influenced by the new interactive tools and technologies that amplify the audience's power. Merging empirical practices and theory, this book will be of great interest to scholars and students of transmedia storytelling, television studies, and Latin American media, as well as professionals working in these areas"-- Provided by publisher.

Video gaming is one of the most popular hobbies in the world, with the gaming industry grossing more revenue than the movie and the music industry combined. The estimated number of gamers across the whole world as of August 2020 is 2.7 billion, which is more than one-third of the world population. The benefits of gaming, as cited by numerous researchers, include a boost in confidence, improved cognitive abilities, stress relief, improved problem-solving skills, enhanced social skills among dyslexic kids, and among many others. Even though video gaming as a hobby and career is slowly getting recognition in India, majority of the population still scoff at the activity, shunning gamers and game researchers alike, citing out-of-context and sometimes even false media propaganda. The challenges faced by a typical gamer in India include lack of information, budget limitation, lack of support from parents and teachers when it comes to teenage gamers, and the overall lack of gaming as a mainstream culture among countrymen. As for someone who wants to pursue Game Studies, there is currently little to no provision for that due to the tightly knit education system in the country and the utter lack of educational institutes offering courses on game studies. We go on to further discuss all of the above challenges and experiences faced by a gamer or someone who wants to pursue game studies in India, in our detailed talk that is scheduled on November 21, 2020.

During 2019, various situations once again showed the deep crisis in the country. Audiovisual production continued, albeit with figures that account for a declining industry. Four productions were released: a first was made by the state channel (TVe), a second by a local independent producer (Oduver Cubillán and BGcreativos), the third was produced by the private channel (RCTV) and broadcast by the subscription channel IVC Networks, and the fourth was also produced by RCTV. While the first two productions did not exceed the 35-episode figure, the third and fourth had 73 episodes. On March 7, there was the biggest blackout in the country’s history. For more than a week, 95% of the territory was paralyzed by a lack of electricity. The action was classified by the government as an electric sabotage. The darkness that covered the country also subsumed serial fiction.

Serial fiction released in Argentina in 2019 continues to fall. Only one telenovela had more than 200 chapters. To a lesser extent than the previous year, the supply of serialized fiction incorporated themes from the social agenda, especially feminist struggles and the visibility of sexual dissidence. The channels found in the co-produc- tion and in the production for platforms one of the ways in which fic- tion survives. Some of these programs are now on the open television screen. New fiction releases from Ibero-America are also falling.

This year, the Ibero-American Observatory of Television Fic- tion (Obitel) has dedicated special attention to the persistence of melodrama on screens in times of streaming and the proliferation of deprogrammed and multiscreen consumption. Obitel is made up of 12 countries that monitor the production and distribution of televi- sion fiction. For this yearbook, however, it was not possible to count on the participation of Ecuador, since it did not achieve the neces- sary conditions to work with the common methodology required. Chile, for its part, participated by providing data in order not to in- terrupt the historical series, but the analytical chapter corresponding to that country is not included either.

The country’s political crisis led to the confrontation between the Peruvian Congress and President Martín Vizcarra on irreconcil- able limits. After a second denial of confidence, Vizcarra made use of his constitutional prerogatives and dissolved Congress at the end of September 2019. The majority of the mass media step in line with the different positions of the Executive or the opposition, giv- ing much more attention to the political situation, thus modifying the TV programing. In this scenario, the Enfoca group – owner of Latina station – has continued looking for potential buyers, but without success yet. The conglomerate – with interest in financial, health and productive sectors – does not feel that the investment made in acquiring all the station’s shares seven years ago yielded the expected results. Meanwhile, Willax – a small locally held station acquired by the Wong group in 2015 with promises of a large investment – has become a stronghold of opposition to the government of Vizcarra and the largest broadcaster of Korean fictions. In February 2020, they an- nounced that a commercial partnership had been signed with South Korean company CJ ENM, a production company of several Korean dramas and the award-winning film Parasite, but without indicating what this company could mean for audiovisual production in Peru.

The year 2019 in Colombia was characterized by the presence of a series of social and cultural phenomena of high impact on the population, such as the National Strike on November 21, when dif- ferent sectors expressed their disagreement with the country’s poli- cies and the reforms that were being proposed for the new year. This situation led to a leading presence of the news on the small screen and, at the same time, an interesting reflection of national identity, the needs of various Colombian social groups and the cul- tural matrices of the nation. In this hectic context and in accordance with a certain global climate of crisis in democratic and government systems, a highly interesting television phenomenon emerges: the highly successful reappearance of the programs that marked differ- ent generations of compatriots and that, as in the past, once again led families to discuss episodes and situations presented under the classical structure of melodrama.

The high expectations of change caused by the victory of An- drés Manuel López Obrador for the presidency of Mexico have not been translated into any substantive modification in the Mexican media ecosystem or in the communication policies that have led the media-state relations in the country. However, what has been modi- fied/conditioned is the setting of the daily news agenda, since the new president has imposed a political-governmental communica- tion framework by holding morning press conferences, in which, with little opposition from the media, he sets the topics to be dis- cussed on a daily basis. It has created various problems with those media and/or journalists that have questioned the stances he has adopted, his plans and projects. The conflict escalated to such an extent that López Obrador has called his opponents “prensa fifí” (“snob press”), pointing out in a very clear way that these are ac- tors who only seek to defend the privileges lost during his govern- ment by conservative media, or, as he has called them: “la mafia del poder” (“the power mafia”).

A look at the screens of Uruguay’s open television in prime time will give the viewer a very reduced offer: after a television newscast that exceeds two hours long, there are only contest pro- grams, national or imported ones. It is possible that in the afternoon and at night the viewer finds a telenovela, almost always Turkish one. This is a very different panorama from the Uruguayan televi- sion history. Ibero-American fiction is in decline on open television, while its offer on VoD expands. In this chapter we will try to consider the various aspects of this landscape. Melodrama is on both options, open television and streaming, on a broad thematic spectrum, even in productions that are not usually classified as such. In the absence of national fiction in the period, at the end of the chapter we will study the melodrama in prison fiction, particularly in the case of El Marginal.