Media Diversity Institute Podcasts

Őrkutyák (Watchdogs) on Civil Radio discussed how the Hungarian public broadcaster’s news site failed to adhere to public service media standards in presenting the work of French anthropologist Florence Bergeaud-Blackler without providing additional context. 

Hungary, Watchdogs on Civil Radio

https://getthetrollsout.org/cmfe-articles/watchdogs-on-monitoring-public-service-media-in-hungary

Barnabás Jakus, Kende Kenéz and Dávid Tomor discuss hate speech and political ads in Hungary in the latest edition of the Jurádió podcast for EPER Radio.

Hungary, EPER Radio.

https://getthetrollsout.org/cmfe-articles/hate-speech-and-political-ads-in-hungary

Why has Norway’s public broadcaster changed its TV debate format replacing the usual fight between people representing opposing sides? What lessons does this “experiment” have for other media wanting to adopt constructive or deliberative journalism? Gro Engen is the editor of the programme.  

Presented by Tanya Sakzewski

Connect with us:

In this episode we hear from a deliberative communications project engaging a local community in the US. Guests: Martin Carcasson, Director, Center for Public Deliberation, Colorado State University and Eric Larsen, Editor, Coloradoan newspaper.  

Presented by Tanya Sakzewski

Connect with us:

For their 30th podcast episode, We Belong met Sawsan Chebli, a Palestinian-German politician who worked in the highest spheres of power in Germany.

In conversation with We Belong, Sawsan shared her challenges as a female politician, the hate she faced as an outspoken Muslim woman, and what motivates her to keep going despite threats and criticisms. Sawsan started experiencing hate when she became visible and has engaged in many ways to counter it – from adopting self-defence tactics to demanding better protection from her political party to challenging tech companies about their responsibilities.

Belgium, We Belong Europe 

https://getthetrollsout.org/cmfe-articles/we-belong-in-conversation-with-sawsan-chebli 

Sawsan is a role model for many young people with a migration background in Germany. She was born to Palestinian asylum seekers in Germany and grew up with her parents and twelve siblings in Berlin. The family had to overcome the enormous burden of statelessness, which marked Sawsan deeply. Obtaining German citizenship and officially ‘belonging’ was a milestone for her. She invested all her energy into her studies of international affairs but initially did not think she needed to address issues related to integration or racism in her work. This changed gradually, with consequences on how she was to be perceived and treated.

Between 2010 and 2014, Chebli was the first spokesperson for intercultural affairs of Berlin’s State Minister of the Interior and Sport. In 2014, she served as deputy spokesperson of the Federal Foreign Office; she was the first Muslim person to hold that post. From 2016 until 2021, Sawsan served as State Secretary for Federal Affairs in the state government of the Governing Mayor of Berlin.

We Belong is a platform and safe space for people of colour to share their experiences. Launched in 2020, We Belong has grown to include members across Europe, includes virtual and in-person events, and also features We Belong: The Podcast. Subscribing to the theory that change starts when personal stories are shared, the women behind We Belong are helping legitimise immigrant daughters’ stories and spark new conversations about womanhood, the intersectionality of feminism, and challenging the conventional wisdom of what it means to belong.

In this special feature, freelance producer Souhail Hamsho tackles a controversial and sensitive topic. This year’s documenta, the most significant worldwide exhibition for curating contemporary art in Germany, has unfortunately been marked by antisemitism allegations that led to obscuring the contested artwork People’s Justice (2002) by the Indonesian artist collective Taring Padi.

documenta is an international exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultural Show) which took place in Kassel at that time. It was an attempt to bring Germany up to speed with modern art, which had been banished and repressed during the cultural darkness of Nazism.

Germany, Freies Radio Kassel. 

https://getthetrollsout.org/cmfe-articles/on-art-and-censorship-the-case-of-antisemitic-allegations-at-the-documenta-15-in-kassel 

While the importance of the internet in today’s society as a driver of communication, gateway to vast amounts of information and enabler of socio-political participation is irrefutable, digital and communication technologies also pose numerous problems as multipliers of disinformation, extremist content and hate speech. The rejection of pluralism, the denigration of those who live, think or look differently, and the desire for an absolute truth are unfortunately a part of our society. Ideologies of inequality, as expressed for example in racism, sexism and conspiracy theories are also a part of the everyday world for youth.

Some journalists and researchers have therefore made it their mission to prevent citizens from extremism and to counter fake news through diverse projects. Which strategies do they use and how efficient are they? In this episode of Our Voice, Rufine Songué speaks to Maral Jekta and Mina Dennert about their contribution to the fight against extremism and anti-pluralistic narratives.

Germany, Our Voice at Radio Dreyeckland

Antisemitism spreads on the internet, but it does not stay there. Rather, the internet, social media and so-called "dark socials" serve as radicalisation spaces from which perpetrators draw the "justifications for their acts". This programme by Radio LORA in Munich explores how this happens, why antisemitism still spreads so easily and how it could be effectively combated. Radio LORA spoke with:

- Monika Hübscher, PhD student at Haifa University in Israel. She is currently researching antisemitism in the Facebook profiles of the political party AfD (Alternative für Deutschland). She is also a research assistant at the University of Duisburg-Essen, where she is working on the research project Antisemitism and Youth. She came to the attention of LORA journalists because she co-edited an anthology called "Antisemitism on Social Media".

- The Polisphere team, which describes itself as an advisory network, ideas lab and navigator for the modern political establishment. At the time of their conversation, the political communication experts had just made their project "Antisemitism on Dark Social" public. LORA was lucky enough to speak with     Managing Director Philipp Sälhoff, Head of Digital Communication Mareile Ihde and Head of Research Gregor Bauer, who were able to present the results of their research in the digital networks and in particular the "blind spots" beyond the mass platforms.

- Björn from love storm, a training platform against hate on the net.

Germany, Radio LORA

In a special production for Get The Trolls Out!, community media podcasters Lydia El Khouri of Radio Verulam and Chiara Muzzi of Source FM discuss the Get The Trolls Out! new report on conspiracy ideologies and anti-Jewish hatred on the major social media platforms.

Two of the report’s researchers and contributors - Eline Jeanné for the UK and Maia Feijoo for France - offer insights into the findings.

Rabbi Adam from the St Albans Synagogue tells how the antisemitism within the anti-vaccine discourse impacts the Jewish community.

In this podcast episode, EPER Radio explores what framing is, how it appears in the Hungarian press, how it can be recognised and on what scientific and social basis it rests.

The programme features an interview with Dr Anna Szilágyi, an expert in media, politics, and communication. Her research explores the discourse of discrimination and enemy propaganda.

The podcast also includes a discussion with Dr Bea Bodrogi, the project manager of Get the Trolls Out! Hungarian partner organisation, the Centre for Independent Journalism, and Giulia Dessi of the Media Diversity Institute.

Hungary, EPER Radio

In this podcast episode, Radio Campus Tours tries to understand where the concept of Islamo-leftism comes from, as it is used in many political and partisan communications. The programme includes several interviews with researchers, including:

- Maboula Soumahoro: Lecturer at the University of Tours

- Juliette Grange: Associate Professor of Philosophy, Doctor in Modern Philosophy at the University of Tours

- Julien Giry, Doctor in Political Science

France, Radio Campus Tours

In May 2021, Germany’s liberal-conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine – the country’s third most-read daily – published an article claiming that “people with a migrant background are particularly affected by Coronavirus”. 

Get the Trolls Out!, its partner in Germany Amadeu Antonio Stiftung, and community Radio Dreyeckland joined forces in order to debunk the discriminatory and harmful narratives about migrants and COVID-19 propagated by Frankfurter Allgemeine. 

Resisting the top-down approach of most of the German media, a special instalment of Our Voice on Radio Dreyeckland invited people from the affected communities to share their take on media coverage of their communities during COVID-19. 

Germany, Our Voice at Radio Dreyeckland