Entries by Luis M. Romero Rodríguez

Journalism and Migration: Guidelines to Avoid Xenophobia

30 August, 2023 in , /by

Wars, insurgent groups, dictatorships, and economic crises are the main reasons for forced migration. Displaced persons, asylum seekers, and refugees often face public stigmatization, as they are treated by the media as a social problem and, in many cases, seen as economic and social threats. This article presents the results of in-depth interviews with expert journalists and researchers from different Latin American countries on the phenomenon of forced migration and its journalistic coverage. Their recommendations are complemented by Qualitative Document Analysis (QDA) of international guides on migration journalism. The findings highlight the need for training and awareness-raising in critical skills and social analysis for journalists to understand the complexity of human mobility and approach it from a human rights perspective, as well as to project the positive contributions of migrants to the host society. Findings suggest the need to avoid disseminating and magnifying hate speech, which may be used to justify discrimination and violence against migrants. This highlights the fact that migration issues must be dealt with under slow journalism schemes, with an emphasis on research, thus avoiding falling into xenophobic discourse due to the very immediacy that the digital ecosystem demands.

Millennials, Centennials, and Media Effects in Streaming

30 August, 2023 in , /by

Viewers are increasingly used to the link between entertainment and technology in the current media ecosystem. The success of consuming streaming platforms when watching movies and series shows how the audience is more involved in new forms of viewing, at any time, at any moment, and with any content. This research aimed to examine the perception of millennial and centennial audiences in Spain and Mexico, the two Spanish-speaking countries with the highest streaming consumption, about audiovisual content producers for entertainment. Three theories on public perception (spiral of silence, bandwagon effect, and third-person effect) were used as the basis of the research questions to unravel the extent to which younger audiences in these countries consider that production companies are, or are not, ethical in the representation of what may be labeled as “sensitive topics”. The results show that centennials are more confident in their critical perceptions of controversial issues in movies and series, while, on the other hand, millennials approach their perceptions with more cautiousness and confusion.

Pharma Logos in Spain: Visual Identity Analysis

30 August, 2023 in , /by

This study presents a taxonomy to analyze the Corporate Visual Identity (CVI) through the theoretical construction of iconographic variables. The instrument was validated by an expert panel and a pilot test that examined the CVI of the 50 leading pharmaceutical companies in Spain. The instrument was organized by graphic elements: iconographic sign, linguistic sign, and plastic sign, and helped to catalog the symbolic components of CVI. In the Spanish case, due to its cultural and social context, pharmaceutical brands prefer typographies with no strokes, simple lines, capital letters, and round and medium strokes.

Girl YouTubers During Lockdown: Emotions and Engagement

30 August, 2023 in , /by

The COVID-19 pandemic forced absolute confinement in Spain from March 15 to July 21, 2020. On the other side of the screen, YouTubers girls and boys, creators of specific content for their peers, took the opportunity to increase their productions. This research examines 73 creations made during the confinement period by six Spanish girls YouTubers categorized as influencers by the number of reproductions and followers of their channel sthrough content analysis to evaluate the interactions, the content generated, and subjective aspects of projection of the emotional state of these minors. The results show increased interactors, positioning the female sector as the most prevalent gender. The contents have been related to the COVID-19 theme, while, in the emotional aspect, the influencers were not affected by the great sadness that hit Spain with the death of thousands of people.

Visual Identity in Spanish Banks: Digital Design Trends

30 August, 2023 in , /by

This research examines the visual identity of the 72 leading financial institutions operating in Spain through an ad hoc analysis model of iconographic-symbolic content. For this purpose, an analysis sheet is designed and validated, with theoretical variables where each sample object responds to categories grouped by similarity and under formal criteria obtained from the study of all the literature related to the fundamental graphic elements –iconic, linguistic, and plastic sign– and their application to the virtual world. The results show that legibility and modernity are priorities in the majority of the sample corpus, with a typographic style without finials, simple strokes, capital, round and medium-thickness characters. In addition, the entities prefer other values apart from professionalism and stability, such as closeness or trust, making use in the compositions of a quality range of 2-3 color combinations in which the balance between cold and warm colors is appreciable. For the sake of responsive web design, financial institutions are inclined to stay on the sidelines and not do without any elements in their visual identities, leading the way in the use of logotypes

UGC and Influencers in Marketing: What We Know

30 August, 2023 in , /by

This study examines the research that has been conducted on user-generated advertising content in the social marketing strategies of commercial brands to understand the phenomenon, explore academic interest in the topic and identify areas of limited thematic coverage. A systematic review of existing scientific literature in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus was carried out using the PRISMA protocol. A co-occurrence matrix was used to review emerging topics on user-generated content (UGC) and influencer marketing, allowing the identification of articles (n = 59) related to the objective of this research. Most research has analyzed UGC in images or text, but only very few have addressed videos and other digital formats (such as reels, image carousels or podcasts), although there is sufficient work focused on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. There was no evidence of work exploring the effects, repercussions and possible dangers of uncontrolled brand exposure through Unofficial Brand Ambassadors. The literature review has allowed finding important areas of future research that the scientific community has not sufficiently addressed. Likewise, this work shows structurally several classifications of UGC, which will facilitate future research to deepen and broaden these categories.

Digitalization in Corporate Communications Post-COVID

30 August, 2023 in , /by

The forced confinement caused by the COVID-19 health crisis has required companies to change their production dynamics, digitalizing workplaces, abandoning physical spaces and infrastructures, focusing on promoting remote work, as well as mechanics and dynamics of organizational communication exchanges with their different stakeholders through digital channels, in order to maintain their production processes and improve efficiency in this new and changing scenario. However, given the situation’s urgency, the digitalization process has not been gradual. From one day to the next, organizations have had to opt for these mechanisms to give continuity to their productive activities and business plans. This has meant, among other things, that internal stakeholders of the organizations have had to bear, in many cases, labor costs while getting used to the dynamics of remote work and sharing physical space with family members.

From Hate Speech to Polarization: How It Spreads

30 August, 2023 in , /by

We are living through a time of major political changes due to the rise of populist leaders and the resurgence of extreme ideological movements. The emergence of this phenomenon is due, to a large extent, to the ease with which these political actors can disseminate and spread their messages without any limits through social networks, leaving aside the former “fourth power” of the media as filterers and reinterpreters of information. Generally, the formula used by these leaders and movements is usually based on symbolic social division and polarization through hate speeches that allow demonizing their adversaries while antagonizing the issuers: a discursive “us” against “them” based on verbal violence to dehumanize an “exogroup.” We want to discuss the importance of understanding the process of communicational transfer—which begins with hate speech and evolves into demonization and social polarization—as a strategic basis for creating an ideal scenario for the growth and strengthening of populist discourse, which is reductionist and simplifying in nature.

Luxury Fashion CSR: Engagement on TikTok, IG & FB

30 August, 2023 in , /by

This study aims to analyze the content on corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Gucci, Prada and Ermenegildo Zegna on the social networks Instagram, Facebook and TikTok in order to examine the focus of the publications of these luxury brands, what type of content is more frequent and which ones generate more interaction and engagement. An interpretive content analysis of a sample of 92 posts on CSR published between December 2021 and June 2022 is used. For this purpose, an analysis sheet validated through theoretical constructs and pilot testing is used. Most of the social responsibility content of the fashion brands analyzed is linked to the use of sustainable materials, the protection of natural spaces and, in the particular case of Prada, the protection of the oceans. The posts that achieve the highest interactions are videos and photo reels. Although the strategies that significantly increase brands’ reach on social networks are collaborations and joint posts with other fashion brands, as is the case of Gucci with NorthFace and Prada with Adidas. Also, one of the main findings of this research has been to identify that brands may be using TikTok – perhaps experimentally – to reach stakeholders in Asian countries, especially China, where other platforms such as Instagram or Facebook may have a more limited reach. This research shows that the social responsibility activities of luxury fashion brands leverage the content marketing strategy in social networks. It also demonstrates the importance of the Asian market (mainly Chinese) in the outreach strategies of brands, as is the case of Gucci and Prada, which bet on CSR activities for the protection of the Asian tiger in the framework of the year of the tiger in the Chinese horoscope, as well as the publication of certain content on TikTok.

Analysis Model for Digital Native Media Interfaces

30 August, 2023 in , /by

In a context marked by the emergence of new platforms and interfaces, digital native media face the challenge of organizing and presenting their content in an effective and eloquent way. This milestone requires ongoing work toward the identification and conceptualization of the dimensions that map the structural and formal requirements necessary for fluid communication with audiences and adequate visibility in the digital ecosystem. This study, which adopts a quantitative–qualitative methodological design, proposes, describes, and applies a taxonomy for the analysis of digital media web interfaces. Based on a review of the literature, two rounds of expert judgment, and a pilot test, the research identifies 14 thematic dimensions, 36 indicators, and 69 variables. The study focuses on the importance of renewing research about taxonomy related to structural dimensions that address narrative, quality, usability, information search, and content redissemination and socialization, among other aspects. The study of web interfaces applied to journalism demands long-term research work with a holistic approach that, at a conceptual and practical level, can offer proposals for analysis and diagnosis on the basis of an integrated method.