Vaclav Stetka

Incoming Czech gov't triggers alarm over public media plans – DW – 11/05/2025 Czechia's populist ANO party won the most votes in the recent general election and seeks to form a government with two far-right parties. The coalition's plans for public media are causing particular ...

Incoming #Czech gov't triggers alarm over public media plans with thx to @vstetka.bsky.social @marinaurbanikova.bsky.social
www.dw.com/en/incoming-...

That's an interesting choice of the headline by @pewresearch.org , seeing the glass half-full rather than half-empty. It would be equally true to say that young Americans's trust in mainstream media has dropped so low that it almost matches their trust in social media.

Our new report provides a typology of news creators, based on analysis of 24 countries

The report, by Nic Newman, @amyrossarguedas.bsky.social @mitalilive.bsky.social @richardfletcher.bsky.social, makes a distinction between those who focus on hard news and those touching news-adjacent topics

As democracy crumbles and authoritarianism gains ground around the world, digital media are increasingly being blamed for driving these developments. However, as I and @vstetka.bsky.social argue in a recent piece for Le Monde, the role of digital media in these developments is often exaggerated.

Thanks for your kind words, Katharina! 🙏

Very much enjoyed the panel on the rise of the illiberal public sphere at #IPSA2025, organised by the Political Communication section, as well as the panel on "destructive polarization" covened by @kathaesa.bsky.social - thanks for the opportunity to promote our work with @sabinamihelj.bsky.social!

Our Digital News Report 2025 is out!

📊48 markets
🌏Almost 100K respondents
📰Key headline: Audiences lean into video news and influencers, raising misinformation concerns and new dilemmas for publishers

📱Explore now buff.ly/xLP67Tg
🧵Findings in thread #DNR25

Thank you, Line!

Truly honoured by this award for our book with @sabinamihelj.bsky.social🙏 Many thanks to APSA @apsaitp.bsky.social, as well as to almost 20k people who have accessed the book online so far! #illiberalism

credit: Mate Filler / Telex

Hungary’s new ‘transparency’ bill targets independent media & civil society. This is authoritarianism, not accountability.

We stand with all journalists, NGOs & citizens defending democracy. The EU must act.

nezavisla.economia.cz/en/committee...

#PressFreedom #Hungary #EUvalues

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) this year for the first time called the global environment for press freedom ‘difficult.’ What does the future hold for press... Has Press Freedom Reached a Low Point in 2025? Blame Social Media, AI and Budget Cuts | CONNECTED

RSF this year for the first time called the global environment for press freedom ‘difficult.’ What does the future hold for press freedom in Taiwan and Asia?

🎙️ Aleksandra Bielakowska (@ketalaolan.bsky.social), Irene Jay Liu & Václav Štětka (@vstetka.bsky.social)

Watch here:

It was a real pleasure to talk about our book with @sabinamihelj.bsky.social to such an engaged audience. Many thanks to Marlene Laruelle and @jchrobie.bsky.social for having us!

It's only spring, but I am already looking forward to autumn - which I will spend in #Vienna on a visiting fellowship, as a Guest of the Institute for Human Sciences @iwm.at. Grateful for this opportunity! 🙏

Join us for an online presentation of a new book by @vstetka.bsky.social and @sabinamihelj.bsky.social: The Illiberal Public Sphere Media in Polarized Societies!

Hear about increasing #illiberalism, #polarization, and declining trust in mass media in CEE

Register here: tinyurl.com/5n6f82rd

text from https://web.archive.org/web/20250313041133/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/artemis/ which reads: Artemis With the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.

A giant step back for womankind?

On February 28th the main Artemis page at nasa. gov read as follows
web.archive.org/web/20250313...

Last month I did a little experiment.

I wanted to see how the exact same post would perform on both X (Twitter) and Bluesky.

The results were...interesting...

[Thread]

🎉 Delighted to learn I have been awarded funding for comparative, mixed-methods research on Russian #disinformation in Poland, Romania & Serbia, with Fanni Toth @durhamuniversity.bsky.social as Co-I, & in collaboration with @m-deceit.bsky.social @sabinamihelj.bsky.social @stevehutchings.bsky.social

Excellent analysis of the latest developments in the long & tortuous struggle to secure financial sustainability and political independence of the #Czech public service media.

Deadline approaching soon for this unique PhD studentship, supervised by @sabinamihelj.bsky.social and myself, in collaboration with @bbcmediaaction.bsky.social - if you are interested in researching disinformation in the #Baltics, #Afghanistan or #Libya, do apply by 24 February!

„Naivní,“ říká odborník o nápadu platit veřejnoprávní média jako Netflix - Seznam Zprávy Koalice a opozice svádí ve Sněmovně bitvu o koncesionářské poplatky. Obejdou se veřejnoprávní média bez jejich zvýšení? A obešla by se naopak česká společnost bez veřejnoprávních médií? Rozebíráme se ...

„Myslím si, že to je (v českém kontextu) pořád nejlepší způsob, jakkoliv sám o sobě nedokonalý, jak garantovat politickou nezávislost veřejnoprávních médií, což je pro jejich fungování zcela klíčové,“ říká v @zaminutusest.bsky.social o koncesionářských poplatcích sociolog médií @vstetka.bsky.social

"Wonderfully structured and accessible, it appeals not only to
scholars but also to the broader democratic public grappling with the question: 'What on earth is happening to democracy?'”
Delighted to read such a nice review of our book! @sabinamihelj.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Still 3 week to apply for this unique PhD studentship at our Communication & Media Department @lborocrcc.bsky.social, in collaboration with #BBC @bbcmediaaction.bsky.social - if you are interested in researching disinformation in the #Baltics, #Afghanistan or #Libya, we would love to hear from you!

Thanks a lot for sharing!

Three stages of a liberal public sphere being replaced by an #illiberal one. Very useful framework from @vstetka.bsky.social & @sabinamihelj.bsky.social - all we see happening in the US fits. Q = how to win the struggle against it? Needs creativity and will: www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstr...

Research finds TikTok’s algorithm apparently favors one political side more than the other. Republican accounts got 11.8% more content supporting their views, Democrats saw 7.5% more content opposing theirs. The bias comes from negative partisanship, prioritizing criticism. arxiv.org/pdf/2501.17831

More than half Gen Z think authoritarian leader better for UK than democracy, poll suggests – UK politics live Polling finds 52% of Gen Z thought UK would be better place if ‘strong leader did not have to bother with parliament and elections’ A persistent slowdown in activity among private sector firms could weigh on economic growth over the coming months, with…

More than half Gen Z think authoritarian leader better for UK than democracy, poll suggests – UK politics live

Editorial Board: The International Journal of Press/Politics: Sage Journals The editorial board of The International Journal of Press/Politics

Honoured and excited to be joining the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Press/Politics, and looking forward to working with the new editorial team under the leadership of Taberez A. Neyazi @taberez.bsky.social !
#IJPP #PoliticalCommunication journals.sagepub.com/editorial-bo...

📣 We have a fully funded #PhD place available at the Communication & Media Department @lborocrcc.bsky.social at Loughborough University, in collaboration with BBC Media Action and supported by the Midlands Graduate School ESRC DTP.

Co-supervised by myself, Vaclav Stetka @vstetka.bsky.social & Cooper Gatewood, the project will use a mixed methods approach to explore second-order effects of #disinformation associated with #Russian foreign influence operations in one of three locations: the #Baltics, #Afghanistan or #Libya.

Delighted to hear that our panel proposal with @sabinamihelj.bsky.social on "Communicating illiberalism: new approaches to the role of media in the erosion of liberal democracy" was accepted for the @icajsd.bsky.social conference in Denver! 🏔 @newsprof1.bsky.social @weizenbauminstitut.bsky.social