Laurent BEAUGUITTE, Claude GRASLAND, Marta SEVERO. Geographical spaces and media representations
(3 fig.; 5 tabl.)
This paper identifies how the share of media coverage devoted to a particular seismic event can be deduced from its geophysical characteristics. We analyzed over 117,000 news article summaries published online during the 1st semester of 2014 by a dozen newspapers situated across the globe. Our research has shown that there exists a general trend of focusing on a unique variable: the magnitude. Our results are interesting for geophysicists, as they encourage them to rethink their communication strategies. They are also interesting for geographers as they suggest that online media tend to homogenize media coverage strategies of foreign earthquakes.
keyword: EARTHQUAKE, MEDIA COVERAGE, RSS FEED, SPATIOTEMPORAL DATA, STATISTICAL MODELLING
International agenda-setting, the media and geography: A multi-dimensional analysis of news flows (9 fig.)
Our image of the world largely depends on information flows received from abroad through mass media. This article presents a framework for the quantitative analysis of news media flows, understood as possible markers of contemporary dynamics of globalization and regionalization. We introduce the notion of ‘‘media geography of agenda-setting’’, which refers to a selection process of territorial units that are brought to public attention by the media. We present three models that allow us to identify similarities between different media, as well as their geographic and temporal specificities, and to analyze international news coverage according to three distinct perspectives.
keyword: AGENDA-SETTING, INFORMATION FLOWS,INTERNATIONAL NEWS, SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL ANALYSIS, WORLD
Geopolitical representations of Sinai in three newspapers (3 fig.; 6 tabl.)
The media portrays the Sinai Peninsula in a number of ways: as a threat of a potential “new Afghanistan”, as a “buffer zone” with Israel, or as the stage for Egypt's domestic political struggles. This article focuses on these differences by analyzing the territory's role in three newspapers. The results help identify two main visions of the Sinai Peninsula. It appears to be both forgotten in terms of social and economic issues and highly coveted from a geostrategic point of view. Seemingly antagonistic, these two geopolitical representations are actually interconnected and built on the same historical and geographical foundations.
keyword: GEOPOLITICS, GEOGRAPHY, SINAI, EGYPT, ISRAEL, MEDIA, BEDOUIN
Wealth and poverty in Ile-de-France working-class municipalities: Are housing policies game-changers? (6 fig.; 1 photo) (annex)
The analysis of household income data from 1999 and 2011 shows that the region of Ile-de- France is undergoing a double process of socio-spatial polarization and of “averagization”. Within this framework, the specific trajectories of working-class municipalities are highlighted and allow us to analyze local public housing programs, using two case-studies. By combining both regional and local scales, we can better see how the diversification of local housing, largely left to the private initiatives, cannot alone end the socio-spatial polarization process.
keyword: HOUSING POLICY, ILE-DE-FRANCE, INCOME, SOCIAL DIVISION OF SPACE
Lou camin de vida prouvençau, a social-spatial constraint to the implementation of the energy transition (5 fig.; 2 tabl.)
The energy transition questions spatial patterns in light of current energy issues. It elicits reflection on the weight of existing socio-spatial structures deemed a constraint on the implementation of the energy transition. Controlling energy demands in the residential sector is one of the pillars of governmental discourse on the implementation of the energy transition. How do residential characteristics determine levels of consumption? The answer reveals energy characteristics differentiated according to space, which are specific to local circumstances and a specific way of living: the Provençal style of suburban housing, lou camin vida prouvençau.
keyword: ENERGY TRANSITION, PERI-URBAN, WAYS OF LIVING
Book reviews
In this issue of l’Espace géographique, you will find critical reviews of the following books
BOULEAU N. (2014). La Modélisation critique. Paris: Éditions Quæ, 170 p. (Yves Guermond, université de Rouen, UMR Idees) ISBN: 978-2-7592-2199-8
L’espace géographique 4/15
L’espace géographique 2/16
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Last modified: March 25, 2016