Humanities Homework Help

Please write a paragraph or two for open ended:

1) In promoting a country’s image or culture, utilizing “soft power” becomes the norm. What is “soft power,” and how is it different from “hard power”?

2) Discuss what you know about Radio Sawa and Al-Hurra Television. What are the main objectives of these media organizations?

3) The “four theories of the press” is a typology of the world’s press system, as discussed in class. Among the four different press models, what is the authoritarian press model? Explain the concept and discuss where (countries) you can find this particular press model.

4) During the last decade, physical intimidation and attacks on journalists have been prevalent throughout Latin America. When describing the 2015 murder of Mexican journalist Ruben Espinosa, an article published in Nieman Reports argues, “In Mexico, they kill you twice.” What does this quote in bold mean? Be specific in your answer.

5) In a world filled with ongoing wars, conflicts, and disasters, scholars and diplomats often point to public diplomacy as an indispensable tool to ease tensions and eliminate hatred among nations. Discuss why and how public diplomacy can be an effective option to resolve various global crises.

MULT. CHOICE:

6) Select one INCORRECT statement about the Syrian civil war and its refugee crisis.

A.The media’s extensive news coverage since 2011 has been consistent and instrumental in ending the conflict in Syria with the Geneva Peace Talks sponsored by the UN.

B.Millions of Syrian refugees have found asylums in several European countries, but many still live in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey.

C.For over a decade, the Syrian refugee crisis has been the world’s largest refugee and displacement crisis.

D.Initially, several governments willingly accepted and protected Syrian refugees. Over time, xenophobia and islamophobia coupled with emerging populism in Europe and elsewhere increasingly marginalized and discriminated against the refugees.

7) Select one INCORRECT statement about political populism and its tactics of spreading misinformation.

A.The rise of populist parties can be attributed to the rejection of globalism and international cooperation.

B.The German Nazi party showed a trace of populism when it targeted and blamed financial elites of Jews and the Allied forces of WWI for the failures of the German economy.

C.The rise of populism helped expose fake news manufactured and delivered by the mainstream news media.

D.Populists tend to rely on social media to construct a direct line of communication and engagement with their supporters while avoiding fact-checking and criticism from the news media.

8)Select one INCORRECT statement about the global trend of press freedom.

A.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are responsible for prosecuting journalists with sedition charges and censoring online media.

B.Although short-lived, the Arab Spring protests helped improve overall press freedom in Egypt by electing a democratic leader Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as the new president.

C.Press freedom across the globe has been declining. Governments around the world are cracking down on journalists and members of the media community.

D.In 2021, Myanmar’s military junta has arrested and tortured journalists reporting on the coup and blocked protestors from accessing social media platforms.

9) Select one INCORRECT description of Venezuela under populist political leaders Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro.

A. Both Chavez and Maduro have created authoritarian, anti-democratic regimes with various restrictions on the news media.

B.With anti-elite messages and redistribution of income promises, Maduro’s populist policies have been highly successful throughout his presidency.

C.Chavez abused his power by amending the national constitution, firing opposing judges, and restructuring National Assembly. He gradually showed the traits of a dictator.

D.Maduro often blames international pressures or external powers, including the United States, for plotting against Venezuela. He also vilified his political rivals, including Juan Guaido, as enemies of the state to scare the public away from the opposition.

10) Select one INCORRECT statement about China’s air pollution crisis.

A.In 2020, China was ranked at 14 out of 106 countries with the worst air quality. The top three countries are Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

B.China experienced a brief improvement in air quality due to the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. However, air pollution deteriorates as the restrictions begin to loosen and more vehicles fill the streets.

C.The two sources of deteriorating air quality in China are coal-powered plants and vehicle emissions.

D.Due to strict restrictions by the government, China has fewer than 100 registered environmental NGOs. The legal and political pressures on NGO activities have contributed to the worsening air pollution crisis.

11) Select one INCORRECT statement about the 2020 wildfires in Australia and Brazil and how the governments and news media responded to the environmental crises.

A.The Brazilian news media covered the Amazon wildfires promptly and extensively. Besides, the news coverage was instrumental in raising 20 million-dollar environmental protection funds from the United Nations.

B.Despite the international criticism, the Brazilian government denied the alarming increase in deforestation and wildfires near the Amazon region.

C.Australian news media reports were mixed. Many social media reported climate change as one of the causes of the wildfires, but right-wing media denied the correlations between climate change and wildfires.

D.Scientists believed that one of the leading causes of the record wildfires in Australia is climate change. However, the Australian government never bought the argument.

12) Select one INCORRECT statement about the cause of the famine and hunger crisis in Africa.

a.International news media’s reporting on the African food crisis is timely and extensive. However, Africa’s local news media rarely report on the food crisis due to government censorship.

b.Civil strife and military conflicts often cause blockade of trade and distribution of food nearly impossible, causing famine.

c.Climate change often results in drought, decreased rainfall, and ultimately shortage of water resources to ordinary citizens.

d.After militant groups kidnap people and pillage small towns, African farmers have no choice but to leave their villages. The agricultural production volume decreases, worsening the food crisis.

13) Select one INCORRECT statement about news media coverage of various health crises around the world.

a.Non-commercial news media are often criticized for their sensational news reporting of the virus outbreak to draw more public attention.

b.American news media rarely reported on the Ebola outbreak when it ravaged West African nations. However, the media coverage soared when confirmed Ebola patients appeared in the U.S.

c.A Pew Research Center study found a stark partisan divide among the American public on their perception of COVID-19 news provided by the news media.

d.The U.S. government did not consider Ebola to be a severe health crisis when it started in Africa. However, the U.S. Congress later voted to spend 5.4 billion dollars on the emergency Ebola funding for West African nations.