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WASHINGTON Despite an ever-expanding number of ways to put out news and information, a new report says the crackdown on media freedoms around the world has been unrelenting. Freedom of the Press 2014 says global press freedom has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, with major setbacks in places that had been making progress only a few years ago. Just about everywhere, simply getting the news is getting harder. The non-profit democracy advocate Freedom House reported that media freedom is on the decline worldwide. We see attempts to control or manipulate the message, so increased use of propaganda, of trying to influence editorial content in advance. Then what we also see is a crackdown and harassment of bloggers and people who are using these mediums to get out information, said project director Karin Karlekar. Karlekar said media freedoms eroded so badly in 2013 that only one out of every six people worldwide had access to a Free media. In many areas that saw declines, she added, governments did not act alone. There were changes in media ownership at key outlets. And then we saw changes in editorial tone, we saw pressure being placed on journalists, said Karlerkar. North Korea was ranked the worst of the 197 countries and territories rated by Freedom House. Iran was also near the bottom despite a slight improvement during its presidential election. Syria, where journalists have been killed and kidnapped, was near the bottom as well. The Middle East as a whole saw the worst press freedom declines, led by Egypt, where the military-backed government cracked down hard, targeting journalists and putting them on trial.

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Report: Media Freedoms Worldwide at a 10-Year-Low

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

30-Apr-2014

Contact: Matthew Swayne mls29@psu.edu 814-865-9481 Penn State

Social media companies that give users a greater sense of control can ease them into interface changes, as well as curb defections to competitors, according to researchers.

"Several studies have looked into how social media companies have failed," said Pamela Wisniewski, a post-doctoral scholar in information sciences and technology, Penn State. "What we need to think about is how social media companies can be more adaptive and how they can improve the longevity of their sites.

In a study of the reaction to the introduction of Facebook's Timeline interface between 2011 and 2012, researchers found that users considered the mandatory transition to the new interface highly stressful. They also found evidence that suggests that giving users a voice can give them a sense of control to better adapt to new online environments.

Facebook's Timeline interface allowed users to access posts by date, highlighted certain events and set privacy controls to remove, modify visibility or hide posts on their page. The company initially provided a blog to release information to users, but then closed the blog, said Wisniewski, who worked with Heng Xu, associate professor of information sciences and technology, Penn State, and Yunan

Chen, assistant professor of informatics, University of California, Irvine. Denying users the ability to use the blog as a place to voice their concerns and give feedback may have thwarted one of the positive strategies people use to cope with changes in their environment, the researchers said. People who feel more in control become focused on solving problems and adjusting to the change, while those who do not feel they have control tend to focus on their emotions and resort to more negative coping strategies.

The researchers, who presented their findings today (April 30) at the Association for Computing Machinery's Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, said that 67 percent of users' coping strategies in the Timeline transition were negative. The users complained, threatened to switch to another social network and urged others to drop Facebook.

"Without giving people a way of offering feedback, you make them feel less empowered and they have more of a feeling of hopelessness," said Wisniewski.

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Social media users need help to adjust to interface changes

White House Media Matters Writes News For Major Networks
Alex covers the news coming out that Media Matters has been influencing news released by numerous agencies including CBS, NBC, ABC and others. Alex takes calls from listeners on the topics...

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White House & Media Matters Writes News For Major Networks - Video

Control your digital media in the car without fumbling with your phone thanks to iSimple's Bluetooth remote.

The iSimple BluClik aims to keep your fingers and eyes off of your phone when behind the wheel. iSimple

For many older cars, plugging your phone into the auxiliary audio input is one of the easiest, most universal ways to bring your digital audio library and a wide range of streaming media apps with you on the road. The problem with this analog connection is that it's unidirectional; you still need to touch the phone to simply skip tracks. In many states, touching your device while driving is frowned upon. What's a safe driver to do?

The iSimple BluClik is essentially a small, coin-sized Bluetooth remote that attaches to your car's steering wheel or dashboard. On its face are a smattering of buttons that allow the driver to control the volume, skip tracks, and fire up their voice command system of choice (such as Siri, Samsung S-Voice, or Google's Voice Dialer) all without unlocking the phone or fiddling with its screen.

If it works as advertised, the BluClik could make interacting with digital media on the road safer, allow the phone to be stowed out of sight when behind the wheel, and help the driver to keep eyes on the road.

The BluClik is currently available at an MSRP of $39.95. We'll be putting it to the test soon, so stay tuned for our full review.

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BluClik remote helps keep hands on wheel, not phone

WASHINGTON D.C., April 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- HIMSS Media, a leading media organization that produces and distributes essential information to help advance better health through information technology (IT), today announced the latest details on its third annual Privacy & Security Forum. With the platinum sponsor Firehost announced, the event will be held in San Diego from June 16-17. The Forum will share practical, actionable solutions to organizations' top IT security challenges.

Featuring real-world case studies and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, the Forum will give attendees the tools and resources they need to create and sustain a culture of IT privacy and security within their organizations. From mobile devices to insider threats to responding to a breach, attendees will learn how to take control of their IT security.

Attendees will hear insights from opening keynote speaker Jim Doggett, Senior Vice President, Chief Security Officer and Chief Technology Risk Officer for Kaiser Permanente. Calling on more than 20 years of information security experience, Doggett will provide a big-picture perspective on the evolving nature of healthcare privacy and security initiatives. During his keynote presentation, Doggett will discuss the state of the health IT industry, how to protect an organizations' technology assets and data, and risk management's role in defining the future of healthcare.

The Forum's expert speakers include: Iliana Peters, senior advisor for HIPAA Compliance and Enforcement, OCR; Barbara McCarthy, privacy officer, Mayo Clinic; Theresa Cullen, CMIO, Veterans Health Administration; John Houston, vice president, privacy and information security, UPMC; Deven McGraw, chair, Privacy & Security Tiger Team, ONC; and many more senior healthcare privacy and security officers from around the country.

Speakers will share their ideas and experiences on topics that include:

"From hackers to HIPAA, organizations are searching for a better understanding of today's privacy and security challenges," said John Whelan, HIMSS Media vice president. "For professionals responsible for protecting their organization's data assets and managing their IT risk, this year's Privacy and Security Forum is going to give them the information they need to sleep better at night."

More details about the Privacy & Security Forum, including registration, exhibitor and sponsor information, can be found at http://www.healthprivacyforum.com.

About HIMSS Media

HIMSS Media produces and distributes essential information to help advance the transformation of health and healthcare through the best use of information technology. Over 500,000 leading healthcare influencers, medical professionals, policy makers and technology buyers around the world rely on the media, events, data and training materials to evaluate and implement effective improvements in patient care. With global scale and local expertise, HIMSS Media offers innovative, effective and measurable media and marketing solutions for health and healthcare technology marketers. For more information, go to http://www.himssmedia.com.

HIMSS Media is a part of HIMSS WorldWide, a cause-based global enterprise that produces health IT thought leadership, education, events, market research and media services around the world. Founded in 1961, HIMSS WorldWide encompasses more than 52,000 individual members, of which more than two-thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations across the globe, plus over 600 corporate members and 250 not-for-profit partner organizations, that share this cause. HIMSS WorldWide, headquartered in Chicago, serves global health IT communities with additional offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

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The Privacy & Security Forum to Help Attendees Take Control of IT Security