29.12.2025

In 2025, the latest issue of World of Media. Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies brings together four original research papers by scholars from South Africa, Pakistan and Russia.

The lead article Voices unheard: The struggle of indigenous language journalism on Nigeria’s media landscape is co-authored by Abiodun Salawu and Babatunde Adeyeye from the North-West University (South Africa). Their paper focuses on the development of indigenous-language journalism in Nigeria and analyzes the social, linguistic, and economic factors hindering the advancement of indigenous journalism in the region. The authors identify the dominance of English as the official language as a central challenge. Consequently, they argue for a reevaluation of current media and language policies to prioritize the preservation and support of indigenous languages within the local media landscape.

The paper The impact of digital media on play activity in preschool children: A psychological study by Margarita Gavrilova, Elena Dvorskaya and Vera Sukhikh from Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia), focuses on the specific features of children's media consumption, particularly on the influence of digital media on the socialization of preschool children. The results showed that screen time can correlate with a child's attachment to toys, and current media trends can influence children’s toy preferences. At the same time, the authors note that children's lack of knowledge about modern media narratives does not lead to rejection by their peers or inability to participate in group games.

Filza Imran from the University of Central Punjab and Farahat Ali from the National University of Beaconhouse (Pakistan) are the authors of the article Exploring the antecedents of news avoidance behavior among university students in Pakistan. Their research investigates the growing phenomenon of news avoidance in the evolving digital media landscape. Based on a survey of 558 students across six universities in two Pakistani metropolitan cities, the study analyzes key factors such as news overload, fatigue, source trust, political interest, and the prevalent perception that "news finds an individual" on its own. The findings identify news fatigue and the "news finds me" perception as the most significant predictors of news avoidance among students.

The closing article of the issue Universities’ media communication strategies: Theoretical foundations and implementation features explores the media communication strategies of universities. Anna Gureeva, a researcher from Russian State University for the Humanities and Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia), examines how universities implement their "three missions" — scientific, educational and social — through their media communication. By analyzing expert interviews and official documents, the study contrasts two prevailing approaches: treating strategy as an informal "action plan" versus a formalized guide. The author also identifies key dimensions of an effective media communication strategy and proposes a standardized framework for universities in leading their media activities.

The new issue is available here.

The academic journal World of Media. Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies has been published by the Faculty of Journalism of Lomonosov Moscow State University since 2009. World of Media represents a collection of original research in the field of media and journalism studies conducted by authors from diverse cities and institutions. World of Media is aimed at promoting the development of media and journalism studies in both national and global contexts, and stimulating a wider public interest in the journalism theories, methods, findings and applications generated by research in communication and allied fields.