Published work
Published reports and news articles authored by Luba Kassova
4 biases that leave under-represented groups out of GenAI-assisted journalism
In 2023, English-language global media quoted five male figures in AI eight times more frequently than all 42 women AI experts highlighted in Time Magazine’s top 100 list of AI influencers. What leads to this imbalance and why is it a problem? In this article Luba explores the four biases that threaten leaving women out of our AI-rich future.
Tech bros need to realise deepfake porn ruins lives - and the law has to catch up
In this opinion piece Luba focuses on one of the profoundly worrying consequences of the Al industry and engineering schools being heavily dominated by men: the growing deepfake nonconsensual sexual imagery/video industry that disproportionately affects women. There are solutions if everyone within the ecosystem acts fast.
Where are all the ‘godmothers’ of AI? Women’s voices are not being heard
This article is a cautionary tale about the real and present danger of women being written out of the future of AI and therefore of the future world we live in. Women are currently on the margins of AI leadership and news coverage about GenAI. This has to change and AI tools themselves can be part of the solution
Digital News Report: Australia 2023. Women and News Special Report: Gender Gaps in News Consumption and Engagement
Luba Kassova and Richard Addy are contributors to Chapter 4 of this report dedicated to women's engagement with the news. In their commentary they dispel the myth that women are not as interested as men in the news. The commentary presents evidence that women are indeed more interested in many news topics than men, However, the news industry is failing them by not understanding their news needs. Women will become a survival lifeline for the growth of news organisations that do.
Women Journalists and Newsrooms
Luba Kassova is featured in this report dedicated to exploring the progress, challenges, and recommendations aimed at fighting discrimination and preventing gender-based violence in journalism. Her commentary argues that to make progress in eradicating violence against women journalists in the Americas requires that news media tackle systemic and industry-wide barriers to progress, the norms that allow the wide-spread discrimination and violence, as well as the specific barriers within news organizations, powered by individual behaviors. There are some success stories, but a lot more needs to be done.
The Ruthless Ageist in My Head
Have you ever explored the ageist in you? Luba came up with the concept of the ageist inside our heads - the socialised age discriminator that puts us down and limits us as we age. This article - published in the oldest magazine targeting women in Bulgaria - explores the relentless ageist inside Luba's head. She also offers suggestions for how we could quieten it down in our day-to-day lives. Read the English version here.
The gender consumption gap for online news and how publishers can address it
This piece for Press Gazette ventures out into previously unreported news: that of the gender consumption gap at a news outlet level. Based on Richard Addy’s analysis of SimilarWeb data highlighting the difference between men’s and women’s visits to the the top 50 most visited global websites, Luba dived into analysing the gender consumption gap, the reasons behind the gap and what news organisations can do to attract the underserved female audiences.
Why are Bulgarians losing interest in the news and how can it be reignited? A gaze from a distance
This article was published by the Association of Bulgarian Journalists and is dedicated to exploring how journalism could change in Bulgaria and around the world for audiences to deepen their relationship with the news and, importantly, to stop escaping. The transformation that journalism must consider is one from being a scarecrow to becoming a travel guide.
Защо българите и хората по света обръщат гръб на новините и как да променим това?
This article examines why audiences in Bulgaria and around the world are turning away from the news and what the industry must do to reverse what sometimes feels like exodus. Luba Kassova wrote the piece following her speech on the topic at Dir.bg's 25 Online journalism conference held in Sofia in May 2023.
4 ways to improve global coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine
This piece offers a local Ukrainian perspective on what story angles are missing from global news coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Luba and AKAS were able to validate the ideas that the Ukrainian journalists shared by conducting content analysis of millions of news articles using GDELT online news database. The findings expose a clear delineation between the war angles emphasised by news outlets in the global south vs the global north.
