"The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a tool for assessing the risks for media pluralism in a given country. The Monitor aims to help policymakers, researchers, and civil society to understand the threat to media pluralism in different media systems through research, analysis and the provision of co
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untry data. The present Monitor has been developed and tested by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF), at the European University Institute, and has been funded by the European Union. The CMPF created the prototype of the Monitor and pilot-tested it in 2014 (MPM2014), building on the 2009 Independent Study on Indicators for Media Pluralism in the Member States – Towards a Risk-Based Approach. The results of this second prototype, which was tested in 2015 (MPM2015), are published in this report. During these two rounds of implementation, the CMPF has strengthened the research design of the Monitor, co-ordinated the data collection carried out by national experts, and analysed the results, i.e., it has assessed the risks for media pluralism across EU Member States. This report presents the results and the methodology of the MPM2015 implementation, which measures risks to Media Pluralism in 19 EU countries, namely, Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden." (Executive summary)
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"The terms ‘indices’ and ‘indicators’ may immediately cause eyelids to droop. How, then, might they serve to impassion publics and, ultimately, promote social change? This paper examines the extent to which indices and indicators can be considered communication tools for social movements and
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social change. The analysis is based on a 2018 evaluation of one index based in the United States – the Ranking Digital Rights Index, which assesses privacy and freedom of expression in the ICT space – and incorporates interviews with civil society stakeholders. Bringing theory from the fields of journalism and social movements together with the data from the evaluation, the findings suggest indices can serve as useful communication resources for social movements under certain circumstances. In particular, the analysis suggests three communication resources – legitimate information, newsworthy information, and flexible information – that human rights indices are most likely to provide." (Abstract)
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"The impact framework is a set of tools and guidelines that helps to define targets for, track, and assess the impact of activities under the supported media projects in a clear and organised way; it can also be used for other media projects. Its methodology embraces a user-centric approach, links p
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roject activities to key performance indicators (KPIs) and outcomes, and helps to identify and collect data from the beginning to the end of the projects. The impact framework also allows the programme’s media outlet teams to assess risks, track projects’ progress towards established targets and, if necessary, correct their course in a timely fashion." (Page 3)
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"The Media Freedom Analyzer developed by Laura Schneider is a new way to measure global media freedom in a more objective, unbiased and transparent way. Grounded in the opinions of around 1000 experts from 126 countries, the index is the first empirically validated tool to assess free and independen
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t media across the world. The existing press freedom rankings are frequently criticized for being arbitrary and having a Western bias. This book tackles this very problem. In times of widespread populism, disinformation and mistrust in the media, it is vitally important to have an assessment tool that is accepted across cultures." (Publisher description)
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"This paper presents a new set of indicators to assess the viability of news media at a time when the discussion about the survival of quality media is omnipresent, while systematic, fact-based strategies to tackle the problem are omni-absent. As digital transformation is sweeping through the media
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industry, marking the death knell of traditional business models, new answers are needed. Based on its Media Viability Model, DW Akademie has developed a framework that allows media managers, media development experts, and academics to assess individual media outlets or entire information ecosystems in a practical, solution-oriented, and tailor-made way. The Media Viability Indicators (MVIs) look at five societal dimensions that influence the functioning and quality of news media: economics, politics, content and expertise, technology, and the community they are serving. They allow for gathering data and evidence sorely needed for more effective and substantiated strategies. The MVIs also aim to develop a common language about what media viability actually means and enhance the discussion on what needs to be taken into account when talking about the future of news media." (Page 1)
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"The four principles identified as key to Internet Universality are summarised as the R-O-A-M principles, and are fundamental to the development of the Internet in ways that are conducive to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals with no one left behind. These principles are: R – that the int
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ernet is based on human Rights; O – that it is Open; A – that it should be Accessible to all, and M – that it is nurtured by Multistakeholder participation. To enable the concept of Internet Universality to be more concretely understood and applied, UNESCO has spent two years developing indicators for the four principles. These indicators enable the empirical assessment of Internet Universality in terms of its existence at the level of a national Internet environment. By using these new indicators for research, a collage of evidence can be assembled to help governments and other stakeholders to identify achievements and gaps. The indicator framework is tailored for national use in regard to improving the local Internet environment, and is not designed or suited to rank countries in comparison with one another." (Executive summary, page 12)
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"Diana Ingenhoff und Alexander Buhmann führen in den aktuellen Forschungs- und Wissensstand zu Public Diplomacy und insbesondere zu Landesimages ein. Sie reflektieren dabei Fragen der Messung, Entstehung und Gestaltung von Landesimages und geben Antworten auf die folgenden Leitfragen: Welche Aspekt
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e/Dimensionen eines Landes sind wichtig für sein Image und wie entsteht es? Welches sind die für die Imagebildung wirksamen Kanäle? Welche Handlungsrelevanz und Wirksamkeit hat das Landesimage? Wie lässt sich die Wirksamkeit von Public Diplomacy und Landeskommunikation messen und evaluieren? Das Buch dokumentiert und diskutiert die facettenreiche Literatur zu Landesimages und Public Diplomacy. Es enthält zahlreiche Abbildungen, ein Glossar und ein Register und fördert damit den Dialog zwischen Forschung und Praxis." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Robert G. Picard describes the evolvement of UNESCO's media development indicators. The chapter describes a growing focus on economic, financial and managerial dimensions, since, it argues, they pave the fundament to any sustainable, commercial or non-commercial journalistic venture. What Picard cr
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itically argues is that there is no universal quick fix for sustainable journalism. Any normative effort to define and measure media development or sustainable journalism also needs to take into account the local contingencies, where sustainability may look quite different depending on its temporal, geographic, economic and cultural context." (Page xxxi)
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"Dieser Beitrag widmet sich dem medienvermittelten Vertrauen in NGOs. Ein auf Basis der Theorie des öffentlichen Vertrauens (Bentele 1994) entwickeltes, inhaltsanalytisches Messinstrument, der NGO-Trust Index (NGO-TI) und die Ergebnis-Visualisierung in der NGO-Trust Map (Wohlgemuth et al. 2013), we
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rden vorgestellt, getestet und diskutiert. Der Methodentest erfolgt anhand einer vergleichenden Fallstudie zur deutschen Sektion des Kinderhilfswerks der Vereinten Nationen (Unicef Deutschland) und der deutschen Umweltstiftung des World Wide Fund for Nature." (Zusammenfassung)
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"El presente artículo aborda la construcción del Índice de Rentabilidad Social en Comunicación (IRSCOM), que pretende recoger valores ligados al funcionamiento de los medios audiovisuales, eludiendo la visión mercantilista, potenciando la participación ciudadana y la transparencia en su gesti
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n. Este indicador es una propuesta que persigue corregir las deficiencias en la rentabilidad social de los medios para consolidar modelos mediáticos que respondan a lógicas centradas en la construcción democrática, la fortaleza de la pluralidad y la diversidad." (Resumen)
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"In times of digital transformation media all over the world have to come up with new ways to ensure their survival. Meanwhile, media development actors are searching for new concepts and orientation in their support of media organizations and media markets. This paper presents DW Akademie’s sugge
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stion for new indicators to measure economic viability. The criteria not only take into account the financial strategies and managerial structures of individual media outlets, but also the overall economic conditions in a country as well as the structures of the media market needed to ensure independence, pluralism and professional standards. After all, money talks – and media development should listen." (Executive summary)
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"The handbook is based on the authors’ varied experiences from consulting the implementation of media mappings in several transitional countries and it will focus on two of these projects: a. mapping the Mongolian media landscape initiated in 1999 ten years after the break down of Communism and b.
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the mapping of the Libyan media landscape initiated in 2012 one year after the Libyan revolution in 2011 and the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi. Developing on the experiences from these two projects and subsequent reflections the authors investigate why the Mongolian project was a success and still operating and in turn why the Libyan was far less successful despite similar methodological approaches. On the basis of these experiences the authors provide a description of a number of general circumstances that the authors recommend should be taken into account before and during the process of setting up a media mapping capacity." (IMS website)
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"The existing international media freedom indices provide a variety of different information tools that contain important knowledge for media development practitioners. As shown, the different tools are of varying significance for the relevant purposes within the media development context: while som
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e measures mainly supply general data that provide a broad overview, others publish less information tools but more detailed information about specific aspects [...] In summary, the presented media freedom assessments should never be used as the only source of information. Rather, their data should generally be verified and validated against other knowledge sources. This is especially true because of the shortcomings of the indices’ methodologies. Especially the two global rankings were developed by a few people mostly from Western countries, and their indicators are evaluated by very few people. In turn, the results of such a small group can be subjective and potentially biased. Hence, media development practitioners should be informed about how the assessments are compiled in order to be able to critically reflect their findings. Consequently, the international media freedom indices should be used in the context of media development, but they should be used with caution." (Conclusion)
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"Journalists around the world are being killed and threatened for doing their work. This is a serious hindrance to freedom of expression and the safe practice of journalism. UN and UNESCO have led the process to create the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity to i
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mprove the safety of journalists. As a part of the UN Plan, UNESCO also developed the Journalists’ Safety Indicators (JSI) assessment, which enables evaluation of the safety of journalists in a given country. Based on the first JSI assessments in Pakistan, Guatemala, Honduras, Nepal and Kenya in 2013-2015, but also following the recent developments in the practice of journalism, this article argues that in order to protect journalists and those practicing journalism properly, the concept of ‘journalist’ needs to be defined broadly. Furthermore, special attention needs to be paid to digital safety issues, women journalists, and wide-based cooperation on the safety of journalists." (Abstract)
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"By illustrating the rise of neoliberalism as a case in point, the study hypothesises a neoliberal influence on the measurement of freedom of information. To test such assumption, the work describes three ideal typical models of freedom of information – the liberal, egalitarian and neoliberal mode
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ls – and their connection with specific conceptions of democracy. Then, the article focuses on the Freedom of the Press Index by Freedom House, that is the most used and recognised instrument for measuring freedom of information. Though the Freedom House contends to measure a liberal conception of freedom of information, the analysis of the indicators of the Freedom of the Press Index shows that they mirror the neoliberal model at least with respect to the role of state and market on media systems, and the conception of media pluralism. The results bring into question the uncritical acceptance of the Freedom of the Press Index as the universal yardstick of freedom of information." (Abstract)
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"This guidebook aims to give the reader an overview of the existing international media freedom measures and how they can be used. By introducing the methodology and pointing out the strengths and weaknesses, it allows the readers to better understand, judge and thus critically reflect the indices
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findings. This, in turn, enables them to ideally use and adopt the results for their own purposes. It addresses both stakeholders active in media development cooperation and journalists as well as all other people interested in this topic, such as politicians, academics or activists. The following five international and global media freedom indices will be introduced and analyzed: The Freedom of the Press Index by Freedom House; The Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders; The Media Sustainability Index by the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX); The African Media Barometer by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung; The Media Development Indicators by UNESCO. These five measures were selected for the analysis because they are the only initiatives that evaluate media freedom internationally and on a regular basis. Strictly speaking, these indices can be further divided into two subgroups: those that claim to measure media freedom and those that aim to measure the theoretically broader concepts of media development or media sustainability. But since media freedom is a crucial component of media development and media sustainability and because in practice it is difficult to properly distinguish between the two concepts, both are included in this analysis." (Introduction, page 7)
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"This guidebook has been developed for use by professionals, policymakers and the research community involved in media development around the world. Its development was based on the UIS questionnaires on media statistics (see Appendices II, III and IV). This guide is not intended to provide a full s
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et of monitoring and evaluation indicators, but rather a limited number of indicators that can easily be calculated based on administrative data available within most countries. For this reason, this tool is flexible, open to changes and can be adapted to the context of a given country. Over time, the guidebook will be updated according to changes to the questionnaire and data requirements. Qualitative indicators that may emerge from the regulatory framework questionnaire are not a concern of this guide; the guide is more quantitative in nature rather than constituting a qualitative assessment tool that is required for the in-depth analysis of laws and regulations. At the time of publication (May 2013), 54 country profiles have been published on the UIS website and further countries may be added in the future. The profiles present national regulations and data on broadcast and print media." (Executive summary)
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"This paper draws on some preliminary findings from a comparative thematic analysis of 47 evaluation documents of media assistance programs. The aim of this analysis is to identify trends in impact evaluation practice in the media assistance field, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of differen
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t evaluation approaches. This paper presents four types of social change claims commonly presented in reports; hypothetical changes, introduction of new opportunities, concrete examples of immediate impacts, and analysis of ongoing social and political changes. Although these types may appear as a spectrum from weak to strong, the interactions are perhaps more accurately understood using metaphors such as building blocks. This paper explores these types in more detail and suggests that a robust set of impacts-types could be useful in developing more grounded theories of change and indicators." (Abstract)
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"The present text explains how the Media Sustanability Index has refined its instrument and procedures to better capture the impact of social media." (Abstract)