"The Global Handbook of Media Accountability brings together leading scholars to 'de-Westernize' the academic debate on media accountability and discuss different models of media self-regulation and newsroom transparency around the globe. With examination of the status quo of media accountability in
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forty-four countries worldwide, it offers a theoretically informed, comparative analysis of accountability regimes of different varieties. As such, it constitutes the first interdisciplinary academic framework comparing structures of media accountability across all continents and represents an invaluable basis for further research and policy-making. It will therefore appeal to scholars and students of media studies and journalism, mass communication, sociology and political science, as well as policy-makers and practitioners." (Publisher description)
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"An international team of contributors draw upon global and non-Western traditions to discuss the philosophical origins of ethics and the tension that exists between media institutions, the media market and political/ideological influencers. The chapters then unveil the discrepancies among internati
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onal journalists in abiding by the ethics of the profession and the extent to which media ethics are understood and applied in their local context/environment. Arguing that the legitimacy of ethics comes not from the definition per se, but from the extent to which it leads to social good, the book posits this should be the media’s raison d'être to abide by globally accepted ethical norms in order to serve the common good." (Publisher description)
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"Ethical dilemmas with open source analysis are common. Analysts and journalists working with open source information have stories of feeling uneasy about publishing something. They weigh possibly risking harm to themselves, their employer, other individuals, or even international security. After pu
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blishing, they worry whether they did the right thing. These stories are shared quietly or hesitantly—compared to stories of journalistic or analytic feats—but ethical challenges are part of the day-to-day experience. Those analysts and journalists also acknowledge they could use more training, guidance, support, and focused discussion on their ethical practices. This paper aims to help elevate those stories and perspectives. It offers observations from a series of 28 structured interviews with analysts and journalists who use open source and geospatial analysis to inform their work on international security and nonproliferation policy. The goal of the paper is to make it easier for individuals, organizations, and community stakeholders to join discussions on enhancing their ethical practices with open source analysis. The paper isn’t a critique of existing practices. Nor does it prescribe an ethical framework. Instead, it is an attempt to learn with practitioners and help identify potential bottom-up solutions to the common ethical challenges they face." (Page 3)
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"Esta investigación tiene como objetivo determinar indicadores clave para evaluar la capacidad de transparencia, autorregulación y participación de los usuarios, las tres dimensiones de la accountability. Se adoptó un triple punto de partida metodológico: revisión sistemática de literatura so
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bre indicadores de accountability y sus características, un mapeo de medios de referencia con indicadores de accountability, y evaluación de medios. Se obtuvo un sistema de 11 indicadores clave para medir y establecer comparaciones entre sitios web de medios de comunicación y determinar si satisfacen las tres dimensiones clave de la rendición de cuentas y los elementos asociados. Dicho sistema puede ser aplicado en múltiples escenarios para fomentar un periodismo de calidad." (Resumen)
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"This research has shown that in the midst of the complex and diverse cultural context of Indonesia, growing use and misuse of social media in the country, and the complexity of ‘grey-area’ problematic content in the country, there has been a lack of meaningful and continuous dialogue between pl
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atforms and leading and peripheral civil society groups. Civil society groups and lay users have been battling individually, instead of coordinating, against the content moderation decisions of platforms. Most of them do not know how to appeal against the platform’s decisions. Meanwhile, the leading civil society groups in their capacity as the official partners of platforms have often felt powerless in the negotiation process with platforms. Platforms usually hold the final decision-making power, while not displaying sufficient understanding of the complexity of the local context. Accordingly, there have been cases of over and under content moderation in the country, that either hurt freedom of expression or the safety of individuals and public. When we submitted the idea of a local Coalition on Freedom of Expression and Content Moderation to the interviewees, most of them responded positively. To be clear, there is already a number of multi-stakeholder groups and civil society alliances working on issues of Internet governance, freedom of expression, and social media ethics in the country, but only few have shown interest, resources, and commitment to develop work on the issue of the contribution of local actors to content moderation on social media." (Recommendations, page 57)
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"Communicators in the end child marriage movement are responsible for ensuring the storytelling process is a source of power for contributors, and that contributors feel positive about the following portrayal. This means examining biases, story and image choices, and decision making to ensure they r
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eflect contributors’ wishes, as expressed by them. It also means constantly learning and improving approaches to ethical communications based on contributors’ diverse experiences and feedback. These guidelines outline ethical communications principles and good practices for the end child marriage movement, and include the practical considerations and tools needed to deliver on them. They are designed to support those communicating around the issue of child marriage to consider: 1. if their communications materials reflect the wishes and expectations of the girls, adolescents and young women who share their stories; 2. how communications materials are received by external audiences." (Introduction)
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"For photo and video journalists, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised difficult questions regarding how they show the grief of the victims and survivors, and the courage of medical workers to illustrate their stories and show the deadly impact of the virus, without exploiting grief and without insertin
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g themselves into crisis situations where they are not welcome. This guidance document examines the ethical issues of producing visual coverage of the pandemic and offers some rules journalists can follow to help ensure they do not cross the line from professionalism to sensationalism." (Publisher description)
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"The first handbook on global media ethics; provides a valuable resource for teaching media ethics in a global era; addresses all major approaches to global media ethics; contains contributions by leading, internationally recognized authors in the field of media ethics." (Publisher description)
"The media in Zambia have been in a state of uncertainty since Zambia reinstated democratic governance in the early 1990s. Despite promising initial steps to deregulate the media that started under President Chiluba’s government in the mid-1990s, achieving these objectives in successive years has
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proved difficult. Successive governments have exhibited increasing aversion towards free and independent media, instead increasing efforts to regulate. This is significant, because comparisons with Kaunda’s autocratic era before 1991 cast the state in a friendlier light towards the media, defying normative theories. After both the Media Ethics Council of Zambia and Zambia Media Ethics Council (ZAMEC) failed as self-regulatory mechanisms in the mid to late 2000s, current state efforts have turned to create a hybrid statutory self-regulatory framework. This is a challenge because Zambia’s democracy has come under pressure from increasing political intolerance. Furthermore, while media professionals support the idea of regulation to strengthen professionalism, they often disagree on the value of statutory self-regulation and its implications. This study used the In-Depth Interview approach on 23 media professionals and documentary analysis to sketch the history and future implications of media regulation efforts in Zambia. Results show a checkered past but present an even more complicated future. The history of the Independent Broadcasting Authority shows that the proposed statutory self-regulatory framework presents more challenges to the media than ever before. This paper aims to contribute to global media studies and specifically the problems of regulation, the state, and media freedom in an African context." (Abstract)
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"Media accountability has attracted the interest of journalism scholars, media managers and policy makers as the debate grows on how to ensure a free and accountable media. However, media accountability is rarely studied beyond the theoretical and academic debate, especially in many parts of Africa.
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This article presents the findings of an investigation into media accountability policies and practices at two newsrooms in Kenya. Data came from document analysis and face-to-face interviews with various cadres of journalists and media managers of the newspapers. A range of policies and practices for media accountability guide the journalism at the newsrooms. The editorial policy and other ad hoc policies, routine gate-keeping processes, internal editorial evaluations and capacity-building processes are used to ensure quality and professionalism. The newsrooms also have various practices designed for dialogue and interaction with members of the public. However, media accountability is hampered by a weak professional culture; the dominance of commercial values; and deep ethnic and political fissures in the country. The management of the newsrooms should be encouraged to invest in media accountability as a moral obligation to society and to justify their quest for autonomy and independence from political and economic pressures." (Abstract)
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