"Across the global South, new media technologies have brought about new forms of cultural production, distribution and reception. The spread of cassette recorders in the 1970s; the introduction of analogue and digital video formats in the 80s and 90s; the pervasive availability of recycled computer
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hardware; the global dissemination of the internet and mobile phones in the new millennium: all these have revolutionised the access of previously marginalised populations to the cultural flows of global modernity. Yet this access also engenders a pirate occupation of the modern: it ducks and deranges the globalised designs of property, capitalism and personhood set by the North. Positioning itself against Eurocentric critiques by corporate lobbies, libertarian readings or classical Marxist interventions, this volume offers a profound postcolonial revaluation of the social, epistemic and aesthetic workings of piracy. It projects how postcolonial piracy persistently negotiates different trajectories of property and self at the crossroads of the global and the local." (Publisher description)
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"This toolkit is designed for journalists working in any media – newspapers, radio, and television – as well as bloggers and other information professionals who need to get access to information held by public bodies for their stories. The toolkit is for journalists making requests in their own
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country or considering submitting a request in another country. It is based on a comparative analysis of the access to information laws in the region covered by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has 56 participating states in Europe, Central Asia and North America; of these 48 have legal provisions on the right of access to information held by public bodies; the law of Kosovo is also analysed." (Overview, page 7)
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"The practicability and effectiveness of state support schemes would have to be assessed on the basis of the economic and sociopolitical context in which the different types of support and subsidies are implemented. The expansive press subsidy schemes of Northern Europe cannot be directly compared t
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o the West African support schemes or the recent Latin American efforts to deconcentrate the media landscape and support to community media. There is no automatic relationship between the economic crisis and the scaling down of state support to media. The development and implementation of support schemes depend on political will." (Conclusion, page 31)
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"The standard theory of copyright law imagines a marketplace efficiently serving up new works to an undifferentiated world of consumers. Yet the reality is that all consumers are not equal. Class and culture combine to explain who wins, and who loses, from copyright protection. Along the dimension o
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f class, the inequality insight reminds us just because new works are created does not mean that most people can afford them, and calls for new attention to problems of affordability. Copyright protection inflates the price of books, with implications for distributive justice, democratic culture, and economic efficiency. Along the dimension of culture, the inequality insight points out that it is not enough for copyright theory to speak generally of new works; it matters crucially what languages those works are being created in. Copyright protection is likely to be an ineffective incentive system for the production of works in “neglected languages” spoken predominantly by poor people. This Article highlights and explores these relationships between copyright and social inequality, offering a new perspective on what is at stake in debates over copyright reform." (Abstract)
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"The author argues that differences in media freedom and in the politicization of the news media are rooted in differences in party structures between old and new democracies, and, notably, the fact that young parties in the new members of the European Union are short of resources, which makes them
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more likely to take control of and to exploit media resources. The book takes a closer look at five former communist countries (Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia) to explain variations in media freedom and the politicization of the news media in and across countries. It offers general country descriptions as well as detailed case studies of the media policies and party backgrounds of two governments in each country." (Publisher website)
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"Das Ziel dieser Einführung in das Medienrecht besteht darin, Journalistinnen und Journalisten einen Überblick über die rechtlichen Regeln zu geben, die den normativen Rahmen ihrer beruflichen Praxis bilden. Eine möglichst genaue Kenntnis dieses Rahmens ist zum einen vonnöten, um unerwünschte
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Folgen des eigenen Verhaltens zu vermeiden. Da die Neigung der von der Berichterstattung Betroffenen weiter zuzunehmen scheint, ihre Rechte einzuklagen und Journalisten sowie Medienbetriebe für negative Folgen der Berichterstattung schadensersatzpflichtig zu machen, kommt es darauf an, die rechtlichen Risiken des eigenen Tuns zu minimieren. Zugleich können solche Kenntnisse aber auch dazu dienen, ungerechtfertigte Einschüchterungsversuche zurückzuweisen und die durch Presse- und Rundfunkfreiheit gewährten Handlungsspielräume zugunsten von Lesern, Hörern und Zuschauern zu nutzen und so zu der freien öffentlichen Kommunikation beizutragen, die zu den zentralen Wesensmerkmalen einer freiheitlichen Gesellschaft gehört. Unter „Medienrecht“ werden hier in erster Linie die Teile der Rechtsordnung verstanden, die die Rechte und Pflichten des Journalisten im Berufsalltag betreffen. Das Organisationsrecht der elektronischen Medien wird nur insoweit berücksichtigt, wie es sich auf diese Rechte und Pflichten auswirkt. Die Rechtsbeziehungen zwischen Journalisten und ihren Arbeit- bzw. Auftraggebern werden nur behandelt, soweit es um die Nutzung ihrer urheberrechtlich geschützten Werke geht." (Einleitung, Seite 13)
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"A state-of-the-art analysis of the situation of national television in Arab countries, addressing what Arab national broadcastings today say about public policy and political opening. The essays deal with the reforms of public broadcasting organizations and the evolution, perspectives and issues of
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national broadcasting." (Publisher description)
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"This article analyses and discusses Mexican public policies regarding the transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT). We aim to show how digitization, in the Mexican context, can be thought of as an opportunity to change the duopolistic structure in television in order to obta
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in higher quality and greater content diversity. The methodology used here consists of a structural historical analysis of communication policies with an emphasis on digital switchover, paying special attention to the social power relations that have led to the current structural conditions of the concentrated Mexican communications system. Overall, preliminary results obtained in this research show a lack of clarity in DTT policies of the last two administrations (Vicente Fox 2000-2006 and Felipe Calderón 2006-2012) and a reinforced hegemony of the economically dominant broadcast and telecommunications actors: Televisa, TV Azteca and Telmex, in detriment to public service, competition, local TV stations, independent production, content quality and audiences in a broader sense." (Abstract)
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"This study carried out between May and June 2013, seeks to establish levels of transparency in public institution in Southern Africa. The study in currently in its fourth year, and findings highlight the difficulties faced by Southern African when trying to seek, access and receive information from
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public bodies. The research, conducted by seven different MISA chapters in the region, again revealed the lack of openness, transparency and accessibility on the part of public institutions, as well as their reluctance to disclose information proactively or respond to specific requests for public information, although there has been a significant improvement with respect to the use of information communication technologies (ICTs) across the region." (Fesmedia website)
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"This report is intended to be a practical, useful guide for stakeholders in national and local governments, the media, civil society, and business to making freedom of information laws work. The authors’ particular emphasis is on the role public officials and journalists must play in effectively
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breathing life into these laws, giving meaning to their democratic intent and legal guarantees [...] This paper begins with a review of the theory and practice of FOI laws, which are universally recognized as critical components of a modern system of free expression. It follows with discussion of the obstacles to effective implementation, including in an appendix several interviews with stakeholders in six countries in which FOI laws have been introduced recently: Albania, Armenia, Indonesia, Jamaica, South Africa, and Ukraine. The paper then makes several recommendations." (Executive summary)
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"This report represents an effort to help with the process of evaluating media laws in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. As governments consider what policies to set up to deal with new realities, this research should help provide an understanding of the current landscape. When examining
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this landscape, we examined several elements that can affect journalism and free expression in any nation: penal codes, media laws, regulatory bodies and the overall effect of these specifics. At times, we also address how similar problems are handled in countries with greater protections for the press. Every nation, of course, has struggled with these issues—how to empower journalists to fulfill their duty while also protecting individuals and the society from potential harm. No reform of journalism can occur solely from within the ranks of the profession. Local media law, court rulings and other government oversight greatly affect the type of journalism practiced. To create an environment in which journalists can fulfill their societal duty will require a revision of the laws that govern them." (Introduction, page 9)
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"Uruguay tiene un sistema de medios de comunicación que está concentrado en unas pocas empresas y personas. Un oligopolio formado por tres grupos económicos controla el mercado de la TV abierta y de abonados, dominando la audiencia, la facturación de la publicidad e instalando una única agenda
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informativa en todo el país desde Montevideo. A menor escala, pero con fuerte poder de incidencia local, la concentración también se reproduce en los departamentos con empresarios y grupos familiares que concentran multimedios a través de autorizaciones para operar señales de TV abierta, brindar servicios de TV para abonados y contar con una o más radios. Garantizar que haya un sistema de medios plural y diverso, para que exista un pleno ejercicio de la libertad de expresión y de información es una recomendación central de todos los organismos internacionales de protección y promoción de la libertad de expresión. Sin democratizar los medios no se puede democratizar la sociedad, y es ésta una tarea aún pendiente en nuestro país. Y no hay mejor forma de comenzar a democratizar que mediante una reforma legal aprobada por un Parlamento elegido democráticamente. Con ese objetivo el Frente Amplio para el periodo 2010-2015 planteó claramente su compromiso con la «Democratización de los medios de comunicación y de la información fortaleciendo los medios de comunicación públicos, generando en el sector privado una efectiva libre competencia y participación de la sociedad civil en la definición de las políticas públicas de comunicación.» Para colaborar con el debate público y parlamentario se ha preparado esta breve guía con los temas claves de la iniciativa legal y sus fundamentos." (Presentación)
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"The Update reveals that the challenges faced by advocates, and the campaigning tactics used in each region, are at times remarkably similar. National civil society coalitions, for example, are mentioned by many authors as having made a central contribution to campaigns. In other cases, challenges d
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iffer greatly depending on cultural context. For example, in South Asia, a problem has been identified of a lack of NGO transparency, which has created an environment where some civil society groups are leading by example; this issue is further complicated by the fact that, in some countries in the region, civil society is formally covered within the scope of the national Right to Information law. In many regions there are relatively strong relations among advocates from different countries; the Update seeks to foster better understanding and to stimulate international dialogue among the different regions of the world about this core human rights issue and its development going forward. We note that while there are plenty of national publications about RTI developments, this is far less true at the regional level. The Update also aims to draw attention to the global nature of the movement for the right to information. We hope that this will assist advocates both within and outside of FOIAnet find out about each other, and thereby further build and strengthen the movement." (Introduction, page 8)
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"The Report builds upon two main directives: on the one hand, it tries to bring together the best practices at the international and comparative level, in an attempt to offer guidance on which policy and regulatory toolkits have already proved successful in achieving longterm goals of economic effic
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iency, sustainability and democratic governance of the media sphere and could therefore be considered by Somali lawmakers as positive and reliable examples. On the other hand, the Report has been drafted with a constant attention to the specificities of the Somali society, tradition and constitutional framework, in order to tailor the recommendations as closely as possible to the specific context of Somalia. For the same purpose, along with the best European and international standards, specific cases from postconflict countries that faced similar challenges have been selected and analysed. The recommendations provided in this Report are meant to accompany the process of law making in Somalia and the public consultation between the government and the local media stakeholders that will develop during the coming months and they aim to help achieve large popular consensus on the adoption of the new Communications Law. The recommendations therefore offer a broad overview on current best practices and are to be read as a useable, adaptable toolkit on general principles rather than as a detailed list of regulatory prescriptions." (Executive summary, page 2)
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"The Freedom of Expression Toolkit is UNESCO’s contribution to freedom of expression and it is written with upper high school students in mind. The Toolkit covers the major concepts and issues and it is written in an easy to understand, conversational manner [...] Overall, the Toolkit consists of
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four major elements: Understanding freedom of expression; Identifying threats to freedom of expression; Identifying conditions favourable to freedom of expression; Doing one’s part in promoting and defending freedom of expression through practical activities." (Introduction, page 9-10)
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"The aim of this research is to highlight the trajectory of media policy in Indonesia and to assess its impacts on the different forms of media themselves and on the citizens and their rights, particularly with regards to their media rights. Such rights, in this study, are referred to as the right t
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o access media infrastructure, to access trustworthy information and quality media content, and to participate in the media policymaking process." (Executive summary)
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