"Concentrated and usually conservative media are characteristic of Latin American countries, and at the same time these structures undermine meaningful democracy. Given the political influence of large media conglomerates, even most center-left governments are reluctant to limit the power of influen
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tial companies. Argentina, however, passed a new comprehensive media law in 2009 designed to democratize the media sector. This article traces the origins of the law and analyzes the strategies of the actors involved, with the focus resting on the roles of social movements and large media companies. The article then presents the main features of the new regulation that social movements now take as a model case for other countries. I argue that the new law originates from an unusually participatory legislative process and furthers the democratization of communication. The passage of this law is explained through the associational capabilities of the movement, the potent framing of media regulation as a matter of democracy and the changing mediaÞstate dynamics that disrupted the long-standing mutually supporting ties between the dominant Clarín Group and the government." (Abstract)
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"This article argues that for all the plaudits that it has received Botswana is not a true example of democracy. It only continues to shine because of its historical context and the elaborate machinations of the ruling party. It supports Good's (1996) thesis of Authoritarian Liberalism as an apt des
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cription of this style of leadership. The article articulates this by examining Botswana's media policy against the leadership of its first leader, Sir Seretse Khama (1965-1980), famous across the globe for his democratic credentials. Reference will also be made to the Masire (1980-1998) and Mogae (1998-2008) eras. It argues that the current climate of media tyranny and democratic erosion is a legacy of Khama's foundation." (Abstract)
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"The book is particularly commendable for providing a one-stop for relevant sections of media laws and for providing essential legal tips including explanations of various legal terms. Its treatment of ethical issues in media practice is a plus. The book strikes a commendable balance of Law and Ethi
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cs in its structure, devoting four chapters to each of these two areas." (Foreword, page 2)
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"Informationsfreiheit ist in Verfassungen, Gesetzen und internationalen Konventionen verankert. Die Ausübung dieses Rechts stößt jedoch in Subsahara-Afrika vielerorts an enge Grenzen – der Trend zu mehr Offenheit auf dem Papier setzt sich im politischen Alltag zumeist nicht fort. Als politische
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s Menschenrecht ist Informationsfreiheit elementarer Bestandteil einer Demokratie. Sie ermöglicht politische Teilhabe und fördert transparentes Regierungshandeln. Darüber hinaus ist Informationsfreiheit eine Voraussetzung für die Verwirklichung zahlreicher sozialer und wirtschaftlicher Rechte. Eine politische Kultur, die den wiederkehrenden, friedlichen und demokratischen Machtwechsel als Selbstverständlichkeit begreift, ist Voraussetzung dafür, dass Umsetzungsmechanismen greifen und Informationsfreiheit eine Realität wird." (Seite 1)
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"Based on the study estimates, the total contribution of CBIs to the Bhutanese economy in 2008 was 5.5% of GDP or Nu.3,009 million; 10.1% of total employment or 25,215 persons; 4.0% of total exports or Nu. 912.4 million; 6.9% of total imports or Nu.1,604.8 million. The contribution of CBIs to GDP wa
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s only Nu. 648.8 million or 2.8% in 2001, but it increased almost fivefold by 2008. In other words, CBIs grew at a rapid pace of about 21.3% per annum, outperforming the national economy, which grew at 9.0% during the period. Interestingly, each of four CBI groups surpassed the national growth rate during this period. The core and interdependent CBIs grew the fastest at 123% per annum, followed by the non-dedicated support industries at 14.5%. The high rate of growth of core CBIs during this period is due to the low base of growth. Prior to the year 2000, the main core CBIs such as printing press, literature, films, TV and cable TV, IT and IT-enabled services hardly existed. Their significant growth took place only after the year 2000. Given the unique structure of the Bhutanese economy and the differing growth among CBI groups, the partial CBIs are relatively more significant in Bhutan. The core and partial CBIs accounted for an overwhelming 75% of the total CBI share of GDP in 2008. This is because many of the core and partial CBIs flourished due to economic liberalisation, which became more systemic, especially after 2005. This is also due to the promotion of cultural tourism. The core CBIs accounted for about 34%, partial contributed 41%, non-dedicated support industries accounted for 14%, and the interdependent CBIs 11% of the total value added of CBIs. The relatively small share of the interdependent CBIs is due to the weak manufacturing base in Bhutan." (Executive summary, page 5-6)
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"The issue of media accountability mechanisms has been brought into the spotlight in South Africa following the release by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) of a discussion paper entitled ‘Media Transformation, Ownership and Diversity’ for deliberation at its National General Council me
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eting in September 2010, and the subsequent resolutions from the meeting. The paper and subsequent 2010 resolutions, among other things, reinforce a 2007 ANC Conference resolution to investigate the establishment of a statutory Media Appeals Tribunal (MAT) as the ruling party has suggested that the current self-regulatory system established by the print media does not sufficiently ensure that standards and ethics are upheld by newspapers. The print media have defended the self -regulatory mechanisms they have put in place, and argued that statutory regulation would inhibit freedom of expression and breach South Africa’s Constitution.
This paper does not evaluate the different arguments, nor does it make any recommendations on a way forward, beyond proposing that any accountability mechanisms/policies put in place must be responsive to evident public need and premised on reinforcing the media’s responsibility to hold those with economic, political and/or social power to account and to tell the news truthfully, accurately and fairly. The research instead focuses on highlighting approaches taken in other countries and ways the media and/or governments promote adherence by the media to principles and standards while reinforcing freedom of expression. It also briefly looks at additional proposals on transformation of the media suggested by the ANC in its paper. It focuses particularly on print media as this is the primary focus of the ruling party recommendations." (Introduction)
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"Die Broschüre informiert anschaulich über die Rechte der Hörer, Zuschauer und Internetnutzer und zeigt gleichzeitig auf, wie und auf welchem Weg Kritik zu einzelnen Angeboten geäußert werden kann. Sie beantwortet hierzu Fragen wie: „Wann werden Menschenwürde und Persönlichkeitsrechte verle
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tzt?“, „Wie viel Werbung darf im Fernsehen gezeigt werden?“, „Was kann ich tun, wenn ich bedenkliche Inhalte auf Internetseiten finde?“. Dabei zeigt sie sowohl juristische Grundlagen als auch konkrete Handlungsmöglichkeiten für den Nutzer auf. Hierzu werden, neben relevanten Paragraphen, auch gängige Rechtsbegriffe anschaulich erklärt und verschiedene rechtliche Instrumente vorgestellt, die dem Mediennutzer zur Verfügung stehen. Zudem wird erläutert, welche Institutionen bei Rechtsverletzungen Adressaten einer Beschwerde oder eines Hinweises sein können und inwiefern Plattformen wie Internetforen und Weblogs dazu genutzt werden können, Kritik und Hinweise zu platzieren und damit den öffentlichen Diskurs anzuregen. Die vorliegende überarbeitete Fassung der Broschüre erklärt anschaulich die aktuellen Entwicklungen beispielsweise im Bereich der Werbung. Die zunehmende Crossmedialität führt zu immer neuen Erscheinungsformen von Werbung im Internet und in Computerspielen. Werbung ist damit zu einem zentralen Bestandteil der Lebenswirklichkeit, insbesondere von Heranwachsenden, geworden. Auch das Thema Datenschutz in sozialen Netzwerken ist sensibel und wurde mit aufgenommen." (Vorwort, Seite 6-7)
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"Die in Deutschland diskutierten Modelle und Fragen zu Regulierung, Partizipation und Mitbestimmung in den elektronischen Medien sind auch in anderen europäischen Staaten relevant. Die AutorInnen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis thematisieren dabei insbesondere die Beteiligung der Zivilgesellschaft. Da
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sich die Medienpolitik zunehmend auf europäischer Ebene abspielt, ist es sinnvoll, die europäischen wissenschaftlichen Ergebnisse mit den Erfahrungen von PraktikerInnen zusammenzuführen und zu diskutieren." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"The study has three general objectives: (1) A detailed legal description and analysis of the audiovisual media services regulatory bodies in the Member States, in candidate and potential candidate countries of the European Union and the EFTA countries, as well as four non-European countries; (2) an
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analysis of the effective implementation of the legal framework in these countries; and (3) the identification of key characteristics constituting an independent regulatory body in light of the AVMS Directive. Various theoretical approaches on independent regulatory bodies and reasons for their establishment are unfolded in the study. It can be concluded that there have been and are a number of arguments for separating the regulatory task from traditional public authorities (e.g. governments) and market players. However, the independence and autonomy of these regulatory bodies is seen to be associated with risks, which are usually minimalised by number of counterbalancing measures, such as appropriate accountability mechanisms." (Executive summary, page 7)
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"The right to privacy and the right to information are both essential human rights in the modern information society. For the most part, these two rights complement each other in holding governments accountable to individuals. But there is a potential conflict between these rights when there is a de
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mand for access to personal information held by government bodies. Where the two rights overlap, states need to develop mechanisms for identifying core issues to limit conflicts and for balancing the rights. This paper examines legislative and structural means to better define and balance the rights to privacy and information." (Executive summary)
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"Chapter 1 describes the current, critical situation public media finds itself in, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Twenty years after the regime changes, the current trend in media politics can be best described as a “counter-reformation” rather than a progressive transition. Many publ
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ic media organisations are further away from stable and sound operation than ever, some of them teetering continuously on the brink of collapse. In a mix of cause and effect, this dire situation manifests itself in lack of funding, dearth of status among the public, a creative brain drain and waning program quality, quantity and variety. At the same time, the whole media sector comes under increasing economic pressure that is fuelled by the impact of both digitalisation and a concurrent world financial crisis. In chapter 2 the remit of public media is discussed, with a special emphasis on scrutinising the thesis of universal objectives versus the necessity to provide an acceptable level of programming diversity. Chapter 3 contains the three constitutional pillars of media regulation as identifi ed by the authors: governance, funding and access. The suggestion being that the malfunctioning of just one of these three elements would cause the disintegration of the whole system." (Page 8)
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"El documento identifica las diferentes maneras a través de las cuales los actores del campo periodístico—ya sean periodistas, editores o propietarios de medios de comunicación—se han comprometido en la promoción, implementación y monitoreo de la legislación de acceso a la información pú
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blica. La metodología de la investigación ha sido cualitativa; el relevamiento bibliográfico se complementó con opiniones de actores clave consultados para el estudio. Esta investigación permitió constatar que acceso a la información y prensa se relacionan, realimentan y confluyen de diversas maneras. Esas distintas formas de relacionarse han podido verificarse como fuertes o muy fuertes al comienzo (al definir la agenda, por ejemplo) pero esa relación es más débil en la fase de monitoreo de la legislación." (Resumen ejecutivo)
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"El texto recopila las experiencias vividas por diferentes países de Europa y América Latina en su proceso de transición de la televisión analógica a la digital. Destaca el papel jugado por los estados, los órganos regulatorios, la incidencia de las transnacionales televisivas, los intereses e
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conómicos de las empresas y de los países dueños de la nueva tecnología para vender su formato al resto de países. Se actualizan desde la visión de diferentes autores, temas de fondo como pluralismo, los derechos de acceso, la estructura y equilibrios del mercado, las nuevas formas de consumo o la política de estandarización tecnológica. Los autores plantean la necesidad de una discusión sobre el papel de las políticas de comunicación en Iberoamérica ante este nuevo entorno audiovisual, considerando cuando menos, desde una lectura socio-crítica, el estatuto y derechos de ciudadanía digital, así como la persistencia y límites del dominio e interés público." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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