"Personal account of the manifold problems faced by the author in converting state broadcasting in Kosovo into a public service broadcaster. The author was foreign relations coordinator of the German public boradcaster ARD from 1965 to 1996." (commbox)
"Analyzing the “clues to conflict” in vulnerable societies can enable policymakers to identify societies that are particularly vulnerable to media abuse and decide on the most appropriate type and timing of media interventions. These clues are divided into two categories. Structural indicators c
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oncern media outlets, media professionals, or government institutions concerned with media; these indicators can include media variety and plurality, degree of journalist isolation, and the legal environment for media. Content indicators concern content designed to create fear (such as a focus on past atrocities and history of ethnic hatred) or content designed to create a sense of inevitability and resignation (such as discrediting alternatives to conflict). In response to the clues to conflict, a number of opportunities for intervention are suggested. These media interventions fall into three categories: structural interventions, such as strengthening domestic and international journalist networks; contentspecific interventions, such as issue-oriented training; and aggressive interventions, such as radio and television jamming." (Summary)
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"This article is based on the analysis of 198 communication and media projects financed by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Nearly 80% of the projects were aimed at communication infrastructure and training for its maintenance." (commbox)
"This article examines public perceptions of the news and information sector in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Since the signing of the Dayton Peace Accord in late 1995, the international community has donated millions of dollars to foster free and fair media. This research explores the media transition in Bos
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nia through a four-year longitudinal study. The research design measured public perceptions (N = 1689) of the realism, importance and credibility of news outlets in the two major media centers: Banja Luka and Sarajevo. The findings suggest that over time Bosnians are relying less on politically motivated news outlets. Moreover, some independent media have emerged as both important and credible sources for news and information." (Abstract)
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"Präsentation beim Seminar "Praxis und Perspektiven der deutschen Medien- und Journalistenförderung" (Bonn, 13.-14. November 2002). Der Autor leitete das FES-Medienreferat über 25 Jahre und war während zweier Wahlperioden Präsident des UNESCO-Medienprogramms IPDC. Er schlägt eine Konzentration
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der deutschen Medienförderung auf sieben Schwerpunktbereiche vor." (commbox)
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"Listet die Profile von 21 in der Medien- und Journalistenförderung tätigen Institutionen auf, vom BMZ bis zum Solidaritätsfonds Demokratische Medien in der Welt. Außerdem sind die folgenden Veröffentlichungen beigefügt: Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage "Förderung der Medien
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in Entwicklungsländern" (2002); Bärbel Roeben: Medienförderung (2002); Michael Krzeminski: Medien in der Entwicklungspolitik: alte Paradigmen und neue Perspektiven (1999); Manfred Oepen: Deutsche Medienförderung im Abseits (1995)." (commbox)
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"A concise overview looking at the approaches, activities, and challenges of governmental, international, and nongovernmental organizations in the field of media and peacebuilding." (commbox)
"Clearly as important providers of information, the media are more likely to promote better economic performance when they are more likely to satisfy three conditions: the media are independent, provide good-quality information, and have a broad reach. That is, when they reduce the natural asymmetry
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of information, as Joseph Stiglitz puts it in chapter 2, between those who govern and those whom they are supposed to serve, and when they reduce information asymmetries between private agents. Such a media industry can increase the accountability of both businesses and government through monitoring and reputational penalties while also allowing consumers to make more informed decisions.
This book cites many examples that demonstrate the value of information provided by the media. Alexander Dyck and Luigi Zingales (chapter 7) discuss how the media can pressure corporate managers and directors to behave in ways that are socially acceptable, thereby avoiding actions that will result in censure and consumer boycotts. They also report that in Malaysia, a recent survey of institutional investors and equity analysts asked which factors were most important to them in considering corporate governance and the decision to invest in publicly listed corporations. Those surveyed gave more importance to the frequency and nature of public and press comments about companies than to a host of other factors considered key in the academic debate. However, the dissemination of credible information in a timely manner depends critically on how the media business is managed and regulated. The chapters in this book document evidence on media performance and regulations in countries around the world and highlight what type of public policies and economic conditions might hinder the media in supporting economic development in poor countries." (Pages 1-2)
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"The framework provides some common indicators or consequences for the media in environments of pre-, overt and post-conflict. It presents a typology of interventions potentially appropriate to the media conditions that exist in those stages of conflict, or in others. It provides indicators for asse
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ssing those interventions. And the framework draws operational lessons from media-related programming and includes a matrix of exceptional examples of media peacebuilding initiatives." (Introduction)
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"This study sets out, for DFID staff, the fundamental principles underlying a proposed approach to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and development, and draws from those principles a set of recommendations for DFID's priorities in this area. For the purposes of this study, ICTs are
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defined as technologies that facilitate communication and the processing and transmission of information by electronic means. This definition encompasses the full range of ICTs, from radio and television to telephones (fixed and mobile), computers and the Internet. … The study concludes that access to ICTs should not be seen as an end in itself; the measure of success remains progress towards reaching the International Development Targets, rather than the spread of technology or bridging the digital divide. However, addressing the information and communication needs of the poor and creating information rich societies is an essential part of efforts to tackle poverty. Properly deployed, ICTs have enormous potential as tools to increase information flows and empower poor people. DFID and other development partners should work closely with developing countries to maximise the contribution of the full range of ICTs to achieving the International Development Targets." (Summary, page 4)
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"The purpose of this study is to provide a ‘map’ of media assistance. Like all maps, this one has artificial limitations. It is confined largely to the post-Soviet period. It is a map of media assistance efforts, based almost wholly on experiences on activities emanating from Europe and the Unit
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ed States, though a richer analysis would include a much wider geographical net. Unlike the cartographers who map mountains and lakes, we benefit from the cooperation of those being mapped as they help make the document more accurate. Nonetheless, it is a project in process and the complexity of the sector makes it almost impossible to provide every detail in what is inevitably a superficial map. Our method will be to develop broad outlines of the sector and then focus in on a few features of the terrain. As in many industries, there are dominant players at each level, but also many niche participants who play a critical role and are necessary for understanding the overall picture. The sector is growing rapidly and changing in many ways. Donors or ‘investors’ and entities in the sector are always looking for new areas (subject matter, geographical) of growth. Those who require funding seek to expand the pool of suppliers of funds and try to describe an expanded notion of need or demand for their services. There are areas of intense competition and areas of cooperation if not collusion. Over time, ‘successful’ models emerge and some participants withdraw, either because their product is unsupported in the marketplace, or because the nature of the demand changes. Media assistance primarily takes the form of journalism training, direct support to news organisations, efforts to aid media law reform, support for professional journalism and broadcast associations, support for developing financial sustainability of media outlets, and initiatives designed to transcend national, religious or ethnic barriers in the media." (Introduction, page 1-2)
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"We begin with an outline of areas of law that must be considered. Over time, across societies, it is possible to suggest specific areas of legal development that are essential for media law reform. In the first part of this study, we examine a substantial list of such areas, from defamation rules t
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o freedom of information (FOI). As to each media-specific area and areas of general application, we will provide an indication of how law can contribute or detract from establishing an enabling environment. To the extent possible, we will draw upon experiences in a wide variety of societies and transition states. In Section 4 we move to a discussion of the rule of law: conditions that make law effective, useful, and just in achieving a media structure that serves to bolster democratic institutions. This discussion addresses considerations such as the separation of powers, independence of the judiciary, and establishment of reliable regulatory bodies that are loyal to enunciated legal principles. We then turn to a somewhat broader set of enabling factors for the media - larger societal issues such as the state of the economy, the extent of demand for information, and the extent of ethnic and political pluralism before concluding with certain practical considerations on resources and techniques for enhancing an enabling environment." (Introduction)
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"In order to get a sound base for its future decisions on the role of media for peacebuilding, the Political Department IV of the Swiss Foreign Ministry has asked the swisspeace Center for Peacebuilding (KOFF) to initiate a process for compiling the current knowledge, existing experiences, and futur
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e challenges in this field. This should support the decision process in the Ministry on how media assistance could play a major role in their endeavor to contribute to peacebuilding efforts. The first step in this process was to commission a study on the state of the art in the field of media and peacebuilding. The second step was to convene a workshop, in which the first draft of the study was presented and discussed by experts and representatives of Swissbased media NGOs. In this workshop the media NGOs were also given the opportunity to present their view of the role and strategic position of media in peacebuilding and formulate the challenges they see for media projects in peacebuilding. The workshop participants also formulated common recommendations and open questions. This report compiles all the workshop’s input and presentations, and it summarizes its recommendations. In combination with the study “Media and peacebuilding: Concepts, actors, challenges” it hopefully contributes to the international debate on the role of the media and supports the ongoing process of reviewing their contribution to peacebuilding efforts." (Introduction, page 1)
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"Since 1995, Search for Common Ground (SFGC), a US non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, has implemented a program in Burundi with the goal of reducing ethnic conflict and encouraging reconciliation. To this end, SFGC currently runs four in-country programs: Studio Ijambo, an independent
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radio production studio in which twenty-one ethnically diverse journalists work together to produce accurate and unbiased radio programming designed to promote reconciliation and eased ethnic tensions; the Womens’ Peace Center, a forum for unifying and strengthening civil society and promoting democratic processes; the Youth Project, a cooperative project which brings together ethnically mixed youth leaders from throughout Bujumbura and Bujumbura Rurale, as well as organizes other peace-building projects for youth; Integration Initiative: This new project maximizes the synergies among and around SFGC projects as they expand both geographically and in scope. SFGC has commissioned an independent evaluation of its work in Burundi, pursuant to its various grant agreements and as a part of it commitment to carry out regular in-depth assessments of its work." (Introduction)
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