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Information Ecosystems & Media Landscapes

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Small is Beautiful? The Salience of Scale and Power to Three European Cultures of TV Production

Ruth McElroy, Jakob Isak Nielsen, Caitriona Noonan

Critical Studies in Television, volume 13, issue 2 (2018), pp. 169-187

"As television production becomes increasingly global, television studies must advance its understanding of how the global and the local intersect and impact upon the cultures of production. Drawing on original comparative research of three small European nations – Denmark, Ireland and Wales – t ... more

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Media, Geopolitics, and Power: A View from the Global South

Herman Wasserman

Urbana: University of Illinois Press (2018), xvi, 217 pp.

"The end of apartheid brought South Africa into the global media environment. Outside companies invested in the nation's newspapers while South African conglomerates pursued lucrative tech ventures and communication markets around the world. Many observers viewed the rapid development of South Afric ... more

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Media Policy for Small Emerging Democracies: Distinctiveness, Vulnerabilities, and Development
Deep Insights

Cao Yuanyuan

Nanyang Technological University, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Doctoral Thesis (2018), xiv, 239 pp.

"Media in small emerging democracies face multiple obstacles caused by “smallness” and the state of “late democratization.” “Smallness” raises the question of how to develop financial independence in these countries. “Late democratization” gives rise to the challenge of maintaining p ... more

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Mapping Media Development in Myanmar

Jane Madlyn McElhone et al.

Yangon: UNESCO; International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) (2018), viii, 49 pp.

"This mapping of the Myanmar media development sector is informed by three activities: a status update of the recommendations in the 2016 Assessment of Media Development in Myanmar report based on UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators, an online survey conducted in March and April 2018, and a seri ... more

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Mapping Small Islands Communicative Ecologies: A Case Study from the Amami Islands

Evangelia Papoutsaki, Sueo Kuwahara

South Pacific Studies, volume 39, issue 1 (2018), pp. 25-49

"This paper provides a conceptual framework for an islands’ communication ecology (CE) approach and an overview of the key findings of exploratory ethnographic research that aimed at mapping the CE of the Amami islands. The communicative ecology approach refers to the various forms, resources, act ... more

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Media Landscape: Iraq

Peter Wagner, Andrea Glioti, Hussein Dawood

European Journalism Centre (2018)

"Iraq represents a quite singular example among Middle Eastern media landscapes, as it has been forcibly transformed from a secluded Baath-Party-run context into a liberalised one where hundreds of outlets compete for audience and few independent voices face a daily struggle to circumvent state and ... partisan pressures. What makes it peculiar is actually the way this development was triggered, that is by the US invasion of 2003, which still casts its alien shadow over a set of institutions that were established to back up “democratisation” efforts. The overthrow of Saddam Hussein exacerbated pre existing sectarian and political tensions, intertwined with the local and international dimensions of the dispute over the country’s enormous natural resources, that are predictably mirrored in the Iraqi media. Therefore, the majority of the outlets are financially tied to the Iraqi political forces with limited room for independence. At the same time, the ubiquitous state control, a legacy of 45 years of multifaceted totalitarianism (1958-2003), has not faded away with the downfall of Saddam, leaving its trademark on the way most Iraqis perceive the role of media (as a propaganda tool) and creeping into trade unions, regulatory bodies, legal loopholes and media practices in general. This does not mean that the current situation can be equated with the Baathist regime, it is more telling of the groundless assumptions of the US-led coalition that the removal of Saddam would have immediately paved the way for a liberal ruling class and of a resilient popular conviction that the media should portray Iraq in a positive light. According to a BBC Action survey conducted in nine Iraqi Shia-majority southern provinces in 2012, 97 percent of the respondents believed that the media should contribute to creating a sense of pride and national unity. The Iraqi government is currently dominated by Shia political forces. For what concerns the development of media markets, even though the country saw advertising expenditure grow by more than 85 percent in 2011, according to the Dubai Press Club-Deloitte Arab Media Outlook, Iraq remains a context where companies are reluctant to invest because of the security costs. It is not a coincidence that a major market analysis like the Arab Media Outlook covered Iraq for the first time only in its 4th edition in 2012, before excluding it in 2016-18. The weight of advertisement is still quite limited in light of an excessive reliance on state or party funding, which has also resulted in limited performance incentives. Unlike ads-free party media, independent outlets struggle to make ends meet by relying solely on advertising (which consists mainly of telecommunications companies); furthermore, until 2008, when PM Nuri al-Maliki decided to reduce government advertising in the press, the state-derived revenues of independent newspapers were still estimated to range between 40 and 70 percent. The economic straits have thus coerced several platforms into accepting the support of politicised pressure groups that have little interest in objectivity." (Overview) more

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Nepal Media Landscape

Ujjwal Acharya

Maastricht (NL): European Journalism Centre (2018), 16 pp.

"Nepal’s media landscape is characterised by two important factors. First, the high number of radio stations that are spread across the country at a local level and have a greater reach to the overall population. As media researcher Badri Paudyal noted in the 2013 article Radio Broadcasting: Acces ... s and Functioning, the overall radio service in Nepal is established as a strong, popular and credible medium of information with a large following of listeners. In 2008, in an article titled Radio and the Recent Political Changes in Nepal, media commentator Pratyoush Onta cites radio’s large coverage, citizens’ access to radio, and the plurality in terms of language of broadcast as the main reasons for the popularity of radio as a mass media. Second, the mainstream newspapers that are mostly centered in the Kathmandu Valley, a combination of three administrative districts with the capital, Kathmandu, and have greater impact at the political level. The mainstream print newspapers are the agenda setters in Nepal. The overall print circulation is low because of the difficult geographical terrain, the high recurring costs for both publishers and readers, and the adult literacy rate at only around 60 percent of the population. Newspapers are mainly sold in the Kathmandu Valley and cities, thus having a greater impact on political and policy issues. The overall readership and the number of print newspapers are rising; however, these are competing for advertisements in a small, fragile economy for their revenues; many of them are also not profitable. The annual advertising market is estimated to be approximately 40m euro. There are muted accusations that media owners continue to lose money on newspapers to gain political or economic benefits in their other interests. However, the growing number of television stations and the digital news outlets are all set to change the dynamics of the media landscape in Nepal. More than a hundred televisions channels have received licenses for operation in a country of 29 million people. Although Nepal lacks reliable data on television viewership, many believe that televisions, especially the primetime news bulletins, have a large audience, yet they only receive around 20 percent of total advertising expenditures. Most of the television stations focus on news-based programming as they are relatively cheaper and easier to produce in the studio." (Overview) more

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African Media Barometer: South Africa 2018

Windhoek: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2018), 65 pp.

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Ethiopia in Transition: Hope Amid Challenges

Rashweat Mukundu, Finn Rasmussen

International Media Support (IMS) (2018), 22 pp.

"This report presents the findings of a media environment assessment in Ethiopia led by International Media Support (IMS) within the context of the present socio-political developments in the country [...] The specific objective of the mission was to carry out an assessment of the media landscape in ... more

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Recherche - étude sur l’avenir de la presse écrite en Tunisie

Michel Leroy, Chokri Ben Nessir, Mohamed Torgeman

Media Up Programme d’Appui aux Médias Tunisiens (2018), 136 pp.

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Nuevos modelos radiofónicos: Las redes de podcast en Argentina: Producción, distribución y comercialización de la radio on demand

Agustín Eduardo Espada

Question, volume 1, issue 59, e081 (2018), 20 pp.

"El movimiento podcaster está formado por una amplia variedad de participantes: pequeños, medianos, independientes, corporativos, fugaces, históricos. Este artículo propone la descripción de cuatro casos caracterizados como “redes de podcast”. Estos proyectos fueron diseñados para y subsis ... more

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African Media Barometer: Lesotho 2018

Windhoek: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2018), 54 pp.

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World Radio TV Handbook: The Directory of Global Broadcasting 2019

Oxford: WRTH Publications, 73rd ed. (2018), 672 pp.

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Somalia: Media Landscape

Ismail Einashe, Nicole Stremlau

European Journalism Centre (2018)

"After the state collapse in 1991, Somalia fell into an orgy of violence, terrorism, piracy and a recent devastating drought. The country us politically fragmented. Press circulation is limited because of the conflict and the fact that the country has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. S ... omali only became a written language in 1972, and because of the civil war very few books or newspapers are published in it. Televised news is also not widely available. Though Internet usage has increased in recent years it remains more of an urban phenomenon, and while it is popular with young people and diaspora returnees, it is not widely used by those who are illiterate or lack access to the necessary technology and Internet-services. Somalia’s media landscape is currently characterized by the dominant role played by radio, mainly because of the strength of the oral culture in the country, its high illiteracy rates and because the medium is relatively inexpensive. The TV and print media-sectors are weak and radio is by a long distance the dominant medium. There are at least 56 radio-stations, though there is no national or domestic broadcaster. Though Internet penetration remains paltry, the increase of Somali digital news outlets has massively grown in recent years. This growth has largely been driven outside Somalia’s borders from its large and influential diaspora. Another important factor to consider is how conflict has shaped the media environment and created a fragmented political map. Somalia has suffered from political violence and weak central government. According to Transparency International, Somalia remains for the 10th year in a row the most corrupt country in the world. The media system has often reflected the major political divisions in society. The media reflect the deep schism that clannism has created in the society – which in part has fuelled the conflict in the country, which is a difficult country to govern. The state has always struggled to create a unified nation on a non-clan-defined basis. Clan affiliations become important where media outlets only report on their clan elders or report about attacks on their own clans – giving audiences an eschewed view of the news. Another problem is the perceived, or lack of, clan affiliations – journalists are routinely accused of either siding too much or too little with their own clans. There is also a good deal of rumors and spread of unsubstantiated news stories that find their way onto the news. Journalists are offered money to cover certain stories, and because most lack reliable salaries, some will take advantage of this opportunity. In some other cases the issue is not that journalists take payments, but that they are not able to confirm the news that they hear, due to security concerns or lack of available corroborators, so they may release stories that turn out not to be true. Finally, there is also the problem that some journalists lack adequate training so some of what they broadcast may not have been researched and reported using proper journalistic methods. Freedom House considers Somalia as one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist and a country with no freedom of press. In 2011 Freedom House issued a report entitled Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies, to complement its annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties. They included nine countries designated as the Worst of the Worst, Somalia being one of them. On the other hand, in the same report Somaliland is considered as partially free." (Overview) more

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African Media Barometer: Botswana 2018

Windhoek: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2018), 61 pp.

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How Africa Tweets 2018

London et al.: Portland (2018), 22 pp.

"Our study is the first to identify and analyse who is shaping African Twitter conversations during elections over the past year. The study found that 53 per cent of the leading voices on Twitter around ten elections on the continent during the past year came from outside the country in which the el ... more

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Comparative Media Studies in Africa: Challenges and Paradoxes

Susana Salgado

In: The Palgrave Handbook of Media and Communication Research in Africa

Bruce Mutsvairo (ed.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2018), pp. 195-211

"Drawing on previous work on the role of the media in the democratization processes of the Lusophone African countries (Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe), this chapter addresses the challenges and paradoxes of conducting comparative research focused on cont ... more

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Afghanistan Media Landscape

Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar

Maastricht: European Journalism Centre (2018)

"Afghanistan media has a history of 147 years. In 1873 the first ever paper, Shamsunahar, was established. The first radio transmitter was installed in 1920. The first TV broadcast happened in Kabul in 1978. The Internet was linked and used in Afghanistan during the Taliban period after 1996, althou ... gh it was not public and was used only by Taliban leaders. According to Nai Supporting Open Media, the leading Media Advocacy NGO in Afghanistan, there are 464 operational media in the country, which has the best media law in the region and one of the tops “Access to Information” bills in the world. But, since 2001, almost 120 journalists and media workers have been killed; more than 1550 violence cases against media have been registered and, except for a few of them, no prosecution processes have been launched for the cases. In practice access to information, despite having a good law, is one of the biggest challenges regarding freedom of expression, along with security and financial sustainability. The Taliban pose a great threat to media. Out of 120 journalists and media staff that have been killed since 2001, over 55 have been killed by the Taliban. On the other side, the Government of Afghanistan is yet to start addressing the violence cases against journalists allegedly perpetrated by governmental staff, particularly security forces. The government is not as supportive as it is stated to be by law and poses pressures which are among the challenges to freedom of expression. It has been known to set barriers to a free flow of information and to find various ways to prevent broadcasting stories about its failures. Financial challenges caused almost 240 media outlets to stop their activities in the country since 2014. Tens of radio stations and almost 6 TV stations are among the media outlets that have stopped their activities mainly because of financial problems. Although there are no specific studies that analyse public trust in media, the article “Media and government in the era of democracy” published on The Daily Afghanistan magazine shows the existence of a strong public trust in the media. When people are disappointed or have their rights infringed by a governmental entity, they turn to various media to make the problem known. That explains the popularity of media programmes that review cases and court hearings." (Overview) more

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Media, Conflict, and the State in Africa

Nicole Stremlau

New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (2018), xiii, 175 pp.

"Countries emerging from violent conflict face difficult challenges about what the role of media should be in political transitions, particularly when attempting to build a new state and balance a difficult legacy. Media, Conflict, and the State in Africa discusses how ideas, institutions and intere ... more

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Media Landscape: Iran

Ali Mazrooei, Farian Sabahi, Alberto Zanconato

European Journalism Centre (2018)

"Political parties do not exist in Iran. In this situation the media, particularly the newspapers, have assumed a central role in the political life of the country." (Publisher description)

Media Policy for Small Emerging Democracies: Distinctiveness, Vulnerabilities, and Development Deep Insights

Media Policy for Small Emerging Democracies: Distinctiveness, Vulnerabilities, and Development
Deep Insights