"This article draws upon the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) State of Media and Communication Report to examine the implications of a changing media landscape for journalism practice in the Pacific region. The report contributes to an understanding of the diverse media and communications en
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vironments in the Pacific Islands (PI) region and captures aspects of the variations both in media, and in context, across and within the 14 Pacific Islands countries. This article highlights the need for synergies in the Pacific Islands to strengthen legislation, capacity-building initiatives and content production in a fast-changing digital environment." (Abstract)
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"The media landscape in Nicaragua has suffered substantial setbacks in recent years since President Daniel Ortega assumed power in 2007. With his government having taken hold, the number of independent media has shrunk, access to public information has become scarce, and a new governmental communica
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tions strategy drives political messaging and funding through a mix of public and private media. These outlets are controlled by members of Ortega’s family and the ruling political party, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (Sandinista National Liberation Front, or FSLN). As an example of the climate of secrecy and opaque governance that Nicaraguans experience today, President Ortega has not participated in a press conference since he retook power. Authorities prevent independent reporters from participating in many of the official events held in public institutions. Business associates close to President Ortega bought key television stations (among them Channels 2 and 8), and now their news programs are overseen directly by Ortega’s family, according to independent news reports. Ortega’s family also holds interests in Channel 13, Viva Nicaragua. Completing this near-monopoly of television stations are Channel 4 (Multinoticias) and the state-owned Channel 6. FSLN also controls dozens of radio stations in the country and several online news portals. It follows that independent media operate in what can be called at best a semi-permissive environment: one that does not foster its sustainability." (Introduction)
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"This work has striven to examine the Lebanese media system from a comparative perspective by applying the Hallin and Mancini theoretical framework. This has helped illuminate salient factors influencing the Lebanese media system. The use of the framework also revealed the necessity of considerable
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contextual adaptation. In particular, state weakness, the strengths of non-state actors, the small market and the politicized political culture all emerged as indicators that have a significant impact on the Lebanese media system and potentially other similar systems. The work concludes with the suggestion of the CriSPP Model, which primarily serves to incite further comparative research." (Conclusion)
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"A febrero de 2016 existen 5.684 estaciones de radio y televisión a nivel nacional. Los titulares con el mayor número de estaciones son el Instituto Nacional de Radio y Televisión del Perú (IRTP) con 393 estaciones de televisión, y en radio, la Asociación Cultural Bethel con 130 estaciones. So
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lo existen 3 estaciones de radio con finalidad comunitaria en todo el Perú. Existe un total de 131 titulares de radio y televisión pública-estatal, pertenecientes a gobiernos regionales, locales y universidades públicas. El 88% son de municipalidades. Los titulares de servicios de radio y televisión que no presentaron Código de Ética y los que se acogen al Código de Ética del MTC representan el 83%. Durante el 2015 fueron sancionados 214 titulares de radio y televisión a nivel nacional, acumulando un total de 223 sanciones y 278 infracciones. Por incumplimiento del Código de Ética y el Horario Familiar solo se registró una infracción." (Pág. web CONCORTV)
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"This report, produced by a participatory research process that took over a year, provides a comprehensive assessment of the environment for media sector’s development in Sri Lanka. It is based on UNESCO’s Media Development Indicator (MDI) framework, which looks at the diferent factors which sho
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uld contribute to media development, including the legal framework, economic conditions, human resource development, the technological environment and safety, as well as the actual state of media development in the country." (Back cover)
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"Myanmar should sign and ratify international treaties which pertain to freedom of expression, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the (first) Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimina
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tion of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. The 2008 Constitution should be amended to strengthen guarantees of freedom of expression (i.e. Article 354) and the right to information. These guarantees should not allow ordinary laws to restrict these rights but should, instead, impose clear conditions on any laws which restrict these rights. Only a judiciary that acts independently can properly interpret laws which restrict freedom of expression in the public interest. The government should promote the independence of the judiciary and address reported corruption issues within it. The government should promote wider public participation in legal reform processes and more proactively communicate on the legal reforms pertaining to freedom of expression by creating wider opportunities for interactions with the public." (Key recommendations, page xxvi)
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"Ukrainian mass media outlets are mostly driven by their owners’ individual interests and thus serve as instruments to securing political and economic power. Corruption and lack of financial transparency further inhibit the healthiness of the country’s media landscape. The Media Ownership Monito
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r Ukraine, carried out from July to October 2016 together with the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), showed that the Ukraine media is prone to power plays, more than ever. The Media Ownership Monitor pinpoints that concentration is especially high within the audio-visual and radio markets. The major four TV owners – StarLight Media, 1+1 Media, Inter Media and Media Group Ukraine – represent an audience share of more than three quarters. The top four radio groups even combine a reach of 92% of the audience in Ukraine: Tavr Radio Group, Ukrainian Media Holding, Business Radio Group and TRK Lux. Those media groups mainly belong to some of the richest in Ukraine, amongst others Viktor Pinchuk, Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Dmytro Firtash and Rinat Akhmetov. The print media and online sectors are less concentrated. Online media in particular offer much more pluralism and choice to Internet savvy Ukrainians." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
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"Two giant broadcast networks dominate the Philippine media industry both in terms of economic market power and audience reach, which gives them a major potential to shape public opinion. Despite a high number of media outlets and being described as one of the most freewheeling media systems in the
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region, Philippine media continuous to be owned by and to depend on the economic and political elite [...] Five families in the Forbes List of 2016 Philippines’ Richest are in media, four of which made their money predominantly from media. Even though the political and economic elite are interweaved, those links have not led to targeted discriminatory actions in the recent past, with in general little political control being openly exerted. It poses, however, a potential risk to media as soon as the political elite start to exploit the vulnerability of media owners." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
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"High levels of revenue and ownership concentration in the media sector pose a threat to freedom of information in Peru. Concentration is also exceptionally high in terms of circulation and audience in the print and digital media sectors. MOM Peru, carried out from September and December 2016, has r
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evealed a high degree of media ownership concentration as well as a lack of regulation by the state, and confirms the dominant position of the El Comercio Group." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
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"Structural conditions are to be understood as the totality of (formal and informal) orders and structures that characterise media and journalism in a certain space, most commonly, a country. Eleven interrelated and interdependent dimensions of structural conditions relevant to media and journalism
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have been extracted and adapted from existing literature, guiding structured and comprehensive analysis within specific (country) contexts: (1) historical development, (2) political system, (3) political culture, (4) media freedom, (5) level of state control and regulation of media by the state, (6) media ownership and financing, (7) structure of media markets and patterns of information distribution, (8) orientation of media, (9) political/societal activity and parallelism of media, (10) journalism culture, and (11) journalistic professionalism. Country reports feature a unique set and combination of structural factors shaping media and journalism in the four countries, demonstrating the importance of conflict communication as a case study with regard to structural conditions. For example, different degrees of democratisation regarding media structures become evident in varying levels of media freedom and state interference in the media sector. Moreover, there are significant differences in media landscapes and the structure of media markets, reflecting the different size, economic situation, infrastructure and cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity of the four countries, as well as the differing degrees of literacy and spending power of inhabitants." (Executive summary)
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"The purpose of this assessment is to compile a general portrait of the media landscape in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in order to determine the broad status of reforms and needs in the media sector and make recommendations for potential further USAID involvement in the sector. The assessment team
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addressed the following three main questions: 1. What areas of the BiH media sector require the most urgent assistance that can be provided in the next five years? 2. What types of assistance might be the most effective in those areas, and on what scale? 3. What are the comparative advantages of US assistance to media outlets?" (Executive summary)
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"The Tunisian revolution has left a significant mark on the country’s media landscape, which diversified and played an important role in the transition process. Media diversity, however, does not guarantee the independence of information per se, especially if it remains to be dominated by politica
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l or economic interests. The Tunisian Media Ownership Monitor, set up by RSF and Al Khatt from April to June 2016, shows that even if there is no strong media concentration in the hands of a few like in the days of Ben Ali, disturbing trends can nonetheless be observed: 6 out of the 10 TV stations analysed have a history of political affiliation. As the form of media with the highest audience rates in Tunisia, TV stations naturally attract interests from the political sphere; No reliable audience data exists, no matter for which type of media; Financial data difficult to obtain; Lack of transparency about funding means." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
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"This article offers an assessment of media and their role in the ongoing political transition in Myanmar, and an overview of lessons learned from other countries undergoing transition. It demonstrates how media function in this process as active agents of stability, restraint, change, or all three,
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and assesses how Myanmar’s experiences reinforce or challenge common assumptions about democratic transition. The discussion draws from interviews over many years with journalists, editors, advocacy groups, and policy makers and participant observation in media offices and at media-related events. The research examines the origins of the recent changes, the importance of history, the role of civil society—including ethnic and formerly exile media—and issues of political economy and media diversity." (Abstract)
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"Area Studies sollen helfen, regionalspezifische Erklärungen für Kommunikationsprozesse zu finden, gleichzeitig aber auch die Integration dieser Erkenntnisse in regional übergreifende Forschung zu erlauben. Dies dient der Validierung bestehender Theoriekonzepte und trägt zu ihrer Erweiterung üb
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er den euro-amerikanischen Raum hinaus bei. Sprachkompetenzen, Wissen um die Untersuchungsregion und eine permanente Selbstreflexion sind die Basis für die Anwendung kontextbewusster qualitativer Methoden. Dazu zählen insbesondere Textanalysen und ethnographische Untersuchungsverfahren." (Zusammenfassung)
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"This first-ever comprehensive assessment of the media landscape in Mongolia was undertaken in 2013-2014 to determine the level of media development in the country. The assessment was carried out by UNESCO, in partnership with a network of organizations, including the Globe International Center, the
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Press Institute, the Confederation of Mongolian Journalists, and the NGO Transparency Fund. The UNESCO/IPDC Media Development Indicators (MDIs), which were used in the assessment, are an internationally recognized analytical tool that make possible a detailed overview of national media landscapes and related media development priorities. This assessment places special emphasis on issues affecting freedom of expression and press freedom; how current state legislation impacts on the media and how it can be amended to provide more space for self-regulation within the media; legislation regarding defamation; restrictions on the daily activities of media outlets; transparency in media ownership; standards of journalism, professional training and research; and labour relations and working rights affecting journalists in their daily activities." (Executive summary)
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"The handbook is based on the authors’ varied experiences from consulting the implementation of media mappings in several transitional countries and it will focus on two of these projects: a. mapping the Mongolian media landscape initiated in 1999 ten years after the break down of Communism and b.
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the mapping of the Libyan media landscape initiated in 2012 one year after the Libyan revolution in 2011 and the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi. Developing on the experiences from these two projects and subsequent reflections the authors investigate why the Mongolian project was a success and still operating and in turn why the Libyan was far less successful despite similar methodological approaches. On the basis of these experiences the authors provide a description of a number of general circumstances that the authors recommend should be taken into account before and during the process of setting up a media mapping capacity." (IMS website)
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