"Results of the 2015 MSI study for Europe & Eurasia (E&E) at first glance show encouraging results: the average of 21 overall country scores increased by 0.04 compared with last year, representing the highest average of overall scores so far this decade. Out of 21 countries studied, seven increased
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by more than one-tenth of a point. Eleven country scores remained about the same and only three decreased by more than a tenth. Indeed there are some encouraging developments, described in more detail below. However, in other cases what appear to be improvements in scores are likely to be only short-term blips on an otherwise downward or flat trend. Belarus (+0.16), Azerbaijan (+0.15), and Kazakhstan (+0.16) all showed small increases in overall score, but in all of these cases several factors indicate that this is not part of a new trend.." (Executive summary)
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"The main objective of the study was to determine and examine the perception of journalists in Kosovo on freedom of media, based on 27 indicators of the European Council. The analysis is categorized in six sectors, covering all areas of the study that pertain significant information on the perceptio
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n of journalists and media freedom: legal perspective and applicability for freedom of expression and information; self-regulatory media mechanisms; media bias and professionalism; institution transparency with regard to media; interference in media; safety in journalism." (Introduction)
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"Using South Africa as a case study, this article presents a new argument for an adaptation of the Comparative Media Systems Model by Hallin and Mancini. The article proposes that factors of race, class and gender and intersections hereof as well as nation-building be added to the model to better su
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it the analysis of media development in post-Colonial societies. The article looks at media development in societies that have undergone social and political transitions since the late 1980s and early 1990s and highlights differences between transitional societies and young democracies in Eastern Europe and East Asia vis-a-vis transitions in post-Colonial societies in the global South." (Abstract)
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"This article argues that the concept of national media systems, and the comparative study of media systems, institutions, and practices, retains relevance in an era of media globalization and technological convergence. It considers various critiques of media systems theories, such as those which vi
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ew the concept of system as a legacy of an outdated positivism and those which argue that the media globalization is weakening the relevance of nation-states in structuring the field of media cultures and practices. It argues for the continuing centrality of nation-states to media processes, and the ongoing significance of the national space in an age of media globalization, with reference to case studies of Internet policies in China, Brazil, and Australia. These studies indicate that nation-states remain critical actors in media governance and that domestic actors largely shape the central dynamics of media policies, even where media technologies and platforms enable global flows of media content." (Abstract)
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"This article discusses the role of the former communist party elite (the nomenklatura) in the Bulgarian post-communist media landscape in relation to media ownership and the origin of media outlets’ capital. The spotlight is on Bulgarian journalists’ perceptions examined through semi-structured
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interviews with a cohort of media professionals from the capital city, Sofia. The findings indicate that Bulgarian journalists are strongly interested in, and concerned with, the influence of members of the former nomenklatura and their informal networks on the Bulgarian media landscape and particularly on the way the media in Bulgaria have been owned and financed since 1989." (Abstract)
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"From the beginning of the process of opening up in the early 1990s, to the start of the 2000s, Francophone countries in Africa have been seen as ‘in transition‘, ‘emerging democracies‘ or ‘undergoing democratic consolidation‘. Their media were analysed through the lens of the ‘transit
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ion‘ paradigm. But these regimes are not ‘on their way to democracy‘: they are meant to remain as they are, mixing democratic features and authoritarian traits. Their media landscape reflects this situation, showing both characteristics of a democratic media system and some authoritarian features, generally in hidden form. These media systems can therefore be labeled ‘pluralist authoritarian‘, which seems to be a contradiction at first glance, until a distinction is made between the façade and what lies beneath. In the façade we see a pluralist media landscape, a market open to private initiatives, an absence of a priori control over media content, a diversity of political parties able to interact with media outlets, and journalists who have gained autonomy through the establishment of their own principles of conduct, professional organisations and self-regulatory bodies. But behind the façade, media outlets have to face maneuvering from those in power who wish to control the flow of information through direct political pressure, indirect economic obstacies, dominance on the public media, and manipulation of the legal framework and judicial system. Analysing the media systems of Francophone countries in Africa in the light of the ‘semi-authoritarian‘ paradigm, and not as ‘consolidating democratic media sectors‘ or 'emerging liberal media markets‘, gives a clearer perspective on the issues at stake right now in that part of the continent, and should be a challenge for future researchers publishing in this journal." (Conclusion)
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"A look at the past three editions of the South Asian Newspaper Directory show significant trends. Newspaper publishers continue to increase the number of editions and printing centres; many publishers have opted for double-width presses, a new trend particularly among the local language / regional
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newspapers; there is increasing use of automation and new workflow systems, with many opting for new production, page planning and editorial systems [...] the number of newspapers included in the directory has increased as 160 across South Asia are profiled in this edition. The number of newspapers which shared the detailed profile – press, pre-press and post-press employed in their organization also has increased." (Preface, page 4)
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"This book makes a new and significant argument that Indian news media are no longer just observers but active participants in the events that direct the nation. It explores the changing role and performance of Indian news media in the past 25 years by examining their coverage of some of the landmar
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k events and issues within the context of the India's ‘globalising’ polity, increased privatisation, new communication technologies and the rise of individualism. The challenges of globalisation have resulted in significant changes in news processes and procedures, which this volume details by scrutinising the media's reportage of several events and issues, such as anti-graft movement, paid news, sting journalism, 24-hour news and coverage of terrorism and politics—media nexus." (Publisher description)
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"Die wichtigsten Medien in der Ukraine sind die zahlreichen Fernsehsender, deren Interessen- und Besitzverhältnisse jedoch häufig intransparent sind. Zumeist stehen Oligarchen hinter den diversen privaten Fernsehsendern. Seit 2013 haben Journalisten unabhängige Medien gegründet, die im Laufe des
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Euromajdan große Beliebtheit erlangt haben und sich durch Crowdfunding finanzieren. Zudem versuchen sie, dem weit verbreiteten patriotischen Diskurs durch objektive Berichterstattung Gegensteuer zu geben." (Seite 7)
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"Im Fokus des ersten Teils stehen transnationale Phänomene wie die Bedeutung des Satellitenfernsehens und der Sozialen Medien sowie die Rolle von Minderheiten, Gender und Islamisten in den Medien. Diese Beiträge geben den aktuellen Stand der Forschung wieder und reflektieren diesen. Im zweiten Tei
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l des Buches werden in 18 Länderstudien – von Marokko bis zum Irak – die nationalen Besonderheiten der Medien betrachtet, die aus unterschiedlichen politischen Systemen, rechtlichen Beschränkungen, ökonomischen Voraussetzungen und der jeweiligen Soziodemographie resultieren." (Klappentext)
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"World Radio TV handbook began as a result of the Nazi occupation of Denmark in World War II. Listening to foreign radio stations was forbidden, but many Danes tuned into the BBC and other broadcasters to find out what was really happening in the world [...] When the WRTH was published, its success
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was immediate. The first edition was intended only for readers in Denmark, but once its existence became known outside Denmark, there was a steady demand for it ..." (Page 20)
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"This chapter explores the South African experience in attempting to achieve a more diverse and representative media that articulate the aspirations of the country, after decades of apartheid which skewed the media towards white people. South Africa has not developed a diversity measurement tool, su
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ch as the one developed for the European Commission to assess risks to media plurality in member states.1 A key problem the country faces in tracking the extent of concentration and diversity is that it has no ‘objective’2 means of assessing the extent of diversity, which up to this point has simply been ‘read off’ the number of existing media outlets. While a plurality of outlets may arguably be a necessary condition for diversity, it is by no means a sufficient condition." (Abstract)
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