"This book provides a clear and authoritative introduction to the emerging Arab media industries in the context of globalization and its impacts, with a focus on publishing, press, broadcasting, cinema and new media. Through detailed discussions of the regulation and economics of these industries, t
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he authors argue that the political, technological and cultural changes on the global media scene have resulted in the reorganization of the Arab media field. They provide striking examples of this through the particular effects on media policies, media technology and the content and genres developed for the new generation of media consumers. As part of the book's overview of the contemporary characteristics of Arab media, the authors outline the development of the role of modern Arab media from a tool of mobilizing the public to a tool of commercial and symbolic profit. Overall, the volume illustrates how the Arab region represents a unique case where the commercialization and liberalization of selected media industries has gone hand in hand with continuous state intervention and an increasing self censorship." (Publisher description)
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"The Media Development Assessment 2010 is an evaluation of the rapidly changing media climate in Bhutan. The study, based on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) media development indicators (MDIs), is the first of its kind to be conducted in the country. Thi
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s assessment of MDIs provides analysis of the media and communications environment in Bhutan against internationally accepted standards and principles. The indicators delineate critical areas of media development, ranging from freedom of expression and diversity of media to professional and infrastructural capacities of the media industry." (Executive summary, page xi)
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"After the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003, Iraq's news media environment transformed almost overnight from the tightly controlled propaganda arm of Saddam Hussein's rule into one of the most diverse and unrestricted news environments in the Middle East. Built in an atmosphere of chaos and conflict
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, Iraq's media landscape now reflects the ethno-sectarian divide in the country. These deeply partisan news outlets have the potential to widen the gap between communities and weaken the national identity. However, new studies show the majority of Iraqis have learned to read the media landscape, sampling news programs across the sectarian divide with a high level of distrust for all news outlets. This paper describes the Iraqi media and raises key questions: Is the Iraq news media an environment that encourages democracy and state building? What are the prospects to retain an open and pluralistic media landscape within Iraq's sectarian system?" (Abstract)
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"The aim of this report is to understand the paradox of media freedom in Kurdistan. It first addresses the history of Iraqi Kurdistan’s media. A better understanding of the way these outlets emerged over time is essential in order to grasp the complexity of their current challenges. Originally con
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sidered as instruments of propaganda of various armed groups during an era of secrecy, the region’s media are inseparably connected to its politics, hence the difficulty journalists are running into as they attempt to exert their independence. A description follows of the problems now being faced by the media. Reporters Without Borders has included in this report recommendations to the Iraqi Kurdistan authorities, as well as to the region’s journalists." (Page 2)
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"Die Pressefreiheit hat uns beides gebracht, den Sauerstoff der Demokratie genauso wie das Lachgas von Infotainment und Kommerzialisierung.“ Der polnische Medienwissenschaftler Karol Jakubowicz wird sicherlich bei vielen demokratisch gesinnten Kollegen in Mitteleuropa und im Baltikum auf zustimmen
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des Kopfnicken treffen, wenn sie auf die Medienlandschaft in ihren Ländern schauen. Aber allenthalben ist ein deutliches Hüsteln zu vernehmen, weil politische und wirtschaftliche Interessengruppen an den Regelungsmechanismen der Sauerstoffzufuhr drehen. Dagegen leidet der Patient Medienfreiheit in Belarus, Moldova, in Russland, aber auch in der Ukraine unter chronischen Erstickungsanfällen, während es gleichzeitig am Lachgas nicht fehlt. Freilich ist die jeweilige Zusammensetzung dieses ätherischen Gemischs über 20 Jahre nach dem Beginn der revolutionären Umbrüche in Mittel- und Osteuropa von Land zu Land recht unterschiedlich, denn die Medien können nicht getrennt betrachtet werden von allen anderen Determinanten dieser Transformation, die nicht nur das politische Regime erfasste, sondern auch die wirtschaftlichen Strukturen und gesellschaftlichen Mentalitäten einem tiefgreifenden Wandel unterzogen. Da die Medien in vielschichtigen und wechselseitigen Abhängigkeiten von einer Vielzahl von Prozessen und Institutionen stehen – wie etwa dem Staat, politischen Bewegungen, den technologischen Entwicklungen, der Gesetzgebung, wirtschaftlichen Kräften, zivilgesellschaftlichen oder sozio-kulturellen Faktoren –, setzt ein Verständnis der spezifischen Entwicklungen der Medien die Kenntnis der generellen Prozesse der Transformation geradezu voraus." (Seite 97)
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"Este texto está dividido en seis capÃtulos que indagan, en el tiempo, los campos culturales de los diarios y revistas, los libros, los discos, las pelÃculas, la radio y la televisión. Es una obra colectiva que incluye investigaciones, estadÃsticas y cartografÃas generadas por el Sistema de In
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formación Cultural de la Argentina (SInCA). Además, los escritos centrales que abordan cada industria cultural están acompañados de opiniones de 18 especialistas." (SInCA website)
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"Als in diesem Jahr der OSZE vorstehendes Land sollten für Kasachstan ganz besondere Anforderungen auch in Hinblick auf seine Pressefreiheit gelten. Die internationalen Rankings kommen allerdings zu einem äußert kritischen Urteil. Die Realität scheint komplizierter. Aus ihrer langjährigen Erfah
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rung als Journalistin in Almaty gibt die Autorin einen Überblick über die kasachstanische Medienlandschaft und die Arbeitsbedingungen von Journalisten und kann westlichen Lesern damit helfen, Nachrichten in der dortigen Presse besser einzuordnen." (Zusammenfassung)
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"Media in Balochistan - the largest of Pakistan's four province in land mass - in general and provincial capital Quetta in particular has visibly expanded since 2000 in a trend that largely reflects the shifting media landscape in the rest of Pakistan. With the doors thrown open to private ownership
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of the airwaves, independent TV channels and FM radio stations have come to be a part of daily life for many. And with competition has come the rush for news, to be the first to break news. Even though one still has to see a critical mass of private, independent TV channels and radio stations, locally owned and voicing local concerns in languages of Balochistan - something needed and often stridently demanded - media has crept into the consciousness of the people, if not through independent news and analysis then through the sheer volume of its presence. In a province long engaged in a monologue with itself - cut off as it is from the rest of the country through huge distances, lack of infrastructure and the Pakistani state's Orwellian contr over news and information from Balochistan - the proliferation of media in recent years has fueled a hunger for information, a desire to have a say and be heard." (Page 7)
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"This working paper is about the private media in Syria. A new publishing law was passed in 2001, which allowed the private sector to re-enter the media industry, having been banned from it since 1963. The relatively high number of approved publications since 2001 provides the Ministry of Informatio
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n with an argument in its favour, which it uses every time the media situation in Syria is discussed. However, even though the new law does not impose censorship as a prerequisite, it does remain very repressive and contains an arsenal of restrictions that complicate the work of journalists. It also affects all other forms of publication in Syria and entering the country from abroad, as well as printing presses, with sanctions ranging from fines to imprisonment. In appearance, there are many indicators of an increased openness, but closer scrutiny of the way that the media actually function gives a better understanding of this distinctively Syrian “static reform." (http://www.search4dev.nl)
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"In 2004-2005, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Transition Initiatives commissioned Altai Consulting to conduct the first comprehensive media evaluation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, looking at the impact of the Afghan media on opinions and behav
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iors three years after the beginning of the country’s reconstruction. The evaluation found, among other things: that Afghans were avid and sophisticated media users and that cultural barriers to media use were less significant than previously expected; that the radio played a predominant role throughout the country; and that media are instrumental in social progress and education. However, since publication of that report1, Afghanistan’s media sector has seen important changes. To inform future assistance from the international community to the Afghan media, it was deemed necessary to assess the current state of the Afghan media – by reflecting a full and accurate audience profile, to determine program preferences, to measure the impact of the Afghan media on local opinions and behaviors and to gauge Afghan expectations in terms of programming and messaging. A large-scale research project was thus planned and conducted from March to August 2010. This research included a deep probe into the media sector and the public’s behaviors and expectations. The methodology used to achieved this included a combination of: literature review; direct observations; key informant interviews with most relevant actors involved in the media sector; 6,648 close-ended interviews in more than 900 towns and villages of 106 districts, covering all 34 provinces of the country; an audience survey on more than 1,500 individuals run daily for a week; about 200 qualitative, open-ended interviews; and 10 community case studies. Such an effort guarantees that results presented here are fairly representative of the Afghan population at large. This document provides a comprehensive synthesis of data collected during the survey. A database of media actors, 16 priority district reports, 10 case study reports, a complete description of the methodology and the original datasets from the main quantitative research and the audience research are publicly available, allowing anyone interested to access more focused information as needed." (Introduction, page 8)
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