"This book is a critical study of the political economy of communications in India. It explores the ways in which contexts, policies, and processes at national and international levels shape media structures and studies how a political economy-inspired approach can be used to understand both media d
...
ominance and resistance. The author explores aspects of colonial political economy and how it has shaped the structure of media in India and in many other countries. It also discusses liberalization, privatization, and media politics in contemporary India. Divided into three sections—structures, means, and resistance—the chapters focus on both the electronic and the print media." (Publisher description)
more
"When political elites receive unfavorable news coverage, a common strategy is to attack the source. Past research suggests that attacks on the news media increase perceptions of media bias, but it remains unclear how this occurs. Using two experiments, the author examines how attacks on the news me
...
dia increase perceptions of bias. For the experiments, all participants read news articles about elected officials, but some read an attack on the source. The author also manipulated the direction of the attack (liberal or conservative bias) and its placement before or after the article. The results suggest that elite attacks increase perceptions of bias in the news source, and this occurs even when the attack is read following the article. In addition, attacks were effective when they came from politicians in both parties, suggesting that Republicans and Democrats are able to influence perceptions of bias. In conclusion, the author argues that elite attacks are likely to benefit the attackers but weaken democratic accountability." (Abstract)
more
"This article analyses the re-emergence of clandestine radio in post-independence Zimbabwe, and how it has become an important tool for disseminating alternative viewpoints in an environment where democratic communicative space is restricted. The article focuses specifically on SW Radio Africa, one
...
of the major clandestine radio stations that have been beaming into Zimbabwe since 2001. It argues, based on analysis of this radio station, that by suppressing clandestine radio through jamming signals and intimidating listeners, the government has inadvertently raised people's curiosity and made these stations more visible and more popular than they otherwise would have been. Further, it argues that Zimbabweans are not passive victims of state propaganda. Rather, they continue to devise new communicative spaces outside the dominant state media empire and access alternative viewpoints from an array of emerging platforms." (Abstract)
more
"Around the developing world, political leaders face a dilemma: the very information and communication technologies that boost economic fortunes also undermine power structures. Globally, one in ten internet users is a Muslim living in a populous Muslim community. In these countries, young people ar
...
e developing their political identities—including a transnational Muslim identity—online. In countries where political parties are illegal, the internet is the only infrastructure for democratic discourse. In others, digital technologies such as mobile phones and the internet have given key actors an information infrastructure that is independent of the state. And in countries with large Muslim communities, mobile phones and the internet are helping civil society build systems of political communication independent of the state and beyond easy manipulation by cultural or religious elites. This book looks at the role that communications technologies play in advancing democratic transitions in Muslim countries. As such, its central question is whether technology holds the potential to substantially enhance democracy. Certainly, no democratic transition has occurred solely because of the internet. But, as the book argues, no democratic transition can occur today without the internet. According to this book, the major (and perhaps only meaningful) forum for civic debate in most Muslim countries today is online. Activists both within diasporic communities and within authoritarian states—including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan—are the drivers of this debate, which centers around issues such as the interpretation of Islamic texts, gender roles, and security issues. Drawing upon material from interviews with telecommunications policy makers and activists in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Tajikistan, and Tanzania and a comparative study of seventy-four countries with large Muslim populations, this book demonstrates that these forums have been the means to organize activist movements that have lead to successful democratic insurgencies." (Publisher description)
more
"Based on a wealth of primary data collected during five years, Reality Television and Arab Politics analyzes how reality television stirred an explosive mix of religion, politics, and sexuality, fueling heated polemics over cultural authenticity, gender relations, and political participation in the
...
Arab world. The controversies, Marwan M. Kraidy argues, are best understood as a social laboratory in which actors experiment with various forms of modernity, continuing a long-standing Arab preoccupation with specifying terms of engagement with Western modernity. Women and youth take center stage in this process. Against the backdrop of dramatic upheaval in the Middle East, this book challenges the notion of a monolithic “Arab Street” and offers an original perspective on Arab media, shifting attention away from a narrow focus on al-Jazeera and toward a vibrant media sphere that compels broad popular engagement and contentious political performance." (Publisher description)
more
"Das chinesische Festland zählte im Sommer 2009 338 Millionen Internetanwender. Dies bezieht sich auf diejenigen „User", die über sechs Jahre alt sind und sich in den letzten sechs Monaten im Internet einloggten. Das übertrifft die 312 Millionen „Worldwideweb"-Nutzer der Europäischen Union u
...
nd sogar die 253 Millionen Netizens in Nord-Amerika. Die 10- bis 29-Jährigen stellen – wie in den Vorjahren – den größten Anwenderanteil. Trotz des Anstiegs der „User" in der Altersgruppe 30 bis 39 Jahre bleibt die chinesische Internetpopulation jugendlich. Analysiert man den Berufshintergrund der Netzgemeinde, steht die Gruppe der Studenten mit 32 Prozent an erster Stelle, gefolgt von Angestellten (14 Prozent) und Arbeitslosen (sieben Prozent). Die 70-prozentige Mehrheit der Internetpopulation ist in der Stadt zu Hause; die Anzahl der Internetnutzer auf dem Land nimmt – nicht zuletzt dank finanzieller und infrastruktureller Anstrengungen der Regierung – stetig zu. Den 747 Millionen chinesischen Mobiltelefonbesitzern3 ist es möglich, das Internet mobil anzuwählen; rund 155 Millionen Nutzer machen von diesem Service Gebrauch.4 Diese Zahlen dürfen nicht darüber hinwegtäuschen, dass die Penetrationsrate des Internets innerhalb der chinesischen Bevölkerung, verglichen mit den entwickelten Teilen der Welt, weiterhin niedrig ist. (China: 27 Prozent, Deutschland: 66 Prozent, EU: 64 Prozent).5 Dem Großteil der chinesischen Internetgemeinschaft dient das Internet als Unterhaltungsmittel (Online Spiele, Musik, Videos). Das „Worldwideweb" wird außerdem für die Informationssuche genutzt und erfreut sich als Kommunikationswerkzeug großer Beliebtheit." (Seite 90-91)
more
"Focusing on the Iranian presidential elections of 2009 and ensuing demonstrations in major cities across Iran and world, Media, Power, and Politics in the Digital Age provides a balanced discussion of the role and impact of modern communication technologies, particularly the novel utilization of 's
...
mall digital media' vis-^-vis the elections and global media coverage. Written in a non-technical, easy to read, and accessible manner, the volume will appeal to scholars, students, policy makers and print professionals alike. To provide a global overview of media coverage and diverse perspectives on the controversial 2009 presidential election, this book consists of 24 original essays, covering issues from global media coverage to new media-social networking, from the ideological-political dimensions to the cultural facets of the elections." (Publisher description)
more
"This paper explores the linkages between debates about corruption and the role of the media in Africa. It advances arguments about how citizens in Africa encounter corruption – both grand and petty – and how they perceive it, as well as factors that may contribute to the development of corrupt
...
practices. These reflections are then linked to a discussion of how the press in Africa deals with corruption and whether the media may serve as a strong deterrent in combating this form of criminal behaviour." (Abstract)
more
"Esta guía realizada en conjunto por Periodismo Social, Poder Ciudadano, Asociación por los Derechos Civiles, se propone como una herramienta indispensable para los profesionales que deben enfrentarse diariamente con políticos y funcionarios públicos en los distintos momentos de la vida democrá
...
tica: campaña – gestión- rendición de cuentas. Se trata de una herramienta de consulta gratuita en la que se acercan instrumentos claves como fuentes y pautas para el mejoramiento de la cobertura de temas vitales y cotidianos pero poco o superficialmente tratados. En muchas ocasiones los periodistas suelen ser manipulados por parte de los gobernantes y terminan siendo funcionales a las necesidades y objetivos de promoción de los mismos en lugar de cumplir con su papel de informar con precisión a la opinión pública. Por lo tanto, este cuadernillo tiene como objetivo de máxima fortalecer la institucionalidad democrática al intentar transparentar los actos de gobierno por medio de las armas del periodismo tradicional: investigación, seriedad y cumplir con el mandato del derecho a la información pública." (Introducción, página 7)
more
"Obwohl der Mediensektor liberalisiert wurde, besitzen die staatlich kontrollierten Rundfunkanstalten – das wichtigste Informationsmedium für die Bevölkerungsmehrheit – in den meisten Ländern noch ein flächendeckendes Monopol; nur in den Städten und einigen kleinen ländlichen Regionen gibt
...
es private Konkurrenz. Die Printmedien, darunter vor allem die privaten, die von entscheidender Bedeutung in den Demokratisierungsprozessen waren, haben zwar immer noch lediglich kleine Auflagen, verfügen aber über eine große Reichweite, die ihnen politischen Einfluss sichert. Die Deregulierung des Medienmarktes hat zwar Medienvielfalt, aber noch wenig Meinungsvielfalt und -freiheit bewirkt: Die Meinungsvielfalt ist durch oligopolistische Tendenzen im privaten Sektor, die Meinungsfreiheit noch immer von staatlicher Repression bedroht. In diesem Kontext hat sich ein eigener, teils käuflicher journalistischer Stil entwickelt, der zum einen von hohem parteilichem Engagement verbunden mit Verlautbarungsjournalismus, zum anderen von Kommerzialisierung und Boulevardisierung gekennzeichnet ist." (Seite 1)
more
"The outcome of this study is a prototype for a European Media Pluralism Monitor – a riskbased, holistic, user-friendly and evolving monitoring tool that includes indicators of a legal, economic and socio-demographic nature. In order to account for the multi-faceted character of media pluralism, t
...
hese indicators relate to various risk domains, including media ownership and/or control, media types and genres, political pluralism, cultural pluralism and geographic pluralism. Furthermore, they cover the various stages of the media value chain: supply, distribution and use. The Monitor offers a diagnostic, not a prescriptive tool on the basis of established risk management strategies. Its purpose is to facilitate the collection of empirical data on various risks for media pluralism given the particular economic, sociodemographic and legal situation in each Member State." (Page viii)
more