Document details

Catalyst or Destabiliser? COVID-19 and its Impact on the Media Landscape Worldwide

Berlin: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2021), 159 pp.

ISBN 978-3-95721-857-5

CC BY-SA

"In terms of quality of media coverage, there are various outcomes: In Asia, for example, small and independent outlets, able to provide reliable information, gained momentum, whereas citizens in the MENA-region turned to social media in search of trustworthy facts on the coronavirus. In South-Eastern Europe, pseudo-journalism and fake news spread mainly via the Internet, while in sub-Saharan Africa innovative formats emerged, which also enhanced the quality of reporting. In many regions and countries, not least in Germany, demand for factbased, reliable reporting increased, offering an opportunity for quality-oriented media to regain audiences’ trust. The economic situation is difficult for almost all media outlets worldwide, although there are some differences. In Central and Eastern Europe, for example, pro-government media continued to benefit from state-sponsored advertising, while other media suffered even more acute drops in revenue. In many regions, media outlets expanded their online presence to partly compensate these losses by introducing additional paywalls, as was the case in the US, for example. In Latin America, many news outlets had to reduce their staff shortly after the outbreak of COVID-19 due to a shortfall in revenues. Small, independent outlets in Asia and Central Eastern Europe could raise their income through an increase in memberships or subscriptions. In Central Eastern Europe, especially younger generations acknowledged that quality journalism requires financing, while in Southeast Europe, it is still uncommon to pay for online media consumption, which is a setback for independent online journalism." (At a glance, page 2-3)
1 Asia: When the Pandemic Hits, Subscription to Independent Asian Media Surges / Shen Lu, 12
2 Central Eastern Europe: Demand of High-Quality Information on the Rise / Karolina Zbytniewska, 26
3 Germany: And the Winner Is … Quality Journalism! / Daphne Wolter, 46
4 Latin America: Journalistic Challenges in a Troubled Region / Nicolás Guzmán, 58
5 Middle East and North Africa: One Problem among Many / Reem Maghribi, 76
6 Southeast Europe: Tough Test for a Fragile Media Landscape/ Mila Serafimova, 90
7 Southern Europe: Consolidation of a Hybrid Media System / Nikos S. Panagiotou, 110
8 Sub-Saharan Africa: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff? / Christoph Plate, 128
The Necessary Evil – Journalism After COVID-19 in Botswana / Joel Konopo, 136
In Search of Meaning / Asha Mwilu, 140
9 United States / Between News Deserts and Warp-Speed-Digitization / Sabine Murphy, 144