"In Colombia, analog free-to-air television is still by far the most influential source of news. Digitization seems to be increasing both the quantity and range of news and the total public consumption of media as many traditional outlets now have online versions, while some new online only outlets
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have been born in recent years and gained recognition as news providers. Internet use is increasing very fast in urban areas and higher socioeconomic groups. Public media have been strengthened in recent years and public service provision is considered an important issue in Colombia. The transition to digital terrestrial television (DTT) is seen as both a challenge and an opportunity to public media. Digital activism too has grown in Colombia, and active internet users have proved the power of social networking, which has become very popular. Political debates and hostage rescue operations have, among others, triggered big digital mobilizations, especially on Facebook and Twitter." (Website Open Society Foundations)
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"Both media organizations and the organization of media in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been profoundly affected by ethnocentrism, political clientelism, the withdrawal of international donors, and the financial crisis. As a result, the country’s march towards digitization has been protracted and u
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neven. Nevertheless, there have been recent signs of progress, with the installation of digital transmitters developing apace in 2012. Advances in the rest of Europe have put pressure on authorities to get their act together and the new deadline of 2014 for analog television switch-off may yet be achievable. This report proposes a series of compelling policy recommendations aimed at catalyzing the digitization process, improving the function of public service broadcasting, and enhancing the stability and independence of both media markets and the regulatory institutions that oversee them. These include a call for new legislation on media ownership; ensuring efficient work of the Digital Terrestrial Television Forum with a view to expediting switch-over; a new system of funding for the Press Council; a range of measures to protect the autonomy of the Communications Regulatory Agency; and greater coordination between public broadcasters and adherence to their mandates." (Website Open Society Foundations)
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"Croatia is well ahead of the curve. Experimental broadcasting via digital signals began in 2002 and the last analog television signals were switched off in September 2011. The country has the highest free-to-air digital terrestrial coverage in Europe, exceeding 99 percent of national territory, and
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it is the main television platform for the majority of the population. Television remains the dominant medium for both information and entertainment. However, the internet is the most trusted medium for news and information. Radio has experienced a marginal decline in listenership, but print media have been hit hardest by the global economic downturn and audience migration online. In the final analysis, this report finds that policy has been responsive to digitization and that the process has done much to democratize and pluralize Croatian media. It has not yet, however, neutralized the power of dominant media organizations, or indeed the influence wielded by political elites and advertisers. There is also evidence that in response to digitization, journalism across sectors has become increasingly tabloid and oriented towards soft news, and there are uncertainties as regards the sustainability of public interest media." (Website Open Society Foundations)
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"This report finds that the momentous change in ownership transparency regulation and the dynamic and free online environment are the most notable success stories since 2005. Yet these achievements are overshadowed by the lack of independence of the broadcasting regulator and the public broadcaster,
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as well as the slow pace of digital transition. In order to promote positive change, three kinds of reform need to be undertaken. First, the process of drafting the legal framework for digital switch-over must be made transparent and show results in the near future if the country is to be ready for the transition before the switch-off date in 2015. The public interest provisions, must-carry rules, and transparent spectrum allocation and gatekeeping should be given priority. Second, with public awareness of the purpose and implications of switch-over virtually non-existent, an information campaign and public debate need to start without delay. Finally, the independence of two key institutions, the Georgian National Communications Commission and the Georgian Public Broadcaster, needs to be strengthened. In both cases, this can be done by adopting clearer regulatory safeguards against government interference, enforcing transparency, and ensuring civil society participation in selection procedures." (Website Open Society Foundations)
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"The growing prominence of online media as a source of news marks the biggest shift in news consumption. Nearly half of all internet users—or more than 20 million people—regularly read news online. The internet is virtually the only platform where criticism of the government is tolerated. There
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have been no major attempts by the authorities to block or limit access to online information. The internet has provided opportunities for public expression for marginalized minorities, including guest workers from Central Asia and sexual minorities. It has also been used as a tool for civic activism and digital mobilizations. Two significant discussions need to be initiated in the near future to help to prevent further deterioration of news quality and to ensure that the public interest is served. Firstly, debate among media professionals on ethical norms in journalism in general and in new media in particular, which would ideally result in developing a set of standards recognized by a sizable proportion of Russia's journalistic community. The second is a public debate on public service broadcasting, which should lead to the drafting of a roadmap of transition from state-controlled outlets and eventually to drafting legislation spelling out the role and remit of public broadcasters." (Website Open Society Foundations)
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"With the second-highest penetration of IPTV in Europe, it appears that the Slovenian population has keenly embraced new media platforms at the expense of radio, newspapers, and satellite TV. But the changes and implications for media diversity and society more broadly have stopped short of anything
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that could be considered a digital revolution. Key challenges remain, particularly in securing a sustainable future for the quality news sector. From a consumer and citizen’s perspective, digitization has succeeded in expanding the quantity and accessibility of news and information, but not the quality and diversity of content. In combination with the lingering effects of the financial crisis, the independent performance of the media at large is under threat. This remains the over-arching challenge for policymakers." (Website Open Society Foundations)
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"This study of the impact of digitization on Polish media highlights the delays in digitization caused by political infighting; the lack of technical and financial assistance to ensure that the most vulnerable members of society benefit from digitization and new media; and the funding crisis afflict
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ing public broadcasting. The political and economic position of the public broadcaster is critical in the digitization of broadcasting in Poland, both because of its continued—albeit diminishing—role in the media market, and because of its extensive involvement in the preparations for the switch-over. The authors of this report assess that the initiatives to inform the public about how digitization will affect them have been insufficient. Appropriate provisions should swiftly be put in place. Other major recommendations include a revision of spectrum allocation criteria to improve access for those “third way” broadcasters such as religious, educational, civil society or local government outlets, and the need for a durable solution to the public broadcasting funding crisis." (Website Open Society Foundations)
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"In this report, Marie-Soleil Frère surveys the news landscapes of DRC, Burundi, and Rwanda. Marshaling an impressive range of data, she examines patterns of production and consumption, the often grim realities of law and regulation, the embryonic state of media policy, the role of donors, and the
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positive impact of online platforms. Most media outlets now have an online presence. SMS has become a basic tool for reporters. Interactivity gives voice to increasing numbers of listeners. The ease of digital archiving makes it possible to create a collective media “memory” for the first time. Chinese businesses are winning tenders for infrastructure projects. Above all, the unstoppable flow of digitized information enables ever more people to learn about current events and available services. “The average news consumer in Central Africa will soon leap to new opportunities,” Frère predicts, “without having to pass through the intermediate stages of a personal computer and a fixed telephone line.” The report ends with a set of practical recommendations relating to infrastructure, strategies to reduce access costs for journalists and the public, education and professionalization, donor activity, governance, regulation, and media management." (Page 2)
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"The Profile of Media Industry in Indonesia aims to profile the Indonesian media industry through publicly available information and data (including news in the media, statistical analysis of the figure collected through the survey by the National Survey Agency (SUSENAS), and grey literatures alike.
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The profile will provide a big picture of the media industry and business landscape in Indonesia, with clear hints to the access to media which is available to public." (CIPG website)
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"This research study provides baseline indicators for the Solomon Islands Media Assistance Scheme (SOLMAS) Program Phase III. It presents findings around the current quality of media, experiences of training to date, and relationships with stakeholders such as development organisations, government c
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ommunications and the National Disaster Management Office. This executive summary presents main findings from the study, under several key areas: media quality and inhibitors of quality; training and capacity building; audience needs and new media; media and development issues; the Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI); the public broadcaster Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC); and perceptions of SOLMAS to date." (Exexutive summary)
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"The very rapid growth in the Indian media industries and the vibrancy of India's popular culture are making a working understanding of the Indian scene a prerequisite for any serious study of media in the twenty-first century. As one of the largest and most influential emerging economies in the wor
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ld today, India now plays a crucial role in any serious discussion of social and economic change taking place at the global level. As new commercial and political alignments take shape in the face of new global circumstances, thinkers and decision-makers are inexorably drawn towards the reality of a new India being forged in the technological and cultural flux of global media flows. Taking an innovative interdisciplinary approach to the complex field of Indian media and society, this book combines a rich descriptive account with critical analysis designed to engender informed debate amongst students, academics and other researchers." (Back cover)
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"Revisar cuarenta años de historia de los medios masivos de información en tan breve espacio es sin duda insuficiente, pero lo hacemos considerando que cada vez más alumnos —y en especial tesistas— requieren de información histórica básica para sus trabajos. El propósito de este texto es,
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entonces, fijar hitos para quienes deseen repasar la historia de nuestros medios informativos, no ciñéndose a fuentes únicas sino atendiendo a que existen distintas visiones que no se pueden eludir si la intención es genuinamente académica. Debe advertirse que en un tema tan complejo como la historia de los medios, las clasificaciones y nominaciones son arbitrarias. Los interesados en su estudio deben someterse a ese riesgo. En ese sentido, trataremos de proveer las fuentes de consulta que a nuestro parecer son básicas para acceder a los escenarios, muy complejos, que hicieron posibles eventos tan significativos como la fundación de medios, su desaparición o la influencia que tuvieron en contextos determinados. Se ha venido además insistiendo, en especial en los estudios políticos, en la ausencia de trabajos en nuestro país que se acerquen más y mejor a las relaciones del poder con los medios masivos de información, que son empresas que pugnan por la rentabilidad a la vez que tratan de situarse como promotoras de opinión proclamando una independencia que nunca han tenido." (Página 11-12)
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"The report analyzes 27 aspects of the media system of Serbia, basing on principles established by the Council of Europe as desirable standards in media legislation and practice. Each of 27 parts of the study describes the legal regulation of the subject matter and then provides available facts abou
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t the actual situation. The report concludes that only 4 principles are consistently and fully implemented (such as freedom to enter journalistic profession, freedom of access to the Internet and foreign media, etc), while drastic deviations from the European standards are found in media market operations, independence of media from political influences, labour-related and social rights of journalists and their safety. The report points out that the blind spot of the Serbian media system are informal alliances of ruling political forces and big industrial and commercial businesses which are allowed to infiltrate the media in a non-transparent way and fulfill through them the common interests of the state and the businesses. The report is based on surveys with editors of 240 news media, 69 media owners, 40 senior officials of political parties, 50 representatives of national minority communities, 26 interviews with representatives of state organs and with 12 journalists from the media experiencing particular pressure on editorial independence." (http://mediaobservatory.net, January 27, 2015)
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"This report presents a comprehensive and multidimensional overview of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) sector in Afghanistan, covering developments and intersections across the areas of Internet and telecom infrastructure; policy, services, accessibility and affordability; key
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players and operators; and legal and regulatory governance frameworks." (Foreword)
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