"As the Russian invasion of Ukraine erupted, the country’s authorities declared a war on Western social media as well. In March, such social media giants as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were blocked in Russia, giving their local competitor—named VK—a virtual monopoly in the country. Millio
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ns of Russian Facebook and Instagram users have flocked to this social network. Though VK may seem similar to Facebook, it is drastically different due to its proximity to the Russian government. The article examines the core peculiarities of VK and the risks its users may face, especially, in the context of war." (Abstract)
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"A significant number of the surveyed citizens consider the media in Serbia under the control of political groups at both ends of the spectrum. At the same time, many of the surveyed citizens think that the media is free to collect and publish information on all the relevant issues. These findings r
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eflect the media reality in Serbia: after twenty years of reforms, the country has managed to create a system in which the freedom of the media implies (only) that our media freely report on issues relevant to the option whose interests they represent. Both the media workers in the focus group and the surveyed citizens agree that propaganda and hatred are ubiquitous in the media. The media instrumentalizes hatred based on gender, national and other stereotypes in order to realize the particular interests of the groups to which they are loyal for ideological or financial reasons. But as the media workers warn, the media is also abusing the hatred rooted in society to increase circulation, viewership, or reach, and again, in the end, to make a profit. The position of women journalists in Serbia is especially difficult. As many as 95% of the surveyed citizens agree that women journalists are exposed to attacks, threats, insults and harassment because they do their job well. The journalists and editors in the focus group do not see gender prejudices and stereotypes as a cause of attacks but rather as a tool to discredit female journalists. Not their work—because that is difficult to discredit—but rather female journalists personally, where attacks are dominated by discourse strategies stemming from classic misogyny." (Conclusion, page 25)
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"This book features pathbreaking analysis from journalists and academics of the changing nature and peril of media capture - how formerly independent institutions fall under the sway of governments, plutocrats, and corporations. Contributors including Emily Bell, Felix Salmon, Joshua Marshall, Joel
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Simon, and Nikki Usher analyze diverse cases of media capture worldwide, many drawn from firsthand experience. They examine the role played by new media companies and funders, showing how the confluence of the growth of big tech and falling revenues for legacy media has led to new forms of control. Contributions also shed light on how the rise of right-wing populists has catalyzed the crisis of global media. They also chart a way forward, exploring the growing need for a policy response and sustainable models for public-interest investigative journalism." (Publisher description)
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"There is a growing market for factual, independent, reliable, and affordable news delivered in diverse languages in southern Zimbabwe. The local revenue sources to fund those efforts are not apparent. In an area of deep poverty, which has only been amplified by natural disasters and pandemic, large
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parts of the population live in the informal economy and at subsistence levels. Consumer-generated revenue, at a level equal to supporting newsgathering, is unlikely to materialize in the near-term. National advertising revenue appears to be captured by close-to-government news media and does not flow to the community level; there are few sources of paid local advertising. The government has used prolific tools in its efforts to suppress reporting, including force, legislation, intimidation, imprisonment, and — perhaps the most ubiquitous — increasing credentialing and licensing fees to unaffordable levels. While the absolute cost of those fees might seem modest, in the context of pervasive poverty, they are often punitive. Broadcast licenses remain beyond the reach of local news organizations in smaller urban or rural areas. Yet there are ways to strengthen journalists and journalism. Journalists have demonstrated spirited innovation in their adoption of low-cost, no-cost platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook. Their use of podcasts, populated with audio bites captured from chatgroups enables them to reach audiences (literate or illiterate) in vernacular languages. Audiences’ increased use of diverse news sources, including online ones, during the pandemic reflects their hunger for credible information. Investments in capacity building, along with support in the form of computers, phones, and data, will help meet those needs. Topline audience data from GeoPoll suggests that deeper dives into audience analytics, particularly those related to youth and women audiences, could help uncover rich veins of content that would connect in substantive ways with those audiences." (Conclusion)
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"The current report illuminates the scope, means, and reach of Russia’s sharp power influence through the phenomenon of media capture. It traces the regime’s malign impact on good governance and democratic development in eight Southeast European countries (EU members: Bulgaria and Croatia, as we
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ll as EU aspirants: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo). An understanding of the Kremlin’s media influence has been developed based on the assessment of: (1) the instruments that Russia deploys to expand its influence over public discourses; (2) the channels and narratives of Russian disinformation utilized to sway views of the West and its key institutions, the EU and NATO; (3) the impact of Kremlin narratives on societal perceptions; (4) the amplification of Russian media influence through a convergence with the disinformation activities of other authoritarian states, particularly China. The cross-country regional comparison reveals several key similarities in Russia’s media capture tactics. The Kremlin typically deploys informal instruments of influence. These are manifested in the cultivation of opaque local oligarchic networks, rather than through traceable ownership of SEE media companies. To amplify the impact of these informal tools, Russia has also leveraged the dependence of media outlets in the region on advertising revenue from Russian-owned or dependent companies to exert pressure on their editorial policy. In addition, Russian state-owned propaganda outlets make their content freely available for republishing in local languages, which facilitates the uptake of pro-Russian media content." (Executive summary)
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"This article focuses on state-media relations and the shifts in the overall media landscape in Kenya. Drawing on a political economy approach to media operations in Kenya, it argues that while there are competing meanings over what constitutes "news values", "editorial independence", and "critical
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media", changes in political regimes and unclear media regulations contribute to political and/or corporate interference on media coverage of corruption and political impunity. This renders media operations problematic at the normative and operational levels. The discussion situates these arguments within the contexts of "policy laundering" and "critical junctures", seeking to establish whether the shifting media landscape is a function of increased information and communication affordability or, instead, an indication that critical media are on the decline. Overall, the article provides an assessment of key temporal periods that have shaped media regulatory frameworks to show how political and/or corporate interests have influenced journalistic practices and editorial independence over time and space." (Abstract)
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"[...] el libro propone un diálogo a partir de tres categorías, a saber: 1) las limitaciones al acceso a la información y sus impactos en la vida política; 2) el régimen jurídico de la comunicación; y 3) los medios de comunicación y la representación política. Esta perspectiva, nos ayuda a
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fundamentar un estado de la discusión al tiempo en que vislumbramos una reflexión posicional que contribuye al análisis comparado del caso latinoamericano." (Introducción, página 15)
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"The media sector in Moldova is diverse. Dogged investigative reporting plays a vital role in public life. However, the legal framework governing the sector is unstable and underdeveloped. In 2020, much of the country’s political class treated the independent press with hostility, viewing journali
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sts as obstacles to rather than partners in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial sustainability continues to elude the sector. Many outlets are captured by and serve as mouthpieces for political interests, and the fallout of the pandemic has exacerbated the precarity experienced by the independent press." (Executive summary)
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"Tenemos que afirmar que, en estos días, está en su casi totalidad, por lo menos cuando nos referimos a los medios de comunicación masivos; permeado y bajo el control de las élites económicas que, además, hay que recordarlo, son en su inmensa mayoría élites masculinas. Esta situación de dom
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inación supondrá una evidente retroalimentación de conceptos y visiones desde el mundo económico al comunicacional donde, entre otras, será también dominante la visión patriarcal. Pero podemos ir más allá aún y, al hilo de ese sometimiento al poder económico, recuperar la cita inicial que abre esta introducción para entender que el cuarto poder, el mediático, además de estar hoy supeditado a las élites económicas, ante la ausencia de un contrapoder que lo reequilibre y controle en sus actuaciones, no es un poder necesariamente democrático. Sobre todo esto, entre otros aspectos, iremos profundizando en las páginas siguientes y, de alguna forma, en la totalidad de este ensayo. En los últimos capítulos, hablaremos también de ese posible contrapoder que constituiría la comunicación alternativa, comunitaria, basado en la sociedad civil." (Introducción)
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"In a growing number of countries around the world, the greatest menace to editorial independence and professional standards is media capture, a form of media control achieved through a series of premeditated steps taken by governments and powerful interest groups, which undermines journalism as a p
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ublic good. This study enables readers to understand media capture and other threats faced by independent media today. The important developments tracked in these pages call out for dialogue towards practical actions to strengthen editorial independence and professional standards of journalism." (Back cover)
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"The issues of media ownership and Russian propaganda messaging remain an ongoing concern in Ukraine. Of the top 20 most-viewed TV channels in the country, almost all belong to the same people who top the list of Ukraine’s wealthiest oligarchs – Rinat Akhmetov, Viktor Pinchuk, Dmytro Firtash, Se
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rhiy Liovochkin, Ihor Kolomoisky, Petro Poroshenko and Viktor Medvedchuk – some of whom have close contacts with Russian political power. The same people who dominate the media in Ukraine also fund political parties and individual politicians." (Page 1)
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"The chapter offers an overview of the relationship between media and corruption. In a critical review of literature on the role of journalism in curbing corruption, different models and mechanisms are outlined. By presenting numerous studies, it is argued that press freedom helps to reduce corrupti
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on, and action should be taken in favour of policies for information accessibility, protection of journalists and media independence. The issue of media capture, and how corrupt environments influence the structure and role of news media, is also considered. A section is dedicated to how media contribute to the social construction of corruption: case studies from multiple countries are compared, showing how corruption is framed in different contexts. Finally, directions for future research are suggested, including further theoretical elaboration on the relationship between media framing and public policies in relation to corruption, and research on the role of ICT in relation to journalism and corruption." (Abstract)
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"Fundamentally, this paper argues that the lack of political will combined with the failure of state-building processes to develop the frameworks and institutions to support independent media is maintaining a media landscape that reflects the key political challenges of Iraq. The politics of success
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ive Iraqi governments continues to affect the functioning and the perception of the media, leaving them unable to provide content that can support democratic and transparent political processes. Attempts at media reform or support for sustainable, relevant, independent media platforms must take into account the wider context of Iraq and its political structures as well as the existing conditions of corruption and fragility. They also require much deeper consultation with local media stakeholders combined with a greater coordination with global initiatives to support the development of independent media." (Conclusion)
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