"The press in transition" chronicles and evaluates the experiences of six press institutions in four markedly different media systems. The book adopts a comparative framing to explore press functioning worldwide, and to draw preliminary conclusions about the press in transition. At the heart of the
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study, however, is an up-close portrait of institutions and individuals. Adam Jones is a professor of International Studies at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) in Mexico City. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of British Columbia." (Catalogue Deutsches Übersee Institut 2002)
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"This article reviews the transformation in society and the media in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Adopting a path dependence approach, "the different countries of the region are analysed and allocated to two general categories, depending upon the nature and extent of
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the changes that have taken place in society and the media. The first group of countries (called here 'Type A') have advanced relatively far along the road to transformation. Examples would be Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, and Estonia. The second group (called here 'Type B') retain much more of the old order. Examples would be Russia and some of the other republics that have issued from the collapse of the old Soviet Union. A range of theories of media change are reviewed, and their prognoses for the development of the media after the fall of communism are tested against the subsequent developments. It is argued that the media in both Type A and Type B countries remain highly politicised, particularly in the case of broadcasting, and with limited independence from the political elite. Journalism, too, remains paternal and didactic, partly as a result of the historical position of intellectuals in the region. While there are important differences between Type A and Type B countries, neither represents a stable and finished model of transformation. In neither case, are the media the passive victims of social forces. On the contrary, their shortcomings help to reproduce the limits of the overall transformation process." (Abstract)
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"This study utilized a case study and historical approach to examine the restructuring of a broadcast media system in a postcommunist country, Estonia. The implications that can be drawn from this study is that post-Communist broadcast system transformations are complex, especially considering the f
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ormidable challenges confronting a country as it revamps both its political and economic system." (Abstract)
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"This study, an investigation of the media in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria by American and East European scholars, seeks to outline both the general legacies of communism that confront media reform in eastern Europe, as well as point to how the specific interac
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tion between the media, state, society and market has led to the development of particular and unique dynamics in each case." (Back cover)
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"Entwickelte sich ab 1990 zunächst ein relativ hoher Grad an Presse- und Meinungsfreiheit, so verfestigte sich mit zunehmender Konsolidierung der postkommunistischen Eliten erneut die Tendenz zu einer eher autoritären staatlichen Medienpolitik. Im Unterschied zu früheren Jahren schlug sich diese
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ab Mitte 1992 vor allem in massiven wirtschaftlichen Restriktionen nieder. Die Bevölkerung hat erneut das Vertrauen in die Medien verloren. Ein tiefgreifender Wandel in der traditionell stark autoritär geprägten politischen Kultur Rußlands scheint vor diesem Hintergrund mittelfristig kaum vorstellbar. Die Frage bleibt, warum es - trotz einer relativ günstigen Ausgangsbasis - nicht gelang, neben der medienrechtlich-nominellen auch die ökonomische Unabhängigkeit der russischen Presse durchzusetzen. Die vorliegende Untersuchung dieser Frage stützt sich auf eine dezidierte Analyse der politischen Akteure und ihrer medienpolitischen Zielvorstellungen, die wesentlich von den wechselnden machtpolitischen Konstellationen geprägt wurden." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"[...] We consider here a wide range of post-communisms. At one extremestands the former German Democratic Republic: There, the politicalcollapse of communism immediately preceded the economic and socialdestruction of the old way of life. As Maryellen Boyle shows, theaspirations of the people who ov
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erthrew communism were swept aside bythe juggernaut of reunification. This anschluss - to borrow Habermas’shistorically loaded term -was immediately followed by the imposition ofWest German ideas and structures. Within broadcasting, this foundexpression in the setting up of a new system integrated into the existing West German framework. These structural changes were accompanied bythe appointment of Western managers, often from the ruling ChristianDemocratic Party, and an extensive purge of the existing staff. EasternGermany has been rather brutally and very finally integrated into the worldmarket at the expense of the people who ran the Stalinist state.A t the other extreme stands the Chinese experience. There the processof integration, and the destruction of central planning, are proceeding asrapidly in television as in any other part of society. The political system,however, remains controlled by the very same people who have been inpower for years. As Yu Huang shows, the massive development oftelevision in China has been largely the result of the introduction of localautonomy and a shift towards commercial financing. This has led to strainsand tensions between the central party apparatus and the broadcasters.The aftermath of Tiananmen Square was to increase political control butnot to interrupt the growth of the market. One might say that, so far atleast, the process of integration into the world market has been to thebenefit of the people who ran the old system.Between these two extremes lie the majority of countries of the formerSoviet empire in Europe and its local offshoots elsewhere. In differentcountries there have been varying degrees of political change and the scaleand extent of the introduction of market mechanisms and privatization hasbeen extremely uneven. We publish two articles which reflect on East andCentral Europe and which attempt to theorize those experiences. ColinSparks and Anna Reading look at the main currents of social theory whichhave tried t o explain the nature of the end of communism and itsaftermath. They apply propositions derived from these to the study oftelevision in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. KarolJakubowicz makes wider geographical generalizations, but concentrateshis attention mostly on Poland. Despite recognizing the continuingpolitical pressure on the media, he is finally optimistic as to the chances of‘depoliticizing’ television [...] (Editorial)
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