[...] In dieser Ausgabe von OST-WEST. Europäische Perspektiven nehmen wir die Medien in Europa in den Blick. Wir fragen nach der Macht und dem Einfluss der „vierten Gewalt“, wie die Medien oft genannt werden, in Deutschland, nach den Perspektiven der Medienentwicklung in Mittel- und Osteuropa,
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schauen nach Polen, Bosnien, Rumänien. Ein wichtiger Blick gilt Russland, nimmt sich dort staatstreue Fernsehsender, gezähmte Printmedien und die blühende Vielfalt im Internet vor, die russische Medienlandschaft also. Wir fragen auch nach dem Medienmarkt und der Pressefreiheit in der Ukraine, die von Wirtschaftsakteuren und Politikern in die Zange genommen wird. Zwei Fachleute, aus Polen und aus Deutschland, äußern ihre Gedanken zur Ethik der Medien. Ethik: Das ist angesichts der zu beobachtenden, nicht nur europäischen Entwicklung im Medienbereich ein Thema, das immer mehr an Gewicht und Bedeutung gewinnt. Es kann uns nicht gleichgültig sein, welche Kriterien bei den Journalistinnen und Journalisten leitend oder nicht leitend sind. Auf dem Mediensektor in Ost und West herrscht derzeit das, was die Soziologen die „neue Unübersichtlichkeit“ nennen. Wir versuchen, mit unserem Medium eine Schneise zu schlagen, von der aus man links und rechts in den Wald schauen kann. Wichtig ist und bleibt: Ein Medium ist ein Medium – und nicht, wie ein weit verbreitetes Urteil sagt, die Botschaft." (Editorial)
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"The political landscape of individual countries, including their level of internal legitimacy and perceived vulnerability to political extremists, influences the level of media freedom enjoyed in that country at any given moment. In many MENA countries, media freedom is a privilege bestowed by mona
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rchs and dictators, not an immutable right enshrined in law, despite the existence of press freedom clauses in some constitutions. Therefore, Arab broadcast channels can be “unmade” as easily as they were made. The absence of media company consolidation in the region suggests that owners want to broadcast their own choice of content, including news content, which in turn suggests that media in the region are not viewed as a business venture but as a political tool. Television viewers in the MENA region are generally aware of broadcast ownership, particularly of the bigger stations, and expect a political slant to the news. The general expectation is that no one is broadcasting just for the sake of informing the public, so it is assumed that all the owners have agendas. Private television, whether terrestrial or satellite, is much more threatening to ruling elites than private newspapers, which are easier to censor in advance and to physically disrupt. Thus, governments have been very careful to vet owners prior to granting licenses to private television stations." (Executive summary, page 5)
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"Since Turkey became a candidate for the European Union in 1999, democratic rights and freedom of expression have been key issues in discourses surrounding EU—Turkey relations. Discussions on these questions often centre on state censorship and legislative constraints. The role of the media themse
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lves, however, and the deeply-ingrained elements and historically-contingent norms and practices within public culture that shape the public sphere, have received a significantly lower level of attention. Despite recent legislative changes towards greater freedom of expression, major hurdles that limit democratic rights and freedoms persist in practice, as highlighted by the judicial trial (and the subsequent murder in January 2007) of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. The police raid of Nokta magazine in 2007 is another case in point. The purpose of this article is to discuss current questions related with freedom of expression and tolerance of diversity in the Turkish media based on in-depth interviews with journalists and with the Dink and Nokta cases as examples; and to offer critical reflections on the public sphere in Turkey in its current state." (Abstract)
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"The report explores the various legal and policy mechanisms that are crucial for the free flow of information, providing guidance for policy-makers and other relevant users, for the creation of environments conducive to the freedom of expression. As this publication makes clear, freedom of expressi
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on is not just a by-product of technical change: it must be protected by legal and regulatory measures that balance a variety of potentially conflicting values and interests in a complex global ecology of choices. The impetus that this report provides for the prioritization of research in this field encourages further scrutiny of the multifaceted issues that govern the conditions for freedom of expression on the Internet. The findings of this research point to the need to better track a wider array of global legal and regulatory trends." (Preface)
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"The vast majority of IFEX members say it is more difficult now than a year ago to find project funding. Half say it is more difficult now than five years ago to find project funding. The dominant source for project funding is foundations outside the country of the member. A majority of IFEX members
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also say it is more difficult now versus a year ago to raise core funding. Half say it is more difficult now versus five years ago. The dominant source for core funding is foundations outside the country of the member. Members say that half of their budgets comes from projects, and about a quarter comes from core funding. They say this is pretty much unchanged from five years ago. Open Society Institute dominates the list of funders for IFEX members - five years ago and now - with the National Endowment for Democracy figuring prominently as well. Almost all IFEX members say they face challenges in finding funding. About half say funders are requiring them to do things that they did not require five years ago. Members say that funding sources that had supported their work in the past were no longer supporting them. Five IFEX members have neither a full-time nor a part-time person for budget and finance. Twenty-two do not have anyone handling fundraising full-time." (Executive summary)
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"More than a decade and a half after independence, none of the press systems in Central Asia's five former Soviet republics are categorized as free, nor have any of these countries transitioned to democracy. The question becomes: Why have they failed to evolve into democratic nations after successfu
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lly rejecting Soviet domination and Russian colonialism? The Western-rooted development model assumes that democracy, media independence, free markets, and civil society can help establish the primary prerequisites for free and prosperous nations. However, the results of that assumption fall far short of expectations in Central Asia. Recent events provide little reason for optimism about prospects for such structural changes. This study discusses the interrelationship between press freedom and post-communist democratization. It proposes an exploratory matrix of external variables, including religion, that may help explain why press freedom has failed to materialize in Central Asia while democracy has become a reality in other parts of the former Soviet Union and in most former Warsaw Pact nations." (Abstract)
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"Besonders in der philippinischen Provinz sehen sich kritische Journalisten immer wieder von Gewalt bedroht, die als Reaktion auf Berichte über Korruption, Drogenhandel, Glücksspiel etc. aufflammt. Bei der Studie lag der Fokus auf Radiojournalisten, welche die größte Opfergruppe in dem Land dars
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tellen. Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert die mit den Repressalien zusammenhängenden Handlungsoptionen der Journalisten wie Selbstzensur, Bewaffnung oder Bestechlichkeit besonders in den ländlichen Provinzen der Philippinen. Die entwickelten Thesen und Forschungsergebnisse beschreiben die Ursachen und Nebenbedingungen der Gewalt und zeigen, dass der Journalismus auf den Philippinen unter großem Druck steht und die Medienfreiheit in dem formell demokratischen Land in vielen provinziellen Gebieten eingeschränkt ist." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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