The articles in this book have been adapted from contributions to the UNESCO-sponsored conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka marking World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2006.
"El presente documento contiene la síntesis de una aproximación a la situación actual de los medios informativos y de los periodistas en Colombia, así como una caracterización de los trabajos que se han adelantado en el país en los últimos cinco años orientados a fortalecer el sector y que h
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an contado con la vinculación de donantes, organizaciones nacionales e internacionales y los propios medios de comunicación. La óptica bajo la que se desarrolla el estudio es la de proporcionar una serie de elementos que contribuyan al proceso de construcción de una estrategia coordinada, innovadora y de largo plazo, para definir un plan de acción que logre conjugar intereses comunes sobre líneas que se detectan como prioritarias y estratégicas. El estudio fue hecho para International Media Support, Reporteros Sin Fronteras Suecia y el Proyecto Antonio Nariño en el marco de la convocatoria que han realizado estas tres organizaciones del encuentro internacional Hacia nuevas estrategias de apoyo al periodismo y a los medios de comunicación en Colombia, que se realizará en Bogotá el 25 y 26 de septiembre de 2006." (Introducción, página 1)
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"This book examines the Hong Kong media over a 40 year period, focusing in particular on how its newspapers and TV stations have struggled for press freedom under the colonial British administration, as well as Chinese rule. Making full use of newly declassified material, extensive interviews and sp
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ecific case-studies, it provides an illuminating analysis of the dynamics of political power and its relationship with media censorship. It reveals how the British colonial government repressed the Hong Kong media during the 1960s, and that despite the subsequent acquisition of greater independence and pluralism, press freedom has come under assault once again from Beijing since 1997. Consideration of the changes that took place around the handover of sovereignty includes detailed case-studies of press treatment of the case of a Hong Kong journalist jailed in China, and the coverage of the sensitive topic of the Taiwan presidential election of 2000. Nonetheless, despite the tremendous pressure to conform to the parameters of the new political climate in the wake of regime change, the case is made that not only has the Hong Kong media retained the capacity to exert the democratising influence of non-profit advocacy journalism, but it has succeeded in preserving traits largely lost in British and American journalism with the growth of media consumerism and capitalism." (Publisher description)
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"Most journalists in Yemen wish for more freedom on a legislative level. But the norms and the culture telling them what is acceptable or not, will still affect their journalism, even if legislation was to be eased. In conclusion, the thesis shows the need for a path in between the watchdog and the
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respectful press freedom. It shows the need of further elaboration of the ideal of the journalist as a watchdog accommodated to the norms and culture of the Arab world – an Arabic watchdog." (Abstract)
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"The Russian mass media system has experienced tremendous change since the Soviet era. It has been argued that some similarities still exist between the old Soviet system and the new post-Soviet media, such as the practice of self-censorship. Pressure has been mounting on the mass media's level of e
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ditorial freedom since the late Yeltsin era, beginning with a raft of new laws introduced under the guise of keeping the media ‘honest’. One contemporary influence constraining and shaping media de velopment is Russia's ‘war on terrorism’. Ever since the infamous apartment bombings of August 1999, over 1000 people have been killed and scores more physically and emotionally scarred by acts of terrorism on Russian soil. The political, social and economic costs have been considerable. Russia's ‘war on terrorism’ has provided the authorities with ample excuses to curtail media reporting, such as protecting the work of the security forces in combating terrorist activity, stopping the spread of terrorist ‘propaganda’ and protecting victims of terrorist acts. Numerous bills have been debated in the Duma on prohibiting activity by the mass media during an incident. Senior representatives from the mass media have been involved in talks with the authorities on the issue and in drawing up industry guidelines for reporting on a terrorist act." (Abstract)
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"It is a simple fact that it is hard to find reliable information on the media in South Eastern Europe. The 'South East Europe Media Handbook' bridges this gap in a unique way and offers basic information about the situation of the media in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus,
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Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro/Kosovo, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine. It hereby supports the better understanding of the particular situation of the media in the countries of South Eastern Europe. On the other hand, it gives a very good overview and provides a useful database of all important media in South Eastern Europe. Last but not least it is an outstanding source of information regarding press freedom violations in the past year. Once again I want to emphasize that the media are the agents of democracy. Hence it is very important to encourage the governments in the region to establish safe working conditions for journalists and this is one of the basic objectives of this handbook." (Erhard Busek, Special Coordinator Stability Pact for Eastern Europe, page XI).
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"In transitional societies where political pressure on the press is coupled with a commercial media system and a professional journalistic culture, the politics of self-censorship is likely to involve a strategic contest between the media and political actors. Language plays a significant role in th
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is contest. The present study focuses on the case of Hong Kong. It analyzes how two local newspapers, facing an important yet sensitive political issue, constructed two different overall storylines and used two different sets of discursive strategies in their editorials to handle political pressure, market credibility, and journalistic integrity simultaneously. The elite-oriented Ming Pao constructed a storyline of the debate as a factional struggle in order to posit itself as an impartial arbitrator. This approach was further sustained and justified by the discursive strategies of balanced and qualified criticisms and the rhetoric of rational discussion. The mass-oriented Apple Daily, on the other hand, constructed a storyline of a sovereign people whose rights are encroached upon by a powerful entity. The paper was therefore much more critical towards the power center. Nevertheless, it also appropriated the dominant discourse, constructed internal contradictions, and decentralized the Chinese central government to smooth out the radicalism of its criticisms." (Abstract)
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"Die großen Hoffnungen, die Anfang der 1990er Jahre in den Demokratisierungsprozess im südlichen Afrika gesetzt wurden, haben sich überwiegend nicht erfüllt. In einer Demokratie soll Journalismus Öffentlichkeit herstellen und zur Meinungsbildung beitragen. Eine Voraussetzung dafür ist Pressefr
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eiheit. Doch die Analyse des Falles Sambia zeigt, dass der Druck auf die Pressefreiheit dort Ende der 1990er Jahre sogar verstärkt wurde. Für diese Studie wurde ein neuer "Index der Pressefreiheit" entwickelt, der zusätzlich zu den rechtlichen und wirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen und der journalistischen Freiheit auch die Vielfalt der Berichterstattung und den Grad der Partizipation berücksichtigt." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Media support should have a long term approach (3-5 years); media support should be framed to capacity building related to media production supporting development of media management targeting mainly women; development of producer skills and screenwriting targeting women and young people; developme
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nt of civil society and its media capacity targeting especially Human Right focused organisations and associations; development of internal democracy in media entities, and development of a platform for young media producers in the Middle East and North Africa. Media support should mainly target the audiovisual media sector; Media support should promote exchange between different Arab regions and promote exchange between the Arab Region and the Western world." (Executive summay, page 13)
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