"This study constitutes the attempt to draw some initial conclusions from the work conducted by DW Akademie and other media development organizations in the past. It aims at a better understanding of which public service functions former state broadcasters can provide at all and which approaches of
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media development actors have proved to be successful.
Reforming of state mouthpieces into public service media can indeed be achieved. This is one of the most important findings of this study. DW Akademie researchers here present examples of media outlets that fulfill their public service remit of creating a public sphere and supporting integration to a substantial degree. Even among the success stories, not all the media outlets studied here have adopted a public service ethos to its full extent. Their work, however, improved considerably. In assisting reform, media development actors were thus able to enhance the public’s freedom of expression as well as its access to information – two basic human rights we see as important prerequisites for peace and democracy. On the other hand, this study shows how difficult and complex transformation is. State media are often highly politicized. Successful transformation, therefore, requires support of a lot of different actors: the political elite, civil society, the management of the broadcaster, its staff, and last but certainly not least, the public as a whole. It is vital that media development actors identify windows of opportunity and profit from them in order to propel change forward.
At the same time, this study demonstrates that media development organizations have to think beyond their traditional fields of expertise: capacity development and newsroom consultancy. A much broader approach is needed if substantial and sustainable development is to be achieved. DW Akademie is currently implementing a new, more complex strategy for successful media development cooperation that takes this into account. Political and legal frameworks have become a strategic area of activity. Other equally important areas comprise qualifications, professionalism, and economic sustainability of the media sector, participation in society, and digital change. With regard to public broadcasting, political and legal frameworks are especially important in order to ensure editorial independence of former state broadcasters. Furthermore, media development actors have to engage more in organizational development. Therefore, at the end of this study, we dedicate a whole chapter to this question.
This study of selected media outlets from twelve countries does not attempt to provide a final answer to the question of successful public service transformation. It aims at giving an overview of what has been achieved in practical work in this field in the course of the past years. More research is needed to understand which steps of reform are needed for a genuine transformation that is sustainable in the long term. The media are undergoing crucial developments. Digital change, convergence, and social media have increased pluralism of opinion substantially in many parts of the world. At the same time, the media face new challenges with respect to their economic sustainability. The notion of public service media that offer a model for providing journalistic quality without financial dependence deserves further thought." (Preface)
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"Media Systems and Communication Policies in Latin America proposes, tests and analyses the liberal captured model. It explores to what extent to which globalisation, marketization, commercialism, regional bodies and the nation State redefine the media's role in Latin American societies." (Publisher
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description)
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"After a significant delay, the transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting in Bulgaria is scheduled to be finished in 2013. While cable television appears to have peaked since 2007, satellite television continues to increase its penetration, more often through bundled services. On the other hand
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, Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is also growing, albeit from a low base. Although Bulgarians enjoy some of the fastest internet connections in the world, overall broadband penetration is low. However, except for the ubiquitous popularity of torrent trackers, there is a lack of e-government services and on-demand audiovisual content. Press and radio are declining in revenue, and the press in particular has welcomed investors with hidden sources of financing that use newspapers for their own business interests. Shedding more light on media ownership, prohibiting concentration, and securing sustainable business models for quality news outlets remain key." (Open Society Foundations website)
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"The aim of this research is to highlight the trajectory of media policy in Indonesia and to assess its impacts on the different forms of media themselves and on the citizens and their rights, particularly with regards to their media rights. Such rights, in this study, are referred to as the right t
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o access media infrastructure, to access trustworthy information and quality media content, and to participate in the media policymaking process." (Executive summary)
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"The research for this report was developed and undertaken between June 2012 and April 2013 across 14 Pacific Island nations: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Nauru, Niue, Republic of Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon I
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slands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The report provides a regional overview of the PACMAS key components (Media Policy, Media Systems, Media Capacity Building and Media Content) as they emerged through 212 interviews focused upon the six PACMAS strategic areas. It also provides basic background information, an overview of the media and communications landscape and discusses in detail media and communications technicians; emergency broadcast systems, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVETs), media associations, climate change and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). For this reason, observations on the four PACMAS components should be understood to represent changes in the media and communication environment based upon an investigation focused on the PACMAS strategic activities." (www.pacmas.org)
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"Das in zweiter Auflage überarbeitete Lehrbuch führt konsistent und verständlich in Theorie, Methodik und Gegenstandsbereiche der international vergleichenden Mediensystemforschung ein. Es macht mit deren Fragestellungen vertraut und arbeitet die für den Vergleich relevanten Strukturelemente her
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aus. Der Forschungsbereich wird einerseits inhaltlich, d. h. durch ausgewählte Themenstellungen (z. B. Kommunikationspolitik, Medienkonzentration), und andererseits räumlich, d. h. durch bedeutende Länder und Weltregionen, erschlossen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Media interventions by international organizations and NGOs in conflict and post-conflict situations seek to develop and shape a media system to contribute to specific political and social ends. The analyses and assessments that inform these interventions are often based on an overview of the forma
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l media and governance structures, such as mass media and state institutions, and overlook informal structures that may be instrumental for political and development goals. This article proposes a framework that can incorporate both the formal and informal modes of communication and participation that characterize a society. This framework encourages a ‘diagnostic’ approach centred around three areas: power, flows, and participation, and enables researchers to take into consideration features that are often overlooked such as customary law; a range of public authorities from politicians to Imams and local elders; information flows that may vary from poetry to mobile phones; and the culture of communication. Examples from the Somali territories, which are characterized by a weak central government, are employed to highlight how informal structures and actors intervene in shaping information flows and the importance of accounting for them." (Abstract)
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"Drawing on a historical approach to Malaysia's political development since independence, this paper argues that the political effects of the rise of Malaysia's new media are best understood as being parallel to those of modernization and socio-economic change from previous decades, which augured im
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portant changes in the political strategies of incumbent and opposition politicians, but did not upset the fundamental logic through which the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime has ruled since the 1970s." (Abstract)
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"This article analyses and discusses Mexican public policies regarding the transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT). We aim to show how digitization, in the Mexican context, can be thought of as an opportunity to change the duopolistic structure in television in order to obta
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in higher quality and greater content diversity. The methodology used here consists of a structural historical analysis of communication policies with an emphasis on digital switchover, paying special attention to the social power relations that have led to the current structural conditions of the concentrated Mexican communications system. Overall, preliminary results obtained in this research show a lack of clarity in DTT policies of the last two administrations (Vicente Fox 2000-2006 and Felipe Calderón 2006-2012) and a reinforced hegemony of the economically dominant broadcast and telecommunications actors: Televisa, TV Azteca and Telmex, in detriment to public service, competition, local TV stations, independent production, content quality and audiences in a broader sense." (Abstract)
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"After the Anglo-American invasion, the US neo-conservative administration established the Iraqi Governing Council in July 2003, which included 25 members selected for their ethnic and religious origins; it was the most obvious sign of the US political separatist strategy. As a result of the new pol
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itical reality, the Iraqi media was divided into ethno-sectarian lines, resulting from previous policies followed by the US administration. This article argues that the US media policy prior and after the US invasion of Iraq played a part in enhancing and encouraging the sectarian divisions in the Iraqi society. This was mainly done by sending biased media messages through the state-run Iraqi Media Network (IMN) and other US-aligned channels and allowing militant voices from different Iraqi sides to wage wars of words without interfering. In fact, the only time US officials interfered is when they were criticized by Iraqi media outlets. This study cites different US government reports, accounts from media practitioners who worked for IMN and other journalists that monitored the Iraqi media." (Abstract)
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"The history of Uganda from the days of Colonial Rule, when modern mass media was introduced was revisited. The thesis of this study was that the substance of the political governance model inherited from Uganda’s colonial past continues in the postindependence period to define the relationship be
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tween the media and government on the one hand, and within media industry itself. This governance model was grounded in power monopoly, power domination, and power preservation, with the ensuing characteristics of exclusiveness, privilege and intolerance of opposition, difference and diversity. State power was not informed by the discourse of good governance nor did it cater for a democratic environment. Legislative, administrative and strong-arm measures were all strategies of power and control that the colonial government deployed to manage a media deemed non-compliant, and thereby maintain and protect the supremacy of its rule. By the same token, the anti-media freedom measures were also an implicit recognition of the power of the press, understood as a subversive threat." (Conclusion, page 90-91)
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"A historical survey of the Iraqi media from its beginning up to the present day, focusing on the post-2003 media scene and the political and societal divisions that occurred in Iraq after US-led occupation. Investigates the nature of the media outlets and offers an analysis of the way Iraqi satelli
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te channels covered the 2010 general elections." (Publisher description)
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This report documents some very significant differences in how media companies in different countries have fared over the last decade, examining six affluent democracies (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States) as well as two emerging economies (Brazil and India).
"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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