"Although various studies have investigated the link between corruption and politicization, there is still a lack of comprehensive reflection in the literature on both this topic and the idea of politicization itself. Analyzing the politicization of an issue necessarily implies considering the publi
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c sphere and then the role of the media. Considering its penetration and its role as a news source for citizens, social media today is a particularly intriguing object of research. Our study shows that while social media may assist in raising awareness about and curbing corruption, it can also become dysfunctional in some circumstances. The multiplicity of the actors who intervene in corruption and the diversity of interests that characterizes their actions make online discussion complex and adaptable to different objectives. Discussions on corruption in Italy are highly polarized, favoring the political instrumentalization of the issue for different goals." (Abstract)
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"This volume presents case studies of news media employing and integrating social media into their news production practices. It links social media use to journalistic practices and news production processes in the digital age of the Global South. Critically, the chapters look at seminal cases of st
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art-up news media whose content is informed by trends in social media, ethical considerations and participatory cultures spurred by the wide use of social media. There has been considerable research looking at the potential of new media technologies, traditional journalism and citizen reporting. The extent to which these new media technologies and 'citizen journalism' have morphed or reconfigured traditional journalism practice remains debatable. Currently, there are questions around the limits of social media in journalism practice as the ethical lines continue to become blurred. It is this conundrum of the role of social media in the reconfiguration of the media, news making, production and participatory cultures that requires more investigation. Social media has also turned the logic of the political economy of media production on its head as citizens can now produce, package and distribute news and information with shoestring budgets and in authoritarian regimes with no license of practice. This new political economy means the power that special interest groups used to enjoy is increasingly slipping from their hands as citizens take back the power to appropriate social media journalism to counter hegemonic narratives. Citizens can also perform journalistic roles of investigating and whistleblowing but with a lack off, or limited, regulation." (Publisher description)
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"These recommendations are targeted towards individuals working with sensitive sources on high-level projects that uncover government or corporate misdeeds. We have drafted a few additional steps you should keep in mind if you will be communicating with sensitive sources. Following the below steps w
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ill make it much harder for a dedicated adversary to figure out who your sources are." (Publisher description)
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"In this story of persistent struggle in the name of truth, a young journalist joins forces with her older colleague in uncovering a complicated corruption case that leads to many dead ends. When the welfare of vulnerable people is at stake, it takes two mdern-day heroes to save the day, but every h
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ero has an achilles' heel." (Introduction)
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"The RTI Act is considered the mother of all anti-corruption tools in Ghana. It is expected that citizens will utilize the law to access public information thereby engendering transparency and accountability in governance. Again, that active information disclosure by government and public institutio
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ns will help in the fight against corruption. However, since the passage of the law, awareness and uptake of the law by citizens including journalists has been quite low. Thus, as part of efforts to increase the knowledge of the law among journalists and how it can be utilized to help fight corruption in Ghana, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) with support from the Deutche Welle Akademie on June 17, 2021 convened a forum of journalists, lawyers, anti-corruption CSOs, journalists’ groups/associations and members of the RTI Commission on the theme Investigative Journalism, the RTI Law and the Fight Against Corruption in Ghana. This Publication presents key Reflections and Recommendations from stakeholders at the forum." (Background, page 2)
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"This article shows how Information and Communication Technology (ICT), incorporating social media, can lead to accountability and transparency in a government's budget. Specifically, it examined how a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) used ICT to foster citizenship engagement in the Nigerian gove
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rnment budgetary process. The article, using abductive reasoning, presents four citizen empowerment stages and four social marketing transition stages through which government budget transparency can be improved and corruption reduced. A model was also inferred that can help lessen the exclusivity around the government budget to encourage dialog and openness around the government budget in similar contexts. Furthermore, this article shows that the social transformative role for NGOs using ICT to increase government budget transparency and reduce corruption is a process that happens over time." (Abstract)
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"Money Trail was a collaborative project between highly regarded journalism and training organizations: Finance Uncovered, Free Press Unlimited, Journalismfund.eu and Oxfam Novib. This final report showcases the ground-breaking stories, achievements, and activities of the project for the entire dura
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tion from April 2018 –September 2021." (Page 2)
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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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"This rapid literature review concentrates on the role of communications activity (including communications campaigns and media relations in contributing to the reduction of corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa. The review also determines if there are any evidence-based examples on the impact of communi
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cations (campaigns or related activities) on reducing corruption. Subsidiary questions in the review are to determine if the there are any lessons learned from using specific types of communication activity; the types of corrupt practices that communications activity can help to reduce and, if there are any effective communication tools for reducing corruption. Findings of the review show that there is evidence that communication campaigns have an impact on corruption through reducing bribery and promoting reporting of corruption. However, further research is needed to confirm the sustainability of the impact of such campaigns and interventions. The review also suggests that many of the communication interventions that address corruption are initiated by civil society and some of these are undertaken in collaboration with governments." (Summary)
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"In sub-Saharan Africa, the private media are often considered corrupt and thus incapable of performing critical watchdog functions. Using the Ghanaian case, the objective of this study is to examine how the private media contribute to exposing political corruption and demanding accountability. Base
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d on the media-as-a-watchdog theory and on primary and secondary data, this article argues that private media outlets make significant contributions to the fight against political corruption. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used to collect primary data in Ghana. Relevant secondary data from media reports and scholarly work supplement the primary data. The research findings show that Ghanaian private media address political corruption through investigative reporting, agenda-setting, providing a forum for anti-corruption discussions, and acting as a pressure group for institutional and legal reforms as well as political accountability. This article thus questions the popular claim that in sub-Saharan Africa, the private media cannot contribute meaningfully to combatting corruption involving influential political actors. Policy and future research implications are presented in the conclusions." (Abstract)
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"The paper argues that journalists' perceptions of their role in challenging corruption and developing democracy will give us some insight into Iraq's "crisis of democracy". The theory of democratic participation focuses on the centrality of media and communication institutions, founded on the princ
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iple of social responsibility and particularly prevalent in capitalist countries. "Democratic participation" reflects the definition of freedom from the democratic and parliamentary systems that have become influential in this age (Wolinetz 2012). This argument is considered by a free press as a failure due to its subordination to a centralized government and owners of capital. Building from corruption reports, public opinion polls, and popular demonstrations, this study will reveal journalists' perceptions of their roles in covering corruption and democracy, investigating whether corrupt political parties and corrupt capitalists control the political system. Democracy in Iraq has created new uncertainties, especially as it is a society without experience with political pluralism. The political transition created civil violence and civil war in 2006." (Theoretical framework, page 2-3)
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"This booklet contains a series of stories and essays on the impact and rationale behind the various PubLeaks platforms that Free Press Unlimited has helped set up over the years." (Publisher description)
"Jagendra Singh hatte wieder und wieder über einen Minister der Regierung im Bundesstaat Uttar Pradesh berichtet, der in den illegalen Abbau von Sand involviert gewesen sein soll [...] Singh ist einer von weltweit mindestens 13 Journalisten, die seit 2009 mutmaßlich getötet wurden, nachdem sie ü
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ber Ressourcenausbeutung oder Umweltverschmutzung berichteten. Zahlreiche weitere wurden angegriffen, eingeschüchtert oder mit Klagen überzogen, um ihre Berichterstattung zu behindern. Die Organisation Forbidden Stories, ein internationaler Zusammenschluss investigativer Journalisten, hat deshalb das Projekt "Green blood" - grünes Blut - ins Leben gerufen. 40 Journalisten von 30 Medienorganisationen haben in den vergangenen Monaten zusammengearbeitet, um die Arbeit von Kollegen fortzuführen, die bei Recherchen über Umwelt- und Ressourcenausbeutung getötet oder beeinträchtigt wurden. Darunter Reporter von Guardian, Le Monde, El PaÃs und den deutschen Medien Süddeutsche Zeitung, WDR und Die Zeit. Forbidden Stories hatte bereits im vergangenen Jahr die Arbeit der ermordeten maltesischen Journalistin Daphne Caruana Galizia fortgeführt, um ein Signal zu setzen: Wer einzelne Reporter zum Schweigen bringen will, muss damit rechnen, dann einer Vielzahl von Reportern gegenüberzustehen. So kam es auch im Fall von Jagendra Singh und dem verdächtigen Minister Rammurti Singh Verma. Reporter von Forbidden Stories sprachen mit Hinterbliebenen, der einzigen Zeugin des Vorfalls, ehemaligen Kollegen und anderen Journalisten vor Ort. Sie erfuhren, dass Verma der Familie des verstorbenen Journalisten umgerechnet etwa 45 000 Dollar gezahlt hatte mit der Bedingung, dass sie auf weitere Anschuldigungen gegen ihn verzichten und die von der lokalen Polizei verbreitete Darstellung der Todesumstände akzeptieren würden: Singh habe Selbstmord begangen." (https://www.sueddeutsche.de)
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