"Measuring the quality of news media is a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of enabling informed decision-making among citizens. Despite the lack of consensus on its definition and measurement, this paper introduces a practice-oriented methodology for evaluating news media quality across print, ra
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dio, and TV. The methodology utilizes quantitative content analysis based on quality criteria derived from democracy theory and refined by journalism professionals and media non-governmental organizations. Since 2017, we have tested and applied this methodology in Tanzania, demonstrating its effectiveness in tracking overall trends in news media quality and evaluating the performance of individual outlets. The findings from the quantitative content analysis were validated through qualitative interviews with editors and reporters. The conclusions of the qualitative interviews confirm the validity of the measurement tool. This methodology can serve as a model for scholars and countries seeking to study news media quality, thereby ensuring that citizens are better equipped to navigate the complexities of information in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape. Furthermore, this paper makes a significant contribution to the scholarly discourse on assessing news media quality, a field that is still evolving." (Abstract)
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"Das Handbuch bietet einen Einblick in die Vielfalt der Forschung zu Journalismus in seinen gesellschaftlichen Bezügen. In den Blick genommen werden u. a. Akteure, Organisationen und Institutionen sowie Nachrichten, ihre Entstehung und Nutzung. Der Band spiegelt dabei die thematische, theoretische
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und methodische Vielstimmigkeit der Forschung wider. Verfasst von ausgewiesenen Expert:innen auf ihrem jeweiligen Gebiet umreißt jedes Kapitel den Forschungsstand zu einem Kerngebiet der Journalismusforschung, liefert eine kritische Einordnung und benennt Aspekte für zukünftige Forschung. Damit leistet das Handbuch einen Beitrag zur fachlichen Identität der Journalismusforschung und erarbeitet eine Agenda für zukünftige Forschungsvorhaben." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This open access book presents an interdisciplinary approach to reveal biases in English news articles reporting on a given political event. The approach named person-oriented framing analysis identifies the coverage's different perspectives on the event by assessing how articles portray the person
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s involved in the event. In contrast to prior automated approaches, the identified frames are more meaningful and substantially present in person-oriented news coverage." (Publisher description)
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"The Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) assesses the performance of leading news media in mature democracies with regard to the three core dimensions of democracy: freedom, equality, and control. After monitoring 10 countries in 2011, the MDM project expanded to cover the leading news media of 18 dem
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ocracies in 2021. In this book, the most salient results from the MDM were selected to undergo cross-country and longitudinal comparison, searching for patterns and tendencies across countries, with a particular focus on the influence of digitalisation. Some of the key results are the ubiquitousness of the news media’s financial crisis, increasing consumption gaps as younger generations prefer online platforms, and persisting gender inequalities, both in news content and in newsrooms. However, the volume also shows that the reach of news media remains high, the watchdog role and investigative journalism are increasingly relevant in daily practice, and that public service media, in general, continues to play a vital role for democracy. These results have implications for media policies, regulations, and practices to improve news quality and, ultimately, democracy worldwide." (Publisher description)
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"High-quality news is important, not only for its own sake but also for its political implications. However, defining, operationalizing, and measuring news media quality is difficult, because evaluative criteria depend upon beliefs about the ideal society, which are inherently contested. This concep
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tual and methodological paper outlines important considerations for defining news media quality before developing and applying a multimethod approach to measure it. We refer to Giddens’ notion of double hermeneutics, which reveals that the ways social scientists understand constructs inevitably interact with the meanings of these constructs shared by people in society. Reflecting the two-way relationship between society and social sciences enables us to recognize news media quality as a dynamic, contingent, and contested construct and, at the same time, to reason our understanding of news media quality, which we derive from Habermas’ ideal of deliberative democracy. Moreover, we investigate the Swiss media system to showcase our measurement approach in a repeated data collection from 2017 to 2020. We assess the content quality of fifty news media outlets using four criteria derived from the deliberative ideal (N=20,931 and 18,559 news articles and broadcasting items, respectively) and compare the results with those from two representative online surveys (N=2,169 and 2,159 respondents). The high correlations between both methods show that a deliberative understanding of news media quality is anchored in Swiss society and shared by audiences. This paper shall serve as a showcase to reflect and measure news media quality across other countries and media systems." (Abstract)
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"Dieser Bericht vertieft die Ergebnisse einer Medienanalyse, bei der zu pädagogischen Zwecken (gute wie schlechte) Beispiele von Medienberichterstattung im Zusammenhang mit rassistischer Diskriminierung in Schweizer Nachrichtenmedien zusammengetragen wurden. […] Diese Studie stützt sich auf deta
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illierte Untersuchungen von drei Artikeln mit diskriminierenden Auswirkungen. Sie umfasst die Analyse der Artikel selbst (Diskursanalyse) und vertiefte Gespräche (Forschungsinterviews) mit den Autorinnen bzw. Autoren der Artikel, weiteren Journalistinnen und Journalisten sowie Mitgliedern der Redaktion, die für den jeweiligen Artikel zuständig war. Diese Interviews ermöglichten es, die wichtigsten Schritte bei der Produktion von Nachrichten, die als diskriminierungssensibel bezeichnet werden können, nachzuvollziehen und die dabei wirksamen Berufspraktiken und -logiken zu identifizieren." (Vorwort, iii & Abstract iv)
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"On the surface, Namibia’s stellar reputation as the beacon of media freedom remains intact, but the role of the Fourth Estate in speaking truth to power is gradually being eroded as state officials become increasingly intolerant of the media in Namibia. The perceptible decline in the media landsc
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ape is evidenced by the intimidatory tactics the state has been using to discourage journalists from reporting on certain issues [...] Namibia’s legal and policy framework offers strong protection for freedom of expression and media freedom through Article 21 of the constitution. This is further bolstered by Article 144 of the constitution on international law, which automatically incorporates regional and international protocols, agreements and treaties signed and ratified by the Namibian government into the domestic legal system. However, commitment to the notions contained in these regional and international protocols and conventions seems to be solely on paper ..." (Summary, page 5)
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"The quality of journalistic reporting in Tanzania reveals a twofold pattern. On the one hand, there is a significant increase in quality in 2022 relative to the quality performance reported in 2019. In fact, the performance in many quality criteria for all media types has improved in terms of multi
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ple sourcing, reporting from more than one perspective, explaining root causes. Nevertheless, these improved performance levels still need further enhancement for tangible benefits to materialise. On the other hand, some areas remain entirely low-key and need drastic changes. In this regard, there are still fewer pieces than 2019 offering opinion and viewpoints (11%), and hardly any media pieces showing opposing viewpoints in the same unit (below 2%). Moreover, few media units (below 4%) express arguments critical of the government. This neglected area should be a source of grave concern and one that requires attention from all and sundry in the media fraternity. The positive development occurred mainly on TV newscasts and programmes. Multiple sourcing, reporting with more perspectives, root causes manifested in 2022 mainly in both TV newscasts and programmes. A notable increase in performance is also evident in radio news, albeit on a lesser scale than on TV. In radio programmes, the performance level has stabilised with no notable upward movement. In contrast, newspapers exhibited a minor positive development. Apparently, some TV and radio stations improved their quality of journalistic reporting at a time when the print sector stagnated." (Executive summary)
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"This report offers an upstream view of the newsroom in the country. It looks at the newsroom environment and operations. Specifically, it looks at the newsroom staffing, revenue sources, specialisations, in-house training, and quality assurance, as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on new
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sroom operations. Whenever media stakeholders meet to discuss the state of the newsroom in the country, the typical conversation revolves around these issues-as they have the potential of bettering or worsening the newsroom operations-and how they have shredded the newsroom operations in the country." (Introduction)
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"El presente documento sistematiza las conversaciones virtuales llevadas a cabo el 15, 22 y 29 de setiembre del año 2021, en las cuales reconocidos especialistas, investigadores y académicos nacionales e internacionales expresaron sus preocupaciones y reflexiones en torno al periodismo en Perú y
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en Latinoamérica, el futuro de las y los periodistas y la función de los observatorios de medios en la sociedad." (Introducción)
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"The fact that about half of the news-producing media organizations categorise themselves as having insufficient newsroom resources as far as equipment, technology and training are concerned suggests that there is still need to look into equipping newsrooms technologically and continuing efforts to
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upskill journalists in the region. As regards positive journalistic practices in content production, such as fact-checking and adhering to ethics, there is generally confidence that the right systems and procedures are in place. Sufficient and regular pay for newsroom staff is however lower ranked. Considering that journalism is a talent good and the best talents are retained by, among other factors, sufficient remuneration, this is an issue worth keeping an eye on, if media houses in the region want to retain high quality staff who will produce high quality content in the long run. On finances, the fact that government funding was a stabilizing factor during the COVID-19 pandemic argues for creating structures that would enable media houses to access government support in times of need – such as a permanent fund – but only so long as it does not come at the price of editorial independence." (Conclusion, page 64)
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"Self regulation through peer review is a system whereby journalists hold each other accountable for the quality and accuracy of their content. If the Kenyan experience is anything to go by, this measure can provide an additional layer of scrutiny – additional to a state ombudsman or media housesâ
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€™ internal quality controls – that is both quick and less prone to political interference. Having edited the the 'Media Observer' and contributed several reviews, I offer the following seven measures to take to ensure your own peer review programme is an effective tool in the fight to restore audience trust: Guard goodwill [...] Make it part of a routine [...] Consider hiring a public editor [...] Regularly review editorial policies [...] Communicate openly about external forces [...] More carrots, fewer sticks [...] Supplement with a mentorship programme." (Making peer review work for you, page 20-22)
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"This edited volume considers why the African language press is unstable and what can be done to develop quality African language journalism into a sustainable business. Providing an overview of the African language journalism landscape, this book examines the challenges of operating sustainable Afr
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ican language media businesses. The chapters explore the political economy and management of African language media and consider case studies of the successes and failures of African language newspapers, as well as the challenges of developing quality journalism." (Publisher description)
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"Since its adoption on 1 July 2020, the Protection of Personal Information Act has bolstered freedom of expression and the right to privacy. This legislation aims to protect citizens’ personal information and balance the right to privacy with other rights, such as access to information. In Februar
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y 2021, the Constitutional Court upheld the 2019 High Court decision that declared certain sections of the Regulation of Interception of Communication and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act unconstitutional as they violate the right to privacy. The Act had allowed for surveillance and the interception of communication. These positive developments were hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected freedom of expression and the operating environment of the media and journalists. As in other countries, journalism was considered an essential service in South Africa, which meant that with permission, journalists could continue reporting and were exempt from restrictions that kept most of the population in lockdown. Despite this, journalists found it difficult to access information, making first-hand news-gathering difficult. The Disaster Management Act of 2002 was also applied to manage the lockdowns. Under this Act, essential workers (including journalists) were required to have permits to travel to cover stories. In addition, the government’s attempts to prevent the spread of misinformation related to COVID-19 affected the free flow of information, as information became centralised within the Covid Command Centre. This had a chilling effect on freedom of expression and media freedom in South Africa. Journalists also faced further challenges regarding access to personal protective equipment and training on reporting safely during a pandemic. COVID-19 also affected the sustainability and viability of the media. Both the structure of newsrooms and business models were disrupted. The pandemic accelerated the pre-existing and long-term structural decline in print media, resulting in a devastating impact on the already fragile operations, with significant decreases in both circulation and advertising [...]" (Summary, page 5)
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