"Focusing on politician-businessperson-owned (PBO) newspapers, the study examined how loyalty to the owners’ multiple interests has reduced the professional elbowroom of the Nigerian journalist. Through in-depth interviews and textual analysis, the study found that journalists in PBO newspapers ar
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e extremely constrained on the kind of stories they write and how. Caught in the conflict between professionalism and pandering to the owners’ layers of political and economic interests, many journalists submit, while some rebel. The narrowed elbowroom is a reason for many of the ethical violations among Nigerian journalists." (Abstract)
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"This article is an examination of the four major schools of thought on climate change and how two newspapers in Uganda are covering those divergent views. The article argues that in the coverage of global warming in particular the hitherto treasured notion of objectivity has been replaced by a form
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of blind journalism instigated by frames from local and international stakeholders. The study analyses content from two newspapers in Uganda to show that media in Uganda cover the resonating frame, which argues that climate change is a time bomb, with total disregard for other views or their existence. Guided by the framing theory, the article suggests that a detachment of climate change from international meanings and an introduction of the ‘scientific spirit’ will restore balance by inviting media to explore counter-frames." (Abstract)
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"The objective of this study is to look at how two prominent Arab-language news organisations, BBC Arabic and Al Jazeera Arabic (AJA), have used social media and user-generated content — photos, videos and comments — to provide coverage of the uprising in Syria. Due to the unique pressures in co
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vering Syria, especially in the early months of the uprising, how did these news organizations manage the heavy use of UGC and social media while being true to their editorial guidelines? How have the news organizations in this study verified this material? With activists playing a role in producing and distributing this material, how have the news organizations informed their audiences of the provenance of this material? In terms of UGC management both BBC Arabic and Al Jazeera Arabic publish information about their corporate-wide editorial guidelines that set out guidance for dealing with sources and assuring transparency for their audiences. In the case of the BBC generally, there is very detailed guidance about user-generated content for news. An investigation into the verification practices at BBC Arabic and Al Jazeera Arabic indicates that detailed guidance is in place." (Executive summary, page 3)
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"TThe 2012 MSI study for Europe & Eurasia revealed a mix of positive developments, regression, and stagnation (or resilience, depending on one’s point of view). Nearly half of the 21 countries included in this study showed little change either way, their overall score moving by 0.10 or less. Six c
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ountries showed improvement and five slid backward. The former Yugoslavia accounted for all but one of the countries with lower scores this year. Montenegro improved, Croatia remained roughly unchanged, but the rest of the former Yugoslavia—Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia—suffered losses (note that Slovenia is the only country of the former Yugoslavia not studied by the MSI) [...] Moldova continued to improve and achieved the highest score among the four countries in “Russia and Western Eurasia.” All objectives except Objective 4, Business Management, received a score in the “near sustainability” range. Armenia maintained its leadership amongst the three countries in the Caucasus. Its overall score remained mostly unchanged, although the score did slip slightly. Georgia continued to slowly regain ground lost in 2008. Russia’s score improved; despite serious lingering challenges, panelists expressed a cautious optimism that the situation will continue to improve in the coming years. Kyrgyzstan returned to the top spot in Central Asia as the political situation there stabilized. However, two objectives, those covering professional journalism and business management, remain well below the “near sustainability” range." (Executive summary, page ix)
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"Through a series of qualitative interviews with a range of media stakeholders, the ultimate conclusion of this thesis is that the media landscape in Cambodia is diverse –with some (mostly foreign-owned and run) able to operate freely and independently, while others (most local Khmer media, partic
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ularly broadcast media) are not. While media development activities over the course of the last 20 years have been clearly beneficial to improving the quality of the media, many factors are preventing all media in Cambodia from becoming free, independent and sustainable. A lack of political will, improper legal intimidation, politicisation of the media, a lack of journalistic ethic and professionalism (among some), unsupportive institutional frameworks, media illiteracy among the broader population and little coordination of media development efforts are just some of the barriers that hinder real improvement in this critical sector." (Abstract, page 4)
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"The book presents the results of a comprehensive qualitative research study conducted in 2011 with journalists and editors in more than 20 newsrooms of different media outlets. Several authors analyzed different aspects of the reporting on diversity issues, on the basis of the views and opinions of
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interviewed journalists. The reasons for the deep professional and ethical crisis of the journalism are analysed and its negative impact on the role of the media in promoting social cohesion and dialogue among different communities. The study looks deeply into the established organizational practices and principles of the news production process and sheds light on the context and factors that influence the daily work of journalists. Two case studies are also presented – how the media reported on delicate interethnic and interfaith events." (www.mediaobservatory.net, January 27, 2015)
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"Freie und unabhängige Medien sind für das Funktionieren einer demokratischen Gesellschaft unerlässlich. Sie informieren, erklären, ordnen ein, bieten verschiedene Meinungen, aktivieren, kurz: Sie helfen, demokratische Öffentlichkeit herzustellen. Zudem haben sie eine wichtige Kontrollfunktion
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gegenüber den Mächtigen. Seit über einem Jahrzehnt befindet sich die Medienwelt im Umbruch. Lange Zeit gültige Gewissheiten werden durch das Internet grundlegend infrage gestellt. Zum einen betrifft das die Geschäfts- und Vertriebsmodelle, zum anderen ist die Abgrenzung zwischen Sendern und Empfängern aufgeweicht: Jeder kann heute ein potenziell großes Zielpublikum ansprechen, ohne dass dabei ein Verlag oder eine Redaktion bemüht werden muss. Was bedeutet das für den Journalismus?" (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Was steht in der Zeitung von morgen? Unausgegorene Sensationsberichte oder gut recherchierte Artikel am Puls der Zeit? Die traditionellen Medien sindunter Druck. Ist dies das Ende des Qualitätsjournalismus? Die Zukunft der Qualitätsmedien steht heute mehr denn je zur Debatte. Entfacht wurde die D
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iskussion in den USA mit dem Boom des Internets und seiner Weiterungen. Aber auch im deutschsprachigen Raum machen sich viele Leserinnen und Leser Sorgen um eine qualitätsvolle Berichterstattung. Überall steht hinter der Tagesdebatte die Frage nach der bedrohten oder rettenden Medienqualität. Was ist Medienqualität? Wie lässt sie sich dauerhaft umsetzen? Drei Medienfachleute haben sich im deutschen Sprachraum umgesehen und berichten über Befunde und Rezepte. Mit zahlreichen anschaulichen Fallbeispielen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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