"During the transition years, Albania saw the establishment of a relatively complete legal framework for the protection and development of media freedom and independence. However, in many cases, the legal framework was delayed or a mechanical transplant of western legislation. Enforcement of legisla
...
tion remains a problem. In the framework of relations between the media and politics, both in the early transition phases and during recent years, there have been frequent efforts of political formations to ensure in a way control Relations between media and politics in Albania over the media through law as in the case of the Press Law or the case of legislation establishing the regulations for the election of the Steering Council of RTSH and AMA, which gives the opportunity to the political majority to decide on the composition of the steering bodies of these two institutions. In terms of transparency over media ownership, Albania has made progress, but the concern is raised regarding the possibility of hidden ownership. Besides the ownership factor, their funding also has played a considerable role in the degree of dependence or independence of the media. In this regard, for many domestic analysts or international rapporteurs, the situation remains alarming. The EU Progress Report on Albania notes that media financing remains very problematic. There is almost no transparency and funding sources are manipulated or hidden. Similar to countries of the polarized pluralistic media model, in Albania too, professional organizations and the trade unions of journalists are generally weak. An indicator of the lack of organization of the media and the journalists’ community is also the fact that Albania, for a long period during the transition years, has not managed to have a Media Council, which exists in the majority of the region’s countries. The inexistence or poor role of journalists’ associations has led to a poor level of self-regulation of media in the country." (Executive summary)
more
"To ensure that African media organizations remain viable players in this changing political and economic landscape, new coalitions need to be built and existing ones strengthened. The existing coalitions in the region display certain weaknesses: they tend to be unevenly spread across the region and
...
they tend to focus on a narrow band of concerns. While the existing organizations do important work pertaining to legal protections, constitutional guarantees for freedom of expression, and the safety of journalists, they are weaker in the areas of digital access, infrastructure, and ICT policy. More capacity should be built to enable research into fast-evolving areas of the media such as digital, mobile, and social media, and the questions concerning freedom, independence, and sustainability that arise from this new and rapidly shifting arena. Instead of merely adding more networks and linking existing ones together across the region in a show of solidarity, there is a need for strategic thought around the type of collaborations needed in the region." (Recommendations, page 23)
more
"In South Sudan, media capture, media market and audience segmentation are driven by: the ongoing civil conflict (since 2013), ethnic and linguistic divisions, a lack of rule of law, the legacy of clientelistic networks in the media and the government, a stark urban-rural divide, and a lack of infra
...
structure and funding that could support sustainable media development. In Tanzania, media capture, and media market and audience segmentation are driven by: the dominance of the CCM that enables the government to establish a legal framework to restrict freedom of the press, stark rural-urban and ZanzibarMainland divides, and a lack of local and community media in rural areas due to poor infrastructure and a lack of managerial skills. In Bangladesh, media capture, media market and audience segmentation are driven by: the political polarisation of the media and journalists’ unions between the dominant AL and BNP political parties, the combination of political polarisation and low journalistic professionalism preventing politically unbiased reporting, and connections between corporate media owners and political elites that lead to politically-motivated corporate media strategies. In South Africa, media capture, media market and audience segregations are driven by: the lack of sustainable funding available to independent media outlets, prohibitive costs limiting their readership to the economic elite, and the dominance of the (politically controlled) SABC as the only source of media catering to lower-income segments of the population." (Executive summary, page vi-vii)
more
"While scholarly inquiries into the coverage of climate change in Africa are growing, there appears to be a dearth of studies focusing on how the political economy shapes the coverage. This qualitative study addresses this gap by exploring how vested interests, corruption and declining advertising r
...
evenue among other factors affect climate change news in Nigeria. The findings of this study - which draws on interviews with journalism professionals undertaken in Lagos in 2013 - suggest that media owners, editors and even climate change reporters have different interests to protect, all of which influence climate change reportage. The study concludes that in order to get their stories published, ethical climate change reporters might need to find creative ways of making their stories meaningful without hurting the interests that appear to frustrate the reporting of the phenomenon. The issues examined in this study provide a research-based framework for the analysis of the political economy of climate change reporting in Nigeria." (Abstract)
more
"Blurring the Lines: Market-Driven and Democracy-Driven Freedom of Expression focuses on challenges from the market to free speech and how free speech can be protected, promoted and developed when lines between journalism and advertising are blurred. With contributions from 20 scholars in law, media
...
studies and philosophy, it explores an issue deserving greater attention, market pressures on freedom of expression. The role of commercial constraints on speech, restrictions and control of media content and the responsibility of state institutions in protecting free speech are some of the topics scrutinized from a democratic free speech perspective." (Back cover)
more
"The Tunisian revolution has left a significant mark on the country’s media landscape, which diversified and played an important role in the transition process. Media diversity, however, does not guarantee the independence of information per se, especially if it remains to be dominated by politica
...
l or economic interests. The Tunisian Media Ownership Monitor, set up by RSF and Al Khatt from April to June 2016, shows that even if there is no strong media concentration in the hands of a few like in the days of Ben Ali, disturbing trends can nonetheless be observed: 6 out of the 10 TV stations analysed have a history of political affiliation. As the form of media with the highest audience rates in Tunisia, TV stations naturally attract interests from the political sphere; No reliable audience data exists, no matter for which type of media; Financial data difficult to obtain; Lack of transparency about funding means." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
more
"While the Turkish media market looks diverse from the outside because of the large numbers of outlets, it is increasingly concentrated in terms of opinion. The Media Ownership Monitor Turkey, carried out with IPS Communication Foundation/ bianet between July and October 2016, shows that the governm
...
ent not only openly endangers media pluralism through recent closures of news outlets but that there is much deeper dimension of economic leverage, which allows almost complete control of mass media." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
more
"Ukrainian mass media outlets are mostly driven by their owners’ individual interests and thus serve as instruments to securing political and economic power. Corruption and lack of financial transparency further inhibit the healthiness of the country’s media landscape. The Media Ownership Monito
...
r Ukraine, carried out from July to October 2016 together with the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), showed that the Ukraine media is prone to power plays, more than ever. The Media Ownership Monitor pinpoints that concentration is especially high within the audio-visual and radio markets. The major four TV owners – StarLight Media, 1+1 Media, Inter Media and Media Group Ukraine – represent an audience share of more than three quarters. The top four radio groups even combine a reach of 92% of the audience in Ukraine: Tavr Radio Group, Ukrainian Media Holding, Business Radio Group and TRK Lux. Those media groups mainly belong to some of the richest in Ukraine, amongst others Viktor Pinchuk, Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Dmytro Firtash and Rinat Akhmetov. The print media and online sectors are less concentrated. Online media in particular offer much more pluralism and choice to Internet savvy Ukrainians." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
more
"Two giant broadcast networks dominate the Philippine media industry both in terms of economic market power and audience reach, which gives them a major potential to shape public opinion. Despite a high number of media outlets and being described as one of the most freewheeling media systems in the
...
region, Philippine media continuous to be owned by and to depend on the economic and political elite [...] Five families in the Forbes List of 2016 Philippines’ Richest are in media, four of which made their money predominantly from media. Even though the political and economic elite are interweaved, those links have not led to targeted discriminatory actions in the recent past, with in general little political control being openly exerted. It poses, however, a potential risk to media as soon as the political elite start to exploit the vulnerability of media owners." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
more
"High levels of revenue and ownership concentration in the media sector pose a threat to freedom of information in Peru. Concentration is also exceptionally high in terms of circulation and audience in the print and digital media sectors. MOM Peru, carried out from September and December 2016, has r
...
evealed a high degree of media ownership concentration as well as a lack of regulation by the state, and confirms the dominant position of the El Comercio Group." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
more
"Only one out of ten Mongolian media outlets is actively transparent about its ownership. A majority of them has political affiliations through their founders and / or owners. This limits the important role of media to act as an independent watchdog for democracy. These are some of the main findings
...
of the Media Ownership Monitor Mongolia, jointly carried out with the Press Institute of Mongolia, from September to December 2016." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
more
"Bullets and Bulletins takes a sobering and holistic look at the intersections between media and politics before, during, and in the wake of the Arab uprisings. It is a multi-disciplinary approach to the topic, with the research backed up by in-depth and rigorous case studies of the key countries of
...
the Arab uprisings. The protests were accompanied by profound changes in the roles of traditional and new media across the Middle East. What added significantly to the amplification of demands and grievances in the public spheres, streets and squares, was the dovetailing of an increasingly indignant population—ignited by the prospects of economic and political marginalisation—with high rates of media literacy, digital connectivity, and social media prowess. This combination of political activism and mediated communication turned popular street protests into battles over information, where authorities and activists wrestled with each other over media messages. Information and communication technologies were used by both government authorities and protestors as simultaneous tools for silencing or amplifying dissent." (Publisher description)
more
"Ce livre traite de l'évolution de la presse africaine francophone dans un contexte de mutations sociopolitiques récurrentes. S'appuyant sur le cas particulier du Congo-Brazzaville, l'analyse démontre clairement comment les mutations sociopolitiques induisent des logiques sociales de la communica
...
tion qui interfèrent dans la médiatisation de l'expérience sociale. Objet d'un enjeu de positionnement dans la sphère publique des acteurs sociaux aux jeux et intérêts divergents, l'information de presse produite dans ce contexte apparaît comme une simple mise en visibilité des acteurs sociaux les plus nantis parce que détenteurs d'un double capital politique et financier." (Dos de couverture)
more
"For journalists promoting the free flow of information in repressive or restrictive media environments, the issue of financial sustainability is complex. Both media in exile (out-of-country news outlets feeding independent information into the country of origin) and news outlets in restrictive news
...
environments (in-country providing counter-information) exist in flawed market situations and often rely on grant funding. This is the first academic study of the revenue streams of these media, providing scarce empirical data and a typology of funding structures of these media. This article examines three main revenue categories: grant funding, earned income and donations. The major factors influencing revenue streams compared to online media start-ups in open markets are discussed. The article finds significant barriers to revenue creation and identifies the need for alternative approaches, particularly partnerships, to promote economic resilience for media under threat." (Abstract)
more
"Transformations in the Arab media landscape are a key element in the regional dynamics of political change. Where do the private owners of Arab media outlets stand on the scene? What part, if any, have they played in weakening dictatorships, countering sectarianism and political polarisation, and r
...
eforming business practices in the Arab world? Arab Media Moguls charts the rise of some leading investors and entrepreneurs in Arab media, examining their motives, management styles, financial performance and links to political power. Responding critically to scholarship on Western moguls, this book uncovers the realities of risk and success for Arab media potentates and billionaires." (Publisher description)
more
"In the development communication equation, whether more theoretical, empirical and analytical attention is given to ‘development’ or to ‘communication’ makes a difference: where the emphasis is on development, it is at the expense of communication. Since communication and media arguably pla
...
y an increasingly pervasive role in the everyday life of citizens and in the politics, economies and governance of most societies, the characteristics and role of specific forms of applied communication strategies in the context of the neoliberal project merit critical scrutiny. Given a complex global scenario, what can a political economy approach bring into an agenda for the future of development communication as a field of study, a practice and an institutional project? This article outlines ways in which a focus on political economy dimensions may contribute to understanding the obstacles and limits to a transformative practice of international development communication." (Abstract)
more
"Even though Colombia has more than 200 radio stations, more than 50 television channels and more than 50 newspapers, there is little media pluralism. The Media Ownership Monitor 2015, jointly carried out with the Colombian Association for Journalists (Federación Colombiana de Periodistas, FECOLPER
...
) from August to November, reveals some of the reasons: Concentration is especially high for TV and Radio; Media intertwined with business empires and politics; No clear regulation for distribution of public advertising or licensing regime; Media market remains intransparent." (http://www.mom-rsf.org)
more
"This article essentially shows how the development of commercial television in Indonesia has conflicted with the country’s media democratization, as illustrated by the growth of local media in the past 15 years. Compared to print media and radio, which are decentralized, Indonesia’s television
...
industry is dominated by five large media corporations that are all based in the capital city of Jakarta. As a consequence, this fails to leave much growing space to television stations at a local level, which would be needed to strengthen Indonesia’s democratization. Media owners have successfully influenced the government in establishing a set of policies that sustain their dominance of the industry. Players within the television industry have even successfully swayed the direction of the broadcasting decentralization mandated by the Broadcasting Bill during Indonesia’s early political Reform period. The influence of these ‘Jakarta television stations’ stunted the development of television stations outside of Jakarta. Not only it deprives local actors of the economic value of developing their own television industry would bring, it also has resulted in the the loss of television's potential in functioning as a public sphere facilitating social control over democratic processes. Although the Reform era promised a new age of media democratization, the centralization of commercial television actually worsened media monopolies that were thought to have been done away with in post-Suharto Indonesia." (Abstract)
more