"Only 11 percent of 75 surveyed journalists said Cambodian media was headed in the right direction, down from 71 percent in 2015. 83 percent said media freedom had decreased in the past year. 92 percent consider the shutdowns of independent media outlets this year to have been political. 38 percent
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said they had been verbally or physically attacked sometime during their careers in Cambodia, and 47 percent said they had been threatened at one point, up from 26 and 29 percent in 2015. 14 percent said they had been verbally or physically attacked during the past year, and 20 percent said they had been threatened. 67 percent of journalists said they do not feel completely free to report on all subjects without fear of interference or repercussions, up from 58 percent in 2015 and 47 percent in 2014. 91 percent use encrypted messaging service WhatsApp for work communications. Corruption was rated as the most difficult topic to report on in Cambodia, with an average score of 4.2 out of 5. 60 percent said they had participated in more than five training sessions during their careers in Cambodia. 85 percent said they did not think the majority of journalists in Cambodia conducted themselves with sufficient professionalism. The Cambodia Daily, Phnom Penh Post and Voice of America were rated as the most independent media outlets in Cambodia in 2017. Fresh News, Nice TV and Bayon were rated the least independent." (Key findings, page 2)
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"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
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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)
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"Kolumbien verfügt über ein hybrides Mediensystem (Voltmer 2012: 238), das autoritäre und demokratische Merkmale miteinander kombiniert. Die Entwicklung des Mediensystems wird in diesem Beitrag als Konsequenz aus der Kombination formal demokratischer Institutionen mit einer oligarchischen Renten
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konomie interpretiert." (Seite 541)
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"The media and political systems of former communist countries in Central/Eastern Europe share a number of similarities with those in Southern Europe. According to Karol Jakubowicz, these similarities also include late democratisation, a weak middle class, marked social and economic differences, a s
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trong catholicism, etc. Where are the third-wave democracies to date, particularly as regards their media systems? And where are they heading for? This volume with his differents talks of a joint conference in 2016 attempts to answer these questions and many more." (Publisher description)
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"China is challenging the mighty behemoths, Google and Facebook, and creating alternative New Media. 750 million people are active on its Social Mediascape and there are a billion mobile phones deploying the innovative apps with which the Chinese conduct their lives. Though late starters, already fo
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ur of the world's leading New Media companies are Chinese. China's old media - television, newspapers, radio - challenge the established powers which were long thought unassailable, such as CNN and BBC. Produced in many languages on every continent, they are re-defining the agenda and telling the story in China's way, with not just news and documentary series but also entertainment. The world's biggest manufacturer of TV drama is now making its stories for export. China's Media tells you why and how. It investigates the Chinese media, their strengths and weaknesses and how they are different. from the West. This detailed and comprehensive guide aims to showcase their immense variety and diversity, and demonstrates how they came to be a powerful new force in the media world." (Back cover)
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"The conventional method for studying media systems has been to analyse the relationship between media and politics, based on Hallin and Mancini’s (2004) seminal research Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics. Their approach automatically places the nation-state as the key un
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it of analysis to understand why media systems are the way they are and why they change. Research that has advanced this endogenous method of analysis in countries outside of the Western, democratically advanced context, has brought to light the importance of including external factors in studying media systems. Building off this analytical direction, this thesis introduces three new external factors; foreign aid, the conditionalities attached to foreign aid, and the role of externally created Pan-African media policy agreements. Using a case study of Malawi, a small aid-dependent country in Southeast Africa, this research interrogates these three factors to reveal that foreign aid is a coercive foreign policy tool that has been used for manipulating change and shaping the type of media Malawi has. Based on the country’s recent transformation from its authoritarian populist past towards the dominant liberal media model in 2012, this research also reassesses Hallin and Mancini’s convergence thesis, which claimed that most countries are ‘naturally’ heading towards the dominant liberal media model. Drawing on theoretical contributions made from the fields of international relations and international development, this thesis develops a critical international political economy approach to the theory of foreign intervention to challenge this claim." (Abstract)
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"The article discusses the significance of the past in the planning of media policies in two neighbouring countries in Africa, namely Kenya and Tanzania. The theoretical frame is composed of four concepts: social imaginary, collective memory, domestication, and liminality. The scrutiny starts from t
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he last years of colonialism and ends with the present-day situation with online media. In both countries, the basic media approach is still distinctly top-down and focuses on authorities—either the state or market elites. Kenya appears as a representative of continuity, while the media history of Tanzania is filled with jerky turns. However, the Tanzanian mediascape comes closer to the ordinary person, thanks to the use of Kiswahili and colloquial vocabulary, while the press in Kenya remains very elite oriented. The far more advanced Kenyan information and communications technology (ICT) situation does not change the situation much, because at the citizen level, the emphasis in ICT development is on services, not citizens’ voices. The shadow of the state is strong." (Abstract)
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"While a few much-needed improvements can be reported for the 2017 Europe & Eurasia Media Sustainability Index (MSI), overall there are signs of continued and worsening challenges facing those who wish to create and support a vibrant information system in the 21 countries studied in this volume [...
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] Apart from Belarus, there is not much in the way of positive news in this year’s MSI. Taken together, only nine objective scores, scattered among six countries, showed any meaningful improvement: Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine experienced improvement in two objective scores while Bulgaria, Kosovo, and Uzbekistan each had one objective show improvement. Belarus was the only country whose overall score improved by a tenth of a point or more. Five other countries showed only marginal overall improvement." (Executive summary)
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"Seit der Unabhängigkeit 1991 ist in Kasachstan ein Mediensystem entstanden, das formal viele Gemeinsamkeiten mit den Mediensystemen in konsolidierten Demokratien aufweist. Die Verfassung garantiert Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit, auf dem Medienmarkt herrscht Vielfalt, das Internet gewinnt zulasten d
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er Printmedien an Bedeutung, und das Fernsehen erreicht nahezu jeden Haushalt. Doch tatsächlich ist die Lage anders. Der Staat kontrolliert und zensiert die Medien, die Pressefreiheit ist eingeschränkt, Medien haben kaum Zugang zu Informationen. Außerdem fehlen Organe der Selbstkontrolle der Presse oder eine Berufsvereinigung der Journalisten. Diese Strukturdefizite sollten behoben werden. Nötig wären freie Medien, die objektiv und umfassend informieren und den Bürgern Meinungsbildung zur Innen- und Außenpolitik Kasachstans ermöglichen. Davon würde auch die Staatsmacht profitieren." (Abstract)
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"This briefing explores some of the key challenges facing the Nepali media. It outlines growing concerns over politicisation and co-option, particularly of the mainstream Kathmandu-based media, as well as other economic and technological challenges facing the media. The briefing further outlines how
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Nepal’s historically diverse and decentralised media market is increasingly showing signs of fragmentation and discord. It also examines the role that the international development community has played in supporting the Nepali media. The briefing finds that for all the challenges outlined in this report, the media – both nationally and locally – continues to constitute one of the most important and effective mechanisms available to improve accountability. Despite rising threats to journalist safety and growing concerns over politicisation, the media remains most trusted institution in Nepal. The media provides both a growing problem for and a potentially vital solution to the challenges of social cohesion in the country. At present, there is not a sufficient advertising market to sustain a free and independent media that can both serve the public interest and withstand intense political pressures. Development actors are in a position to help to address this market failure if they invest in an independent, Nepali-rooted media that enables difficult and challenging debate to take place." (BBC Media Action website)
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"The media landscape in Nicaragua has suffered substantial setbacks in recent years since President Daniel Ortega assumed power in 2007. With his government having taken hold, the number of independent media has shrunk, access to public information has become scarce, and a new governmental communica
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tions strategy drives political messaging and funding through a mix of public and private media. These outlets are controlled by members of Ortega’s family and the ruling political party, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (Sandinista National Liberation Front, or FSLN). As an example of the climate of secrecy and opaque governance that Nicaraguans experience today, President Ortega has not participated in a press conference since he retook power. Authorities prevent independent reporters from participating in many of the official events held in public institutions. Business associates close to President Ortega bought key television stations (among them Channels 2 and 8), and now their news programs are overseen directly by Ortega’s family, according to independent news reports. Ortega’s family also holds interests in Channel 13, Viva Nicaragua. Completing this near-monopoly of television stations are Channel 4 (Multinoticias) and the state-owned Channel 6. FSLN also controls dozens of radio stations in the country and several online news portals. It follows that independent media operate in what can be called at best a semi-permissive environment: one that does not foster its sustainability." (Introduction)
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"This report contains the collected, examined, and produced information on the fundamental characteristics of the media and communication industries, whenever possible, in the MENA region as a whole. It typically includes 14 countries from Mauritania on the Atlantic Ocean to Oman on the Arab Gulf. F
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ive MENA countries have been selected for more detailed information: Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In probing the media landscape, we examine large and small countries from North Africa and the Gulf; some that are quite stable, some more turbulent; media-rich and media-poor with different regimes and degrees of media regulation. So, this report finally complements our surveys of the media audience with a close and systematic look at the media content offering, its production, and distribution. This report consists of sections for each individual medium as traditionally defined: television, film, radio, magazines, newspapers, and recorded music. With the ongoing (but not total) migration of traditional media to digital platforms, digital has a section of its own." (www.mideastmedia.org/industry/2016/about/#s68)
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"This report, produced by a participatory research process that took over a year, provides a comprehensive assessment of the environment for media sector’s development in Sri Lanka. It is based on UNESCO’s Media Development Indicator (MDI) framework, which looks at the diferent factors which sho
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uld contribute to media development, including the legal framework, economic conditions, human resource development, the technological environment and safety, as well as the actual state of media development in the country." (Back cover)
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