"The story of Kazakhstani media is of two contrasting dynamics: the increasingly controlled and innovation-shy offline space, and the vibrant, less-restricted digital environment. The rise of digital media has yielded benefits for citizens and democracy, albeit these are limited by the dominance of
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one political party and its leader. Nevertheless, media remain constrained and state interference remains prominent. As opportunities for working directly with policymakers in Kazakhstan are limited, the report calls for civil society organizations to step up their awareness-raising efforts and bring the threats stemming from restrictive legislation and the lack of regulatory independence to public and international attention. It also calls for a debate about the need to reform publicly funded broadcasters so that they serve the public interest." (Open Society Foundations website)
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"The media sector in West Africa has seen significant region-wide improvements, attributable not just to improvements in isolated cases but to general improvements in all countries. Nevertheless, despite general improvement, aspects of the media sector lag behind others, including: 1) government har
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assment of journalists, 2) weak or lacking media criticism of government, 3) unequal distribution of citizen access to media, and 4) gender imbalance among journalists. Countries where the media sector is faring less well than in other nations are Guinea, Nigeria, and Togo. Detailed analysis of four critical indicators reveals that: government censorship persists even in relatively democratic countries like Benin and Senegal, and remains a major problem in Togo and Guinea; government harassment of journalists is occurring in several countries, particularly Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Benin, and Senegal; media bias has diminished across the region compared to the past, except in Nigeria; media corruption is very significant in most West African countries. The problem may now be the region's largest single threat to democratic rights in this sector." (Executive summary)
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"Dem Klappentext zufolge will diese juristische Dissertationsschrift eine interdisziplinäre "Pionierarbeit, die das brasilianische Medienrecht als solches darlegt und mit der Realität seiner Umsetzung konfrontiert", sein. Im ersten Teil (95 Seiten) stellt die Autorin die Medienlandschaft, ihre Ent
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stehung und ihre Hauptakteure vor und führt einige Beispiele zu ihrem Einfluss im politischen und gesellschaftlichen Leben Brasiliens auf. Im zweiten Teil (75 Seiten) behandelt sie die brasilianische Verfassung, die darin verankerten Grundrechte, und die verfassungsrechtlichen Rechtswege zum Schutz der Grundrechte. Der dritte Teil (180 Seiten) behandelt "das Recht der Sozialkommunikation und ihre übergreifenden Rechte". Dabei werden alle für die Medienregulierung relevanten Bestimmungen aufgeführt: Pressefreiheit, Urheberrecht, Persönlichkeits- und Jugendschutz, Regelung der Wahlberichterstattung, Lizenzvergabe und Organisation der Regulierungsbehörden, journalistische Selbstregulierung, Bestimmungen zu Internet- und Multimediakommunkationsdienstleistungen, die nationale Filmförderpolitik, Werbung und Verbraucherschutz, Anti-Monopol-Bestimmungen u.a. Leider geht diese Fleißarbeit (933 Fußnoten!) aber nicht über das Stadium einer Datensammlung hinaus. So werden zwar verschiedene Fallstudien vorgestellt wie etwa eine Klage gegen den Fernsehsender Record, der 2005 in reißerischer Aufmachung das Schicksal eines leukämiekranken Kindes zur Schau gestellt hatte. Die Klagebegründung wird ausführlich dargestellt, warum es aber zu einem faktischen Freispruch des beklagten Senders kommen konnte, analysiert Camargos Becker nicht. Hinzu kommt, dass die zusammengetragenen Daten etwa zur Medienlandschaft unvollständig und manchmal auch falsch sind, z.B. ist Radio nicht das meistgenutzte Medium in Brasilien. Immerhin: wer sich einen Überblick über die Gesetzeslage und Regulierungsbestimmungen verschaffen will, wird in dieser Arbeit fündig." (commbox)
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"The Pakistani media’s democratising function is constrained by its historic role as a state-building tool. The media remains vulnerable amid on-going threats to media professionals and the limitations imposed by the industry’s financial model, which must rely heavily on advertising revenue. The
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government, military, intelligence agencies, judiciary and non-state actors such as militant groups exploit this vulnerability as part of their competition for political power. The geographic imbalance of the broadcast media in Pakistan further limits the industry’s potential to play a truly national role. But the experience of the last decade shows there are many reasons to be hopeful about the media’s future as a driver of democratic inclusion and accountability in Pakistan. The growth of regional-language television and FM radio stations reflects the country’s ethnolinguistic diversity." (Executive summary)
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"News Media in the Arab World: A Study of 10 Arab and Muslim Countries is based on ongoing research at the Department of Media and Communication, University of Leicester, and has investigated the rapidly changing nature of the news media in Arab countries. They have investigated the role of newspape
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rs and television in news provision and the impact of new media developments, most especially the emergence of the internet as a platform for news distribution and of international satellite television channels such as Al Jazeera. Examining the constantly developing nature of news, the collection contains separately authored chapters produced by the researchers responsible for each original analysis, covering Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates." (Publisher description)
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"A quarter of a century after the collapse of communism in the former Eastern bloc, a wide range of scholarly projects have been undertaken to compare and theorize processes of media change in the region. One question that scholars have sought to address is: what were the factors that crucially impa
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cted how these media landscapes evolved? This essay aims to contribute to this debate by juxtaposing media change in two selected cases: the Czech Republic (as a best-case scenario in terms of convergence with the Western model) and Russia (as a scenario where convergence has been limited). Based on secondary analysis of a wide range of sources, the essay systematically exposes 11 crucial differences between the two countries and illustrates how these have impacted the processes of media change. The conclusion sets out how these findings could serve as a starting point and source of inspiration for future comparative research." (Abstract)
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"The 2nd Conference on Media Development in Myanmar took place from May 20-21 2013 in Yangon. With over 300 participants, the conference marked another significant milestone in Myanmar’s media reform process. This report is a summary of the presentations held at this conference. Under the theme
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The Role of Media in Democratic Transitions: Successes, Challenges and the Way Forward”, government officials, private and state-owned media companies, professional journalist associations, academia, civil society representatives and international organisations met to take stock of the media reforms in Myanmar and develop a set of practical recommendations for further media development in the country. The conference was organised by the Ministry of Information (MoI) and the Myanmar Media Development Thematic Working Group (MMDTWG) in partnership with UNESCO and International Media Support (IMS). The theme of the 2013 conference was linked to the previous year’s conference, which focused on media’s potential to strengthen democratic processes, bringing international experience and exposure to Myanmar. This year, the main emphasis was to take stock and bring to the forefront the successes and challenges faced by Myanmar stakeholders. It provided a venue for participants to report on concrete progress achieved in pursuing media development and reforms. The fact that the conference drew over half of its participants from outside Yangon was a testament to the strong regional focus and relevance of this year’s theme." (Introduction, page 5)
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"Media interventions by international organizations and NGOs in conflict and post-conflict situations seek to develop and shape a media system to contribute to specific political and social ends. The analyses and assessments that inform these interventions are often based on an overview of the forma
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l media and governance structures, such as mass media and state institutions, and overlook informal structures that may be instrumental for political and development goals. This article proposes a framework that can incorporate both the formal and informal modes of communication and participation that characterize a society. This framework encourages a ‘diagnostic’ approach centred around three areas: power, flows, and participation, and enables researchers to take into consideration features that are often overlooked such as customary law; a range of public authorities from politicians to Imams and local elders; information flows that may vary from poetry to mobile phones; and the culture of communication. Examples from the Somali territories, which are characterized by a weak central government, are employed to highlight how informal structures and actors intervene in shaping information flows and the importance of accounting for them." (Abstract)
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"The Indian Media Business, Fourth Edition gives you detailed analysis, perspective and information on eight segments of the media business in India—print, TV, film, radio, music, digital, outdoor, and events. It presents the business history, current dynamics, regulation, economics, technology, v
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aluations, case studies, trends (Indian and global) and a clear sense of how the business operates. This book is a must-read for media professionals, students and for those planning to invest in the Indian media and entertainment business. The outstanding feature of the fourth edition is a new chapter on digital media—arguably, the first ever look at digital media from a comprehensive business perspective. This looks at everything from history to business dynamics and the major issues digital media faces in India. This edition tackles regulation with more detail than any of the previous ones. There is one large case study on the quality of regulation in India and several caselets such as the ones on copyright law, defamation law and how it works for social media." (Publisher description)
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"South Africa’s news media has become, in the post-1994 democratic era, among the most concentrated in the world, affecting the quality of its content and the sales of its newspapers. A significant decrease in international development support, and post-1994 changes to the nature of that support,
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has exacerbated that process. The few cases in which dedicated, targeted support has been provided have, in sharp contrast, contributed to the development of islands of investigative journalism excellence able to exercise influence both on other media and on broader South African society." (Preface, page 5)
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"There are over 250 radio stations in Mali, and two TV stations that serve a population of 16 million, of whom one of every five own a TV set. The author argues that Mali’s state broadcaster ORTM must use the opportunity of a new political dispensation and usher in urgent reforms if its rich histo
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ry of media proliferation, political pluralism and democracy are to be consolidated. He further makes the case for the urgent need by the new Malian government to revisit state policy on the digital switch over, an eminent process that Mali must undertake. Failing which, all the gains that the country has made could be lost." (www.afrimap.org)
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