"The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy offers insights into the boundaries of this field of study, assesses why it is important, who is affected, and with what political, economic, social and cultural consequences. Provides the most up to date and comprehensive collection of essays f
...
rom top scholars in the field includes contributions from western and eastern Europe, North and Central America, Africa and Asia; offers new conceptual frameworks and new methodologies for mapping the contours of emergent global media and communication policy; draws on theory and empirical research to offer multiple perspectives on the local, national, regional and global forums in which policy debate occurs." (Publisher description)
more
"This book highlights the importance of the news media as watchdogs, agenda setters and gatekeepers for the quality of democratic deliberation in the public sphere. At the same time, it theorizes that the capacity of journalists and media systems to fulfill these roles depends on the broader context
...
determined by the profession, the market and the state. Media systems' performance often falls far short of the ideals, as succesive case studies from different world regions demonstrate. Finally, the book asks what policy interventions work effectively to close the gap between the democratic promise and perfomance of the news media as an institution. The final chapter, "Policy recommendations", concludes (page 406): "Interventions include reforms directed at strengthening the journalistic profession, notably institutional capacity building, through bodies such as press councils, press freedom advocacy NGOs, and organizations concerned with journalistic training and accreditation. Other important reforms seek to overcome market failures, including developing a regulatory framework for media systems to ensure pluralism of ownership and diversity of contents. Finally, policies also address the role of the state, including deregulation to shift state-run broadcasting to public service broadcasting, overseen by independent broadcasting regulatory bodies, and the protection of constitutional principles of freedom of the press, speech, and expression." (commbox)
more
"The problem of post-election violence seems to be ever-more present as complexities of nation-building and democratic development arise. This report deals with some relevant questions. It is based on the outcome of discussions at a December 2008 workshop organized in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [...] Our
...
objective was to examine the role of the media in the aftermath of competitive elections. The workshop provided the opportunity to explore the election experiences of Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Somaliland, Tanzania and Sudan in a comparative framework. The focus was on understanding why election violence occurred after some elections, what the role of the media was in either exacerbating or resolving disputes, and what this suggests about the broader political project and the state of the media in the countries under examination." (Executive summary)
more
"This collection of essays by internationally-acclaimed scholars from around the world aims to stimulate a debate about the imperatives for internationalizing media studies by broadening its remit, including innovative research methodologies, taking account of regional and national specificities and
...
pedagogic necessities warranted by the changing profile of students and researchers and the unprecedented growth of media in the non-Western world." (Publisher description)
more
"Draws together thinking and analysis that covers the breadth and depth of the media development landscape. The opening section, 'Why Media Matters: Global Perspectives' gathers the work of several thought leaders on major trends that cut across both the communications and development policy arenas;
...
this is followed by an examination of the current debate that is engaging researchers, development professionals and media assistance experts alike, namely 'How Media Matters: Measuring its Impact'. The third section, 'Challenges in Media Matters: Practitioner Experiences' presents a range of regional and sectoral case studies, and the final section forms a guide to current information sources and studies of the field of media support, in 'Mapping the Sector - Literature, Surveys and Resources'. Media matters has four key aims: 1 To help development policy makers and practitioners understand the relevance of vibrant, independent media systems to their wider goals; 2 To highlight work on the evidence of the relationship between media, communications and the development agenda; 3 To flag key global and regional trends and opportunities in media assistance; 4 To map the media assistance sector, its growing body of literature, and the emerging international research partnerships that will help define its priorities to 2015." (Overview + executive summary)
more
"Une presse indépendante est essentielle pour un développement économique équitable : elle contribue à donner la parole aux personnes pauvres et privées de droit. Des médias autonomes participent également à l’édification de bases solides pour une société libre et transparente. Les aut
...
eurs, parmi lesquels figurent quelques Prix Nobel, comme Joseph Stiglitz, ancien économiste en chef de la Banque Mondiale et le célèbre Gabriel García Márquez, étudient le rôle des médias comme garde-fous des secteurs publics et privés et la politique en matière de liberté de la presse. Ils jugent également les effets nuisibles que peut causer un journalisme irresponsable et contraire à l’éthique. Un ouvrage de réflexion pour les étudiants, les professeurs et les chercheurs en communication et pour ceux qui s'intéressent au pouvoir et à l'impact des médias." (Description de la maison d'édition)
more
"The purpose of this study is to provide a ‘map’ of media assistance. Like all maps, this one has artificial limitations. It is confined largely to the post-Soviet period. It is a map of media assistance efforts, based almost wholly on experiences on activities emanating from Europe and the Unit
...
ed States, though a richer analysis would include a much wider geographical net. Unlike the cartographers who map mountains and lakes, we benefit from the cooperation of those being mapped as they help make the document more accurate. Nonetheless, it is a project in process and the complexity of the sector makes it almost impossible to provide every detail in what is inevitably a superficial map. Our method will be to develop broad outlines of the sector and then focus in on a few features of the terrain. As in many industries, there are dominant players at each level, but also many niche participants who play a critical role and are necessary for understanding the overall picture. The sector is growing rapidly and changing in many ways. Donors or ‘investors’ and entities in the sector are always looking for new areas (subject matter, geographical) of growth. Those who require funding seek to expand the pool of suppliers of funds and try to describe an expanded notion of need or demand for their services. There are areas of intense competition and areas of cooperation if not collusion. Over time, ‘successful’ models emerge and some participants withdraw, either because their product is unsupported in the marketplace, or because the nature of the demand changes. Media assistance primarily takes the form of journalism training, direct support to news organisations, efforts to aid media law reform, support for professional journalism and broadcast associations, support for developing financial sustainability of media outlets, and initiatives designed to transcend national, religious or ethnic barriers in the media." (Introduction, page 1-2)
more
"We begin with an outline of areas of law that must be considered. Over time, across societies, it is possible to suggest specific areas of legal development that are essential for media law reform. In the first part of this study, we examine a substantial list of such areas, from defamation rules t
...
o freedom of information (FOI). As to each media-specific area and areas of general application, we will provide an indication of how law can contribute or detract from establishing an enabling environment. To the extent possible, we will draw upon experiences in a wide variety of societies and transition states. In Section 4 we move to a discussion of the rule of law: conditions that make law effective, useful, and just in achieving a media structure that serves to bolster democratic institutions. This discussion addresses considerations such as the separation of powers, independence of the judiciary, and establishment of reliable regulatory bodies that are loyal to enunciated legal principles. We then turn to a somewhat broader set of enabling factors for the media - larger societal issues such as the state of the economy, the extent of demand for information, and the extent of ethnic and political pluralism before concluding with certain practical considerations on resources and techniques for enhancing an enabling environment." (Introduction)
more
"'Media Reform' examines a complex process: the reform of media and its role in promoting democratic practices. Using examples of media from a range of countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa including Uruguay, Poland, China, Indonesia, Jordan and Uganda, Media Reform considers the socia
...
l and cultural implications of a free and independent media." (Publisher description)
more
"The bloody conflicts of the past decade have focused international attention on the strategic role of the media in promoting war and perpetuating chaos. Written against this backdrop, Forging Peace brings together case studies and legal analysis of the steps that the United Nations, NATO, and other
...
organizations have taken to build pluralist and independent media in the wake of massive human rights violations. It examines current thinking on the legality of unilateral humanitarian intervention, and analyzes in graphic detail the pioneering use of information intervention techniques in conflict zones, ranging from full-scale bombardment and confiscation of transmitters to the establishment of new laws and regulatory regimes. With its focus on the role of media in preventing human rights violations, Forging Peace will influence policy and debate for years to come." (Publisher description)
more
"Clearly as important providers of information, the media are more likely to promote better economic performance when they are more likely to satisfy three conditions: the media are independent, provide good-quality information, and have a broad reach. That is, when they reduce the natural asymmetry
...
of information, as Joseph Stiglitz puts it in chapter 2, between those who govern and those whom they are supposed to serve, and when they reduce information asymmetries between private agents. Such a media industry can increase the accountability of both businesses and government through monitoring and reputational penalties while also allowing consumers to make more informed decisions.
This book cites many examples that demonstrate the value of information provided by the media. Alexander Dyck and Luigi Zingales (chapter 7) discuss how the media can pressure corporate managers and directors to behave in ways that are socially acceptable, thereby avoiding actions that will result in censure and consumer boycotts. They also report that in Malaysia, a recent survey of institutional investors and equity analysts asked which factors were most important to them in considering corporate governance and the decision to invest in publicly listed corporations. Those surveyed gave more importance to the frequency and nature of public and press comments about companies than to a host of other factors considered key in the academic debate. However, the dissemination of credible information in a timely manner depends critically on how the media business is managed and regulated. The chapters in this book document evidence on media performance and regulations in countries around the world and highlight what type of public policies and economic conditions might hinder the media in supporting economic development in poor countries." (Pages 1-2)
more
"A great deal has now been written about the patterns of media exploitation as they contribute to a vortex of destruction. Less has been elaborated about the efforts of international governmental organisations ("IGOs") and non-governmental organisations ("NGOs") to intervene so as to maintain a more
...
stable and peaceful world order either in anticipation of conflict, during the conflict or in the ordeal following the conflict. This paper focuses, as a background for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO") Geneva Conference, in May 2000, on post-conflict patterns that emerge, primarily drawing from four case studies—Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Rwanda, and Cambodia." (Introduction)
more
"The international mission, as U.S. and Western representatives saw it, was to reconstruct a viable multi-ethnic media, as well as to prevent further conflict. NATO was seeking to build, under the Dayton Accords, a plural society out of pieces that seemed fractured beyond repair. The OHR believed th
...
at a pluralistic, peaceful media was an indispensable part of the rebuilding process. The Office proclaimed its desire to "use the opportunity to remove one of the most serious obstacles bedeviling our efforts to re-establish civil society in Bosnia" - the fact that the media was ethnically based.358 NATO and OHR actions must be judged after a reasonable period of time elapses to see if a more democratic Bosnia-Herzegovina, supported by the pluralism that comes from a free and independent press, emerges. Still, one of the great dangers of information intervention is that it provides apparent democratic justification for any nation to use its police power to close down media outlets. Each time the international community intervenes to shut down a media outlet that it does not like, the line between information intervention and censorship becomes blurred. The real test is not only whether an information intervention transforms a society but also whether the intervention comports with the spirit of democratic change. Ends can justify means, but it is helpful if the means themselves are compatible with those ends." (Conclusion, page 111-112)
more