"The experience of citizen involvement in public policy advocacy around the world has shown that the status quo tends to prevail unless political will to implement change is strengthened by active citizen participation. A “Global Information Soci
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ety Watch” is needed to make governments and international organisations accountable. This publication, the first in a series of reports covering the state of the information society on an annual basis, focuses on the theme of participation. The report has three interrelated goals: surveying the state of the field of ICT policy at the local and global levels; encouraging critical debate; and strengthening networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society. It discusses the WSIS process and a range of international institutions, regulatory agencies and monitoring instruments from the perspective of civil society and stakeholders in the global South. Alongside this discussion, we present a series of country reports which examine issues of access and participation within a variety of national contexts." (Introduction)
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"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
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à l’édification de bases solides pour une société libre et transparente. Les auteurs, 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)
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"This collection of essays explores current issues surrounding the media and conflict in the Twenty-first Century. Essays will look at the role of evolving media technologies, the globalization of television and communications, public diplomacy, gender and war coverage, terrorism, and other issues."
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(Publisher description)
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"This book aims to record political activism on the Internet and "take stock of some of the successes and failures of cyberactivists as they try to beat the various censorship regimes in Asia." The sections of this 664-page book comprise of 'Political Frameworks & New Technology', 'Regulations and C
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ontrol', 'One Party States', 'Alternative Media', 'Civil Society', 'Diaspora Communities', and 'Political Parties'. The book's 18 chapters provide an overview of current trends in democracy related new media research to country-specific case studies. "The common thread running through the book is the organizing of civil society groups at the grassroots level, and how they are influencing certain segments of their respective countries, and even challenging state control and the monopoly of mainstream media." Asian Cyberactivism strives to examine political organising online in Asia even as the technology and the rules change. Activists provide their perspectives on how new media relates to democracy, and showcase examples that could be emulated to further the cause of democracy." (Communication Initiative)
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"This collection of conversations between journalists and federal officials aims to capture the tensions between the press and the government during wartime. They cover issues including military censorship and the difficulties of maintaining security in an era of satellite technology." (Publisher de
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scription)
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"This book is aimed at anyone involved in the setting up of a local cinema from local government officers to individuals wanting to rescue or reopen a cinema. It celebrates what has already been a
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chieved and provides practical tips to those wanting to know how it was done. It is intended as a practical guide through the myriad issues requiring resolution when embarking on a project of this kind. Part One covers a range of technical aspects relating to the planning and operation of small scale cinemas while the case studies in Part Two describe successful enterprises operating in a number of different locations and circumstances." (Introduction, page 4)
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"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 re
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ach. 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)
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"This book looks at the political economy of communication and information, media in development and social change, media theory and practice, international communication technology and communication values and ethics." (Publisher description)
"The determinants of government responsiveness to its citizens is a key issue in political economy. Here we develop a model based on the solution of political agency problems. Having
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a more informed an politically active electorate strengthens incentives for governments to be responsive. This suggests that there is a role both for democratic institutions and the mass media in ensuring that the preferences of citizens are reflected in policy. The ideas behind the model are tested on panel data from India. We show that public food distribution and calamity relief expenditure are greater, controlling for shocks, where governments face greater electoral accountability and where newspaper circulation is highest." (Abstract)
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"This volume is designed to revolutionize the field of communication by identifying a broad ethical theory which transcends the world of mass media practice to reveal a more humane and responsible
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code of values. The contributors, representing a diverse range of intercultural perspectives, defend the possibility of universal moral imperatives such as justice, reciprocity and human dignity. Through an examination of the values in which their cultures are grounded, they provide a short list of ethical principles which form the common ground from which to view contemporary issues in the media, interpersonal communication, mediation and conflict resolution." (Publisher description)
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"Scholars from various countries of the socialist and capitalist - the developing and developed - world, and representing many of the disparate areas that make up the interdisciplinary field of communication, have contributed articles centering around Schiller's dominant theme - the use and misuse o
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f power. In six parts: "The Formative Functions of Information Technology," "Information, International Relations, and Warfare," "Modes of Cultural Domination and Resistance," "The New Information Order: Struggles and Reconsiderations," "Reconstructing Information Patterns and Practices," and "Meeting the Future: Research and Action." Among the 27 contributors are Cees Hamelink, Tapio Varis, Dallas Smythe, Vincent Mosco, Stuart Ewen, Enrique González Manet, Yassen Zassoursky, William Melody, Kaarle Nordenstreng, Breda Pavlic, George Gerbner and James Halloran. Countries represented by the contributors are Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, India, the United States, the U.S.S.R., Cuba, England, Holland, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Peru, Sri Lanka and Kenya." (Eleanor Blum, Frances G. Wilhoit: Mass media bibliography. 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 Nr. 30)
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"Preparations for and inauguration of educational TV in Malta — Description of the first series of broadcasts (on science)." (Jean-Marie Van Bol, Abdelfattah Fakhfakh: The use of mass media in the developing countries. Brussels: CIDESA, 1971 Nr. 1989, topic code 410.321.13)