"With a special focus on the impact of the COVID-19, the collection is based on the 2021 Digital Inclusion, Policy and Research Conference, with chapters from both academia and civic organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed citizens' relationship with digital technologies for the foreseeable
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future. Many people's main channels of communication were transferred to digital services, platforms, and apps. Everything 'went online': our families, friends, partners, health, work, news, politics, culture, arts and protesting. Yet access to digital technologies remained highly unequal. This brought digital inclusion policy and research to the fore, highlighting to policymakers and the public the 'hidden' challenges and impacts of digital exclusion and inequalities. The cutting-edge volume offers research findings and policy case studies that explore digital inclusion from the provision of basic access to digital, via education and digital literacy, and on to issues of gender and technology. Case studies are drawn from varied sources including the UK, Australia, South America, and Eastern Europe, providing a valuable resource in the pursuit of social equity and justice." (Publisher description)
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"The handbook presents key contributions from scholars worldwide, providing a comprehensive exploration of current trends in media industries from diverse perspectives. Within the framework of understanding contemporary and future trajectories in media markets and industries, the volume delves into
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their influence on media organization and delivery, along with broader societal and market implications. Encompassing research at the crossroads of economics, management, political economy, and production studies, the handbook emphasizes the necessity for a robust interdisciplinary dialogue. Beyond scrutinizing present and forthcoming industry developments, the handbook addresses pivotal issues pertaining to media economics research methods and pedagogy." (Publisher description)
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"The Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) assesses the performance of leading news media in mature democracies with regard to the three core dimensions of democracy: freedom, equality, and control. After monitoring 10 countries in 2011, the MDM project expanded to cover the leading news media of 18 dem
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ocracies in 2021. In this book, the most salient results from the MDM were selected to undergo cross-country and longitudinal comparison, searching for patterns and tendencies across countries, with a particular focus on the influence of digitalisation. Some of the key results are the ubiquitousness of the news media’s financial crisis, increasing consumption gaps as younger generations prefer online platforms, and persisting gender inequalities, both in news content and in newsrooms. However, the volume also shows that the reach of news media remains high, the watchdog role and investigative journalism are increasingly relevant in daily practice, and that public service media, in general, continues to play a vital role for democracy. These results have implications for media policies, regulations, and practices to improve news quality and, ultimately, democracy worldwide." (Publisher description)
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"There is a quickly increasing body of studies and reports on harassment and intimidation of journalists around the world. These series of acts have a chilling effect on media freedom and journalists’ freedom of expression. The research literature on the topic has mostly focused on intimidation an
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d harassment of journalists – particularly sexual harassment of women journalists – or journalists’ experiences of online harassment, and the impact on press censorship. In this chapter, we contribute to the debate by exploring the nexus between the harassment of journalists and the protection mechanisms adopted by leading news media organisations, professional journalism associations and other institutions, and national governments. We then discuss the effects on democracy in the 18 countries participating in the 2021 Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM). Our findings indicate how legal support and protection mechanisms might enhance journalists’ capacity to realise the news media’s democratic role in practice." (Abstract)
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"To what extent do structures and conduct of leading news media correspond with requirements of contemporary democracies? Based on a root concept of democracy and several empirical indicators, the Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) delivers a panorama of the news media’s performance regarding freed
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om, equality, and control across several countries. In 2011, the MDM analysed 10 democracies. Ten years later, it covers 18 countries worldwide and pinpoints essential strengths and weaknesses during this decade of digitalisation. Around the globe, news are highly attractive to users, and the journalistic ethos of watchdogs and investigators is paramount. On the downside, journalistic job security eroded over time, and gender gaps both in content and employment patterns remain strikingly excessive in most countries. Volume two contains all countries analysed for the first time in 2021: Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Chile, Denmark, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, and South Korea." (Publisher description)
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"Inequalities are the unwanted companions of media and communication. Traditional analogue mass media were criticized for creating inequalities by being biased, serving hegemonic interests, and accumulating far too much power in the hands of mighty industrial conglomerates. Under the digital regime,
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most inequalities survived, and new ones occurred. Knowledge gaps transformed into digital divides, news journalism is challenged by social networking sites, and global corporate monopolies outperform national media companies. Algorithmic selection, surveillance, Big Data and the Internet of Things are creating new inequalities which follow traditional patterns of class, gender, wealth and education. This book revisits old and new media and communication inequalities in times of digital transition." (Back cover)
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"Media subsidies have proved useful and appropriate as means to attain both economic and value-related objectives. Media companies often prefer indirect (and less transparent) ‘fuel’, while States favour direct subsidies. However, there is little scientific research on the actual impact of media
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subsidies. Any causality is difficult to establish since external factors abound and subsidies are not critical to economic success, at least in the for-profit media business. Non-commercial, local and citizen-based media as well as certain books and films only exist because some kind of subsidy has been available to them. In times of severe/structural crisis in the media world (Trappel et al. 2015) subsidies should be considered by both companies and governments as one revenue-generating factor among others – possibly the smallest one, possibly one to be called upon only temporarily and possibly despite the risk for the beneficiaries’ independence. Experience has shown over many decades that this latter concern cannot be substantiated and that subsidies are unlikely to compromise journalistic work as long as their providers respect democratic rules and procedures. In other words media policy should not discard the subsidies tool altogether, but develop modalities and designs that make for appropriate and democratic support of the media. Good practices can be found all over Europe." (Page 89)
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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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"Der hier vorgestellte Ansatz untersucht die empirischen Leistungen der Medien für die demokratische Freiheit in Gesellschaften mit Hilfe einer Reihe von demokratietheoretisch abgeleiteten Indikatoren. Diese betreffen sowohl die gesamtgesellschaftlichen Medienstrukturen, als auch die konkreten Leis
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tungen einzelner Medienorganisationen. Die empirische Basis bilden Erhebungen aus neun europäischen Ländern und Australien, wobei insbesondere das relative Abschneiden Deutschlands im Vergleich mit den anderen Ländern dargestellt und erläutert wird." (Zusammenfassung)
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"To what extent do the structures and conduct of leading news media correspond with their specific democratic role? Authors from 10 countries provide empirical evidence based on the 26 indicators included in the Media for Democracy Monitor." (Back cover)
"Im Fazit lassen sich zwei Befunde festhalten: Erstens erweist sich die Medienkonzentration weiterhin als zentrale Bewegungsenergie für die Internationalisierung der Massenmedien. Sie wird nicht nur im klassischen Medienbereich von Fernsehen, Radio und Printmedien vorangetrieben, sondern erfährt e
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ine Parallele auch in den neuen internetbasierten Netzwerken – jedenfalls in deren gewinnorientierten Sektoren. Die grenzüberschreitende Medienkonzentration findet ihre Grenzen in aller Regel erst dann, wenn sie im Destinationsland von Investitionen erneut gegen nationale Wettbewerbsregeln verstößt. Gleichzeitig führt die internationale Medienkonzentration zur Betonung der Kapitallogik in den Destinationsländern und zu einer Lockerung jener Rechenschaft, zu der Medienunternehmen der Gesellschaft und dem politisch-demokratischen Gefüge gegenüber verpflichtet sind, in dem sie tätig sind. Das Überschreiten von ethischen und journalistischen Grenzen in den Medien der Destinationsländer, die in den Medien der Herkunftsländer eines Konzerns verbindlich gelten, illustriert diesen Befund. Zweitens erfährt die regionale und nationale Sprachraumebene, die weiterhin das relevante Spielfeld für Massenmedien darstellt, durch die Internationalisierung einen Verlust an kommunikativer Autonomie. Müssen Entscheidungen nachvollzogen werden, die von Konzernzentralen in anderen Ländern und aus einem anderen politisch-demokratischen Normenkontext getroffen werden, so führt dies zu einem Verlust an Entscheidungsautonomie und zu entsprechenden Konsequenzen für die politische und gesellschaftliche Kommunikation." (Fazit, Seite 147)
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"Covering 23 countries, the volume highlights and explains key issues of debate and current tendencies in media policy and provides basic statistics relating to each case study. The chapters are written by an expert from the country concerned. Most of these are members of the Euromedia Research Grou
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p, a research collective that has been active for more than 20 years and has produced a series of assessments of media policy developments in Europe." (Publisher description)
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"Increased attention is being paid to 'smallness' as an analytical dimension as processes of internationalization and cross-media networking accelerate. To assure a certain 'room for manoeuvre' of small states' media and to enhance regional identities in Europe — in some respects counteracting the
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integrating power of the European Community and associated market forces — political action on various levels is required. Small states' media operate under special and difficult conditions of small internal markets, shortages of resources, external dependency and vulnerability, and pressures of political corporatism. In order to preserve small states' media culture in such circumstances, media policy concepts should include integrated, cross-media oriented and 'media-ecological' elements." (Abstract)
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