"This essay argues against reducing the recent history of global television to an oversimplified transition between ‘statist’ and ‘consumerist’ dispensations. As apparently irreconcilable ideologies of television, the statist and consumerist models represent two ways of imagining the relatio
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n between the deployment of media and the project of modernity. Despite their surface differences, both share a tendency to imagine television in primarily ‘representative’ rather than ‘constitutive’ terms: they both evaluate television according to its ability to represent or address supposedly pre-existing publics, as opposed to its power to help constitute those very publics. I develop the question of the constitutive potential of television by reconsidering a decade of Indian television history – the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s – that is generally dismissed as a transitional phase between statist and consumerist paradigms. Through a discussion that is empirically grounded in the Indian experience, I propose categories that might inform comparative explorations of media and modernity in an age of globalization." (Abstract)
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"The Profile of Media Industry in Indonesia aims to profile the Indonesian media industry through publicly available information and data (including news in the media, statistical analysis of the figure collected through the survey by the National Survey Agency (SUSENAS), and grey literatures alike.
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The profile will provide a big picture of the media industry and business landscape in Indonesia, with clear hints to the access to media which is available to public." (CIPG website)
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"This article proposes an enhanced model of radio drama for development, which places forum theatre on the community radio platform. The model responds to the key development priorities of democratic, multi-directional communication, participation and social advocacy. It utilizes the mass disseminat
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ion advantages of the radio medium, the distinctive, dialogic qualities of community radio and the democratic and empowering tendencies of forum theatre to propose a prototype for fully participatory radio drama for development. The model was developed and tested during fieldwork at community radio stations in Laos in 2010 and 2011. Forum Theatre on the Air draws on two of the major theoretical paradigms of development communication: participatory communication and entertainment-education. The model creates an argument for a greater integration of these broadly complementary yet parallel hypotheses." (Abstract)
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"The current report presents the highlights of five country assessments that were undertaken to identify the communication and information needs of indigenous peoples. The starting point for this regional initiative was that access to information and communication avenues have an empowering element,
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and play a significant role in strengthening democratic governance, making it more inclusive, responsive and accountable [...] The assessments focused on a systematic analysis of major development issues faced by indigenous peoples, including in terms of representation in state agencies. They considered media and communication landscapes–encompassing freedom of expression and information, the safety of journalists, and community media, particularly radio–and how different factors facilitate or hinder information and communication for indigenous peoples, including the potential of new modes of digital communication and information and communication technology (ICT)." (Executive summary, page 1)
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"Mediated forms of communication increasingly influence the social relations and different spheres of life in the regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia and in the Arab-speaking region. In order to understand the profound social and political changes that go hand in hand with these medialisation proc
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esses, an independent and systematic media perspective needs to be generated from within the disciplinary framework of Area and Islamic Studies. This volume has a strong focus on the internet and on the diversity of internet-based communication in the three regions mentioned above. Furthermore, it stresses the need for a new cross-media approach that goes beyond the analysis of single media and helps to understand the transnational and local dynamics of an increasing media convergence." (Publisher description)
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"Die Medienbeziehungen zwischen der Türkei und Deutschland stehen alles andere als still. Vielmehr haben sie sich seit Mitte der neunziger Jahre des letzten Jahrhunderts drastisch verändert. Das Verhältnis der beiden Länder zueinander hat sich inzwischen derartig verdichtet, daß bei Medienberic
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hten nicht länger klar unterschieden werden kann, ob deutsche Innen- oder deutsche Außen- resp. türkische Innenoder Außenpolitik davon betroffen ist. Für die Entwicklung türkischer Medien innerhalb von Deutschland zeichnen sich mehrere Szenarien gleichzeitig ab: Zunahme von Medien von in Deutschland lebenden Türken, Bedeutungsverlust von aus der Türkei stammenden Medien und verschiedenartige sprachliche Formen (türkisch, deutsch, bi-lingual). Auch die deutsche Berichterstattung über türkische Migranten wird sich sehr unterschiedlich gestalten: Es wird genauso eine Zunahme von Toleranz und Empathie wie eine Zunahme von Rassismus nach dem Medienevent „Sarrazin“ geben." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Press freedom indices such as those administered by Freedom House, IREX, and Reporters Without Borders have emerged as crucial tools, not only for the general public, but also for donors, implementers, and academics in their attempts to understand the relationships among media assistance, democrati
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zation, and other forms of development. Bringing together a variety of viewpoints and perspectives on evaluating media assistance, Measures of Press Freedom and Media Contributions to Development offers a critical reflection on the theories and tools of measurements that are used by the academic, donor, and civil society communities. A variety of theoretical and geographic perspectives are drawn upon, offering a timely debate from both academics and practitioners." (Publisher description)
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"The chapters that follow provide an important insight into the evolution, current status and challenges to the effective implementation of media self-regulation systems in South East Europe and Turkey. Obstacles identified, which are likely to resonate in transitional democracies and other settings
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around the world, include insufficient tradition in the implementation of media self-regulation, low public trust in the media sector, political and economic pressures faced by media outlets and the important ties existing between politics, businesses and the media. The experiences recounted also underscore the essential need to bring all stakeholders on board in the effort to promote self-regulatory mechanisms, and to create awareness about the relevance of selfregulatory mechanisms among the general public - a task which is made difficult in the light of a prevailing lack of trust and consensus within the media sector itself. The publication sheds light on critical emerging issues for media accountability today. Confronting old dilemmas, journalists must abide by high ethical and professional standards in an environment that is revolutionized by the impact of new technologies. Contributing authors consider how media self-regulation fits into this new and ever-evolving picture, describing the impact of technological developments on media business models and traditional journalistic practices in South East Europe and Turkey, and the consequences that this bears for ethical and professional standards. Guaranteeing the application of such standards in online content is highlighted as a central challenge, with privacy protection, hate speech, gossip, unfounded accusations and criticism being issues flagged in some of the countries analysed. On a similar note, the multiplicity of actors producing and disseminating information, new methods of production and dissemination, and the increased speed of delivery has meant that editorial supervision is increasingly challenging." (Foreword, page 12)
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"This companion workbook is designed for use in tandem with the Saferworld/IHRICON Training of trainers’ manual on gender and security for the media and civil society in Nepal. It contains tools, hand-outs, briefing information sheets, selected reading materials for exercises, daily learning diari
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es and a list of useful resources on gender and security sector reform (SSR) for journalists and civil society." (Page 2)
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"This publication updates a 2005 review of communication in Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS). It includes four country case studies (Ghana, Tanzania, Moldova, and Nepal) and a regional analysis of Latin America and the Caribbean. It explores how the use of strategic communication has expanded beyo
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nd the PRS and is now being integrated into national development planning and implementation. Many of these strategies are shifting their focus from a “dissemination and publicity strategy” to a“communication program” that emphasizes information intervention beyond the traditional campaign, workshop or seminars. Compared with the 2005 review, the main difference is the institutionalization of communication, moving beyond the one-time experience for the first set of PRSs to broader, deeper sustained communication in support of poverty reduction and national development strategies. A second major difference is expanding beyond communication and participation in PRS formulation to PRS implementation, monitoring, and evaluation." (Executive summary)
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"This article examines e gao (online spoofs) as a popular form of political expression which has recently emerged on the Chinese internet. I first introduce a cultural approach to internet-mediated political communication that emphasizes discursive integration and the mutual constitution of communic
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ative activity and subjectivity. I then discuss how these two dimensions are configured in the specific media ecology in China with regard to the emergence of e gao. I will analyse the political implications of e gao through a close reading of the two most influential cases. Granted that these online spoofs neither qualify as rational debates aiming to achieve consensus nor have produced any visible policy consequences, but they constitute a significant component of civic culture that offers both political criticism and emotional bonding for all participants." (Abstract)
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"In social sciences, the interdependence between media systems and political systems is generally not in doubt. However, empirical knowledge about the relation between the two types of systems is rare. A deeper understanding can be gained by an international comparison of media and political systems
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from a macro perspective using aggregated data. The pilot study presented in this article offers an approach to international comparison based on four dimensions: freedom, diversity, centrality and tradition. These concepts serve as dimensions of comparison for both media - and political systems. The instrument is tested by using an intentionally heterogeneous sample of seven countries from around the world: China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia and the US. In combination with a pragmatic use of systems theory as a theoretical framework, the dimensions allow more profound insights into the relation between media and political systems. In sum, the research project prepares the ground for future international large-N comparisons." (Abstract)
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"This case study demonstrates Panos’s integrated approach to communication for development: combining first person testimony, relationship-building, inclusive dialogue and working with the mainstream media so that the voices of people most affected by development issues contribute to national-leve
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l understanding and decision-making. It examines the long battle by the fishing and farming communities on the shores of Pakistan’s Manchar Lake to achieve national recognition and action on the pollution caused by a government-led land drainage project that has steadily been destroying their livelihoods and health. Panos London and Panos South Asia, local and national civil society organisations (CSOs), the community of Manchar, and local and national media worked together on a range of communication activities and outputs culminating in a People’s Assembly in 2007. The different activities, and the strength of the media coverage they generated, drew provincial and national government officials into dialogue, resulting in a number of positive outcomes for the people of Manchar Lake." (Introduction)
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"During 2010 Kyrgyzstan experienced two periods of conflict that took the country to the brink of civil war: the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in April and the ethnic violence in the south of the country in June. The use of blogs and social network sites as well as mobile and multimedia p
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latforms during the upheaval has led some observers to link developments in Kyrgyzstan to other recent cases of social protest where new media has been prominent. However, these events offer no simple answer to the current social media debate. The complex and shifting role of new media as a factor in the events in Kyrgyzstan illustrates that the two conflicts were different in important ways and that new media was used differently in each. While new media made significant contributions to these events, it did not drive them and its importance has to be seen alongside the more conventional mobilization techniques and the role of traditional international media—which was often the source of social media reporting." (Abstract)
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"Vietnam gilt als der letzte Krieg, aus dem frei und unbehindert berichtet werden konnte, und in dem sich Journalisten und Militärs gleichberechtigt gegenüber standen. Diese Sicht wurde zwar von der Forschung weitgehend widerlegt, zumeist jedoch bezogen auf die Spätphase des Krieges sowie speziel
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l auf das Medium Fernsehen. Dessen ungeachtet genießen die Reporter der »Vietnam-Generation« weiterhin hohes Ansehen. Die Vorstellung, sie hätten den Grundstein für einen beispiellosen Triumph des Journalismus gelegt, fußt wesentlich auf generationellen Selbstzuschreibungen der Berichterstatter: »It started in Vietnam and ended in Watergate«, sagte David Halberstam, und sah sich und seine Kollegen als »front men for a whole generation«. Der Vietnam-Mythos von einer kritischen und einflussreichen Berichterstattung ist bis heute - scheinbar losgelöst von wissenschaftlichen Forschungen - sowohl in das Rollenverständnis von Journalisten wie in jenes von Politikern und Militärs eingeschrieben. Während Politiker und Militärs »Vietnam« instrumentalisieren, um Medien zu disziplinieren, ziehen Journalisten daraus ihr professionelles Selbstvertrauen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"In the case of contemporary Buddhism, we have seen how fundamentalism and democracy are connected to each other, and also how the public sphere, mediated by the new technology of the internet, has a role to play in these relations. We have seen how groups such as the 'Santi Asoke' are succeeding de
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spite the absence of any support from the political authorities, and how this has made the traditional Buddhist establishment feel insecure. According to Marty and Appleby, fundamentalism is understood as an attempt to divide 'us' from 'them' through shared traditions and beliefs. In the case of Thailand, this divisive attitude is a modern phenomenon arising from dissatisfaction with the contemporary economy and with globalisation, which appear threatening to the most conservative members of the Sangha. In this sense, it is ironic that the austere and anti-capitalist Sanrti Asoke is less fundamentalist than the traditional Buddhist establishment." (Conclusion, page 233-234)
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