"Viele autoritäre Regime fürchten den unkontrollierten Informationsfluss, gerade weil er gemeinsames Handeln ermöglicht und ihre Herrschaft gefährden könnte. Auch manche Kulturkritiker würden gerne Informationen kanalisieren, um einen Kulturimperialismus abzuwehren, bei dem sich ihrer Ansicht
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nach die stärksten Vermarkter im internationalen Mediengeschäft mit ihrer Weltsicht durchsetzen oder die mächtigen Kolonialsprachen die lokalen Sprachen verdrängen würden. Die meisten Menschen wollen sich nicht bevormunden lassen, auch nicht in wohlmeinender Absicht. Bei importierten Seifenopern im Fernsehen zeigen sie sich zum Beispiel durchaus in der Lage, sich ihren eigenen Reim auf das Angebot zu machen und es für ihr Umfeld zu interpretieren. Das bedeutet umgekehrt, dass wer eine bestimmte Botschaft über Grenzen hinweg in die Köpfe bekommen will, mit ganz anderen als den beabsichtigten Ergebnissen rechnen muss." (Editorial)
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"USAID media-related assistance to Russia totaled over $44 million during the June 1992-September 2002 period. Television-focused funding absorbed $22.4 million; projects focused mainly on the print media accounted for just over $7 million; and funding for the media sector as a whole was over $14.5
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million. In addition to direct institutionbuilding activities, USAID provided assistance for using media for special purposes, such as holding elections and preventing domestic violence. While these two projects may have increased local media skills and capabilities, it was not their primary intention. USAID Russia's major partner in the broadcast media was Internews, which received $18.1 million. Although undertaking various activities to promote independent media in Russia, Internews's primary focus was to assist emerging, independent regional television stations. With dynamic leadership and innovative program strategies, Internews has become one of the most prominent media NGOs in the Russian Federation." (Executive summary)
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"The overview of activities to support the media in Southeast Europe is not equally detailed and comprehensive for each country or organization. Also, the information made available for this overview was provided in different ways: narrative or tables, divided by country or type of activity. This ma
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kes it difficult to draw sweeping conclusions. Nonetheless, several observations can be based on the information below. Support is increasingly aimed at strengthening local institutions. Support to public broadcasters is limited in comparison to support to private media (less than fifteen per cent of available figures). Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo receive more media support than Macedonia and Montenegro. Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Albania receive least. A rough calculation based on the available figures (not all distributed here, due to confidentiality) shows that 40 per cent of the financial support is for training, followed by 34 per cent for direct support to individual media outlets and 26 per cent for associations, media centers and legislative reforms." (Page 1)
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"It probably does not need saying again, but the media market in BiH is a mass. Not just because there are too many outlets fighting for an audience and seeking all too little available money, but because noone knows much with any accuracy. So claim and counter claim for audience share, coverage, ci
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rculation and advertising revenues contribute to the general prevailing atmosphere of suspicion and distrust. Undoubtedly many outlets will fail in the next few years, and it will be a challenge for all those who care about Bosnia to ensure those that do fail are not those who are making a genuine contribution to society. Ten years ago there was chaos in the media, and a great many of the outlets were pernicious; this was followed by a period of anarchy in which anyone could do what they liked – some of what blossomed then was reasonable, much was not. Now, there is some sort of stability. The electronic media is highly decentralised but print remains, in the main, centralised in the two entity capitals. There are a number of decent organisations close to sustainability. We believe support should continue to be focused on those who are, and who are also demonstrating, and continue to demonstrate, a genuine contribution to building democracy, to promoting open debate, and to helping to hold government, institutions and all centres of power, to account." (Conclusions, page 26)
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"This comparative study questions whether the transformation of state television into public service television was successful in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania. It analyzes the context in which public service televisions operate, as well as their professional identity and
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mission in the dual broadcasting markets. The study also evaluates the editorial independence of public service television in the region, and puts forward policy proposals to improve its performance." (Abstract)
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