"This book brings together some of the most outstanding and novel papers on media and development presented at the AMIC Annual Conferences in Bangkok, Thailand in July 2004. It features over a dozen contributions from around the region, providing a wealth of fresh case studies as well as breaking ne
...
w ground in highlighting emerging frontiers of media development discourse in Asia, comparing regional development along multiple dimensions and frameworks and pointing the direction towards further media initiatives at a national level. The papers selected are grouped into three key themes: media and development; new narratives and political discourse; and media impacts and capacity building. Part I addresses macro-level impacts and policies pertaining to media and development in Asia. Part II deals with more direct media issues such as new narratives and emerging forms of political discourse and groupings in Asia. Part III shifts the focus to traditional media impacts on youth and tribal audiences, as well as new media impacts on the education and business sectors. The contributors to this book have highlighted not just an interesting range of media and development issues in Asia, but have also introduced a good variety of media research methods. These include quantitative assessments of media impacts in society, comparative and longitudinal frameworks for evaluating regional ICT competitiveness, structural analyses of political and activist communication systems, in-depth case studies of individual organisations, and broad-based surveys of stakeholders in ICT4D." (Publisher description)
more
"The thirteen significant case studies presented here examine the challenges faced by media practitioners reporting on conflicts across the diverse media ecologies of Asia. Significant themes covered include: how media culture affects the way conflict is covered, including aspects such as resource l
...
imitations, different standards of professionalism, government intervention, and the degree of importance given to the concept of independent media; how media bias can be aggravated by competing demands of various ethnics, religious and political groups and how bias among journalists can contribute to spiralling violence; how journalist can face an 'identity barrier' in terms of access to news and sources; and, how the media can be affected by poor working conditions, pay, training and recognition, and a lack of physical or financial security. The chapters provide a valuable range of perspectives on reporting about conflicts within Asia." (Publisher descrition)
more
"On its path towards media freedom, Mongolia has seen some inspiring developments but has also faced major setbacks. Following the political transition in 1990 print media sprang up extensively, and since the late 1990’s a host of electronic media has been launched. The actual media output in the
...
capital as well as the countryside is impressive both in numbers and variety. There were 340 media outlets in 2005 serving a population of 2.5 million people. However, the sector faces many challenges. Despite the many media and communication initiatives that exist in the country and are supported by various donor organisations, the Mongolian government does not have a comprehensive media and communication policy that deals in a systematic way with the huge challenges facing the industry, including the lack of infrastructure and the creation of a viable market for media and communication products in rural areas. For these reasons it is extremely important to increase support for free and independent media and progressive civil society groups in a sustainable fashion; but within the specific context in which Mongolian media professionals operate. The issues faced by media on a national level (Ulaanbaatar) and in the countryside are diverse but equally problematic, and a different approach is necessary to support their development." (UNESCO website, 16.11.2007)
more
"The symposium Measuring Change. Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation in Media Development focused on the utilisation aspect of evaluation1: The adding of “Planning” to “Monitoring and Evaluation” in the subtitle indicates that emphasis was laid on learning from monitoring and evaluation experie
...
nces, to facilitate the improvement of existing projects and programmes at all levels, from planning to implementation and follow-up." (Executive Summary)
more
"China's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection system is a hot topic on many international agendas. What is the current debate and what is the situation in China today? In a first step this analysis summarizes the status quo of IPR in China and current trends in the debate about it." (GIZ Li
...
brary Bonn)
more
"While China’s policies of reform and opening-up have triggered far-reaching economic transformations in the media sector, and the leeway for uncensored reporting has widened, the principles of political supervision remain essentially unchanged. The article sketches the interplay of numerous gover
...
nment and Party organs responsible for media supervision and censorship in terms of mission, personnel and work assignments. The main emphasis is on the present situation and changes since 1990. Despite some organizational reshuffling and recurrent jurisdictional adjustments, the basic bureaucratic set-up for enforcing media compliance with Party policies stays in line with the Leninist arrangements of the 1950s. The challenges for effective control posed by the technological revolution in mass communication have been met by new innovations in the monitoring and filtering of sensitive reports. Although principles of rule by law have also spread to the media, they lag behind some other spheres of Chinese public life. Regulations stipulate a host of licensing requirements. They stress media duties and remain largely silent on media rights. On the background of reorganizations in the magazine „Freezing Point“ of the Youth League effected during 2004 - 2006, the article highlights the tensions of current media policies, the conflicts between multiple actors and the unresolved contradictions between commercial and political interests." (Abstract)
more
"In China, unlike in Western cinema, documentary film, rather than fiction film, has been the dominant mode since 1949. In recent years, documentary TV programmes have experienced a meteoric rise. Arguing that there is a gradual process of 'democratization' in the media, in which documentaries play
...
a significant role, this book discusses various types of Chinese documentaries, under both the planned and the market economy. It especially explores the relationship between documentaries and society, showing how, under the market economy, although the government continues to use the genre as propaganda to promote its ideologies and policies, documentaries are being used as a medium where public concerns and alternative voices can be heard." (Publisher description)
more