"The advent of digital television has accelerated the elaboration of regulation and related processes in the countries of the region. Some countries adopted changes in their broadcasting statutes (Ukraine in 2006; Armenia in 2008 and 2010; Kazakhstan in 2012) or their mass media statute (Russia in 2
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011). One country laid the foundations for the switchover in a presidential decree (Uzbekistan in 2012), while the rest have opted for governmental ordinances and executive orders. Some changes made in the process go beyond merely adjusting the legal framework to digital technology." (Conclusion)
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"Overall, the scope of media assistance in Albania has been rather ambitious, aiming to reform all key segments of the media sector. It is therefore not surprising that the results have been mixed at best. The important elements of the regulatory framework have been put in place, but the reforms aim
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ed at public broadcasters, the introduction of self-regulatory mechanisms, and professionalization of journalism have proved to be particularly challenging. While media assistance has been crucial in media development, external factors such as the market, the existing informality, the interaction between politics, business, and media, etc., have affected the outcome of donor efforts in the media field." (Summary)
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"The current UIS Questionnaire on Media Statistics provides information for three UNESCO frameworks, namely the Media and Information Literacy Framework, the Media Development Indicators Framework and the Framework for Cultural Statistics. The questionnaire collects data for reporting global progres
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s on Action Lines C2, C3, C8 and C9 of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in UNESCO’s fields of competencies. In particular, Action Line C9 recommends appropriate policies to foster and sustain media and information development. This document provides country profiles for each of the countries that participated in the two pilot surveys conducted in 2011 and 2012." (Background, page 3)
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"This report is an evaluation of the $8.8 million, four-year (2008–2012) Serbia Media Assistance Program (SMAP) implemented by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program sought to: (1) strength
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en the legal and regulatory environment for media, particularly the role of media support institutions in ensuring fair, timely, and transparent implementation; (2) increase the managerial and financial capacity of independent media outlets, particularly local and regional television stations following privatization and licensing; and (3) enhance the quality and availability of information important to citizens, with a focus on news and program production at the local and regional levels and coverage of reform issues at the national level." (Executive summary)
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"GISWatch 2013 shows that gains in women’s rights made online are not always certain or stable. While access to the internet for women has increased their participation in the social, economic and governance spheres, there is another side to these opportunities: online harassment, cyberstalking, a
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nd violence against women online all of which are on the increase globally." (www.giswatch.org, July 6, 2014)
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"The goal of this book is to present in a systematic way the results of analysis of content of media in minority languages in four countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), relying on past practice, expertise and research results related to analysis of minority media and
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treatment of minorities in media. The analysis conducted in 2012 by the research team gathered around this project focused, in addition to minority media content, on analysis of the legislative context and socio-economic status of minority communities in these countries." (Introduction, page 14-15)
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"The quantitative content analysis identified the amount and the patterns of media reporting on delicate interethnic and interfaith issues, focusing on respect of different aspects of professional and ethical standards. The method of Critical Discourse Analysis is applied for the qualitative analysi
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s of the media coverage of three events that shacked the fragile interethnic relations in the first half of 2012: the European Championship in handball in 2012, the Carnival of Vevchani, and the Smilkovsko Lake Murders. The synthesized findings clearly “detect” the extent to which basic standards of impartial, accurate and balanced reporting are being observed and the practice of using violent and emotional language through the prism of 'one’s own' ethnic group." (http://mediaobservatory.net)
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"The first component of this report focuses on the improvement of the performance of public sector broadcasters. Based on evidence that the team gathered during field research, and the preparatory survey of the existing body of knowledge, 23 main problems were identified in this component [...] The
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second component deals with media self-regulation. Although the push to strengthen selfregulation is high on the agenda of the media communities in the region, such institutions have either not been established or the existing ones need to be overhauled and strengthened [...] Component three concentrates on judicial practices in freedom of expression cases and capacity building of the judiciary in this regard [...] Component four assesses the options for the introduction of an EU award for investigative journalism in the Southeast Europe IPA region." (Executive summary, page 9)
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"The case of BiH demonstrates that media reform is a slow, time-consuming process, which is closely related to the consolidation of democratic institutions that foster free media. The four case studies presented here amply demonstrate a deep tension between externally-driven reform initiatives and t
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he democratization agenda on one hand, and the complex set of contextual challenges to the reforms on the other. Our findings support Mcloughlin and Scott who claim that media reforms "can only produce results at the same pace as democratic evolution in a given country, and should be integrated into broader democratic governance reform." (Conclusion, page 57)
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"Overall, international media assistance has been very important in shaping the current media landscape, though it has by no means been the decisive factor. The complete legal reform in the media and establishment of its main institutions has seen the continuous involvement of international actors.
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International assistance has also been crucial in introducing new principles of journalism with the change of regime, and in improving professional level of journalists. Although self-regulatory bodies have not materialized yet, the professional debate on ethics has become significant part of the profession. Media assistance efforts have been less successful in terms of supporting member-based organizations, hindered by the lack of tradition in this field. Finally, although strengthening the notions of professional journalism has been the main focus of international support, Albanian journalism has ample room for improvement." (Concluding remarks, page 54)
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"This policy brief builds upon the findings of a research report that looked specifically on the ways in which three media institutions - Independent Media Commission (IMC); Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) and the Press Council of Kosovo (PCK) – established in the aftermath of conflict with consi
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derable foreign media assistance - have evolved. The independence and long-term sustainability of the RTK and IMC are important conditions that Kosovo government must ensure as it moves closer towards the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU. The PCK also remains an important institution for the Kosovo press affairs. As such, these institutions are a cornerstone for a sound media system in Kosovo." (Pages 5-6)
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"Bearing in mind the political and economic circumstances in the early stages of development of a democratic Macedonia, international donors played an important role in providing a vibrant media landscape including legal framework and relevant institutions. Donors in Macedonia engaged in a number of
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media assistance projects producing varying results, but mostly providing short-term improvements. The reasons behind the donors’ limited success can be explained through Berkowicz’s ‘transplant effect’. In particular, the reforms in the Macedonian media sector were conducted according to the model of the liberal media system, underestimating the potential dangers of the local context. In that light, the local context of high state politicization, strong business and political parallelism and ethnic segregation were to a great extent overlooked. In addition to the lack of understanding of the local context, there was an absence of a coherent donor assistance strategy. This has contributed towards the overall limited success of the assistance efforts. With several notable exceptions, most of the media assistance in Macedonia was of short and mid-term orientation, which finally resulted in short-term results." (Conclusion)
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