"The halting progress of the Tunisian media reform reflects the uncertainty and vulnerability of the political reform. As Professor of Communication and Democracy Katrin Voltmer contends, emerging media systems are unique types that are a blend of inherited structures, the constraints of the transit...ions, and the reform movement’s choices. The new Tunisian media system retains features of the old regime while embedding the contradictions and struggles that paint the emerging political system. Eleven years after the Jasmine Revolution, the media reform is still governed by ambiguity, having turned into a field of political struggle between progressive and conservative forces and their allies. The president’s recent move to suspend the parliament and his highly controversial referendum on a new constitution granting him extraordinary powers, which passed following an unprecedented level of low turnout, have plunged the democratic consolidation process into turmoil. Sharp divisions have emerged between Saeid’s supporters and opponents, exacerbating uncertainty and ambiguity." (Conclusion)
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"This Media Landscape Guide provides a snapshot of the media in the Palestinian territories. It includes information on audiences, content producers and languages associated with the media and examines the communications culture and preferences of different groups in the community. The guide gives a...n insight into the role of media in crisis preparedness, recent disasters, and the (at time of writing) ongoing COVID-19 response. It also gives an overview of each media sector including, digital and social media, radio, television, print and other forms of mass communication. The guide aims to help improve communications and inform the work of Palestinian media organisations, humanitarian actors and United Nations (UN) agencies and their community engagement working groups, especially in preparation for impending disasters and during the response phase. It can also assist in the planning and implementation of development work with media." (Introduction, p.4)
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"Das Buch besteht aus zwei Teilen. Der erste enthält Stichwortartikel zu den Themenbereichen Presse, Radio, Fernsehen, Online-Medien, Agenturen und Medien im Allgemeinen. Im zweiten Teil werden Datentabellen und Grafiken präsentiert, die sich vor allem auf das Jahr 2015 beziehen. Dabei werden sowo...hl Unterschiede als auch Gemeinsamkeiten der beiden Medienkulturen deutlich. Alle Beiträge wurden – großenteils gemeinsam – von Autorinnen und Autoren beider Seiten verfasst und werden in deutscher und in russischer Sprache gegenübergestellt: ein Ergebnis der langjährigen Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern aus den Journalistik-Abteilungen der Technischen Universität Dortmund und der Südlichen Föderalen Universität in Rostov am Don." (Verlag)
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"The media reform process in Ethiopia’s political transition has made significant improvements to the policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks. If institutionalized and implemented with robust stakeholder engagement, the reform could help build a sustainable, vibrant, independent, and viable media... business environment essential to democratic consolidation. The task, however daunting, has shown the resolve of state and nonstate actors to work collaboratively in spite of staunch differences to reach compromised solutions and build consensus on important media reform issues. That volunteer legal and media experts have spearheaded a participatory legislative and regulatory reform process will help instill a democratic culture, which would be instrumental in operationalizing a sector-wide self-regulatory mechanism and capacity-building efforts to professionalize the sector. Ethiopia’s political transition has been rather bumpy and full of crises that have threatened progress—a situation that should be expected to continue into the future." (Conclusion, p.21)
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"Informe sobre los principales indicadores de la radio y televisión en el Perú. Datos del número de estaciones, número de titulares, estaciones según finalidad, titulares de televisión y radio estatales, y situación de los Códigos de Ética de las estaciones de televisión y radio, proporcio...nada por la Dirección General de Autorizaciones en Telecomunicaciones del Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones (MTC). Datos sobre las estaciones de Televisión Digital Terrestre (TDT), de acuerdo a la información enviada por radiodifusores y monitoreos de la Dirección General de Fiscalización y Sanciones en Comunicaciones del MTC." (p.2)
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"Media development assistance and media systems research are intricately connected: by describing, assessing, and attempting to change them, media development actors produce knowledge about media systems and directly impact them. This research review explores the intersections of academic media syst...ems research and practices of describing and assessing media landscapes in the media development sector and suggests how both could learn from each other. In what follows, the most important publications on media systems since the Cold War era will be reviewed, tracing the ongoing process of refining concepts and definitions. Alongside a geographical broadening of the research scope, models as well as methodological approaches have been questioned and reinvented. The review places a special focus on the peculiarities of researching media systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Referring to academic as well as grey literature, it suggests points of departure for meaningfully linking academic knowledge and practitioners’ knowledge about media systems, concluding with recommendations for informed practice." (Abstract)
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"The research data reveal that Sudan at the time had at least 10 media-related laws in place that do not meet international standards. At the same time, the country had the benefit of an infrastructure of 30 institutions offering media education and training. Sudan has an opportunity to restructure ...its media system to align with international standards on freedom of expression and the press, the safety of journalists, as well as pluralism. To support this, the current report has formulated recommendations for stakeholders’ consideration. These possibilities for reform cover independent media regulation, the promotion of media pluralism and the improvement of the economic playing field." (Short summary)
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"Malawi has seen an exponential growth of its media, both in quality and quantity. For example, there were only two broadcasting stations at the start of the 1990s, while Malawi has increased this over the years to 57 radio stations and 14 television broadcasters. Although the plurality of Malawi’...s media greatly increased, the functioning of the media has still been affected by arrests of media practitioners, outdated laws and other constraints. This report offers an extensive overview of the status of the media in Malawi, based on an assessment of the UNESCO Media Development Indicators (MDIs). It analyses the legal and regulatory framework, the plurality of the media, safety of journalists and other relevant media development indicators, while at same time providing relevant recommendations for all stakeholders involved. The recommendations cover a large number of issues, some notable ones focused on: the conception of self-regulatory systems; the safeguarding of journalists; the introduction of a code for the regulation of advertisement practices; the reform of outdated laws relating to media practitioners." (Short summary)
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"Although some planned reforms announced since 2017 concerning the rights to freedom of expression and others are yet to be finalized, the report finds that the media environment has improved considerably since the new government came into power. In the context of a rising internet penetration rate,... reportedly from 17% in 2015 to 51% in 2022, direct censorship of the internet has ceased and online information is better accessible. Journalists generally rate their current situation as relatively safe. Public trust in the media has generally improved since the new democratic dispensation. Although there is a slow pace of legal reform, there is however cautious optimism about government’s commitment to repeal laws inherited from the previous regime." (Short summary)
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"1. Government should implement the Access to Information Act 2016 speedily and fully. This would help realize the Right of Access to Information and promote a culture of transparency, openness and accountability among public officials.2. The Information and Communications Act should be revised ...to ensure that the Communications Authority is truly independent from government, following the guidelines set out by Principle 17 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa.3. The Books and Newspapers Act of 1960 should be revised and registration of publications should be allowed for administrative purposes only.4. The regulation issued by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) for licences to be required for anyone uploading videos on social media should not be approved.5. The Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, which provides for the obligation to license social media platforms and blogs and heavy fines for offenders, should be withdrawn.6. Measures to prevent concentration within and between different media sectors should be strengthened, and transparency of ownership should be ensured in media legislation.7. The government should provide a conducive atmosphere in which community radio can thrive. Donor organizations and government both at national and county level should work together to establish a support fund for community radio." (Key recommendations, p.15)
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"On the surface, Namibia’s stellar reputation as the beacon of media freedom remains intact, but the role of the Fourth Estate in speaking truth to power is gradually being eroded as state officials become increasingly intolerant of the media in Namibia. The perceptible decline in the media landsc...ape is evidenced by the intimidatory tactics the state has been using to discourage journalists from reporting on certain issues ... Namibia’s legal and policy framework offers strong protection for freedom of expression and media freedom through Article 21 of the constitution. This is further bolstered by Article 144 of the constitution on international law, which automatically incorporates regional and international protocols, agreements and treaties signed and ratified by the Namibian government into the domestic legal system. However, commitment to the notions contained in these regional and international protocols and conventions seems to be solely on paper ..." (Summary, p.5)
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"For most of its modern history, the news media in Ethiopia have been a tool for government control. But 2018 brought a wave of optimism to Africa’s second most populous nation. Anti-government protests forced the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to undertake majo...r reforms to its authoritarian rule in an effort to stave off mass violence and the potential collapse of the central government. The incumbent prime minister, Hai lemariam Desalegn, was forced to resign. In his place, the EPRDF nominated Abiy Ahmed, a young and charismatic reformer from the long-marginalized Oromiya region. Overnight, protestors lifted roadblocks and popular discontent transformed into euphoria and hope for a better future. This set the stage for one of the most remarkable attempts at media reform in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. The Abiy government freed journalists from prison; deregulated the sector, enabling the establishment of dozens of new media houses; and put into motion a media reform process that brought government and civil society together in a shared vision for change. However, these early successes have faltered. Quick deregulation without strong enabling institutions and laws created a surge of media outlets and journalism associations that fueled polarization and conflict along ethnic fault lines." (p.1)
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"President Saied’s moves to undermine constitutional governance and Tunisia’s parliament pose a major challenge for further media reforms. Yet, should the political environment prove enabling, foreign donors, media assistance organizations, and other stakeholders should prioritize working with l...ocal stakeholders to find ways to navigate Tunisia’s chaotic media regulatory environment. One focus of this effort should be on stabilizing and strengthening broadcast regulation." (Recommendations, p.7)
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"Using the coup as a vantage point, interviewees for this report were asked to reflect on three main questions: What have we learned about past media reform efforts? With hindsight, what are the legacies, best practices, and lessons learned? With a view to the future, what does the media’s respons...e to the coup teach us about reform and resilience? One of the important lessons their collective reflections and analysis show is that over the past decade the media assistance approach in Burma should have been more strategic, nuanced, grassroots driven, flexible, and inclusive, with a greater focus on opportunities to support local initiatives, coalitions, and actors. Other important lessons learned concern risks and security, including the importance of digital security literacy and mechanisms, as well as building widespread capacity in volatile contexts with greater risk of repression." (Conclusion)
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"This Media Landscape Guide was produced in January 2022. It provides a snapshot of the media at this time in Belarus. It provides an analysis of the recent shocks to the media landscape and an overview of the different types of media and information sources available for Belarusians: digital media ...platforms, social media and messaging platforms, television, radio, and print. It covers the main and most popular media outlets." (Introduction, p.4)
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"International assistance actors have played an important role in supporting media reforms in Ukraine. Their long-term, continuous efforts planted the seeds for groundbreaking media environment changes during Ukraine’s democratic transition. International donors’ sustained engagement in Ukraine ...laid the groundwork for the major transitions, primarily by facilitating the emergence and development of the vibrant and powerful local civil society. Notwithstanding the prolonged periods of “lost hope” and stagnation, which might have discouraged some other activists from policy development and advocacy, Ukrainian CSMOs have managed to pursue their strategic priorities even under challenging circumstances and quickly consolidated their efforts at a crucial moment in Ukraine’s modern history — right in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, in the spring of 2014. Ukrainian CSOs were ready and courageous enough to step in when the state and its institutions were extremely weakened and to assume their roles in certain fields. Both the CSMOs and donors jumped at the opportunity presented by the revolution: several innovative media reforms, which had been drafted and redrafted over many years, were adopted in a matter of few weeks in the spring of 2014. That success would have been impossible without the preparatory work done during the preceding years." (Conclusion, p.20)
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"This Media Landscape Guide provides a snapshot of the media in Afghanistan, including the audiences, the producers, the preferences of different groups in the community, the communications culture, and the languages associated with the media. It gives an insight into the role of media in developmen...t work, crisis preparedness, recent disasters, and the (at time of writing1) ongoing COVID-19 response. The guide also gives an overview of each media sector including, digital and social media, radio, television, print and other traditional forms of mass communication." (Introduction, p.4)
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"Since gaining independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine has lurched along an unsteady path toward accountable democratic governance. Yet despite the country's volatile politics and the escalating conflict with Russia leading up to the full.scale invasion of Ukraine in ...February 2022, Ukrainian reformers and their allies have made significant progress in reshaping the country's media climate." (p.1)
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"Un sistema de medios informativos sólido es crucial para enfrentar diversos tipos de crisis. No obstante, caracterizar dichos sistemas en países latinoamericanos plantea dilemas propios de una institucionalización estructuralmente débil, de procesos de modernización acelerados o en curso. Nues...tro objetivo es reconocer los desafíos metodológicos en la constitución de una base de datos de medios informativos que permitan análisis consistentes y comparativos sobre las condiciones del ejercicio periodístico en el mundo. Para ello, nos basamos en el caso peruano, que no cuenta con bases de datos, de medios ni de periodistas de alcance nacional y en el que la institucionalización de los medios es precaria. Hemos utilizado como estrategia metodológica la triangulación de fuentes. Entre las principales dificultades está la informalidad dentro de los medios formales, una huella digital precaria y la insuficiencia de categorizaciones basadas en un sistema analógico en una sociedad en proceso de transmedialización." (Resumen)
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