"Despite the positive impact of the constitutional reform of 2013 and other previous or related regulations, media policy in Mexico is still faced with numerous challenges. Many objectives of the 2013 reform, in fact, could not be achieved because of a series of secondary laws that have been adopted
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in the meantime. Controversial cases remain unresolved. The Mexican media system thus remains one of the most concentrated in the world. Therefore, more comprehensive economic competition measures and policies are needed (for instance, asymmetric policies by service and not by sector). On the other hand, as the goals of the governments in the media have not been achieved, the digital divide remains wide, which means that vast swathes of the Mexican population do not fully enjoy the benefits of digitization. Part of the reason is that post-reform investments were below expectations, at much lower levels than in other countries (except for a recent investment in a 5G network). Public media remain financially vulnerable as authorities have discretionary power in approving their budget and exert significant influence in their editorial coverage. Moreover, public media remain reluctant to be held accountable." (Conclusion)
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"In some of the countries, to a greater extent Spain and the Hispanic USA, fiction consistently occupies at least 40% of the programming time. This occurs in countries that, due to income levels, should be those with a higher degree of access to other sources of fiction audiovisual content, such as
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pay TV or streaming platforms. In contrast to these cases, we can observe Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, where fiction barely exceeds 15% in the years of greatest participation and is close to 10% in others. Paradoxically, both Brazil and Mexico are fiction producers and exporters to the rest of the region. Halfway between both extremes, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Portugal, Uruguay and Venezuela can be observed in the years in which it has been possible to observe their behavior. Since open television is a system of contents structured in schedules associated with household routines, it is worth asking about differences in roles and uses of television by audiences or the eventual substitution of these roles by alternative media or genres. The second aspect is one of trends. Except for the case of Spain, the general trend seems to be towards a decrease in the involvement of fiction in programming. And, although the Top 10 most watched fiction productions offer a very partial view of the whole, they also show a decrease in time of the audience levels reached." (Pages 24-25)
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"Eight months into the Russia-Ukraine war, Roma refugees in Moldova, continue to face significant barriers to accessing the information necessary to make decisions for themselves and their families and to access humanitarian services. This assessment shows that some barriers are well documented and
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have impacted their access to timely, verified, and actionable information long before their arrival in Moldova. These include a deeply ingrained distrust of authority figures (in particular, the government), poor access to education, and lower literacy skills than other refugee groups. Other barriers are more recent, resulting from the new structural inequities they are facing in Moldova." (Executive summary)
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"We find that there is a will for reform from the civilian part of the government, the international community, independent media professionals, and a handful of Sudanese CSOs. However, pushing for a free media is a low priority for most of the population, who have more urgent survival and security
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needs. Furthermore, the military/Islamist wing of the transitional government seems to want to control, not free, the media." (Conclusion, page 24)
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"En algunos de los países, en mayor medida España y los EE.UU. Hispanos, la ficción ocupa de un modo consistente al menos el 40% de los tiempos de programación. Esto, en países que por niveles de ingreso deberían ser los con un mayor grado de acceso a otras fuentes de contenidos audiovisuales
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de ficción, como la televisión de pago o las plataformas de streaming. En contraste a estos casos, se observa a Argentina, Brasil y México, donde la ficción apenas supera el 15% en los años de mayor participación y se acerca al 10% en otros. Paradojalmente, tanto Brasil como México son países productores y exportadores de ficción al resto de la región. A medio camino entre ambos extremos se observa a Chile, Colombia, Perú, Portugal, Uruguay y Venezuela, en los años en que ha sido posible observar su comportamiento. Siendo la televisión abierta un sistema de contenidos estructurados en horarios asociados a las rutinas del hogar, cabe preguntarse por diferencias de roles y usos de la televisión por parte de las audiencias o la eventual sustitución de estos roles por medios o géneros alternativos. El segundo plano es de tendencia. Salvo por el caso de España, la tendencia general pareciera ser hacia una disminución de la participación de la ficción en la programación. Y, aunque los Top 10 de títulos de ficción más vistos ofrecen una mirada muy parcial del conjunto, en ellos también se observa una disminución en el tiempo de los niveles de audiencia alcanzados." (Página 24-25)
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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
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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, page 21)
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"There are stark lessons to be learnt from this assessment: Social media has become the main source of news and information for majority of Kenyans, even though it suffers the greatest trust deficit. Radio remains highly important, while television is the most trusted source of information and newsp
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aper circulation and readership continue to decline — even though newspapers have the highest quality content. The study also found that self-censorship is rife; media sustainability remains a key concern and media freedom has been deteriorating since 2017. To improve media performance in Kenya, three key gaps were identified for plugging. These are skills gaps (the knowledge media personnel need to perform their work effectively); resource shortages (the resources media entities need to execute their mandate); and policy gaps (an enabling environment for the media to thrive)." (Publisher description)
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"To gain a comprehensive understanding of both urban and peri/urban/rural locations, the assessment was conducted in two locations in Ethiopia: Gambella Region and Addis Ababa City Administration. A total of 240 respondents participated in the assessment, of which about one-third are female. The fin
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dings of the study indicate that while there is a more open space for the media to get information and share with the community since 2018, there are still major gaps in the areas of access to timely information by the media, infrastructure for mainstream media operations in the regions, technical capacity of media practitioners, and information verification mechanisms." (Publisher description)
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"This Handbook provides the first comprehensive reference book in English about the development of mass and social media in all Arab countries. Capturing the historical as well as current developments in the media scene, this collection maps the role of media in social and political movements. Contr
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ibutors include specialists in the field from North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Each chapter provides an overview of the history, regulatory frameworks and laws governing the press, and socio-political functions of the media. While the geopolitical complexities of the region have been reflected in the expert analyses collectively, the focus is always the local context of each member state. All 37 chapters consider the specific historical, political and media trajectories in each country, to provide a contextual background and foundation for further study about single states or comparative analysis in two or more Arab states." (Publisher description)
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"Written just prior to the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan, this new report from Shorenstein Center Fellow Samiullah Mahdi provides an overview of the media landscape in Afghanistan, and the threats to and opportunities for press freedom in the region." (Introduction)
"The Serbian government prioritizes digitalization. Serbia’s digital transformation accelerated in 2017 with the government’s focus on building a digital government, or “digitalization” as defined by Serbians, and Serbia’s participation in the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans. As one
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Serbian official described it, digitalization refers to the “fundamental changes reflected in the emergence of an efficient, economical, and transparent public administration.” Although there is no comprehensive national policy for Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Serbia’s digital agenda includes initiatives ranging from expanding connectivity to developing the ICT industry. Prime Minister Brnabic has been a champion for digitalization, and digital transformation will continue to be a key priority in the coming years. Digital connectivity infrastructure in the country is strong and growing. Fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband covers more than 90 percent of the population. The government and top mobile network operators (MNOs) plan to deploy 5G networks in the near future. Donors such as the European Union (EU) support the expansion of fiber-optic connectivity to connect rural schools. China’s Digital Silk Road Initiative has had a substantial role in building Serbia’s digital infrastructure, ranging from Safe City infrastructure to providing cloud infrastructure and developing an artificial intelligence (AI) platform for the government. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government swiftly embraced online schooling and expanded digital government services. Fragmentation and uneven levels of buy-in across the executive branch hinders Serbian digital government efforts. Serbia’s approach to multi-stakeholder internet governance has also been uneven, with industry and civil society stakeholders lamenting a lack of public engagement. Serbian civil society is working to protect digital rights and freedoms. A growing network of organizations in Serbia and across Southeast Europe is working to protect free expression online, promote information security, and publicize digital rights violations." (https://www.usaid.gov/digital-development)
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"Das Werk bietet, nach Ländern bzw. Regionen aufgeschlüsselt, einen kompakten und aktuellen Überblick über geschichtliche Herkunft, weitere Entwicklungen und aktuelle Herausforderungen der afrikanischen Kirche aus katholischer Sicht. Dabei liegt ein Akzent auf den Beziehungen der Ortskirche zu a
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nderen Konfessionen und Religionen. Experten aus den jeweiligen Ländern bzw. Kenner der jeweiligen Situation vor Ort ermöglichen einen raschen und gründlichen Zugang zu den Besonderheiten der Kirchen und ihrer jeweiligen Rolle in den afrikanischen Gesellschaften heute. Dabei werden die Komplexität und die Vielfalt der verschiedenen Situationen innerhalb Afrikas deutlich." (Klappentext)
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"This update to the RSF report “Taking Control? Internet Censorship and Surveillance in Russia” (published in November 2019) focuses on the period between the 2019 elections and the parliamentary elections in September 2021. It describes how the Kremlin has severely restricted press freedom and
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freedom of expression over the last 18 months, the pressures independent journalists in Russia now face, and how these conditions are nurturing self-censorship. Under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian parliament rushed through a slew of new laws in 2020 and 2021. Under the new provisions, almost any news website or individual can be declared a “foreign agent” – a designation that massively obstructs or even completely prevents their work. People can be charged with defamation simply for making a general statement such as “the police are corrupt”, and in the worst case face multi-year prison sentences. The authorities can use the “fake news” label to block information that contradicts the official version of events – including reports on conditions in hospitals or on the demonstrations in support of opposition politician Alexei Navalny." (Overview, page 5)
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