"Three key cross-cutting priority areas for the civil society and media sectors emerge from this analysis: Civic Education: Without wide public understanding of and support for democracy, it is possible for public opinion to be manipulated, or frustrations exploited, and for public support for Armen
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ia’s nascent democracy to be diminished or reversed. Enabling Environment: In the context of the fragile political environment, it is critical that laws, regulations, and processes that provide protections to the civil society and media sectors, and that define relationships between government and sector actors, are developed and established. Advocacy: Support for sector advocacy initiatives and for follow up monitoring of implementation constitutes a priority focus for donor efforts." (Executive summary, page 2)
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"This study focused on creating a picture of the local media in the country, by analyzing the main institutional players, the problems that they are facing, the status of the local journalists, as well as prospects for the future. The objective of this study was the identification of the whole unive
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rse of the local media, as well as the mapping of the local media. Convinced that the mapping of the local media will serve as an important basis for the launch of other in-depth studies, we have carefully analyzed the majority of available sources from which we could collect information on the local media landscape [...] The effects of the lengthy Albanian transition are clearly visible in the way the local media have been developing. During these three decades of free press, the local media in Albania have not managed to build a sustainable business model and have been continuously fighting for their survival in the market. The small markets, poor economic development, and a lack of media literacy in many local communities in the country, have made the job even harder for these media. Besides these problems, local media operators also have had to face the transformative power of technology at a time when they still had not perfected their model of management. The proliferation of web-based media publications, the social media, and lately the switch to digital broadcasting have found these media unprepared." (Conclusions, page 51-53)
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"Mongolia has much work to do to ensure full media freedom. Laws on defamation and access to information hamper media’s ability to report fully on matters of public interest and public figures engaged in public business. A deeper understanding of international standards on media freedom and the va
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luable role media play in society are required for true progress to be made. The 2018 Joint Staff Working Document referred to the Human Rights Committee’s Concluding Observations on Mongolia’s 2017 sixth periodic report on ICCPR implementation. Taking this lead, the monitoring focused on the effective application of ICCPR provisions before domestic courts, broad legal restrictions on freedom of expression, and media freedom. The Government of Mongolia has made no positive developments until now. Particularly problematic is the fact that the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs plans to re-criminalize defamation in amendments to the Criminal Code. Mongolia lacks laws and policies important to guaranteeing media freedom, such as a general broadcast law including the recognition of community media, laws on media ownership transparency and concentration, and laws on the protection of sources. Numerous legal restrictions on the right to freedom of expression still exist, and many of these provisions are actively applied. The most serious are defamation laws, which are criminal, civil, and administrative in nature, and employed with great frequency against the media. There is no doubt that many media outlets engage in irresponsible reporting, but this cannot justify the current state of defamation laws in Mongolia." (Conclusion)
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"Enseñar y aprender la Radio en América Latina y el Caribe. Radiografías de este presente, es un libro que logra recoger el pensamiento, la reflexión y el proceso pedagógico de 63 docentes de 12 países que imparten la asignatura de Radio en distintas universidades de estas regiones. Cada coord
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inador por país, además de compilar la información de sus colegas profesores, ofrece un panorama histórico y contemporáneo de la realidad que enfrenta el medio radiofónico en su territorio desde las perspectivas culturales, jurídicas, sociales, tecnológicas y académicas. A través de las respuestas, los docentes externan preocupación, interés, pero sobre todo, una gran pasión por la enseñanza de la Radio. El medio sonoro renace ante la mirada analítica y comprometida de profesionales de la enseñanza de distintas generaciones, que miran con alegría, pero otras con desazón el desapego y apatía, respectivamente, de los alumnos por la asignatura radiofónica. En el texto se logra observar la evolución del medio a través de la enseñanza. Algunos profesores imparten sus cátedras con base en procesos de producción analógicos, en tanto, otros, están en el territorio de la experimentación e innovación sonora; en el podcast, la transmedialidad sonora, la estética acústica y las nuevas narrativas con el uso de formatos y géneros híbridos." (Tapa posterior del libro)
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"Fundamentally, this paper argues that the lack of political will combined with the failure of state-building processes to develop the frameworks and institutions to support independent media is maintaining a media landscape that reflects the key political challenges of Iraq. The politics of success
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ive Iraqi governments continues to affect the functioning and the perception of the media, leaving them unable to provide content that can support democratic and transparent political processes. Attempts at media reform or support for sustainable, relevant, independent media platforms must take into account the wider context of Iraq and its political structures as well as the existing conditions of corruption and fragility. They also require much deeper consultation with local media stakeholders combined with a greater coordination with global initiatives to support the development of independent media." (Conclusion)
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"Este mapeamento foi estabelecido com os seguintes objetivos: contribuir com uma visão global na Pan-Amazônia, suas culturas, seus povos, superando visões fragmentadas e favorecer o testemunho de uma plena comunhão eclesiástica e de toda uma pastoral na bacia amazônica; oferecer um amplo panor
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ama da presença, da identidade e da ação da Igreja na Pan-Amazônia; incentivar a cooperação com outras instituições nacionais e internacionais na preservação da identidade dos povos amazônicos. Mais especificamente, esse processo visa a favorecer a análise, a reflexão e o diálogo sobre a realidade socioeconômica, política e cultural-religiosa; a estimular uma visão Pan-Amazônica que supere a fragmentação; fortalecer o protagonismo dos povos indígenas, ribeirinhos, afrodescendentes e demais grupos para a elaboração de propostas para seu tecido sociocultural; a fortalecer a organização social e a transformação da realidade; a proporcionar uma base de dados para o planejamento de atividades educativas, organizativas e mobilizadoras de projetos e processos; a produzir mapas gerais e específicos da presença e ação da Igreja na Pan-Amazônia, entre outros." (Introdução, página 2)
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"The year 2019 was challenging for Sri Lanka, with the Easter Sunday Attacks and the subsequent anti-Muslim riots paralyzing the country and the economy. After the Easter Sunday attacks, the first terrorist attacks on Sri Lankan soil in a decade, it was expected that the media would play a responsib
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le role in reporting on the tragedy and addressing the preceding circumstances. However, many Media Sustainability Index (MSI) panelists believe that after a few days of responsible reporting of relaying government warnings and urging the public to be careful, most media stations decided to capitalize on fear and mistrust to fulfill their commercial and political agendas. After the Easter Sunday attackers were revealed to be Islamic fundamentalists, many media institutions, especially the private media, shifted their tone and fostered a culture of fear and suspicion against Muslims. Many attributed anti-Muslim riots that took place in May 2019 to the media’s anti-Muslim rhetoric [...] Many MSI panelists with print media ties expressed serious concern over the industry’s future. They noted that following the Easter Sunday attacks and the impact on advertising, a significant number of people were laid off, employee benefits were cut, and advertisers have not returned, even though the economy somewhat recovered in late 2019. Although mainstream media, especially print, has faced many disruptions in the last 20 years (i.e., the digitization of content, the spread of social media, and the acceleration of mobile consumption), the panelists believe the current disruption may be unprecedented. Panelists warned that unless media owners analyze the situation and make significant changes, the economic crisis following the Easter Sunday attacks, will exacerbate the print media’s decline." (Page 5)
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"In their postwar, postindependence, and post-Soviet moments, why did two neighbors, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, who share cultural, linguistic, and historical similarities, take radically divergent paths in the development of their mass media, public sphere, and democracy? In this article, I argue
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against the popular sentiment that the reason for their striking post-9/11 disparities—namely Afghanistan’s relatively open and diverse media environment and Tajikistan’s repressive media regime—is that Afghanistan remains under the purview of influence and development aid of the United States and, conversely, Tajikistan is still under Russian control. Using case examples from my fieldwork in both countries, I demonstrate that the fact that Afghanistan is not unilaterally under the influence of U.S. aid is precisely why Afghanistan has not yet fallen down the slippery slope of commercialization, and its media world remains vibrant and viable, albeit fragile." (Abstract)
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"Este libro realiza un análisis situacional de la alfabetización mediática en Ecuador, a su vez procura agrupar los principales resultados obtenidos a través de numerosos estudios en las regiones y ciudades del país donde se ha determinado el nivel de competencia mediática en varios grupos de
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la sociedad ecuatoriana: estudiantes y profesores de escuelas, colegios y universidades. Se analiza también, la presencia de contenidos curriculares en los planes de estudio que en algunos casos incrementan el nivel de competencia mediática. Además, se examina la normativa que rige el desarrollo de la competencia mediática, tanto a nivel comunicacional y educativo, su visualización a nivel científico y las distintas aplicaciones y proyectos realizados como intentos de mejorar la situación actual en este tema." (Cubierta del libro)
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"The Philippine media landscape is full of contradictions. On one hand, it joins the global trend of technological disruptions ushering changes in the media economy, profession, and consumption. On the other hand, persistent socio-economic inequalities and the urban/rural gap limit the potential of
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these disruptions, thus maintaining the supremacy of traditional media (except newspapers) as source of information especially in the countryside [...] Community press and radio continue to be preferred means of communication even for armed groups. Radio, in particular, is still seen as the most pervasive media, reaching even the remotest areas. The country is labeled the "social media capital of the world" given the rate of social media usage (Pablo, 2018; Mateo, 2018) and belongs to the top 20 countries with highest Internet penetration rate (Internet World Stats, 2018). However, the telecommunications infrastructure of the Philippines remains underdeveloped in most areas, as the number of cell towers is far less than that of its neighboring countries. Internet speed is slower than in the other countries in Asia-Pacific and is even below the global average (Akamai Technologies, 2017) and mobile signal, even the older generation 2G connectivity, is unavailable in many rural areas." (Overview)
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"The overall quality of media reporting in Tanzania in 2019 has gone down. Compared to 2018, the Media Quality Index for all media dropped from 28% to 26.8%. Among media types, the print media’s performance dropped most. Many aspects illustrate the trend. It is clear that media houses now rely on
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even fewer sources compared to 2018. Overall multiple sourcing dropped by 5%. Worryingly, sources were apparently unwilling to express their honest opinion, which is shown by the fact that the Yearbook’s indicator “number of viewpoints and opinions” expressed in the media shrunk considerably compared to 2018. And the inclusion of opposing viewpoints in journalistic pieces, an essential element for public debate, declined. The same applies to the number of viewpoints critical towards the government. This demonstrates a serious impediment to public discourse in 2019. On average, only 2.8% of media stories provided opposing viewpoints." (Executive summary, page 3)
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