"Since its beginnings community media has been local media—the voices of communities that echo their interests and concerns. Survival is difficult for broadcasting community media because they most often operate on small budgets, receiving a fraction of the support which the Federal Government pro
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vides to public sector broadcasters and operating largely as a result of support from the communities they service. The broadcasting community media in Australia is more a source which fosters participation than radical idealism; it is the voice of ordinary Australians who mostly do not seek to reorient the world, but to ensure everyone gets a ‘fair go’. It is alternative in that it provides a form to promote cultural diversity within the framework of an overall national culture and in that it delivers strong local voices in a media environment which is increasingly homogenous. It has been suggested that community broadcasting needs to change if it is to continue to deliver its unique services. It needs to become more professional in order to attract a greater share of funding from government and to enhance its main sources of financial support. This is a cause of discontent within the sector, as some consider such changes will betray the principles of community media." (Executive summary)
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"Self-censorship habits are entrenched in the practices of Egyptian journalists, who largely perceive their role as servants of political masters. Even though the debate on reforming media was high on the agenda during the time of the revolution, this subservient perception did not change. Journalis
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ts were still struggling to cope with a new environment where they could operate without instructions. The deep political polarization between pro-Islamists and pro-liberals under the Brotherhood rule transformed media into the favourite platform for political spin. The newfound liberty was translated into a chaotic expression of unfounded views and rumours [...] Egyptian media reform requires a complex operation involving both legal reform and institutional review of media practices and professional standards." (Executive summary)
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"The emergence of digital media in Indonesia coincided with the country’s transition to democracy beginning in 1998. In some ways, digitization has catalyzed the development of diverse and independent media. Market reforms in favor of liberalization have gone hand in hand with convergence and prol
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iferation to produce a radical increase in the number of media outlets. The number of national television channels has doubled since 1998; commercial radio stations have tripled; and the number of print newspapers has more than quadrupled. This has occurred alongside and in tandem with a rapidly growing online news sector populated by a mixed ecology of established brands and new entrants. In other ways, however, digitization has merely helped to shift the locus of concentrated power from the state to an increasingly consolidated media elite. Despite the growing number of outlets, new entrants in conventional sectors have been rare and have been hampered by policies that have tended to favor commercial incumbents." (Open Society Foundations website)
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"This Global Information Society Watch tracks the state of communications surveillance in 57 countries across the world – countries as diverse as Hungary, India, Argentina, The Gambia, Lebanon and the United Kingdom. Each country report approaches the issue from a different perspective. Some analy
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se legal frameworks that allow surveillance, others the role of businesses in collecting data (including marketing data on children), the potential of biometrics to violate rights, or the privacy challenges when implementing a centralised universal health system. The perspectives from long-time internet activists on surveillance are also recorded. Using the 13 International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance as a starting point, eight thematic reports frame the key issues at stake. These include discussions on what we mean by digital surveillance, the implications for a human rights agenda on surveillance, the “Five Eyes” inter-government surveillance network led by the US, cyber security, and the role of intermediaries." (GIS website)
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"This report presents an up-to-date assessment of internet rights in Turkey, and has been prepared to coincide with the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2014 which is being hosted by Turkey in Istanbul from 2–5 September 2014. The IGF is a space that strives for a democratic and inclusive internet
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and this report assesses the Turkish government’s respect for international human rights standards in relation to freedom of expression online. The assessment [...] focuses on internet regulation, internet access, blocking, surveillance, liability of internet intermediaries, criminalisation of legitimate expression, and cyber-attacks. The report concludes with recommendations for actions to promote and protect an open and free internet in Turkey." (Abstract)
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"For the third consecutive year in a row, the Myanmar Media Development Conference, a unique multi-partner, multi-stakeholder enterprise, gathered government officials, journalists, media owners, editors, reporters, NGOs, local, regional and international organisations for discussions on the status
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and way forward of media development in Myanmar in the year gone by. The theme of the conference was ‘Moving Towards a Sustainable Media Environment’ and in constructive and dynamic discussions, Myanmar media stakeholders debated the current status and way forward for the Myanmar media environment three years after the first media reforms were set in motion in 2011." (Introduction)
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"The role of the media as a civic institution that acts on behalf of and in alliance with civil society in times of crisis is the central theme of this dissertation. Prior research has demonstrated that Haiti’s media has been at the heart of such a role in civic society throughout the country’s
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two hundred plus years of independent existence. This dissertation argues that this media tradition has been revitalized, strengthened and put to the test by the current crisis the country faces in physical reconstruction from natural disaster, political reconstruction from fragile early attempts at democracy, and social reconstruction from decades of economic stagnation that have exacerbated poverty and living conditions of the average Haitian. This project uses a mixed methodological approach of qualitative methods and basic quantitative methods to analyze how Haitian journalists have covered the aftermath of the disaster. This research addressed three key elements: (1) the impact of the disaster on the fractions that existed within the leading news media outlets during the nation’s ongoing experiment with democracy (2) the impact of the disaster on how journalists view and practice their profession (3) the impact of the disaster on the quality of news being produced in Haiti." (Abstract)
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"Media Systems and Communication Policies in Latin America proposes, tests and analyses the liberal captured model. It explores to what extent to which globalisation, marketization, commercialism, regional bodies and the nation State redefine the media's role in Latin American societies." (Publisher
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description)
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"Somaliland needs legal, policy and institutional reforms in order to avoid arbitrary and politically motivated interference with the dissemination of information and opinions to the public. This is the conclusion of one of the papers presented at the 4th Annual Conference organized by the Social Re
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search and Development Institute (SORADI). With a focus on media development, the conference in Hargeisa on August 24 and 25 [2013] brought together representatives from government institutions, policy makers, civil society as well as academics, journalists, international scholars, and traditional leaders to discuss, debate and exchange ideas on press freedom in Somaliland's young democracy. With 57 licensed newspapers, 8 TV stations, 108 news websites but only one public radio station the first contribution to the discussion centered on the media industry, its practices and the lack of enforcement of regulatory frameworks. Lessons from what the author of the second paper called "Africa's freedom of speech dilemma" guided the conversation on what there is to learn for Somaliland. Further afield, the third paper dealt with the role of the Diaspora in shaping the media landscape in Somaliland. As part of the discussion on professional media practices, the fourth presentation looked at challenges of Somaliland Universities to offer relevant studies programmes. Debating the intricate issue of balancing rights and responsibilities of media, the fifth paper looked at the performance of the media during the time of elections. The final paper summarised promises and challenges of media freedom in Somaliland." (https://ke.boell.org)
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"The author argues that differences in media freedom and in the politicization of the news media are rooted in differences in party structures between old and new democracies, and, notably, the fact that young parties in the new members of the European Union are short of resources, which makes them
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more likely to take control of and to exploit media resources. The book takes a closer look at five former communist countries (Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia) to explain variations in media freedom and the politicization of the news media in and across countries. It offers general country descriptions as well as detailed case studies of the media policies and party backgrounds of two governments in each country." (Publisher website)
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"In Indien wirft das Thema Eheschließung Fragen individueller und kultureller Identität im Spannungsfeld von gesellschaftlichem Wandel und Kontinuität auf. Am rasant wachsenden indischen Online-Heiratsmarkt lassen sich diese Fragen besonders eindrücklich im Zusammenhang mit der Medienentwicklung
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diskutieren. Die Autorin beschreibt die gleichzeitig global ausgerichteten, aber als ‚indisch‘ konnotierten Online-Heiratsmärkte und zeigt, wie sich diese in die Ausdifferenzierungsprozesse der indischen und transnationalen Medienlandschaft einfügen. In einem zweiten Schritt stellt sie Konzepte von Weiblichkeit und Ehe vor, die diese Portale transportieren, und analysiert den Umgang der Nutzerinnen mit den Erwartungen und Rollenklischees, die Familie und Gesellschaft an sie herantragen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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