"The first "theoretical perspectives" section has opinions and research articles by academic scholars and expert practitioners on new media and communication Issues and trends in Asia. Some of the topics covered include the dynamics arising out of the shift to the 'digilogue', mobile activism, corpo
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rate social responsibility, the television news industry, and state of development communication among other issues. The second section has 26 country profiles from all over the Asia-Pacific region. For the first time, Australia and New Zealand have been added to this edition. Each country chapter provides a snapshot into the communication and media landscape and includes a brief historical geography, political structure, economic indicators, and a more detailed media landscape. The media landscape profiles the current media and communication scene in the country, including the latest on the journalism, print media, broadcast media (radio, television, cinema), telecommunications, the Internet, new media, advertising, media training and media law sections. Statistical tables in each section present updated, key concise data for that country." (Back cover)
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"The objective of the press freedom mission conducted by the Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), was to the assess the media situation in Montenegro following several developments: a) the introduction of new media-relate
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d laws, including decriminalisation of defamation and libel; b) follow-up of the activities related to attacks on journalists, including the 2004 assassination of Dusko Jovanovic, editor-in-chief of the daily Dan; c) fact-finding about pressures on media; and e) evaluation of the steps taken towards the establishment of self-regulatory bodies." (Commentary)
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"After independence since the 1960s, the legacies and traditions in the field of media policy led African countries from the three distinct European linguistic spheres (French, English and Portuguese) to draw on the institutional models in use by the former colonial powers. Media policy is a fundame
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ntal issue for democratic consolidation, and one that has received different responses in the French - and English-speaking African public spheres. This article examines the current situation of media regulation authorities in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. It outlines the mission of these institutions and identifies the problems they face as they concretise the dialectic between freedom and public control in the media landscape." (Abstract)
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"Le rapport sur la radiodiffusion publique au Cameroun observe que le pays a fait ses preuves en matière de libéralisation des médias depuis l'aube du millénaire, mais qu'en dépit de ses plus de 80 stations de radio et de ses cinq chaînes de télévision nationales, des problèmes subsistent.
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Le bilan du Cameroun en matière de respect de la liberté de la presse doit être amélioré. Le rapport affirme également que les cadres réglementaires stricts actuellement en place n'encouragent pas un environnement médiatique dynamique et sont loin de respecter les normes et les engagements continentaux auxquels le gouvernement est partie. Le rapport appelle à des réformes urgentes des médias et de la législation, conformément à la Constitution qui, sur le papier, garantit la liberté d'expression et de la presse, mais qui, dans la pratique, contredit ces droits. Le rapport exhorte les décideurs politiques et les législateurs à abroger et à remplacer des lois telles que la loi sur la liberté des communications de masse afin de garantir la liberté d'expression et de la presse, alignant ainsi les politiques médiatiques du Cameroun sur les instruments continentaux tels que la Déclaration de principes sur la liberté d'expression en Afrique". (www.afrimap.org)
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"While some of the mentioned problems are inherent to any comparison of media policy and regulation and are hard to avoid (e.g., due to changing regulation or differences in regulatory regimes), other pitfalls may be bypassed and pave the way for future research. First, a theory-driven approach to a
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ny (comparative) research is essential [...] Second, scholars should try to adopt methods of comparative politics to the analysis of media systems, media policy, and media regulation [...] Third, comparisons of media policy and media regulation beyond the North Atlantic zone are needed." (Page 229)
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"In this e-book we unpack the internationally-developed standards and best practise models of democratic media regulation. We look at universally-agreed norms for democratic media regulation generally, democratic broadcasting regulation and for imposing restrictions upon or otherwise regulating medi
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a content. We also look at almost all of the countries in SADC (“the Southern African Development Community”) on a country-by-country basis to identify and analyse each country’s media laws." (Publisher description)
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"Concentrated and usually conservative media are characteristic of Latin American countries, and at the same time these structures undermine meaningful democracy. Given the political influence of large media conglomerates, even most center-left governments are reluctant to limit the power of influen
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tial companies. Argentina, however, passed a new comprehensive media law in 2009 designed to democratize the media sector. This article traces the origins of the law and analyzes the strategies of the actors involved, with the focus resting on the roles of social movements and large media companies. The article then presents the main features of the new regulation that social movements now take as a model case for other countries. I argue that the new law originates from an unusually participatory legislative process and furthers the democratization of communication. The passage of this law is explained through the associational capabilities of the movement, the potent framing of media regulation as a matter of democracy and the changing mediaÞstate dynamics that disrupted the long-standing mutually supporting ties between the dominant Clarín Group and the government." (Abstract)
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"Through the design, development and delivery of curricula and the training program in Afghanistan on the subject of media law, the hope is to empower Afghan lawyers to serve as a critical resource to journalists, media managers, and local government officials. Through the trainings, participants ch
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osen from various parts of Afghanistan will work with best practices and national and international media standards and principles. An Afghan-centric approach—necessary for strengthening national media and legal capacity—will be employed in addition to a comparative international approach. Topics included are Afghanistan’s media law; freedom of information; slander; defamation; libel; invasion of privacy; blasphemy; the interplay between Islam/religion and media law; and the interplay between Afghanistan’s constitutional law, criminal law and media law. Another element of the enabling environment is good management. Our hope is that this manual and the training program will contribute to improved media management by covering such subjects as transparency; improving legal protection for journalists; anti-trust rules; copyright law; contract law; licensing; trademarks; advertising; and intellectual property issues. In the area of telecommunications law, the project addresses topics such as the current state of Afghanistan’s telecom law; communication regulation and legislation; regulatory structures and regulatory models for communication; network interconnection and access; licensing; spectrum management; interconnection; access to networks, particularly in rural and underserved areas; improved business-friendly government regulation of the airwaves and licensing procedures; the regulatory regime for content delivered via SMS/IVR; the legal-regulatory framework for the Internet sector and for social media; electronic commerce; data protection and cyber-crime." (Foreward, pages ii-iii)
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"This manual describes the process for starting a local radio station—the organization of community support and planning, equipment needs, programming strategies, business growth and sustainability and journalistic ethics and standards. This manual does not insist that you follow a set of rules to
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start and operate a station. But it does offer important guidelines about what things you might think about, why they are important and how you can learn from the experiences of other communities in other parts of Afghanistan and the world. There’s information in this manual for community supporters, station managers, reporters, technicians and other workers, and you can give copies of this manual to them." (Page 7)
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"The book is particularly commendable for providing a one-stop for relevant sections of media laws and for providing essential legal tips including explanations of various legal terms. Its treatment of ethical issues in media practice is a plus. The book strikes a commendable balance of Law and Ethi
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cs in its structure, devoting four chapters to each of these two areas." (Foreword, page 2)
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"Die in Deutschland diskutierten Modelle und Fragen zu Regulierung, Partizipation und Mitbestimmung in den elektronischen Medien sind auch in anderen europäischen Staaten relevant. Die AutorInnen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis thematisieren dabei insbesondere die Beteiligung der Zivilgesellschaft. Da
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sich die Medienpolitik zunehmend auf europäischer Ebene abspielt, ist es sinnvoll, die europäischen wissenschaftlichen Ergebnisse mit den Erfahrungen von PraktikerInnen zusammenzuführen und zu diskutieren." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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