"Media systems have changed significantly as a result of the development of information technologies. However, typologies of media systems that incorporate aspects of digitalization are rare. This study fills this gap by identifying, operationalizing, and measuring indicators of media systems in the
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digital age. We build on previous work, extend it with new indicators that reflect changing conditions (such as online news use), and include media freedom indicators. We include 30 countries in our study and use cluster analysis to identify three clusters of media systems. Two of these clusters correspond to the media system models described by Hallin and Mancini, namely the democratic-corporatist and the polarized-pluralist model. However, the liberal model as described by Hallin and Mancini has vanished; instead, we find empirical evidence of a new cluster that we call “hybrid”: it is positioned in between the poles of the media-supportive democratic-corporatist and the polarized-pluralist clusters." (Abstract)
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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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"Uruguay es el primer país del Cono Sur de América Latina en realizar una evaluación integral de su paisaje mediático utilizando los Indicadores de Desarrollo Mediatico (IDMs) de la UNESCO. Y, lo que es único de este ejercicio, es que todas las facultades de comunicación del país colaboraron
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en el proceso de investigación, en alianza con la Oficina Regional de Ciencias de la UNESCO para América Latina y el Caribe. El resultado es un informe que evalúa el nivel de desarrollo de los medios de comunicación públicos, privados y comunitarios, y proporciona un exhaustivo análisis del panorama mediático del país, ya sea de su marco legislativo como de su pluralidad y diversidad de medios. Si la UNESCO reedita en 2021 este estudio llevado a cabo entre 2014 y 2017 es por su utilidad en el examen del cumplimiento de las leyes, actuales o futuras, con estándares internacionales en materia de libertad de expresión, ofrenciendo una hoja de ruta para futuras reformas de legislación de medios." (Reverso)
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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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"This study mapped 11 innovative and public interest media initiatives in Bangladesh seeking to reach diverse audience groups and communities with news and information in a changing media landscape. Each of these media initiatives has its unique strengths and weaknesses but managed to thrive to cont
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inue to provide information to the community they serve. However, the online media space is chaotic, and media innovation in Bangladesh is still in a very immature stage. Independent journalists’ inability to try out new ideas and risk investments to startup a public interest media is often ascribed to the restrictive licensing system and repressive laws. The uncertainty that government may not allow them media registration and can block the site anytime — as it happened with a few initiatives — remains one of the biggest constraints for innovation. Therefore, there are more innovations and investments in media that offer information contents around important social and economic – and potentially less-sensitive subjects like health, agriculture, migration, and education. These initiatives (for example, Shohay, Krishi Bioscope) manage to grow hundreds of thousands of followers on different platforms, engage audiences not only as consumers but also as a part of the content development process, and contribute to social and human development. Most of these initiatives are youth-led and seem to find ways to generate revenue by adopting innovative strategies." (Summary, page 2-3)
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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)
"This book explains divergent media system trajectories in the countries in southeast Europe, and challenges the presumption that the common socialist experience critically influences a common outcome in media development after democratic transformations, by showing different remote and proximate co
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nfiguration of conditions that influence their contemporary shape. Applying an innovative longitudinal set-theoretical methodological approach, the book contributes to the theory of media systems with a novel theoretical framework for the comparative analysis of post-socialist media systems. This theory builds on the theory of historical institutionalism and the notion of critical junctures and path dependency in searching for an explanation for similarities or differences among media systems in the Eastern European region." (Publisher description)
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"Generally, Dominicans have access to the information that they need to make informed decisions, especially as it relates to disaster preparation and response. Despite having timely access to disaster-related information, however, some persons continue to act complacent and either fail or refuse to
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prepare for impending disasters." (Back cover)
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"The media sector in Moldova is diverse. Dogged investigative reporting plays a vital role in public life. However, the legal framework governing the sector is unstable and underdeveloped. In 2020, much of the country’s political class treated the independent press with hostility, viewing journali
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sts as obstacles to rather than partners in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial sustainability continues to elude the sector. Many outlets are captured by and serve as mouthpieces for political interests, and the fallout of the pandemic has exacerbated the precarity experienced by the independent press." (Executive summary)
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"Barbadians are not sufficiently prepared for natural disasters. In addition to being heavily reliant on electricity and the internet for communicating during times of crises and disasters, Barbados is in need of a mandatory building code, more resilient housing and building infrastructures, and gre
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ater uptake of insurance among property owners. Moreover, some Barbadians continue to be delayed in their response to emergency warnings. Their tendency to procrastinate on preparing for emergencies and disasters is largely attributed to the fact that, unlike other Caribbean territories, Barbados has not been significantly impacted by a disaster event for over sixty (60) years. As the telecommunication penetration continues to rise in the island, and the Barbados Government continues to be increasingly communicative, the past few years have seen the emergence of a healthier information ecosystem in Barbados, which in turn has made it easier for Barbadians to access the information that they need to effectively participate in society. This progress is however being undermined by the presence of the following undesirable properties: citizens’ and media professionals’ lack of access to information from local authorities caused by inaccessibility of authorities, unavailability of information, and bureaucratic structures and processes of; some citizens’ lack of access to the key information channels; the disabled community’s inability to access information from credible news and information sources; government’s increasing control over information flow; delays in dissemination of crisis and disaster communication to the media by the government; the use of jargons in crisis and disaster communications by local authorities; the proliferation of fake news and propaganda shared on social media and other online platforms; the inability of some Barbadians to identify malicious/inaccurate information; the deterioration of trust among Barbadians in their main information sources." (Overview of key findings, page 7)
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"This article focuses on state-media relations and the shifts in the overall media landscape in Kenya. Drawing on a political economy approach to media operations in Kenya, it argues that while there are competing meanings over what constitutes "news values", "editorial independence", and "critical
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media", changes in political regimes and unclear media regulations contribute to political and/or corporate interference on media coverage of corruption and political impunity. This renders media operations problematic at the normative and operational levels. The discussion situates these arguments within the contexts of "policy laundering" and "critical junctures", seeking to establish whether the shifting media landscape is a function of increased information and communication affordability or, instead, an indication that critical media are on the decline. Overall, the article provides an assessment of key temporal periods that have shaped media regulatory frameworks to show how political and/or corporate interests have influenced journalistic practices and editorial independence over time and space." (Abstract)
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"[This book] provides an overview of the key issues in global journalism today and traces how media systems have evolved over time in different world regions. Taking into account local context as well as technological change across media industries, the book offers an up-to-date, thorough overview o
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f media developments in all world regions embedded in their unique political, cultural and economic context. Covering theoretical foundations of global journalism, from the classic Four Theories of the Press to more nuanced media models, this text proposes a framework for studying world media systems. Contributed chapters cover a wide range of topics, including media freedom, global news cultures, professional ethics and responsibilities, and education of global journalists, as well as the role of technology and issues such as fake news, soft power and public diplomacy, foreign news reporting and international news flow." (Publisher description)
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"The Nigerian media scene is notably vibrant, which can be perceived as a democratization of communication and liberalization of the press where anyone with the means to own a media establishment can do so. Thus, the challenge with the Nigerian media is no longer the issue of access but, rather, tha
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t of accountability, which, undoubtedly, is the strong anchor for good media practice. This chapter examines the field of media accountability (MA) in the country, focusing on the structures that define accountability among media practitioners in addition to taking a look at emerging innovative practices that encourage MA. The authors argue that MA exists in Nigeria but is in a continuous struggle with such militating factors as ownership, insufficient press freedom, poor or inadequate remuneration for journalists, a hostile working environment for journalists, lack of formal education/training on the part of some journalists, weak self-regulatory mechanisms, and biases in political and cultural environments. These factors tend to limit the extent to which media practitioners can be committed to accountability." (Abstract)
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"The biggest detriments to news media viability in Lebanon include: The political partisanship of the media; A lack of sustainable business models for the media; An oversaturated and hypercompetitive media market resulting in lowered quality of content; Too little competition in the advertisement ma
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rket, which is dominated by one advertising agency and big digital companies such as Google; Non-transparent media ownership and funding (including foreign direct funding); Problematic audience behaviours including the creation of “ideological bubbles” based on political or religious interests. The results lead to the conclusion that news media viability in Lebanon can best be improved by working towards a less overcrowded media market, reducing foreign direct funding, establishing sustainable business models and more independent and free conditions for the production of quality news content." (Executive summary, page 6)
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"Previous research finds that journalist killings are more likely to occur in democracies rather than non-democracies. While these results provide an important first step in exploring regime type's effect on journalist's safety, they assume no variation in how long countries have remained a regime t
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ype. In this paper, I argue that as a country's regime type endures, the likelihood of seeing journalists killed for their work will decrease. My theory also examines the process in different regime types and argues that this effect should hold for autocracies and anocracies, but not democracies vertical bar though democratic consolidation should decrease journalist killings there. Using an original sample of journalists killed for their professional work in countries worldwide from 1992 to 2014, I evaluate my theory using regression and survival analyses and find evidence that as regime types endure, journalist killings decrease, on average. As expected, the result holds for autocracies and anocracies but not democracies. However, the data show democratic consolidation does decrease journalist killings. The results provide a broader understanding of the working dynamics between regime type and journalists' safety in a country's media system." (Abstract)
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"This case study on the state of the media in Fiji in 2016 highlights some problems of development journalism in the practical, applied sense. The case study looks at the changing nature of journalism in post-coup Fiji, reputed to have the South Pacific’s toughest media law. The analysis is conduc
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ted through a review of the media sector in 2016. Major issues pertaining to the sector were documented over the year and analysed to assess the impact of the 2006 coup and the punitive 2010 Media Industry Development Decree. Using 2016 as the case year allowed for the situation to be examined over a prolonged 12-month period. The review reveals a cornered media weaned on the Anglo-American watchdog tradition under constant pressure to produce development journalism, resulting in a possible identity crisis within the national journalist corps. The review concludes that normative discussions notwithstanding, achieving a compromise between the watchdog and developmental journalism models are harder to achieve in reality." (Abstract)
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