"We begin with an outline of areas of law that must be considered. Over time, across societies, it is possible to suggest specific areas of legal development that are essential for media law reform. In the first part of this study, we examine a substantial list of such areas, from defamation rules t
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o freedom of information (FOI). As to each media-specific area and areas of general application, we will provide an indication of how law can contribute or detract from establishing an enabling environment. To the extent possible, we will draw upon experiences in a wide variety of societies and transition states. In Section 4 we move to a discussion of the rule of law: conditions that make law effective, useful, and just in achieving a media structure that serves to bolster democratic institutions. This discussion addresses considerations such as the separation of powers, independence of the judiciary, and establishment of reliable regulatory bodies that are loyal to enunciated legal principles. We then turn to a somewhat broader set of enabling factors for the media.larger societal issues such as the state of the economy, the extent of demand for information, and the extent of ethnic and political pluralism before concluding with certain practical considerations on resources and techniques for enhancing an enabling environment." (Introduction)
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"'Media Reform' examines a complex process: the reform of media and its role in promoting democratic practices. Using examples of media from a range of countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa including Uruguay, Poland, China, Indonesia, Jordan and Uganda, Media Reform considers the socia
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l and cultural implications of a free and independent media." (Publisher description)
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"Clearly as important providers of information, the media are more likely to promote better economic performance when they are more likely to satisfy three conditions: the media are independent, provide good-quality information, and have a broad reach. That is, when they reduce the natural asymmetry
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of information, as Joseph Stiglitz puts it in chapter 2, between those who govern and those whom they are supposed to serve, and when they reduce information asymmetries between private agents. Such a media industry can increase the accountability of both businesses and government through monitoring and reputational penalties while also allowing consumers to make more informed decisions.
This book cites many examples that demonstrate the value of information provided by the media. Alexander Dyck and Luigi Zingales (chapter 7) discuss how the media can pressure corporate managers and directors to behave in ways that are socially acceptable, thereby avoiding actions that will result in censure and consumer boycotts. They also report that in Malaysia, a recent survey of institutional investors and equity analysts asked which factors were most important to them in considering corporate governance and the decision to invest in publicly listed corporations. Those surveyed gave more importance to the frequency and nature of public and press comments about companies than to a host of other factors considered key in the academic debate. However, the dissemination of credible information in a timely manner depends critically on how the media business is managed and regulated. The chapters in this book document evidence on media performance and regulations in countries around the world and highlight what type of public policies and economic conditions might hinder the media in supporting economic development in poor countries." (Pages 1-2)
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"The international mission, as U.S. and Western representatives saw it, was to reconstruct a viable multi-ethnic media, as well as to prevent further conflict. NATO was seeking to build, under the Dayton Accords, a plural society out of pieces that seemed fractured beyond repair. The OHR believed th
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at a pluralistic, peaceful media was an indispensable part of the rebuilding process. The Office proclaimed its desire to "use the opportunity to remove one of the most serious obstacles bedeviling our efforts to re-establish civil society in Bosnia" - the fact that the media was ethnically based.358 NATO and OHR actions must be judged after a reasonable period of time elapses to see if a more democratic Bosnia-Herzegovina, supported by the pluralism that comes from a free and independent press, emerges. Still, one of the great dangers of information intervention is that it provides apparent democratic justification for any nation to use its police power to close down media outlets. Each time the international community intervenes to shut down a media outlet that it does not like, the line between information intervention and censorship becomes blurred. The real test is not only whether an information intervention transforms a society but also whether the intervention comports with the spirit of democratic change. Ends can justify means, but it is helpful if the means themselves are compatible with those ends." (Conclusion, page 111-112)
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"A great deal has now been written about the patterns of media exploitation as they contribute to a vortex of destruction. Less has been elaborated about the efforts of international governmental organisations ("IGOs") and non-governmental organisations ("NGOs") to intervene so as to maintain a more
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stable and peaceful world order either in anticipation of conflict, during the conflict or in the ordeal following the conflict. This paper focuses, as a background for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO") Geneva Conference, in May 2000, on post-conflict patterns that emerge, primarily drawing from four case studies—Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Rwanda, and Cambodia." (Introduction)
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