"The agenda for transition after the demise of communism in the Western Balkans made the conversion of state radio and television into public service broadcasters a priority, converting mouthpieces of the regime into public forums in which various interests and standpoints could be shared and delibe
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rated. There is general agreement that this endeavor has not been a success. Formally, the countries adopted the legal and institutional requirements of public service media according to European standards. The ruling political elites, however, retained their control over the public media by various means. Can this trend be reversed? Instead of being marginalized or totally manipulated, can public service media become vehicles of genuine democratization? A comparison of public service media in seven countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia) addresses these important questions." (Publisher description)
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"Inequalities are the unwanted companions of media and communication. Traditional analogue mass media were criticized for creating inequalities by being biased, serving hegemonic interests, and accumulating far too much power in the hands of mighty industrial conglomerates. Under the digital regime,
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most inequalities survived, and new ones occurred. Knowledge gaps transformed into digital divides, news journalism is challenged by social networking sites, and global corporate monopolies outperform national media companies. Algorithmic selection, surveillance, Big Data and the Internet of Things are creating new inequalities which follow traditional patterns of class, gender, wealth and education. This book revisits old and new media and communication inequalities in times of digital transition." (Back cover)
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"The media and political systems of former communist countries in Central/Eastern Europe share a number of similarities with those in Southern Europe. According to Karol Jakubowicz, these similarities also include late democratisation, a weak middle class, marked social and economic differences, a s
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trong catholicism, etc. Where are the third-wave democracies to date, particularly as regards their media systems? And where are they heading for? This volume with his differents talks of a joint conference in 2016 attempts to answer these questions and many more." (Publisher description)
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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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"We will, in this paper, argue that the concept of propaganda is still relevant in the context of post-communist Hungary. More particularly, we will suggest that, in contrast to the period 1998-2010 when modern political marketing methods were applied widely, the political campaigns launched under V
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iktor Orbán’s second government (2010–present) have marked a paradigm shift in the history of political communication in Hungary, best described as the revival of old-school propaganda. First, drawing on a distinction by Gunther and Diamond between proto-hegemonic and pluralist parties in the political realm, we will attempt to establish a theoretical dichotomy between political propaganda and political marketing in the communicative domain. Then we will demonstrate – through an analysis of three campaigns launched during the past three years – that the communication of the ruling proto-hegemonic Fidesz party and its Christian Democratic coalition ally meets the criteria of classic political propaganda. Finally, we will apply neo-Durkheimian media theory to describe the selected political campaigns as communication rituals and attempt to show that political propaganda may, under specific circumstances, actively involve, engage and mobilize target audiences." (Abstract)
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