commbox Central Asia & Caucasus

Media Freedoms and Covert Diplomacy: Turkey Challenges Europe Over Kurdish Broadcasts

Christian Sinclair, Kevin Smets

Global Media and Communication, volume 10, issue 3 (2014), pp. 319-331

"Focusing on Kurdish television broadcasts in Europe, this article sheds light on how minority broadcasting interrelates with national and intergovernmental political agendas and issues of national security. Drawing from a thorough analysis of policy and diplomatic documents, press articles, academi ... more

Filmbilder des Islam

Stefan Orth, Michael Staiger, Joachim Valentin (eds.)

Marburg: Schüren (2014), 250 pp.

"Im Mittelpunkt dieses Bandes steht die Thematisierung des Islam im zeitgenössischen Spielfilm: konkret das Aufeinanderprallen von islamischer und westlicher Kultur, sowohl im arabischen Raum, in der Türkei oder im Nahen Osten als auch in Westeuropa. Im Zentrum steht damit auch das Spannungsfeld z ... more

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Press Censorship in Turkey: Networks of State Power, Commercial Pressures, and Self-Censorship

Bilge Yesil

Communication, Culture & Critique, volume 7, issue 2 (2014), pp. 154-173

"This article explores the suppression of press freedoms in Turkey under the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government in the late 2000s. Drawing upon analyses of laws and legislation, surveys, reports, and interviews with journalists, it demonstrates how press censorship in Turkey has been act ... more

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Cyber Security in Developing Countries, a Digital Divide Issue: The Case of Georgia

Ellada Gamreklidze

Journal of International Communication, volume 20, issue 2 (2014), pp. 200-217

"Based on the case study of the cyber war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, this paper is a theoretical deliberation in an attempt to illustrate connection between the Digital Divide and cyber security. Through a qualitative study of cyber warfare between the two countries, one on the devel ... more

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Transnational Memory: Circulation, Articulation, Scales

Chiara De Cesari, Ann Rigney (eds.)

Berlin; Boston, Mass.: De Gruyter (2014), viii, 376 pp.

"How do memories circulate transnationally and to what effect? How to understand the enduring role of national memories and their simultaneous reconfiguration under globalization? Challenging the methodological nationalism that has until recently dominated the study of memory and heritage, this book ... more

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Lautsprecher und Widersprecher: Ein Ansatz zum Vergleich der Mediensysteme
Top Insights

Roger Blum

Köln: Herbert von Halem Verlag (2014), 440 pp.

"Der Autor porträtiert 23 Länder aus sechs Weltregionen. Anschließend bildet er mittels des pragmatischen Differenz-Ansatzes sechs Modelle heraus: Das liberale Modell, das Public-Service-Modell, das Klientel-Modell, das Schock-Modell, das Patrioten-Modell und das Kommando-Modell. Dabei zeigt sich ... more

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In the Service of the Public: Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries
Inspiring Practice

Jan Lublinski, Petra Berner, Merjam Wakili (eds.)

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2014), 300 pp.

"This study constitutes the attempt to draw some initial conclusions from the work conducted by DW Akademie and other media development organizations in the past. It aims at a better understanding of which public service functions former state broadcasters can provide at all and which approaches of ... media development actors have proved to be successful. Reforming of state mouthpieces into public service media can indeed be achieved. This is one of the most important findings of this study. DW Akademie researchers here present examples of media outlets that fulfill their public service remit of creating a public sphere and supporting integration to a substantial degree. Even among the success stories, not all the media outlets studied here have adopted a public service ethos to its full extent. Their work, however, improved considerably. In assisting reform, media development actors were thus able to enhance the public’s freedom of expression as well as its access to information – two basic human rights we see as important prerequisites for peace and democracy. On the other hand, this study shows how difficult and complex transformation is. State media are often highly politicized. Successful transformation, therefore, requires support of a lot of different actors: the political elite, civil society, the management of the broadcaster, its staff, and last but certainly not least, the public as a whole. It is vital that media development actors identify windows of opportunity and profit from them in order to propel change forward. At the same time, this study demonstrates that media development organizations have to think beyond their traditional fields of expertise: capacity development and newsroom consultancy. A much broader approach is needed if substantial and sustainable development is to be achieved. DW Akademie is currently implementing a new, more complex strategy for successful media development cooperation that takes this into account. Political and legal frameworks have become a strategic area of activity. Other equally important areas comprise qualifications, professionalism, and economic sustainability of the media sector, participation in society, and digital change. With regard to public broadcasting, political and legal frameworks are especially important in order to ensure editorial independence of former state broadcasters. Furthermore, media development actors have to engage more in organizational development. Therefore, at the end of this study, we dedicate a whole chapter to this question. This study of selected media outlets from twelve countries does not attempt to provide a final answer to the question of successful public service transformation. It aims at giving an overview of what has been achieved in practical work in this field in the course of the past years. More research is needed to understand which steps of reform are needed for a genuine transformation that is sustainable in the long term. The media are undergoing crucial developments. Digital change, convergence, and social media have increased pluralism of opinion substantially in many parts of the world. At the same time, the media face new challenges with respect to their economic sustainability. The notion of public service media that offer a model for providing journalistic quality without financial dependence deserves further thought." (Preface) more

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Global Journalism Practice and New Media Performance

Yusuf Kalyango, David H. Mould (eds.)

Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (2014), 283 pp.

"Global Journalism Practice and New Media Performance provides an overview of new and traditional media in their political, economic and cultural contexts while exploring the role of journalism practice and media education. The authors examine media systems in 16 countries, including China, Russia a ... more

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Die Presse in der Julikrise 1914: Die internationale Berichterstattung und der Weg in den Ersten Weltkrieg

Georg Eckert, Peter Geiss, Arne Karsten (eds.)

Münster: Aschendorff (2014), 271 pp.

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Digital Plans and Reality: Switchover in Russia and Other CIS Countries

Andrei Richter

IRIS Plus , issue 2013-1 (2013), pp. 3-23

"The advent of digital television has accelerated the elaboration of regulation and related processes in the countries of the region. Some countries adopted changes in their broadcasting statutes (Ukraine in 2006; Armenia in 2008 and 2010; Kazakhstan in 2012) or their mass media statute (Russia in 2 ... more

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Cinema in Central Asia: Rewriting Cultural Histories

Michael Rouland, Gulnara Abikeyeva, Birgit Beumers (eds.)

London; New York: Tauris (2013), xx, 297 pp.

"Cinema in Central Asia is the first comprehensive and up-to-date account of the cinema of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from its origins to the present day. Bringing together specialists from Central Asia, Russia, Europe and the United States, this companion to the ... more

Rethinking the Public Sphere Through Transnationalizing Processes: Europe and Beyond

Armando Salvatore, Oliver Schmidtle, Hans-Jörg Trenz (ed.)

Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (2013), xvi, 296 pp.

"This book discusses the extent to which the theoretical relevance and analytical rigor of the concept of the public sphere is affected (or undermined) by current processes of transnationalization. The contributions address fundamental questions concerning the viability of a socially and politically ... more

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The Digital Divide: The Internet and Social Inequality in International Perspective

Massimo Ragnedda, Glenn W. Muschert (eds.)

London: Routledge (2013), 324 pp.

"This book provides an in-depth comparative analysis of inequality and the stratification of the digital sphere. Grounded in classical sociological theories of inequality, as well as empirical evidence, this book defines “the digital divide” as the unequal access and utility of internet communic ... more

Mit einem Fuß im Gefängnis

Guljan Jergalijewa

welt-sichten (2013)

"Die Chefredakteurin des oppositionellen Magazins „ADAM reader’s“ berichtet, wie sie arbeitet und warum sie die Hoffnung auf Demokratie noch nicht aufgegeben hat." (Einleitung)

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Die weltweite Situation der christlichen Minderheiten

Hans Zehetmair (ed.)

München: Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (HSS) (2013), 88 pp.