"The study has three general objectives: (1) A detailed legal description and analysis of the audiovisual media services regulatory bodies in the Member States, in candidate and potential candidate countries of the European Union and the EFTA countries, as well as four non-European countries; (2) an
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analysis of the effective implementation of the legal framework in these countries; and (3) the identification of key characteristics constituting an independent regulatory body in light of the AVMS Directive. Various theoretical approaches on independent regulatory bodies and reasons for their establishment are unfolded in the study. It can be concluded that there have been and are a number of arguments for separating the regulatory task from traditional public authorities (e.g. governments) and market players. However, the independence and autonomy of these regulatory bodies is seen to be associated with risks, which are usually minimalised by number of counterbalancing measures, such as appropriate accountability mechanisms." (Executive summary, page 7)
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"Overall, the findings indicate that IREX is indeed performing as their work plans project and is moving partners to increasing their ability to provide more quality information in a range of media accessible not only in local communities but also in the global marketplace. Partner MSOs and media ou
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tlets have participated in many different types of workshops, have benefited from consultants working with them on the development of strategic and business plans, and have been awarded a number of grants to expand their products. That several organizations will not be sustainable given the current economic and political environment (in the absence of a media strategy to guide the 2012 digitization) means that a careful assessment of current and future viability must be undertaken by IREX to determine whether MSOs and media outlets should be primary partners, and whether certain organizations should be dropped. Strict criteria should be applied to this analysis to project the type of assistance that each partner would need to enhance viability over the next two years." (Abstract)
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"This paper offers an overview of Bulgaria’s media landscape, putting it into its demographic, economic and political context. It gives a basic overview of the country’s media structure, including details on media markets; media regulation and regulatory authorities; and journalism culture." (Pa
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ge 1)
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"This publication updates a 2005 review of communication in Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS). It includes four country case studies (Ghana, Tanzania, Moldova, and Nepal) and a regional analysis of Latin America and the Caribbean. It explores how the use of strategic communication has expanded beyo
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nd the PRS and is now being integrated into national development planning and implementation. Many of these strategies are shifting their focus from a “dissemination and publicity strategy” to a“communication program” that emphasizes information intervention beyond the traditional campaign, workshop or seminars. Compared with the 2005 review, the main difference is the institutionalization of communication, moving beyond the one-time experience for the first set of PRSs to broader, deeper sustained communication in support of poverty reduction and national development strategies. A second major difference is expanding beyond communication and participation in PRS formulation to PRS implementation, monitoring, and evaluation." (Executive summary)
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"Nowhere in modern history has media assistance been as concentrated and large in scale as in the case of Kosovo, where under the auspices of the OSCE, different state and non-governmental actors have invested millions in the crisis-ridden media system. This thesis discusses the strategies for media
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assistance actors in Kosovo and focuses on their outcome by questioning whether the international actors involved have been able to establish a more democratic media system, and questioning which strategies have been successful and which have not. The results are discussed by utilising the theoretical framework of the modernisation theory. The author has interviewed media assistance actors by using two methods: an online survey and face-to-face interviews. In addition, 26 Kosovar journalists, media owners and researchers were questioned in order to evaluate the approach used by the international actors. The findings primarily suggest that media assistance actors have focused too little on economic development in Kosovo and that since the beginning of the international intervention, Kosovar media has never been as fragile and threatened as now." (Abstract)
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"In the year of the Arab uprisings Global Information Society Watch 2011 investigates how governments and internet and mobile phone companies are trying to restrict freedom online – and how citizens are responding to this using the very same technologies. Everyone is familiar with the stories of E
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gypt and Tunisia. GISWatch authors tell these and other lesser-known stories from more than 60 countries. Stories about: Prison conditions in Argentina - prisoners are using the internet to protest living conditions and demand respect for their rights; Torture in Indonesia - the torture of two West Papuan farmers was recorded on a mobile phone and leaked to the internet, the video spread to well-known human rights sites sparking public outrage and a formal investigation by the authorities; The tsunami in Japan - citizens used social media to share actionable information during the devastating tsunami, and in the aftermath online discussions contradicted misleading reports coming from state authorities. GISWatch also includes thematic reports and an introduction from Frank La Rue, Un special rapporteur." (Back cover)
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"Serbia has a strategy for switching over from analog to digital broadcasting, prepared with broad public consultation. The basic legal framework is in place, but implementation is not yet underway. Moreover, if fair access to digital licenses is to be ensured, a new media law—harmonized with the
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EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive—is still needed. Broadband internet has had by far the most significant growth among the available distribution platforms over the past five years. More than 23 percent of Serbian households had an internet connection at the end of 2009—more than doubling the number of such connections just four years earlier.The internet as a platform for activism is rapidly expanding, with the number of petitions, initiatives, and debates online growing considerably. The internet has also led to more diversity and to a plurality of voices in political life. All that said, Serbia remains a television nation, with almost all households owning a TV set and three quarters of the population still using television as their main source of information. Serbia’s private media sector continues to be plagued by opaque ownership structures, with the owners of various media hiding behind off shore–registered businesses. Additionally, there is no publicly available register of media owners. Without mechanisms to render media ownership transparent, Serbia’s media sector will not achieve its potential for independence and diversity." (Website Open Society Foundation, 19.12.2011)
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"This article is divided into three main parts. The first is an overview of the situation of the Roma minorities in Slovenia and Poland. The second part of the article presents minority broadcast media and the main elements of the legal and institutional framework they operate in. Finally, this arti
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cle focuses on the visibility of Roma in the media. This article draws attention to cultural pluralism and how cultural pluralism is implemented by the public service broadcasters in Poland and Slovenia, particularly in the context of the presence of Roma minorities in the media. The research is based on 15 interviews carried out in Slovenia and Poland between 2006-2009 with journalists, editors, researchers, workers of NGOs, government representatives and Roma minority leaders. This study is also based on policy documents, reports of governments, NGOs and international organisations, academic literature and content analysis of Roma minority media." (Abstract)
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"In Moldova, the combination of digitization and political change has increased the diversity of media outlets and their news, the plurality of opinions, and the transparency of public institutions, while it has diminished political interference in the media.Yet the lack of independence of regulator
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y institutions, the nontransparent media ownership structure, and the slow pace of digital switch-over continue to undermine these achievements. In order to reinforce positive change, this report proposes four kinds of reform. Firstly, the legal framework for digital switch-over must be completed in the near future if the country is to be ready for the transition before the switch-off date. The provisions for public interest, access, and affordability should be given priority and, for this purpose, participation of civil society groups in the drafting process is vital. This framework will also speed up the adoption of the new Broadcasting Code, a historic document that will end the era of non-transparent media ownership, the second area that needs urgent reform. Thirdly, with public awareness of the purpose and implications of switch-over virtually nonexistent, an information campaign and public debate on the issue need to start without delay. Finally, the independence of two key institutions, the Broadcasting Coordinating Council and the PSB, needs to be strengthened. In both cases, this can be done by changing funding models and adopting clearer regulatory safeguards against government interference." (Publisher description)
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"In September 2011 FES initiated the Balkan Media Barometer (BMB) with Bosnia and Herzegovina serving as a pilot project for South East Europe and the rest of the continent. A panel of experts from BiH discussed and scored a list of 44 indicators based on standards referenced to European documents,
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most of them drawn up by the Council of Europe. This approach of working on the basis of home-grown principles is meant to give the assessments greater relevance and to allow civil society groups and media activists in the various countries to evaluate and measure up their findings directly against declarations and documents adopted and accepted by their own governments." (Introduction)
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"This is an applied facilitator’s guide for reform managers, change agents, development practitioners, and training professionals who need to use smart communication techniques—the relevant concepts, frameworks and applications—to promote change through governance reform. It is grounded on the
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expert knowledge and practical research from academics and scholars and practitioners in the field, culled and enriched from CommGAP’s series of global dialogue on key governance issues." (Back cover)
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"There is abundant evidence of underrepresentation of women as subjects of coverage, but until now there were no reliable, comprehensive data on which to make a clear determination about where women currently fit into the news-making operation or in the decision-making or ownership structure of thei
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r companiesThe IWMF Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media seeks to fill this gap by presenting for the first time sound data on gender positions in news organizations around the world ..The findings presented in this report, conducted over a two-year period, offer the most complete picture to date of women’s status globally in news media ownership, publishing, governance, reporting, editing, photojournalism, broadcast production and other media jobs. More than 150 researchers interviewed executives at more than 500 companies in 59 nations using a 12-page questionnaire." (Introduction)
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"Since the beginning of the 1970s, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung has taken a holistic approach to its support of the media in its international and European cooperation efforts. What started as individual training projects for senior journalists and the support of communications studies in Latin Amer
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ica then became a range of activities within the regional media programme for Latin America at the beginning of the 1990s. The transnational approach was so successful from the start that the foundation started another media programme in Asia in 1996. The programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and in Southeast Europe followed in 2002 and 2007. Free and independent media are central to any democratic system. Promoting them is the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s mission and responsibility. We hope to contribute to ensuring that the media perform their role in the development and stabilisation of democracy worldwide, and live up to their political responsibility." (Foreword, page 3)
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"Irmgard Wetzstein untersucht die Möglichkeiten konstruktiver Konfliktbearbeitung in der qualitätsjournalistischen Auslandsberichterstattung. Sie grenzt diese zur friedensjournalistischen Idee ab, wobei systemische bzw. konstruktivistische Überlegungen im Vordergrund stehen. Die Kriegs-, Krisen-
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und Konfliktberichterstattung, der Auslandsjournalismus, seine Wirkpotenziale und Wechselbeziehungen zwischen dem System Journalismus und politischen EntscheidungsträgerInnen werden anhand des Konzepts der öffentlichen Diplomatie erläutert. Aus konflikttheoretischer Perspektive führt die Autorin eine Inhaltsanalyse unterschiedlicher Phasen des israelisch-palästinensischen Konflikts sowie der Unabhängigkeitserklärung des Kosovo in vier Printmedien durch. Sie gibt damit einen Einblick in die journalistische Praxis im Umgang mit Konfliktereignissen, die für die Öffentlichkeit nicht direkt erfahrbar sind." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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