Accountability in Journalism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Fengler
Keyword(s):  
Self Regulation ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Media Criticism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Press Councils ◽  
Global North ◽  
Strategic Influence ◽  
Media Markets ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Systems

In the past decade, academic and professional debates about media accountability have spread around the globe – but have done so in a fundamentally different framework. In many Western democracies, trust in media – along with trust in politics and trust in institutions – as eroded dramatically. Fundamental shifts regarding the patterns of media use and the structure of media and revenue markets have made media and journalism more exposed to criticism from various stakeholders, and more vulnerable to the strategic influence of national and international actors. While many “Western” media professionals have reacted to these challenges to its credibility by new initiatives to demonstrate accountability and transparency, policy makers in other countries even in the “Global North” have tightened their grip on independent media and gradually weakened the concept of self-control. At the same time, an ongoing democratization in many parts of the world, along with a de-regulation of media markets, has created a growing demand for self-regulation and media accountability in countries formerly characterized by rigid press control. Claude-Jean Bertrand defined the development and current structures of accountability in journalism as “any non-State means of making media responsible towards the public.” Key aims of media accountability are “to improve the services of the media to the public; restore the prestige of media in the eyes of the population; diversely protect freedom of speech and press; obtain, for the profession, the autonomy that it needs to play its part in the expansion of democracy and the betterment of the fate of mankind.” Journalists and news outlets have a wide array of responses to professional, public, and political criticisms via press councils, ombudsmen, media criticism, and digital forms of media accountability, while online and offline media accountability instruments have distinct traditions in different media systems and journalism cultures.

scholarly journals Medier og selvstændighed i Grønland

Politik ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Signe Ravn-Højgaard
Keyword(s):  
Nation Building ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Regulation ◽  
Media System ◽  
The Media ◽  
Streaming Services ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
Public Economy

This article discusses the potential impact of Greenlandic independence on Greenland’s media system and suggests initiatives necessary for maintaining strong Greenlandic media in the future. Using Manuel Puppis' (2009) theory of the characteristics of small media systems, the Greenlandic media system is described. It is shown that it is built with the following aim in mind: the media should support the Greenlandic society by being independent and diverse, strengthening the Greenlandic language, and providing quality journalism that can heighten the public debate. However, as a small media system it is vulnerable to global tendencies where legacy media lose users and advertisers to digital platforms like Facebook and streaming services. The article argues that the vulnerability of the Greenlandic media system could increase if independence leads to a tighter public economy, impeding the media's ability to support Greenlandic society and culture. An interventionist media regulation could, therefore, be a prerequisite for a strong Greenlandic media system that can act as a unifying and nation-building institution.

scholarly journals Analysis of professional perceptions relating to the effectiveness of codes of ethics for journalists in Spain

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-528
Author(s):  
Marcel Mauri-Ríos ◽  
Silvia Marcos-García ◽  
Aitor Zuberogoitia-Espilla
Keyword(s):  
Self Regulation ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Codes ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
The Media ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
Key Aspects

Purpose Codes of ethics are important instruments in journalism, as they promote transparency and self-regulation of media, in addition to monitoring the quality of information. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the perceptions that Spanish journalists have of the effectiveness of codes of ethics and to evaluate the different personal and professional variables which condition this vision. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used in the present study is based on quantitative content analysis using the survey technique. This technique makes it possible to obtain empirical data on various key aspects of the profession that are determining factors in ascertaining Spanish journalists’ views of one of the instruments of accountability that is external to the media: general ethical codes. Findings The results show that Spanish journalists are largely confident in the effectiveness of ethical codes in their profession. Likewise, it was seen that variables such as age, professional experience or the media with which they work influence the perceptions that professionals have of such instruments. Originality/value If understanding journalism as a profession whose mission is to guarantee the citizens their right to information, then it is essential to be familiar with the tools provided by the profession itself to be accountable to the public regarding this professional mission. Hence the importance of instruments of accountability and the perceptions of the professionals themselves regarding their effectiveness.

Expanding comparative media systems analysis from transitional to postcolonial societies

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (7) ◽  
pp. 611-627
Author(s):  
Ylva Rodny-Gumede
Keyword(s):  
Systems Analysis ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Media Development ◽  
Comparative Media ◽  
Global North ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Politics ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
Normative Models

Comparative media systems theory has failed to pronounce on trajectories of media development in postcolonial societies in a meaningful way, as media development in postcolonial societies has been analysed from within normative liberal frameworks emanating from North America and Western Europe and later transitional societies in Eastern Europe and East Asia, societies with histories quite separate from the Colonial heritage and legacies that have, and keep, influencing the media–politics nexus in many postcolonial societies. To expand the analysis of media development in postcolonial societies, postcolonial studies have much to add to comparative media systems analysis, not only to expand the analysis beyond the global North but also for the analysis of global disruptions that are challenging normative models of media systems analysis.

scholarly journals Alcohol in TV series popular with teens: a content analysis of TV series in France 22 years after a restrictive law

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Chapoton ◽  
Anne-Laure Werlen ◽  
Véronique Regnier Denois
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
The Public ◽  
Alcohol Marketing ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media ◽  
Alcohol Users ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background European citizens are the largest alcohol users in the world with an average of 11 l of alcohol per individual per year being used. This consumption practice usually begins during adolescence. Youths’ views of substances consumption are built upon socialization experiments from which television takes part. To prevent vulnerable people from media influence, some governments tend to adopt restrictive laws against alcohol marketing within the public space including TV programmes; others rely on the self-control of the alcohol and/or media industry. More than 22 years ago, France adopted a restrictive law made of measures aiming to regulate or prohibit advertising of alcoholic products, especially within media dedicated to minors. Methods This study relies on a content analysis to identify the patterns and the frequencies of occurrences linked to alcohol within a sample of 14 TV series (8 French series and 6 American series) most watched by French teenagers. In total, 180 episodes have been analysed representing 111 h 24 min and 6 s of series coded. Results Alcohol is depicted within 87.8% of the sample. French series statistically show more events related to alcohol when compared to the American series. In French series, alcohol, mainly wine, is associated with a familiar lifestyle context with primary characters. Conclusion The restrictive law ongoing in France does not prevent popular TV programmes watched by minors to depict alcohol. Concerns should be raised about the impact of the values given to the substance integrated to main characters life within the media.

Saviours and Barbarians at the Gate

2012 ◽  
pp. 339-348
Author(s):  
Arun Mahizhnan
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
International Workshop ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Magic Bullet ◽  
End User ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
Keynote Speech ◽  
The Media

This chapter is based on the Keynote Speech at International Workshop on Regulatory Policies for New Media at Leipzig on 23-25 September 2009. It addresses the tensions between the inevitable need for some kind of regulation of the new media and the essentially uncontrollable nature of the architecture and the function of the media. State-regulation, self-regulation, and co-regulation have each its own strengths and weaknesses as a regime, and there is no magic bullet for keeping the new media under control. Ultimately, self-control of the end user seems more critical to the outcome than externally imposed control regimes.

scholarly journals ETHICS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS: ETHICAL THEORIES, CODES AND CONFLICTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Neda Necić
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Moral Principle ◽  
Ethical Theories ◽  
Philosophical Concept ◽  
The Public ◽  
Management Function ◽  
Ethical Conflicts ◽  
The Media

Public relations, an important element of the media society, is a management function which helps establish and nurture the links of mutual communication, understanding, acceptance and cooperation between the organization and the surrounding public. The development of the public relations profession is commonly seen as a progressive evolution from unsophisticated and unethical early practice to the planned, strategic, ethical campaigns of the modern age. However, when discussing the practice of public relations in the XXI century, there are certain doubts, or rather, ethical conflicts. Being the key moral principle and the fundamental philosophical concept, truth should be the goal of every relationship and communication. However, in the public relations practice, truth is occasionally suppressed due to its partial placement. The process of communication itself functions to a significant extent through the mass media, and the violation of ethics in that respect is the trade in media space, which is a difficult form of violation of the philosophy of morality. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of ethics and its development in public relations. This paper analyzes the ethics of public relations as a self-regulation platform for this profession. The application of ethical theories based on utilitarian and deontological approaches has also been discussed. In addition, codes of ethics applied in the PR profession are presented, as well as examples of unethical actions in the public relations profession.

scholarly journals “Through a glass, darkly”: The metaphor of the lens in public discussions about the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Lynn Struch
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
National Narratives ◽  
Media Criticism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
Duke University ◽  
The Media ◽  
Rights Issues

Even before it has opened its doors, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) has been a topic of discussion, controversy and debate among scholars and in the media. What human rights issues should be included in the museum and how these should be represented have become fodder for public discussion and media criticism. This paper discusses some of the recent scholarship about ideas-based museums in conjunction with theories of the rhetoric of human rights in order to provide a context for a close reading of the use of the metaphor of the lens in the public debate about the CHMR. The paper suggests that the use of the lens metaphor is part of the “spectacular rhetoric” of human rights that, as argued by Wendy Hesford in Spectacular Rhetorics, “activates certain cultural and national narratives and social and political relations” (9). As such this metaphor is a restricted one that “defines the parameters of the public's engagement with key human rights issues” (Hesford 10). ReferencesHesford, Wendy. Spectacular Rhetorics: Human Rights Visions, Recognitions, Feminisims. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. Print. 

scholarly journals Participation, Representation and Media System: Habermasian Paths to the Past

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Lundell
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media System ◽  
Media Institutions ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
Historical Specificity ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries

Drawing from Swedish press history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the present article argues for further historical investigation into three aspects of Jürgen Habermas’ theory of the public sphere. The first concerns actual media participation, the second the representative features of media institutions, and the third media systems. These routes of analysis can and should be combined, and historical specificity is key. When we focus on concrete situations and places, the neat grand-scale chronologies (Habermas’ and others’) fall short. There is no simple development from a “representative publicness” to a participatory public sphere, and back again. And the media have always been interconnected in a system-like way. However, historical specificity does not exclude contemporary developments. The present conclusion is that if we are to gain any true understanding of contemporary phenomena, a historical perspective is crucial, and aspects of Habermas’ theory can serve as heuristic tools.

scholarly journals Paparazzi v British media

1997 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-138
Author(s):  
Nash G. Sorariba
Keyword(s):  
Self Regulation ◽  
British Government ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
Statutory Control

Inspite of the tragedy of Princess Diana and the public backlash against paparazzi, the British Government has refused to implement recommendations of statutory control in 'privacy'. It must have faith in self-regulation by the media; and it does not believe control is necessary in a democracy. 

scholarly journals Lietuvos žiniasklaidos sistemos modelio bruožai

2011 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 52-70
Author(s):  
Deimantas Jastramskis
Keyword(s):  
Self Regulation ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Newspaper Industry ◽  
Media System ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
Political Economic

Straipsnyje nagrinėjamas Lietuvos žiniasklaidos sistemos funkcionavimas. Remiantis D. Hallino irP. Mancini sudarytais žiniasklaidos sistemų modeliais: poliarizuotuoju pliuralistiniu, demokratiniu korporaciniu ir liberaliuoju, aiškinamasi, kokius šių modelių bruožus yra įgijusi Lietuvos žiniasklaidos sistema. Žiniasklaidos sistemos modelių bruožai nustatomi analizuojant keturias dimensijas: laikraščių industrijos plėtros procesą, politinį paralelizmą žiniasklaidoje, žurnalistinio profesionalizmo esamybę ir valstybės intervencijos į žiniasklaidos sistemą pobūdį.Straipsnyje teigiama, kad formuojant teisinę, politinę, ekonominę žiniasklaidos aplinką ir žiniasklaidos savitvarkos sistemą, Lietuvos žiniasklaidos sistema įgijo poliarizuotojo pliuralistinio, demokratinio korporacinio ir liberaliojo modelių bruožų, tačiau vyraujantys yra poliarizuotojo pliuralistinio modelio bruožai, būdingi Viduržemio jūros šalių žiniasklaidos sistemoms.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: žiniasklaida, sistema, modelis, valstybė.Features of the model of the Lithuanian media systemDeimantas Jastramskis SummaryThe article analyzes the functioning of the Lithuanian media system. Based on the D. Hallin’s and P. Mancini’s theoretical scheme of media systems (Democratic Corporatist, Liberal and Polarized Pluralist), the main features of the system are delineated. This is achieved by the analysis of four media system dimensions: development of newspaper industry, political parallelism in the media, professionalization of journalism, and the role of the state in the media system.The claim of the article is that in the formation process of, the media environment (legal, political, economic) and self-regulation, the Lithuanian media system acquired features of all three models of media systems. However, features of the Polarized Pluralist model (which are typical of Mediterranean countries) are predominant.>

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