scholarly journals The Winding Road on the Media Landscape

Author(s):  
Andres Jõesaar

This article aims to explore the ways in which Estonian broadcasting (with a focus on television) tackled the challenges of transforming from a monopolistic party propaganda machine into a modern dual media system in which public service broadcasting and newly created private enterprises coexist; and how this process evolved in a small post-communist country. This article argues that the Estonian government’s ‘idealisation’ of market forces supported by the European Union media policy, which is driven by common market ideology, did not take into account the market’s limitations and media companies’ actual capability to provide a large range of media services. The research methodology is based on an analysis of EU media policy documents, Estonian media legislation, the protocols of the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Estonia, protocols of the broadcasters’ licensing committee at the Ministry of Culture and the broadcasters’ annual reports from the period 1992 - 2015. The article analyses the key trends in Estonian media development and policymaking during the last 25 years.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-86
Author(s):  
Mirza Mehmedović

In the process of political transition of the Western Balkan countries, the non-EU countries in particular, the reform of communication systems occupies one of the primary places within the implementation of economic, cultural, political and integration processes of each country. Communication research that seeks to define the dilemmas of the current communication situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a determining framework of the media system, includes many socio-political factors conditioned by structural changes within the society of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 25 years. The complete cultural and political deconstruction of the Bosnian society at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century destabilized the internal organization of the political, cultural and economic system, especially in the domain of public communication and organization of the media subsystem. Apart from the numerous current challenges, the development of a unified media policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the establishment of a public media system in accordance with the requirements of the European Union and the interests of all citizens, are among the key issues that state institutions are facing at the moment. This paper primarily deals with the analysis of the European Commission’s annual reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress in the process of implementing reforms in the media policy sector and based on these annual reports it suggests the key factors for future national media policy definition. The goal is to establish a national media policy and reform the communication system in a broader context as a political, cultural and economic issue, i.e., as an institutionally agreed path for political compromise, integration of society and definition of collective identities.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-99
Author(s):  
Andres Jõesaar

Abstract This article explores the ways in which different external and internal factors (especially politics and economics) have encouraged or hindered the evolution of Estonian Public Broadcasting. This article argues that the Estonian government’s ‘idealisation’ of market forces that is supported by European Union (EU) media policy and driven by the common market ideology does not take into account the actual abilities of a small country’s media companies to provide a wide range of media services, and thereby limits the offerings of high-quality local content. The research methodology is based on an analysis of EU media policy documents, Estonian media legislation and broadcasters’ annual reports in the period from 1992 to 2014. The main finding of this article is that official Estonian media policy is largely shaped by the financial results of private media companies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivo Indjov ◽  
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The study examines the applicability of the comparative framework of Hallin and Mancini (2004) with their three models of media‒politics relations (Mediterranean or Polarized Pluralist Model, North/ Central European or Democratic Corporatist Model, and North Atlantic or Liberal Model) to a post-communist country like Bulgaria. The answer to this question is sought through a study of the role of the state in relation to the media system, particularly the state funding of media in its various forms. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the Bulgarian media system is most similar to the Mediterranean Model due to the power of еtatism (the state finances public media, and the government buys media love through state and municipal advertising). At the same time, ineffective media regulation favors media concentration and the instrumentalization of large government media groups. The processes of rapid liberalization, privatization and deregulation in the media sector after 1989 brought Bulgaria closer to the countries included in the Liberal Model. Therefore, its media system is hybrid to some extent, but the similarities with the Mediterranean Model remain in the lead. The clientelism through which they are tamed, resp. corrupt the media, brings Bulgaria closer to the Latin American countries where it is much stronger than in the Mediterranean region (Hallin, Papathanassopoulos 2002). The concluding part predicts that, in the future, the analysis of the Bulgarian media system can be enhanced with a study of the applicability of the concepts of the “captured liberal model” of the media (in Latin America) and the “captured media” in the post-communist world.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (20) ◽  
pp. 57-79
Author(s):  
Anđela Kuprešanin-Vukelić

Commercial instrumentalisation of the media presents one of inevitable dimensions with regard to studying contemporary media systems. Researching into the level of commercial instrumentalisation of the media within a certain media system implies researching into the nature of relationship, that is, interaction of the media, professional communicators, and certain external information agents, such as advertisers and owners of capital. Instrumentalisation of the media for commercial purposes determines, to a great extent, the professional stance of communicators and their autonomy while performing the task of satisfying public interests in relation to the exclusively material orientation of media production, which is reflected on the quality of media contents and media pluralism. The paper examines the intensity and nature of interaction between the media and advertisers in the media system in the Republic of Srpska and implications of this interaction with regard to the journalist profession and media practice, from the point of view of journalists, editors, and media managers. As for the working hypothesis of the paper, the author claims that there are various forms of commercial instrumentalisation of the media in the aforementioned system that jeopardise, either directly or indirectly, the autonomy of professional communicators and meeting the necessary professional standards. For these purposes, the gathering of empirical material is realised by means of a survey poll engaging 150 journalists and 65 editors employed with 27 respective media companies in the Republic of Srpska, as well as by means of interviewing 10 media managers. The paper aims at identifying the forms and intensity of commercial instrumentalisation of the media in the media system of the Republic of Srpska which, apart from being of significance for the autonomy and professionalism of the media and communicators, are major indicators of the nature of the media system on the whole and which primarily determine the course of its transformation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
José Manuel Rivera Otero ◽  
Nieves Lagares Díez ◽  
María Pereira López ◽  
Paulo Carlos López-López

Over the last few years, European public broadcasters have promoted the concept of public service media as one of their main values. To this end, transparency policies have been implemented as a mechanism of corporate projection by strengthening their role as an essential service. The objective of this article is to ascertain the existence of this type of policies among European public broadcasters. To this end, a nominal group was made with 24 experts who were surveyed, thus generating new indicators of transparency and accountability strategies around sustainability and digitalization. The contents of the websites of RTVE (Spain), RTP (Portugal), France TV (France), RAI (Italy), BBC (UK), RTÉ (Ireland), ZDF (Germany), VRT (Belgium), and SVT (Sweden) were also analyzed, paying attention to such indicators and strategies. The main results include the identification of differences on the basis of the ideal models described by Hallin and Mancini; a commitment to credibility (fact-checking) to the detriment of diversity of opinions; and a connection between the political system and the media system, which, preliminarily, determines the level of transparency of these public entities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-28
Author(s):  
Minna Aslama Horowitz ◽  
Ritva Leino

AbstractThis essay discusses the global context of public communication during COVID-19, as well as some specific lessons learned from public service media (PSM), specifically from the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yleisradio, Yle). We address the role of PSM as a national information channel during crises and as a sustainable element in the media system, points to the need to understand its role beyond news and to develop new interactive alternatives to global platforms, and calls for PSM organisations to address its audience – not as consumers – but as people with needs for information, entertainment, learning and meaningful interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (s2) ◽  
pp. 102-123
Author(s):  
Signe Ravn-Højgaard ◽  
Valgerður Jóhannsdóttir ◽  
Ragnar Karlsson ◽  
Rógvi Olavson ◽  
Heini í Skorini

Abstract This study compares the media systems of the West Nordic countries, namely the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. All three countries are democratic welfare states with considerable institutional transfer from the larger Nordic countries. It is argued that the West Nordic media systems fit into the “Nordic model” when it comes to the perception of media as cultural institutions as well as the central role of public service media. On the other hand, the micro-size of the media systems in the West Nordic countries makes them vulnerable, and makes editorial independence more difficult compared with their larger Nordic neighbours. In particular, media outlets within these micro-size media systems seem more susceptible to clientelism, and journalists seem more inclined towards self-censorship. This article highlights how interplay between small size and distinct local factors shape the media system in each of the West Nordic countries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 170 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-114
Author(s):  
Tania Lim ◽  
Azad Bali ◽  
Marcus Moo

Does public service broadcasting (PSB), with its 20th-century state-controlled and state-funded structure, still have a role to play in increasing access, public participation and a strong national media system in today’s globalising East Asia? This article, by taking Singapore as a case study, examines why and how traditional PSB media players have been forced to change their institutional and transactional responses to the ‘shocks’ of digitisation. In particular, it examines how the rise of Web 2.0, with its de-territorialised media services and social media, challenges PSB’s relevance as trends towards universal access, a greater participatory culture and active audiences render PSB content increasingly anachronistic.


Author(s):  
Alyse-Noel Hicks

This research focuses on Social Media Platforms/Companies, analyzing the top 20 platforms of 2018 worldwide, their annual reports, industry trends, and professional events. The goal of this research is to provide more insight to social media marketing in a digital age. The findings of this research can 1) help social media marketers understand the platforms well, 2) allow social media companies to formulate more effective strategies to attract users and businesses, and 3) give those interested in social media the opportunity to learn more about the media. The findings of this research will be written into a paper and submitted to an academic journal for publication. According to the latest social media statistics on the Ignite visibility website, 81% of the U.S. population has a social media account, which amounts to about 264 million people. On a bigger scope, the Statista website states that 2.62 billion people around the world have a social media account. Social media is going to stay and grow so it is important to perform more research on this topic.


Author(s):  
Mercedes Medina-Laverón ◽  
Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero ◽  
James Breiner

The supply of public interest journalism that serves the needs of citizens in a democratic society has always been scarce in the media marketplace when compared with sensationalism, gossip, entertainment, propaganda, and misinformation. This scarce commodity, whose market value lies in its credibility and depends on costly investments of time and money in professional research, has frequently required a subsidy, which for more than a century was provided by advertising. Now that this subsidy has mostly been devoured by technological platforms such as Google and Facebook, the industry and profession are developing new models focused on user needs and wants with a trend toward public service rather than profit. This paper uses deductive and critical methodologies to identify the most promising business models used by media companies to counteract the decline in public-interest journalism. Our proposal is that an appropriate business model can be the best way to revitalize media companies. The research is based on Chesbrough’s business model framework applied to 20 leading digital news publications from 16 countries. In addition, we analyze how Covid-19 has impacted those business models.


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