Press Freedom, Media Regulation, and Journalists’ Perceptions of their Roles in Society

Author(s):  
Twange Kasoma

Given their unparalleled histories and the dichotomous media regulatory frameworks that Zambia and Ghana have, the two countries make for an interesting pedagogical coupling for examining press freedom and the role of the media in African society. That is what this chapter strives to do. Methodologically, a textual analysis of pertinent documents as well as in-depth interviews with journalists was conducted. Some similarities and distinct differences are noted in the two countries’ media regulatory landscapes. For example, both countries continue to lapse where passage of Freedom of Information legislation is concerned. Ghana, however, exhibits more progress than Zambia. The enabling laws Ghana has instituted in the past decade are telling. Ghana’s progress is also evident in how journalists perceive their role in society in comparison to their Zambian counterparts. The former puts more emphasis on the media’s agenda setting role than the latter.

Author(s):  
Julia Partheymüller

It is widely believed that the news media have a strong influence on defining what are the most important problems facing the country during election campaigns. Yet, recent research has pointed to several factors that may limit the mass media’s agenda-setting power. Linking news media content to rolling cross-section survey data, the chapter examines the role of three such limiting factors in the context of the 2009 and the 2013 German federal elections: (1) rapid memory decay on the part of voters, (2) advertising by the political parties, and (3) the fragmentation of the media landscape. The results show that the mass media may serve as a powerful agenda setter, but also demonstrate that the media’s influence is strictly limited by voters’ cognitive capacities and the structure of the campaign information environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol V (IV) ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Irem Sultana ◽  
Malik Adnan ◽  
Muhammad Imran Mehsud

This research paper inspected the role of Pakistani media to protect indigenous languages and culture in Pakistan. The study examined the situation; if Pakistani media outpours concern with the native languages or not. The article also checked the media landscape, its language-wise segregation and scenario of literacy in different areas of the country. The outcomes of the study showed that Pakistani media is neglecting the indigenous languages. The study results exhibited clearly that media houses’ focus on protecting native languages, is not profound. The findings also showed that foreign ownership of Media houses plays a role in neglecting indigenous language promotions. The current study presented that Pakistani mainstream media is damaging the local and native languages. The study was the outcome of qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews of senior communication experts.


Novum Jus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-89
Author(s):  
Julián Rodríguez ◽  
Andrew M. Clark

This research uses in-depth interviews with three data journalists from the Houston Chronicle and the New York Times in the United States to describe the role of data journalists, and to illustrate how and why they use big data in their stories. Data journalists possess a unique set of skills including being able to find data, gather data, and use that data to tell a compelling story in a written and visually coherent way. Results show that as newspapers move to a digital format the role of a data journalist is becoming more essential as is the importance of laws such as the Freedom of Information Act to enable journalists to request and use data to continue to inform the public and hold those in power accountable. 


Author(s):  
Maxwell McCombs ◽  
Sebastián Valenzuela

This chapter discusses contemporary directions of agenda-setting research. It reviews the basic concept of agenda setting, the transfer of salience from the media agenda to the public agenda as a key step in the formation of public opinion, the concept of need for orientation as a determinant of issue salience, the ways people learn the media agenda, attribute agenda setting, and the consequences of agenda setting that result from priming and attribute priming. Across the theoretical areas found in the agenda-setting tradition, future studies can contribute to the role of news in media effects by showing how agenda setting evolves in the new and expanding media landscape as well as continuing to refine agenda setting’s core concepts.


2011 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonie Rutherford ◽  
Dean Biron ◽  
Helen Skouteris

Some 30 years ago, Australia introduced the Children's Television Standards (CTS) with the twin goals of providing children with high-quality local programs and offering some protection from the perceived harms of television. The most recent review of the CTS occurred in the context of a decade of increasing international concern at rising levels of overweight and obesity, especially in very young children. Overlapping regulatory jurisdictions and co-regulatory frameworks complicate the process of addressing pressing issues of child health, while rapid changes to the media ecology have both extended the amount of programming for children and increased the economic challenges for producers. Our article begins with an overview of the conceptual shifts in priorities articulated in the CTS over time. Using the 2007–09 Review of the CTS as a case study, it then examines the role of research and stakeholder discourses in the CTS review process and critiques the effectiveness of existing regulatory regimes, both in providing access to dedicated children's content and in addressing the problem of escalating obesity levels in the population.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Moazzem Hossain ◽  
Manzurul Alam ◽  
Angela Hecimovic ◽  
Mohammad Alamgir Hossain ◽  
Aklema Choudhury Lema

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the contributing barriers to corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) practices. In particular, this study focuses on non-managerial stakeholders’ perceptions of the barriers to CSER practices in a developing country context. The study also investigates the current initiatives undertaken by the different stakeholders, such as government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and regulators. Design/methodology/approach The study takes a qualitative approach, undertaking semi-structured in-depth interviews with 26 participants from NGOs, the media, regulatory authorities, government departments, shareholders, trade union leaders and customers. Findings The views of stakeholder groups were analysed to identify the contributing barriers to CSER practices. The findings of the study reveal that corruption and politics, lack of coordination, lack of government initiatives and unsatisfactory implementation of laws are perceived as the major barriers that hinder CSER practices in Bangladesh. The study also found a lack of awareness amongst various stakeholder groups regarding the influential role CSER plays in promoting sustainable development. The current initiatives undertaken by various stakeholders to improve CSER practices were limited but growing. Research Limitations/implications The study utilises the stakeholder theory to examine the role of stakeholders, rather than managers, in relation to CSER practice in Bangladesh. The findings may provide impetus for mitigating CSER barriers in a developing country context. Originality/value This study is one of the few engagement-based studies to explore the non-managerial stakeholders’ views on CSER in a developing country context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-202
Author(s):  
Arsih Amalia Chandra Permata ◽  
Maulina Pia Wulandari ◽  
Rachmat Kriyantono

The aim to be achieved is to know the efforts of crisis management. The research was conducted at the University of Brawijaya in 2010-2019, based on the view of the Rector of the University of Brawijaya during his tenure, as well as a plan to deal with the crisis at Brawijaya University in 2020-2025. This evaluative study was conducted using a qualitative approach and in-depth interview methods. The informant interviewed by the Chancellor who served in the period 2010-2019, the head of UB's Public Relations. The results of this study will describe or construct in-depth interviews with research subjects so that they can provide a clear picture of Crisis Management in UB since 2010-2019. The method used in this research is indepth interviews (intensive interviews) or intensive interviews (intensive interviews) and most are not structured. To maintain data quality using checking with triangulation. The results showed that the crisis at the university which was classified specifically, had not been interpreted as a crisis in the body of the organization itself, the role of public relations was also more focused on fostering good relations with the media.


2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Ann Lambert ◽  
H. Denis Wu

Although Taiwan instituted press freedom in 1987, media professionals in the island nation continue to experience a myriad of internal and external pressures in the overcrowded market. Rather than merely conform to unethical industry expectations, some media professionals have reconstructed the rules by which they operate. The purpose of the present study is to explore how Taiwan media professionals have reshaped their work roles to make sense of their workplace realities. Results generated from 20 in-depth interviews indicate that their realities now include Internet-driven media shifts, changed reporter traits, dramatic licence due to stiff competition, departure from conventional news and reporters coping with mandatory coverage. Study participants have reconstructed the rules of the media environment to contend with the new realities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 162 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-106
Author(s):  
Rhonda Breit ◽  
Richard Fitzgerald ◽  
Shuang Liu ◽  
Regan Neal

This article explores the role of media in Freedom of Information (FOI) policy transfer, using a case study of Queensland’s 2009 FOI reforms. A multi-dimensional analysis was used to discover how newspapers reported changes in Queensland’s public sector information (PSI) policy to identify whether stories on PSI policy were reframed over time. At a quantitative level, the text analytics software Leximancer was used to identify key concepts, issues and trends in 786 relevant articles from national, metropolitan and regional newspapers. At a qualitative level, discourse analysis was used to identify key themes and patterns from the newspaper articles. Both qualitative and quantitative shifts in the media reporting of Right to Information (RTI) and FOI were revealed across three time periods representing the periods before, during and after the reform implementation. The findings offer insights into the role of newspapers in policy diffusion, revealing how Queensland media reports framed the shift in PSI policy from pull model FOI to push model RTI.


1982 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-16
Author(s):  
Robert G. Picard

‘American publishers and broadcasters are increasingly exercising self-censorship to avoid costly litigation’ says the editor of Freedom of Information Digest, giving a pessimistic assessment of the situation Despite a strong tradition of press freedom and (especially since Watergate) increasingly aggressive investigative journalism in the USA, the country's libel laws can inhibit journalists and lead to self-censorship. The authors of the two articles that follow examine the effect of libel legislation on the US press — one from a journalist's, the other a lawyer's point of view.


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