[FoME] Weltbank-Publikation: "Watchdogs, Agenda-Setters and Gate-Keepers"

[Christoph Dietz]

Die Druckversion dieser umfangreichen Publikation erscheint erst im Fr*hjahr, steht aber bereits online zum Download zur Verf*gung: http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~pnorris/Books/WorldBank_Roles_of_News_Media.htm

The Roles of the News Media: Watch-dogs, Agenda-Setters and Gate-Keepers
Edited by Pippa Norris
For publication by The World Bank, Washington DC Spring 2009

Synopsis

Working within the notion of the democratic public sphere, the report emphasizes the institutional or collective roles of the news media as watchdogs over the powerful, as agenda-setters calling attention to social needs in natural and manmade disasters and humanitarian crisis, and as gatekeepers incorporating a diverse and balanced range of political perspectives and social actors. Each, we argue, is vital to making democratic governance work in an effective, transparent, inclusive, and accountable manner. The capacity of media systems (and thus individual reporters embedded within these institutions) to fulfill these roles is constrained by the broader context of the journalistic profession, the market, and ultimately the state. Successive chapters apply these ideas to countries and regions worldwide. Media systems are compared in places as diverse as Kenya and Mexico, Iraq and Ethiopia, Burma and North Korea, Egypt and Qatar. The evidence suggests that, in reality, the performance of media systems often fall far short of lofty aspirations, with important consequences for the workings of the public sphere. The report identifies the most effective strategic interventions designed to overcome these constraints. These include policies directed at strengthening the journalistic profession, notably institutional capacity building, such as press councils, press freedom advocacy NGOs, and organizations concerned with journalistic training and accreditation. Other important reforms seek to overcome market failures, including developing a regulatory legal framework for media systems to ensure pluralism of ownership and diversity of contents. Lastly, policies also address the role of the state, including deregulation shifting state-run to public service broadcasting, overseen by independent broadcasting regulatory bodies, and the protection of constitutional principles of freedom of the press, speech, and expression.   
This study brought together a wide range of international experts under the auspices of the Communication for Governance and Accountability program (CommGAP) at the World Bank and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. It provides a fresh perspective on all these issues, covering in a wider range of countries and regions than ever before.  The report is designed for policymakers and media professionals working within the international development community, national governments, and grassroots organizations, and for journalists, democratic activists, and scholars engaged in understanding mass communications, democratic governance, and development. 

Content:

Part I: Introduction: Framing the debate 
Chapter 1: Evaluating media performance - Pippa Norris and Sina Odugbemi 
Chapter 2: Diagnostic tools and performance indicators - Andrew Puddenphatt
Part II: The democratic roles of media systems 
 
Agenda-setters: setting priorities
Chapter 3: Media coverage of natural disasters and humanitarian crises- Susan D. Moeller
Chapter 4: Media agenda-setting and donor aid - Douglas A. van Belle
 
Watch-dogs: guarding governance
Chapter 5: Corruption and the watchdog role of the news media - Sheila Coronel
Chapter 6: The media, government accountability, and citizen engagement - Katrin Voltmer
 
Gate-keepers: inclusive voices 
Chapter 7: Election campaigns, partisan balance, and the news media - Holli A. Semetko
Chapter 8: Limits on press freedom and regime support – Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart
Chapter 9: Media in peace-building processes: Ethiopia and Iraq - Monroe Price, Ibrahim al Marashi and and Nicole A. Stremlau
Part III: Regional case-studies of media roles  
Chapter 10: Central and Eastern Europe -  Marius Dragomir
Chapter 11: Sub-Saharan Africa- Wisdom Tettey
Chapter 12: Latin America- Silvio Waisbord
Chapter 13: Arab States - Lawrence Pintak 
Chapter 14: Asia – Angela Romano 
 
Part IV: Conclusions: Summing up the evidence, identifying effective policy options 
Chapter 15: Do the news media act as watch-dogs, agenda-setters and gate-keepers? Sina Odugbemi and Pippa Norris
Chapter 16: Policy recommendations - Sina Odugbemi and Pippa Norris
Select bibliography