This Book Is Essential Reading For Students, Researchers, Policy Makers And All Those Interested In The Rapidly Changing Field Of Media Law.

This book examines the media reform processes and re-democratization projects of Ghana and Nigeria’s emerging democracies. It evaluates and critiques these reform processes, arguing that because of dependency approaches resulting from the transplanting of policy framework from the West into these emerging democracies, the policy goals and objectives of the reforms have not been achieved. Consequently, the inherent socio-cultural, economic and political factors, coupled with the historical antecedents of these countries, have also affected the reform process. Drawing from policy documents, analyses and interviews, Ufuoma Akpojivi argues that the lack of citizens’ active participation in policy processes has led to neo-liberalization and the continued universalization of Western ideologies such as democracy, media freedom and independence. Akpojivi posits that the recognition of socio-cultural, political and economic factors inherent to these emerging democracies, coupled with the communal participation of citizens, will facilitate true media reform processes and development of these countries.

Using examples of media from a range of countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa including Uruguay, Poland, China, Indonesia, Jordan and Uganda, Media Reform considers the social and cultural implications of a free and independent media.

India's State-run Media presents a new perspective on broadcasting by bringing together two neglected areas of research in media studies in India - the intertwined genealogies of sovereignty, public, religion, and nation in radio and television, and the spatiotemporal dynamics of broadcasting into a single analytic inquiry. It argues that the spatiotemporalities of broadcasting and the inter-relationships among the public, religion, and nation can be traced to an organizing concept that shaped India's late colonial and postcolonial histories - sovereignty. The book contends that studies of television have glossed over the meanings, experiences, and practices of the religious in televisual narratives and viewers' interpretations of television programs. Drawing on the philosophical writings of Paul Ricoeur and Michel Foucault, connecting their ideas with media, cultural, and religious studies, it examines cultural discourses, power relations, repertoire of meanings, social events, etc. in broadcasting in late colonial and postcolonial India.

Television in India has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1959 with only some form of experimental broadcasts to becoming a flourishing sector with more than 800 channels today. Doordarshan, the public service broadcaster started off with socio-educational experiments have become a multi-channel network with an international channel, multiple regional channels catering to diverse linguistic and ethnic groups, and seven all-India channels. Rommani Sen Shitak examines the changes that have taken place in public service broadcasting in India w.r.t Doordarshan in the realm of policies, financing, programming, and organizational aspects. Supported by in-depth interviews conducted with broadcasters, media academics, and journalists, the author provides a detailed analysis of the strategies implemented by Doordarshan when faced with its biggest challenge in the form of competition from private networks.

A state-of-the-art account of what we know and do not know about the effects of digital technology on democracy.

A study of the relationship between international media regulations and efforts by nation-states to assert sovereignty and shape media at home and abroad.