The state of media freedom

in Global journalism, GjC dialogues, Transition journalism

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Notes on changing journalism paradigms:

As we begin gearing up for the CjG inaugurational workshop on March 9th 2021, the 2017 report on media freedom from Freedom House comes to mind. Authored by Freedom House president Michael J. Abramowitz, the report reflected back on President Donald Trump having taken office in 2016, with a completely different approach to the media and news reporters from his predecessors. Since then, “fake news” has become a house hold term, the contempt that he brought towards journalism in general and the politics of Washington DC in particular having culminated in the January 6 2021 attack on the US Congress itself. Here is what Mr. Abramowitz summed up:

Journalists and members of the civil society march for the World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2018, in Nakuru, Kenya. – Afghanistan’s slain journalists were remembered on World Press Freedom Day on May 3, days after the deadliest attack on the country’s media since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. (Photo by Suleiman MBATIAH / AFP). Reprinted in GjC under the Creative Commons License.
  • Global press freedom declined to its lowest point in 13 years in 2016 amid unprecedented threats to journalists and media outlets in major democracies and new moves by authoritarian states to control the media, including beyond their borders.
  • Only 13 percent of the world’s population enjoys a Free press—that is, a media environment where coverage of political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic pressures.
  • Forty-five percent of the population lives in countries where the media environment is Not Free. The world’s 10 worst-rated countries and territories were Azerbaijan, Crimea, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
  • Politicians in democracies  such as Poland and Hungary shaped news coverage by undermining traditional media outlets, exerting their influence over public broadcasters, and raising the profile of friendly private outlets.

Later in the article,Mr. Abramowitz writes:

A greater danger is that the United States will stop being a model and aspirational standard for other countries. Protection of press freedom in the United States remains vital to the defense and expansion of press freedom worldwide; indeed, it is a cornerstone of global democracy. When political leaders in the United States lambaste the media, it encourages their counterparts abroad to do the same. When U.S. leaders step back from promoting democracy and press freedom, journalists beyond American shores feel the chill.

Since we began planning for CjG we have spent a great deal of time outlining some pillar themes and issues. With the above link to Freedom House, it might be pertinent to refer to one of those links, and from there invite discussion and join reflection: Transitional Journalism. What is it and how might we approach it as a basis for comparative journalism analysis?

Or as we formulated it: What is the journalism part? And what is the transition part? On the March 9th 2021 workshop we will approach just that issue, presenting an ongoing project to devise a framework for comparative empirical analysis.