Full Description
This books draws a comparative balance of twenty years' international media assistance in the five countries of the Western Balkans. The central question was what happens to imported models when they are transposed onto the newly evolving media systems of transitional societies. Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia undertook a range of media reforms to conform with accession requirements of the European Union and the standards of the Council of Europe, among others. The essays explore the nexus between the democratic transformation of the media and international media assistance. The cross-national analysis concludes that the effects of international assistance are highly constrained by the local context. From today's vantage point it becomes obvious, that scaling media assistance does not necessarily improve outcomes. The experiences in the region suggest that imported solutions have not been very cognitive in all aspects of local conditions but international strategies tent to be rather schematic and lacked strategic approaches to promote media policy stability, credible media reform and implementation. The book offers valuable insights into the nature and effects of media assistance and the strategies deployed by international aid agencies, local political forces, media professionals, civil society organizations and other actors.
Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Chapter 1: International Assistance and Media Democratization in the Western Balkans: A Theoretical Framework
Kristina Irion and Tarik Jusić
Chapter 2: Limited Assistance for Limited Impact—International Media Assistance in Albania
Ilda Londo
Chapter 3: Media Reform through Intervention: International Media Assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tarik Jusić and Nidžara Ahmetašević
Chapter 4: Starting from Scratch: The Role of Media Assistance in the Establishment of Independent Media Institutions in Kosovo
Naser Miftari
Chapter 5: Assisting Media Democratization after Low-Intensity Conflict: The Case of Macedonia
Tamara Dimitrijevska-Markoski and Zhidas Daskalovski
Chapter 6: Media Reforms in Turbulent Times: The Role of Media Assistance in the Establishment of Independent Media Institutions in Serbia
Davor Marko
Chapter 7: Looking for Shortcuts? Assistance to—and Development of—Public Service Broadcasting in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Albania
Mark Thompson
Chapter 8: The Uncertain Future: Centers for Investigative Journalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia
Nevena Ršumović
Chapter 9: Building Media Systems in the Western Balkans: Lost between Models and Realities
Katrin Voltmer
Chapter 10: Conclusions: A Cross-National Comparison of International Assistance and Media Democratization in the Western Balkans
Kristina Irion and Tarik Jusić
Bibliography
About the Authors
Index
