In recent years, the Leveson Inquiry in Great Britain, as well as the EU High-Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism, have stirred heated debates about media accountability and media self-regulation across Europe. How responsible are journalists? How well-developed are infrastructures of media self-regulation in the different European countries? How much commitment to media accountability is there in the media industry – and how actively do media users become involved in the process of media criticism via social media? With contributions from leading scholars in the field of journalism and mass communication, this handbook brings together reports on the status quo of media accountability in all EU members states as well as key countries close to Europe, such as Turkey and Israel. Each chapter provides an up-to-date overview of media accountability structures as well as a synopsis of relevant research, exploring the role of media accountability instruments in each national setting, including both media self-regulation (such as codes of ethics, press councils, ombudspersons) and new instruments that involve audiences and stakeholder groups (such as media blogs and user comment systems). A theoretically informed, cross-national comparative analysis of the state of media accountability in contemporary Europe, this handbook constitutes an invaluable basis for further research and policy-making and will appeal to students and scholars of media studies and journalism, as well as policy-makers and practitioners.

This volume provides pioneer work in analyzing the development of established and emerging media accountability instruments in 14 countries in Eastern and Western Europe as well as the Arab world. Media scholars and students, professionals and policy-makers alike will be introduced to the specific problems and perspectives of media accountability in different media systems and journalistic cultures. Looked at from a comparative point of view, the reports hint at the formation of different cultures of media accountability within Europe and its adjacent countries. These cultures partly overlap with the journalism cultures identified in the well-known model by Hallin & Mancini. At the same time, the development of media accountability and transparency shows distinctive features incongruent with established models of journalism cultures. Consequently, the book also offers new stimuli for innovations in journalism theory.

Media accountability is back on the political agenda. This book advances research on media accountability and transparency, and also offers perspectives for newsrooms, media policy-makers, and journalism educators.

The Global Handbook of Media Accountability brings together leading scholars to de-Westernize the academic debate on media accountability and discuss different models of media self-regulation and newsroom transparency around the globe. With examination of the status quo of media accountability in 43 countries worldwide, it offers a theoretically informed comparative analysis of accountability regimes of different varieties. As such, it constitutes the first interdisciplinary academic framework comparing structures of media accountability across all continents and creates an invaluable basis for further research and policymaking. It will therefore appeal to scholars and students of media studies and journalism, mass communication, sociology, and political science, as well as policymakers and practitioners.

Bringing together both leading international scholars and emerging academic talent, Media Accountability in the Era of Post-Truth Politics maps the current state of media accountability in Europe and provides fresh perspectives for future developments in media and communication fields. As the integrity of the international media landscape is challenged by far-reaching transformations and the rise of “fake news,” the need for a functional system of media regulation is greater than ever. This book addresses the pressing need to re-evaluate and redefine the notion of accountability in the fast-changing field of journalism and “information provision.” Using comparative research and empirical data, the book’s case studies address the notion of media accountability from various perspectives, considering political and societal change, economic, organisational and technological factors, and the changing role of media audiences. By collecting and juxtaposing these studies, the book provides a new discussion for the old question of how we can safeguard free and responsible media in Europe – a question that seems more urgent than ever. Media Accountability in the Era of Post-Truth Politics is an essential read for students and researchers in journalism, media and communication studies.

The Palgrave Handbook of Methods for Media Policy Research covers the craft that is and the methods used in media and communication policy research. It discusses the steps involved in conducting research, from deciding on a topic, to writing a report and everything in between and, furthermore, deals with a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. The handbook invites researchers to rediscover trusted methods such as document analysis, elite interviews and comparisons, as well as to familiarize themselves with newer methods like experiments, big data and network analysis. For each method, the handbook provides a practical step-by-step guide and case studies that help readers in using that method in their own research. The methods discussed are useful for all areas of media and communication policy research, for research concerning the governance of both mass media and online platforms, and for policy issues around the globe. As such, the handbook is an invaluable guide to every researcher in this field.

The Handbook to Global Online Journalism features a collection of readings from international practitioners and scholars that represent a comprehensive and state-of-the-art overview of the relationship between the internet and journalism around the world. Provides a state-of-the-art overview of current research and future directions of online journalism Traces the evolution of journalistic practices, business models, and shifting patterns of journalistic cultures that have emerged around the world with the migration of news online Written and edited by top international researchers and practitioners in the area of online journalism Features an extensive breadth of coverage, including economics, organizational practices, contents and experiences Discusses developments in online news in a wide range of countries, from the USA to Brazil, and from Germany to China Contains original theory, new research data, and reviews of existing studies in the field

This book presents the first comprehensive analysis of the political communication elite- high-ranking journalists, editors, politicians and their communication advisors - that shapes the content and form of political messages, news, debate and decisions in modern democracies. Based on an innovative combination of elite theory and political communication studies, the book develops an integrated and comprehensive approach to elite cohesion in political communication, focusing on the extent and patterns of attitudinal consonance among media and political elites. Building on unique survey data from more than 1,500 high-ranking politicians and journalists in six European countries (Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, France and Spain), the book provides unique insights into current reality of mediatized politics, and the key players shaping it.

Evangelia Psychogiopoulou brings together distinguished scholars across a range of academic disciplines to investigate the media's freedom and independence, and the media policy processes, institutional spaces, regulatory practices and instruments that can support the development of free and independent media in Europe.

2014 marked the 25th anniversary of the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. The events of 1989 are widely seen as having ushered in new all-encompassing reforms in almost all areas of life. In few other places were reforms more contested and divisive than in Romania, a country that suffered greatly under the sultanistic-cum-totalitarian dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, faced the region’s only bloody anti-communist revolt, and as such had the longest to travel on the road from communism to democracy. We now have a generation’s worth of experience with these wrenching reforms that have deeply affected Romania’s political institutions and political culture, and ultimately allowed it to become a member of the coveted European Union club. This volume gathers key lessons for democratic theory and practice from Romania’s first twenty-five years of post-communist transformation. Written by leading experts in the field of Romanian Studies, the chapters focus on the most important factors that have shaped the country’s political transformation during the first 25 years of post-communism.