Publications

Monroe E. Price & Peter Krug

The Enabling Environment For Free and Independent Media

The existence of free and independent media is generally considered essential to healthy systems of democratic governance. But building such a media structure from an authoritarian past can be a considerable undertaking. This study is designed to identify the conditions and processes supporting development and maintenance of free and independent media, provide guidance for those who participate in the processes of encouraging democratic transitions, and indicate areas for further study.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1: Law, Media, and Democratic Institutions

1.1 The Link between Free and Independent Media and Democratic Institutions

1.2 Limitations on Formal Law

1.3 The Importance of the Enabling Environment

 

Chapter 2: Structures of the Media and the Enabling Environment

2.1 Overview

2.2 Balance between Private and Public Service Media

2.3 Competition among Media

2.4 Foreign Ownership

2.5 Media Ownership by Religious or Political Organizations

2.6 Viewpoint Domination by a Single Broadcaster or Owner

2.7 Access and Right to Impart Information

2.8 Government Subsidies

2.9 Government as a Market Participant

2.10 Government Funding

 

Chapter 3: Rule of Law

3.1 Clarity and Accessibility

3.2 Legal Norms

3.3 Administrative Process: Fairness, Impartiality, and Objectivity

3.4 Judicial Support

3.5 Case Study: The Absence of an Enabling Environment and the Rule of Law

 

Chapter 4: The Legal Environment for News Media Activity

4.1 Overview

4.2 Newsgathering

4.3 Media Content: Direct Regulation

4.4 Content-Neutral Regulation: Risk of Manipulation

4.5 Protection of Professional Activities of Journalists

 

Chapter 5: The Broader Enabling Environment

5.1 New Technology and the Enabling Environment

5.2 Role of Civil Society and NGOs

5.3 Education in the Importance of Rights

5.4 Copyright and the Enabling Environment

5.5 Background and Foreground Factors

 

Chapter 6: Resources and Techniques for Enhancing the Enabling Environment

6.1 Technical Assistance

6.2 Resort to Constitutions and to International Instruments

 

Chapter 7: Conclusion