This study considers the exploration of working condition/environment of journalistic professional practice in Nigeria from comparative perspective of private and government owned media. The study adopts a qualitative research approach. Three journalists were interviewed from among government owned media establishments and four from privately owned media. The theoretical lenses used to interrogate the research question include Authoritarian theory and its derivatives, Field Theory and the Social Theory of Journalism. These were used to gather qualitative data through a series of semi-structured interviews conducted on the respondents. The results show how operating environments and unsuitable work conditions media practitioners encounter influence or affect quality outcome of work in the profession from comparative angle. The study not only highlighted on contemporary situational developments in the media industry but also how the profession fared in government and privately owned media when placed side-by-side. Though results seem to be a sorry sight in the entire profession’s industry, however, slight variation observed in both sides of government and private media surely justifies the essence of the study, key finding also shows that although journalists encounter similar challenges in the course of their duties, their response to them varies substantially according to individual principles, terrain of work and the part of the industry (government or private) they work for. Results also shows some contrasting work condition/environment’s details in government and private media and the experiences their media practitioners face.

xi, 295 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The Satellite-Cable Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) is the only television outlet in the U.S. providing Congressional coverage. Scholars have studied the network's public affairs content and unedited "gavel-to-gavel" style of production that distinguish it from other television channels. However, the network's ownership structure and funding, which are also unique, have not been systematically analyzed. This study fills a gap in C-SPAN scholarship by providing a structural analysis of the network. C-SPAN was founded and is sponsored by the U.S. cable industry. The industry insists its support for the network is based on public service. However, this study reveals that C-SPAN affords the cable industry a number of substantial political economic benefits: a political lever in Washington and with local franchise authorities, a risk-free testing ground for new products and services, and assistance in selling subscriptions for other fee-based services. This study argues that these material benefits are the motivation for the cable industry's support, not public service. It also is argued that C-SPAN can only be comprehensively understood through its relationship to the capitalist political economy of the U.S. To contextualize this relationship, the study provides a history of Congressional television, the cable industry, and satellite technology. These circumstances reveal that the network was less an act of individual cable executives' selfless altruism than a product of political pressures, economic realities, and technological breakthroughs. The study also discusses the implications of a private public affairs network. C-SPAN is a perfect case study of what has been labeled "neoliberalism," or the form of global capitalism based on privatizing social services and regulating industry using rules favorable to the needs of capital, not civil, society. At a social level, the network enables the accumulation of wealth for a select few, enabling these private interests to gain social power. The study concludes that C-SPAN may serve the public, but it is not a public service. / Committee in charge: Janet Wasko, Chairperson, Journalism and Communication; Carl Bybee, Member, Journalism and Communication; Gabriela Martinez, Member, Journalism and Communication; John Foster, Outside Member, Sociology

In 2001, Syria opened its media outlets to private ownership for the first time in over forty years. This thesis conducts a critical discourse analysis of the economic coverage of the sole Syrian political daily newspaper al-Watan and asks how media liberalization in Syria is more so emblematic of pro-market economic reforms as opposed to media reform. In this sense, it is the economic content of al-Watan that signifies how a private media outlet – under the guiding force of “red lines” and other regulatory mechanisms, yet financially “liberated” via advertising revenue and wealthy regime-friendly backers – can demonstrate its utility to the regime by providing a reiteration of its social-market economic policies all the while existing as a public embodiment of the regime’s willingness to embrace a marketized Syrian society. Simply put, al-Watan is a perfect vehicle for propagating the regime’s gradualist pro-market reforms in the public sphere. / text

The goal of this work is to describe (on the basis of archival sources, topical newspapers and magazines, legal enactments and interviews with personal observers) the emergence of the first private radio station in Eastern Bohemia in the beginning of nineties. This is seen as an example of wider transformation processes within the whole Czech media area. The state owned and controlled electronic media were substituted by private (mostly commercial) media and the statutory public-service broadcaster.

This bachelor thesis is conducted as a Minor Field Study (MFS) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between journalism and politics from three questions at issue: 1) What is the role of media according to the journalists? 2) How do journalists work with political reporting in the Sri Lankan print media? 3) How does print media and politics correspond to each other in Sri Lanka?. The theoretical framework consists of theories onmedia systems, democracy models, the notion of the public sphere, media during elections and types of regulations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 informants, both editors and journalists, at eight different editorial offices. The newspapers at which the informants were employed were either state-owned or privately owned. The qualitative material was transcribed and analysed using thematisation and meaning concentration to reveal patterns, attitudes and opinions. The analysis is divided into two major sections; 'Media's Role in the Society' and 'Media and Politics'. The first section investigates the first question at issue. Informing and educating people are valued as important responsibilities amongst the informants. Media is considered to be powerful in terms of affecting both people and politicians, although, some reservations are made. The second section examines the second and third questions at issue. The ideal execution of political reportage includes notions of neutrality, fairness, balance and unbiased reporting. In reality this is not necessarily accomplished. The state newspapers seem to report on behalf of the government in a positive and uncritical way. Private newspapers consider themselves to be more independent, but political ties and restrictions can disable their independence. Tendencies towards clientelism, political parallelism and instrumentalization are noted in the media environment. Sensitive, political news is often self-censored by journalists due to fear of consequences. In 'Conclusions and Discussion' the questions at issue are connected to each other in an attempt to discuss the complex relationship between journalism and politics in Sri Lanka.