Coercion and repressive legislation are widely recognised measures employed by hybrid regimes as a way of stifling the media. This thesis illustrates the long shadow cast by these measures by examining the impact of transgressions on self-censorship among Ugandan journalists, and how these are weighed against their notion of professionalism. Self- censorship is experienced as an unwanted, but vital practice that moves in tandem with the level of political tension, being an extraordinary rather than general measure. The study was conducted in the summer of 2016, founded by a Minor Field Study scholarship from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

The central role of media in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has led to restrictive precautions from the government. Restrictive legislation due to the genocide has for long limited media freedoms and been target for domestic and international critique. In light of the new media reform adopted in 2013 this essay seek to examine the experienced impact of the reform on the journalistic role as watchdog, setting the agenda, nation builder, agent of empowerment and government partner. The empirical material is based on qualitative interviews performed in Rwanda with journalists, bloggers, reform implementers and international collaborators. The analysis constitutes a discussion regarding to what extent the new reform seems to reinforce these roles. Here I will use my theoretical framework, namely Development Journalism, and the answers from the respondents in order to understand and examine this particular problem. The final part of the essay deals with my specific case, which is Rwanda’s media landscape after the newly adopted media reform. Here I will analyze the experienced change introduced by the new media reform. My essay finds that an official narrative, which is enforced by the Rwandan constitution, restricts the impact of the reform on the role of media

viii, 89 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This thesis examines how social and economic factors shape the behavior of Russian journalists. Although the state does not practice legal censorship today, Western experts compare Russian media with the Soviet period, and Russia is commonly ranked in the bottom 10% of all countries in terms of press freedom. While scholars identify free press as a necessary condition for a democratic society, Russian media are influenced by flak directed at editors and reporters, which results in self-censorship. The central question is: What is the relationship between the ownership structure ofthe media, a reporter's experience, and the occurrence of self-censorship? A random sample of40 journalists was drawn from ten prominent national newspapers. Interviews focused on instances when reporters had been asked to remove facts critical of the government. The data show that self-censorship is significant in Russian journalism; it comes both from the editors and from the journalists themselves. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Caleb Southworth, Chair; Dr. Julie Hessler; Dr. Carol Silverman

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This bachelor's thesis is based on a Minor Field Study (MFS) conducted in Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco, April and May 2015. The aim is to study Moroccan journalists' attitudes towards citizen journalism and its impact on the role of the journalist: 1) With what claims do they define citizen journalists and journalists respectively? and 2) In what ways do these claims relate to the impact citizen journalists can be expected to have on the role of the journalist and freedom of expression in Morocco? In the discussion, theories on discourse, professionalism, journalistic ideals, and development journalism are applied. Semi-structured interviews in French were conducted with five journalists working within five different print and online publications. The material was analyzed according to a model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The interviewed journalists give accounts of how they are "condemned to be connected" to the vox populi that citizen journalists constitute. There is a prevalence of professionalism discourse where verification and objectivity are described as what characterizes a journalist. But respondents also emphasize "teamwork", and that "all journalists are citizen journalists", and these themes are interpreted as characteristic of development journalism. Within professional discourse in a development journalism context, the reliability of citizen journalists is downplayed. At the same time, citizen journalists are described as freer than professional journalists. In conclusion, it is considered likely that development journalist discourse sets an obstacle to the liberalizing impact of citizen journalism.

The main purpose of this BA-thesis was to do a qualitative study of the Ecuadorian journalists' personal experiences of their work conditions in relation to freedom of the press. The aim has been to analyze their personal opinions regarding censorship, the media climate and if they feel there is press freedom for journalists in Ecuador. The material has been analyzed and then complemented by theories and earlier research. Among other theories we have been using Denis McQuail's freedom principle and view of structural influences together with Graeme Burton's view of censorship. Together with earlier research about censorship and the status of freedom of the press in Ecuador we were able to put the interviewees' answers in relation to both theories and research. Our analysis showed that the interviewed journalists felt there were many obstacles when it came to the freedom of the press. One obstacle was the strain on the relationship between the government and the press which affected the media climate in a negative way. The majority of the interviewees stated that there was no complete freedom of the press in Ecuador while the ones who opposed to this still felt there were difficulties. Some even questioned whether freedom of the press was possible anywhere in the world, which also shows the complexity of the subject.

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate how the journalist profession is challenged when the media in Kosovo is intruded by political and business interests and what happens to television journalists and editors; professionals who fight for their right to produce news. The intention with the study is to describe, discuss and analyze the results found in this study around the obstacles faced within the journalist profession in Kosovo caused by the intrusion of political and business interests in journalistic work. One has to also consider that Kosovo is a new state, having weak mechanisms for protecting the rights of journalists and editors. Research method: In this study, the qualitative interview has been used as research method to collect empirical data and to get an idea of the personal experiences of Kosovo journalists. Limitations: This study does not present an investigation into the Kosovo media landscape as a whole and does not give other parties involved in journalistic work (for example media owners, politicians and advertisers) the opportunity to express their views. Further, the voices of rural journalists and editors are not included. Finally, interviewees mainly work as television journalists and editors, reflecting the fact that media consumption in Kosovo is almost exclusively by viewing television. Results: Results suggest that Kosovo journalists and editors are held back in their profession due to political and economical influence on their work. This is carried out in the form of threats and blackmailing in which an external political or economical force personally threats the journalist or editor or threats to pull back financial support unless positive media coverage in a specific media is delivered. Journalists and editors are thus not able to carry out their role as watchdogs and are put in a position in which they feel unsafe and disrespected. Suggestions for future research: For future research, it would be interesting to look into “the other side” of the media, i.e. advertisers, political elite and media companies in Kosovo. A more comprehensive study could maybe shed a broader light on the Kosovo media problems and possibly find some solutions for the future of the existing problems. It can also be interesting to look at international interference in the journalist profession in Kosovo.

<p>The main purpose of this BA-thesis was to do a qualitative study of the Ecuadorian journalists' personal experiences of their work conditions in relation to freedom of the press. The aim has been to analyze their personal opinions regarding censorship, the media climate and if they feel there is press freedom for journalists in Ecuador.</p><p>The material has been analyzed and then complemented by theories and earlier research. Among other theories we have been using Denis McQuail's freedom principle and view of structural influences together with Graeme Burton's view of censorship. Together with earlier research about censorship and the status of freedom of the press in Ecuador we were able to put the interviewees' answers in relation to both theories and research.</p><p>Our analysis showed that the interviewed journalists felt there were many obstacles when it came to the freedom of the press. One obstacle was the strain on the relationship between the government and the press which affected the media climate in a negative way. The majority of the interviewees stated that there was no complete freedom of the press in Ecuador while the ones who opposed to this still felt there were difficulties. Some even questioned whether freedom of the press was possible anywhere in the world, which also shows the complexity of the subject.</p>

Research into the citizen political participation via social media is dominated by two grand narratives. In the first, new media are seen as empowering society, while the second portrays the Internet as the State’s ultimate tool for manipulating citizens. This research employed content analysis, critical discourse analysis and interview to compare and contrast the nature of political participation and deliberation on Weibo in [Hong Kong and mainland] and by [VIPs and causal users] on 2012 Hong Kong Chief Executive Election, and how the online censorship shaped their political participation and deliberation regarding this case. Mixed methods used with theoretical framework (e.g. democracy, digital democracy, deliberative democracy, e-participation and citizenship) in this research has demonstrated the role of Weibo both ‘tool’ ‘forum’ and ‘object’ to understand deliberative democracy while citizens used for political participation and deliberation. Dynamic forms of self-censorship demonstrated how the online censorship shaped the citizens’ political participation and deliberation through dynamic explicit or implicit ways on Weibo in this case.

The surveillance in China is a topic which has been the subject of extensive scientific studies. First and foremost, the digital surveillance of the population of China has been explained by a number of scholars over the years. Nevertheless, the monitoring of the Chinese diaspora is a research area that has been explained to a limited extent and where the studies of monitoring of the Chinese diaspora in Sweden are not to be found in research for the present study. The purpose of the study is thus to investigate past and present citizens’ relationship to the internet and social media linked to surveillance with the aim of clarifying how the feeling of being monitored contributes to the individual’s application of self-censorship. The method of collecting the empiricism has included six different interviews. The result showed that the Chinese diasporas feeling of being monitored contributes in some cases to self-censorship on social media. The monitoring operator consists partly of state of China, but also the Chinese diasporas community on social media is perceives as a monitoring actor. The conclusions of the study show that the Chinese diaspora largely reflects on the posts before publishing. Self- censorship was also practiced with various reasons and extent on Western and Chinese social media. Horizontal surveillance was fund on both Western and Chinese social media, while state surveillance instead perceived on western social media. A further form of self-censorship emerged where state surveillance as well as surveillance from ideological groups active in the country resulted in deletion of posts upon entry to another country and created the concept of travel censorship.