O trabalho analisou os projetos de regulação das atividades da imprensa brasileira, discutindo a recepção, pelos jornais e no Parlamento, das legislações apresentadas e aprovadas durante o período republicano, nos anos de 1923, 1934, 1953 e 1967, e também o projeto rejeitado em 1956. Todos esses regulamentos, propostos por diferentes governos ao Congresso Nacional, foram discutidos e salientados ao público através de informações divulgadas pelos jornais escolhidos e também nas reuniões promovidas pelos congressistas e registradas em documentos oficiais, o que tornou possível identificar os argumentos utilizados tanto pelos periódicos quanto pelo sistema político, demonstrando que o tema da liberdade de imprensa se constituiu como discurso retórico usado por ambas as partes – governos e jornais – em defesa de sua atuação social. O trabalho de produção de notícias e informações, desenvolvido pela imprensa, foi configurado por movimentos históricos originados no Iluminismo, que projetava essa atividade como forma de propiciar ao cidadão as ferramentas para atuar na esfera pública, desde que respeitadas proposições que permitissem que os diferentes discursos fossem levados ao conhecimento do público. No processo histórico que levou ao desenho institucional da imprensa brasileira, essa condição ficou prejudicada, dentre outros motivos por ter a imprensa se tornado objeto de interesse de grupos sociais específicos, o que produziu conflitos com os governos. A tese concluiu que o processo histórico de elaboração das leis que deveriam regular o trabalho da imprensa teve uma recepção negativa pelos jornais, que argumentaram ser essa legislação uma tentativa de obstruir o trabalho por eles desenvolvido. No entanto, como se demonstrou, o processo resultou da disputa política e social protagonizada pelos diferentes grupos de interesse – imprensa e jornais – colocando em lados opostos os governos e as organizações jornalísticas, em torno da liderança pela atuação como mediador entre os cidadãos e o Estado. / This paper analyzes bills intended to regulate Brazilian press activities, as well as discusses the receptivity of the legislation submitted and passed by newspapers and the Parliament during the republican period in the years 1923, 1934, 1953 and 1967, in addition to the bill which was rejected in 1956. All these regulations, which were submitted to the National Congress by different governments, were shown and highlighted to the public through information published in selected newspapers and meetings promoted by congressmen and recorded in official documentation, which enabled the identification of arguments used by both newspapers and the political system, thus demonstrating that the theme of freedom of the press was rather a rhetorical discourse used by both parties – governments and newspapers – in the defense of their social performance. The task of producing news and information developed by the press has been shaped up by historical movements originated in the Enlightenment period, which projected this activity as a way of providing the citizen with the tools to act in the public sphere, on condition that the propositions allowing that different speeches brought to the attention of the public were respected. In the historical process that led to the institutional design of the Brazilian press, this condition was impaired, among other reasons because the press became an object of interest of specific social groups, giving rise to conflicts with governments. The thesis concluded that the historical process of drafting laws which should regulate the work of the press was not welcome by newspapers, which argued that this legislation was an attempt to interfere with their work. Nevertheless, as it has been shown, the process resulted from a political and social dispute between different interest groups – press and newspapers – placing governments and news organizations on opposite sides as to who should lead the mediation between citizens and the State.

The media today are under pressure from various fronts including governments, businesses as well as cultural interests. In the developed world, this pressure that led to the emergence of a new form of journalism that puts the demands of the market at the forefront. This commercial oriented journalism gives priority to articles that attract mass audiences like entertainment while it downplays information that promotes debates that is necessary for citizens to be able to have a voice on the issues that affect them. And since participation and discussion are cornerstones of a democratic process, market-driven journalism undermines democracy because it narrows down the forum for debate. As a result, active citizens are turned into passive observers in society. Although several studies about this phenomenon have been done in the western world, the same is happening in Africa because the media face similar challenges as in the West; challenges of globalisation and media conglomeration facilitated by the rapid advancing technology. This study, which is informed by political economy and market-driven journalism theories, notes that the media in Uganda are also faced with these challenges. The study is focused on Uganda’s only independent newspaper, The Monitor. The findings indicate that market-driven journalism is taking root at the expense of journalism that promotes citizenship and debate such as political reporting and opinions. For example, there has been an increase of entertainment, sports and supplement articles in The Monitor as compared to declining political reporting and opinions. More so, investigative reporting has dwindled over the years at the expense of increasing use of press releases. This is because entertainment and sports articles can attract big audiences that the newspaper needs to sell to advertisers. Advertisers are important because they provide financial support to the newspaper. However, in a country where democracy is in its formative stages, public information is necessary not only for citizens to make informed decisions but also to spur economic as well as social development.

Since the demise of the Berlin Wall and communism, many African countries have adopted a Western-model democracy as a system of governance. However, the media has not been liberalised to reflect this new discourse as constraints in many African countries pertaining to press freedom still exist. The internet appears to have the potential to challenge the political power of governments (Tsagarousianou, 1998:167). It has been posited that it has the potential to offer more platforms for information especially in the case of restrictive media environments. This study set out to investigate the impact of on-line publishing in Malawi. It explored how the emergence of this new form of publishing through the internet has affected the public sphere, democracy and press freedom in Malawi. The main focus was the level of press freedom at on-line newspapers as compared to traditional newspapers. It used the public sphere theory and literature on the internet as a technology of freedom as its theoretical framework. Using a case study approach by focusing on two newspapers; Nyasatimes on-line and Daily Times, the study used the coup plot coverage in May 2008 in Malawi by both newspapers as reference for the measurement of the level of press freedom. The study used qualitative content analysis and semi-structured interviews as its research methods. The research revealed that Nyasatimes enjoys more freedom to publish and therefore appears to have more press freedom than its more traditional counterpart. However, Nyasatimes also faces some unique challenges. The findings also revealed that press freedom in Malawi is not only affected by government through legislation but other factors and players as well play a central role in determining the level of press freedom for traditional media. The study therefore concludes that despite the internet’s ability to transcend local regimes of authority and censorship pertaining to press freedom, the challenges facing traditional media still need to be addressed as it is the primary source of information for most people in Malawi with on-line newspapers being simply supplementary.

O trabalho analisou os projetos de regulação das atividades da imprensa brasileira, discutindo a recepção, pelos jornais e no Parlamento, das legislações apresentadas e aprovadas durante o período republicano, nos anos de 1923, 1934, 1953 e 1967, e também o projeto rejeitado em 1956. Todos esses regulamentos, propostos por diferentes governos ao Congresso Nacional, foram discutidos e salientados ao público através de informações divulgadas pelos jornais escolhidos e também nas reuniões promovidas pelos congressistas e registradas em documentos oficiais, o que tornou possível identificar os argumentos utilizados tanto pelos periódicos quanto pelo sistema político, demonstrando que o tema da liberdade de imprensa se constituiu como discurso retórico usado por ambas as partes – governos e jornais – em defesa de sua atuação social. O trabalho de produção de notícias e informações, desenvolvido pela imprensa, foi configurado por movimentos históricos originados no Iluminismo, que projetava essa atividade como forma de propiciar ao cidadão as ferramentas para atuar na esfera pública, desde que respeitadas proposições que permitissem que os diferentes discursos fossem levados ao conhecimento do público. No processo histórico que levou ao desenho institucional da imprensa brasileira, essa condição ficou prejudicada, dentre outros motivos por ter a imprensa se tornado objeto de interesse de grupos sociais específicos, o que produziu conflitos com os governos. A tese concluiu que o processo histórico de elaboração das leis que deveriam regular o trabalho da imprensa teve uma recepção negativa pelos jornais, que argumentaram ser essa legislação uma tentativa de obstruir o trabalho por eles desenvolvido. No entanto, como se demonstrou, o processo resultou da disputa política e social protagonizada pelos diferentes grupos de interesse – imprensa e jornais – colocando em lados opostos os governos e as organizações jornalísticas, em torno da liderança pela atuação como mediador entre os cidadãos e o Estado. / This paper analyzes bills intended to regulate Brazilian press activities, as well as discusses the receptivity of the legislation submitted and passed by newspapers and the Parliament during the republican period in the years 1923, 1934, 1953 and 1967, in addition to the bill which was rejected in 1956. All these regulations, which were submitted to the National Congress by different governments, were shown and highlighted to the public through information published in selected newspapers and meetings promoted by congressmen and recorded in official documentation, which enabled the identification of arguments used by both newspapers and the political system, thus demonstrating that the theme of freedom of the press was rather a rhetorical discourse used by both parties – governments and newspapers – in the defense of their social performance. The task of producing news and information developed by the press has been shaped up by historical movements originated in the Enlightenment period, which projected this activity as a way of providing the citizen with the tools to act in the public sphere, on condition that the propositions allowing that different speeches brought to the attention of the public were respected. In the historical process that led to the institutional design of the Brazilian press, this condition was impaired, among other reasons because the press became an object of interest of specific social groups, giving rise to conflicts with governments. The thesis concluded that the historical process of drafting laws which should regulate the work of the press was not welcome by newspapers, which argued that this legislation was an attempt to interfere with their work. Nevertheless, as it has been shown, the process resulted from a political and social dispute between different interest groups – press and newspapers – placing governments and news organizations on opposite sides as to who should lead the mediation between citizens and the State.

This paper’s purpose is to assess Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s democracy, in two different points in time: one stretching from 1992 to 2003 and another stretching from 2003 to 2017. Robert A. Dahl’s polyarchy model is used as the theoretic framework and an ideal type. The polyarchy model contains seven different criteria (referred to as “institutions” by Dahl) that all need to be met for the “country” to be considered a polyarchy (which is what is most usually referred to as a “democracy”). The material is mostly based on annual reports and other source material from human rights organizations such as Reporters without Borders and Freedom House, but also from independent election observers. The conclusion of this paper is that Kurdistan Region of Iraq in the second time period fulfills the criteria for having “Free and Fair elections”, which it did not in the first time period (1992 – 2003). The criteria “Alternative sources of information” was however fulfilled in the first time period, but not the second. Although the most basic institutions of polyarchy, such as elected officials and universal suffrage, are present in the first time period (1992 – 2003) the actual restrictions on freedom of speech and alternative sources of information, makes Kurdistan Region of Iraq fall short of polyarchy in that time period. Although there is an overall improvement in some of the criterion from the first time period to the second, Kurdistan Region of Iraq does not fulfill all of the necessary criterion to be considered a polyarchy in the second time period either.

Doctorat en Sciences juridiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This study aims to examine the argumentation regarding freedom of speech and the statement “je suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) in eight opinion articles from different Swedish web magazines. Two doctotral dissertations who’s main topics are the freedom of speech and different types of arguments regarding freedom of speach, was used in this study. The study also uses the actual Swedish law surrounding the freedom of speech, as well as the freedom of the press and breaches of these laws. Also mentioned as different types of theories are; utilitarianism and journalism ethics and standards. This is a qualitative study using rhetorical analysis as a main method, but the study also uses some tools from the field of argument analysis, such as theses and main arguments. The results from this study shows, amongst other things, that various arguments can be used when trying to get your view surrounding the freedom of speech across. However there seems to be a clear difference between the writers who argue that the freedom of speech is more important than the right to not having to be discriminated by a statement or an utterance, and the writers who argue that the right to not having to be discriminated by a statement is more important than the right to potentially disciminate someone while uttering something. The writers who share the first view presented here, that the freedom of speech is more important, are also the ones who support the expression ”I am Charlie”, and the writers who don’t think that the freedom of speech is of more importance than the right to not having to be discriminated, does not support the expression ”I am Charlie”. However, while looking at this study, it’s imoportant that the reader bares in mind that the results from it doesn’t say anythning about anything else apart from the articles studied.

The function of a journalist is not only to inform but also to investigate. Since the public has a right to information, jurists need to protect journalists that report from dangerous war-torn regions in order to keep the world informed. As the primary reliable source and often eyewitness to humanitarian atrocities a journalist has a duty to report such atrocities. There has for several decades now been uncertainty regarding the fact whether journalists should be granted special protection or not. On the one hand it is argued that journalists should be protected in terms of humanitarian law due to their humanitarian function, the service that they render in facilitating the free flow of information to the world and the role that journalists play in society. On the other hand, some argue that the protection of journalists is not the responsibility of the international community but rather their individual national governments or local news organisations. / Jurisprudence / LL.M.

The Media High Council (MHC) was put in place by the 2003 constitution of the Republic of Rwanda as amended to today. As article 34 clarifies, the MHC is an independent institution which aims to address issues of media and press freedom. In the same spirit, the law number 30 /2009 of 16/9/2009 determines its mission, organisation and functioning. According to article 2 of this law, the Media High Council is responsible for protection, control and promotion of media and media professionals. Based on normative theories, qualitative methods and thematic analysis, this study has explored the policy formation of the Media High Council and how it has been balancing the seeming contradictory responsibilities of protecting and controlling media from 2007 to 2010. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

This thesis, titled “Normative Media Theory and the Rethinking of the Role of the Kenyan Media in a Changing Social Economic Context,” is a theoretical study that discusses the role of normative media theory in shaping and guiding debate on the role of the media and attendant policy making processes in a changing Kenyan social economic context. This is done against the background of acknowledgment of the general state of flux that characterizes normative media theory in a postmodern, globalized and new media landscape. The study thus extensively describes the Kenyan media landscape, with a view to demonstrating how it has and is continuing to be transformed by a variety of developments in the social economic set up of the Kenyan society. In order to provide a theoretical basis for explaining these developments, the study then indulges in an extensive theoretical discussion that presents a synthesis of current arguments in the area of normative media theory. This discussion fundamentally brings to the fore the challenges which characterizes normative media theory in a changing social economic context and therefore the inability of traditional normative theory to account for new developments in the media and society in general. In an attempt to integrate normative media theory and practice, the study then discusses (against the backdrop of theory) the views and opinions of key role players in the Kenyan media landscape, in regard to how they perceive the role of the media. Particular attention is given, inter alia, to matters such as media ownership, media accountability processes, changing media and communication technologies, a changing constitutional landscape, the role of the government in the Kenyan media landscape, the place of African moral philosophy in explaining the role of the media in Kenya, and the growth of local language radio. Finally, on the bases of theory, experiences from other parts of the world and the views of key role players in the Kenyan media landscape, the study presents several normative guidelines on how normative theory and media policy making in Kenya could meet each other, taking into account the changes occasioned by globalization and the new media landscape. These proposals are essentially made to enrich general debate on the role of the media in Kenya, as well as attendant media policy making efforts. / Communication / D.Litt. et Phil. (Communication)