Media Accountability Instruments Research Articles

Watching the Watchdogs: A Conceptual Model for Media Accountability in a Non-Western Country

ABSTRACT Professional and academic debates on the role of media accountability instruments (MAIs) have so far largely focused on Western democracies and on solving the issues of transparency and trust through press and media councils, ombudspersons, media criticism fora, and digital forms of media accountability. They have notably ignored the disruptive force of media technologies in the context of the rise of algorithm-driven platforms. This paper draws on Von Krogh [Von Krogh, T. 2012. Understanding Media Accountability Media Accountability in Relation To Media Criticism and Media Governance in Sweden 1940–2010. PhD Diss. Mid Sweden University] amended version of McQuail (2005) and Bardoel and d’Haenens’ models (2004. “Media Responsibility and Accountability: New Conceptualizations and Practices.” Communications 29: 5–25. doi:10.1515/comm.2004.007) to propose an enhanced model that takes into account the state/media relations in non-democratic societies and the disruptive force of media technologies and algorithm-driven platforms. In-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 prominent media practitioners were conducted. The findings suggest the limits of normative conceptualizations of media accountability when adopted and applied to non-democratic countries. We propose a model that explains the role of media technologies and algorithms-driven platforms as game changers in the debate on media accountability in non-Western countries.

Perceived Effectiveness of Established and Innovative Media Accountability Instruments in Spain. Comparative Analysis in Andalusia, Euskadi, Catalonia, Galicia, Madrid and Valencia

The perceived effectiveness of established and innovative media accountability instruments is analyzed in Andalusia, Euskadi, Catalonia, Galicia, Madrid and Valencia, and by means of a survey conducted among journalists, focus groups with media consumers in each community, and in-depth interviews with experts. Some differences are observed across professionals, citizens and experts and amongst the different autonomous communities. Audience participation in media accountability is the most controversial aspect.

Mapping media accountability in a stateless nation: The case of the Basque Country

This article analyses the media accountability instruments available in the area where the Basque language is spoken. After mapping out media accountability in the Basque Country focusing on instruments both internal and external to the media, it is discussed how the situation differs from other cases in Europe, such as Sweden or Catalonia. Despite the absence of strong institutional media accountability organizations, several media accountability instruments (MAI) have been launched in recent years. It is too early yet to affirm whether this is a passing trend or an indicator of deeper changes leading to a consensus on ethical standards with respect to the media.

Mapping media accountability in stateless nations: The case of Catalonia

Abstract This article draws on the results of a research project on media accountability instruments in Catalonia. We map out media accountability in Catalonia focusing on institutional self-regulation instruments and outline their history compared to that of equivalent instruments in the rest of Spain and Europe. We discuss how the situation in Catalonia differs significantly from that of Spain in the context of Hallin and Mancini’s media systems models. We argue that including the cultural domain in an analysis of media accountability provides a more accurate understanding of the media system in stateless nations. We conclude that the culture of journalistic accountability in Catalonia is more closely aligned with the Corporatist or Liberal model than with the Mediterranean one and thus that the economic and political spheres alone do not provide a true picture of national realities when assessing media accountability.

How effective is media self-regulation? Results from a comparative survey of European journalists

This article presents key results of a comparative journalists’ survey on media accountability, for which 1762 journalists in 14 countries had been interrogated online. The article explores how European journalists perceive the impact of old versus new media accountability instruments on professional journalistic standards – established instruments like press councils, ethics codes, ombudsmen and media criticism, but also more recent online instruments like newsroom blogs and criticism via social media. Thus, the study also adds empirical data to the current debate about the future of media self-regulation in Europe, ignited by the Leveson Inquiry in the United Kingdom as well as the European Commission’s High-Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism.