The media systems around the world are often put under pressure by the widespread
delegitimisation by political actors of the media as a venerable institution along with the profession of
journalism, and the growing efforts made towards media capture, particularly
online media, which has often been regarded as more resistant to such form of control than other types of media.
Delegitimisation tactics to more covertly advance the narrative of an authoritarian regime. Full capture can also be complicated to achieve. Paid
trolls leading to phenomena such as paid
Twitter and mob attacks, along with
fake news and
rumors, are reportedly able to widely disseminate their attacks on independent journalists with the aid of bots. Across much of
Africa, a trend of "serial callers" has become increasingly common. Also observed in other regions, such as in North America where the phenomenon is commonly referred to as "
astroturfing", serial callers are often individuals commissioned by political actors to constantly phone in to popular radio call in programmes with the intention of skewing or influencing the program in their interest. It is more complex to regulate ownership issues when the companies are internet platforms spanning multiple jurisdictions, although
European competition and tax law has responded to some of the challenges in this regard, with unclear impact on the issue of independence of journalistic content on Internet companies.
New business models Across the industry, media outlets have been re-evaluating where the value in media content lies, with a corresponding increase in government development programs, corporate benefactors and other special interests funding or cross-funding media content. These kinds of funding have been common historically in
international broadcasting, and they typically influence actual media content, framing, and the ‘red lines’ different from professional principles that reporters feel unable to cross. While larger media companies have relied on attracting their own advertisers online, many online intermediaries such as Google Ads now exist, which effectively has meant that small online media companies can get some revenues without having to have dedicated facilities—although the requirements of platforms like Facebook for video content, and the power to change news feeds without consultation do compromise editorial autonomy. In addition, the media organization concerned can no longer exert strong control over what
advertisements are shown, nor can it benefit from accessing full audience data to strengthen its own revenue prospects. While there remains a marked decline in print advertising sales in these States, some
newspapers are reporting an increase in
digital advertising revenues and subscriptions that have enabled expansions of newsrooms that previously faced significant financial difficulty. This development partly reflects the relationship between major news brands and electoral cycles but it may also signal a growing willingness on the part of readers to pay for quality digital content.
Mitigating political and economic interference Several tools and organizations commit to mitigating political and economic interference in the media system.
Regulatory bodies In some countries, the rise of
trade bodies as a dominating site of
advocacy seems to limit the plurality of voices involved or consulted to those representing mainly owner interests in decision-making. This has occurred as the
lobbying power of media elites has increased with ownership consolidation, particularly in North America. In some cases, the relative formal independence of the media regulator from the government may have made it more vulnerable to capture by commercial interests. Some of the board members from these trade bodies and associations sit on government working groups and are members of committees. Such members often facilitate the associations’ indirect participation in the drafting of media laws and
policies. • There is also an increase in
online training for journalism.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and increased
internet access in all regions of the world: There are a number of distance learning programs based in the United States and the United Kingdom, such as the
Knight Centre for Journalism in the Americas, which also offers courses in Spanish serving countries in Latin America. The
BBC Academy is another prominent example. The
University of South Africa offers online degrees and short courses, including in media, to a global audience. •
Technology companies have demonstrated a growing interest in these activities, particularly as they attempt to influence policy at a domestic level.
Google,
Facebook, and others have recently established policy offices also in Africa and the Arab region with a mandate to support the development of conducive policies and legal frameworks, as well as informed lawyers and policymakers, for their products. These organizations might bring specific expertise on how to balance a budget or transition from a state media without editorial independence to a public service media with independence. $1.8 billion in journalism and media-related grants were distributed by 6,568 foundations between 2010 and 2015 according to a 2018 Northeastern University study, but the
collapse of the newspaper industry has been a major headwind for the capacity building efforts of the philanthropy. The 2018 study states "foundations have played a behind-the-scenes role in guiding the direction of the
nonprofit news sector, including the types of subjects covered, organizations supported, and regions prioritized." == See also ==