Media Revolution In Europe Ahead Of The Curve

The "rags to riches" story of Karol Jakubowicz's involvement in the work of the Council of Europe took him from the role of an awestruck newcomer from Poland in 1990 to that of the Chairman of the Steering Committee on the Media and New Communication Services (2005-06). Along the way, he was elected, delegated by the Steering Committee, and invited by the Council of Europe Secretariat to serve in a number of other capacities. In all of them, he contributed a wide variety of papers, reports and studies to assist the steering committee and other bodies in collecting information and formulating ideas in the general field of freedom of expression, creation of free and democratic media systems (including the issue of public service media), regulation of transfrontier television, the adjustment of Council of Europe human rights standards to the conditions of the information society, and the development of broadcasting legislation in Council of Europe member states.The present collection of these papers and reports is published in the conviction that they retain their value and relevance. It provides the additional benefit of offering a glimpse of the work preceding the formulation of Committee of Ministers recommendations and declarations, as well as resolutions of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.

Political and social changes that took place at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and, additionally, technological revolution and the process of digitalisation have resulted in significant social, economic and legal transformations. Then, it can be even said metaphorically that together with the development of the Internet we discovered a new continent. 'Colonization' of this area resembles conquering new areas in times of great geographical discoveries. At first, power and violence were prevailing and only later people tried to introduce effective methods of law enforcement. Nowadays, the next problem is the non-territoriality of phenomena on the Internet. From the point of view of legal actions, it is generally limited to a legal system of a given country, and seems to be a fundamental issue. As it appears, law and legal systems do not handle the challenges of global space and it is rather a gunslinger's speed that turns out to be essential here. However, it should be hoped that with time, as in the case of the real world experience, power will be replaced with powerful arguments based on effective legal mechanisms in particular. All the more so, as these changes happen very rapidly. Thus, referring to the known concept of liquid modernity by Zygmunt Bauman, it can also be said that by regulating the media subject in the field of law to fundamental changes, we are confronted with the uncertainty of legal institutions concerning this part of social life. Hence, we should return to the basics and again pose fundamental questions about media law such as, for instance, what should the press, radio, television be called, and who can be treated as a journalist. Additionally, we should face new legal phenomena and challenges. The collective work we are passing to the readers is an attempt to analyse the current state and present a forecast about further changes as well as answers to at least several questions posed above. Being aware of the fact that it is impossible to deal with or even settle all the aforementioned problems in such a study, the editors hope that, thanks to reviews and deliberations of the authors, the book will significantly contribute to the discussion on media law in the 21st century. The authors of individual chapters of this book are researchers from various Polish scientific institutions and members of the Polish PressLawAssociation.

Maps the UN legal instruments relevant for the protection and promotion of the rights to freedom of expression and information.

This book argues that the gap between the official transparency rhetoric and the censorship reality has demonstrated the discrepancy between what the Party is and what it claims to be. Such a discrepancy is manifested by the reality that the reformed news industry, a hybrid of market-oriented commercialization and party-state control, has largely failed to deliver either the voice of the disenfranchised groups or the value of journalism. To observe the discrepancy, this book investigates the role of transparency in the Chinese news media. Media transparency, which goes beyond the issue of censorship and press freedom, has been undermined by the consensus reached between the party-state and the media on political and market control. It is this mutually accommodating and benefiting scheme between power and profits that has been hollowing out the substance of the transparency rhetoric and distorting the Marxist idea of press freedom as freedom for all. This book argues that the cause of such a gap between rhetoric and reality is rooted in the disjuncture of political representation of both the party-state and the profit-seeking media.

The Routledge International Handbook of Criminology and Human Rights brings together a diverse body of work from around the globe and across a wide range of criminological topics and perspectives, united by its critical application of human rights law and principles. This collection explores the interdisciplinary reach of criminology and is the first of its kind to link criminology and human rights. This text is divided into six sections, each with an introduction and an overview provided by one of the editors. The opening section makes an assessment of the current standing of human rights within the discipline. Each of the remaining sections corresponds to a substantive area of harm prevention and social control which together make up the main core of contemporary criminology, namely: criminal law in practice; transitional justice, peacemaking and community safety; policing in all its guises; traditional and emerging approaches to criminal justice; and penality, both within and beyond the prison. This Handbook forms an authoritative foundation on which future teaching and research about human rights and criminology can be built. This multi-disciplinary text is an essential companion for criminologists, sociologists, legal scholars and political scientists.

This publication is dedicated to disseminate the findings from our research project focused on the new media literacy for media professionals.

The Internet’s importance for freedom of expression and other rights comes in part from the ability it bestows on users to create and share information, rather than just receive it. Within the context of existing freedom of expression guarantees, this book critically evaluates the goal of bridging the 'digital divide' – the gap between those who have access to the Internet and those who do not. Central to this analysis is the examination of two questions: first, is there a right to access the Internet, and if so, what does that right look like and how far does it extend? Second, if there is a right to access the Internet, is there a legal obligation on States to overcome the digital divide? Through examination of this debate’s history, analysis of case law in the European Court of Human Rights and Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and a case study of one digital inclusion programme in Jalisco, Mexico, this book concludes that there is indeed currently a legal right to Internet access, but one that it is very limited in scope. The 2012 Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and the Internet is aspirational in nature, rather than a representative summary of current protections afforded by the international human rights legal framework. This book establishes a critical foundation from which some of these aspirations could be advanced in the future. The digital divide is not just a human rights challenge nor will it be overcome through human rights law alone. Nevertheless, human rights law could and should do more than it has thus far.

Rosemary Wakeman's original survey text comprehensively explores modern European urban history from 1815 to the present day. It provides a journey to cities and towns across the continent, in search of the patterns of development that have shaped the urban landscape as indelibly European. The focus is on the built environment, the social and cultural transformations that mark the patterns of continuity and change, and the transition to modern urban society. Including over 60 images that serve to illuminate the analysis, the book examines whether there is a European city, and if so, what are its characteristics? Wakeman offers an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates concepts from cultural and postcolonial studies, as well as urban geography, and provides full coverage of urban society not only in western Europe, but also in eastern and southern Europe, using various cities and city types to inform the discussion. The book provides detailed coverage of the often-neglected urbanization post-1945 which allows us to more clearly understand the modernizing arc Europe has followed over the last two centuries.