Media and Journalism Research Center#State Media Monitor
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Short description|Media think tank}}
{{infobox organization
| name = Media and Journalism Research Center
| size =
| formation = {{start date and age|2004}}
| logo = File:Cropped-MJRC-Logo-Crimson-White.png
| formerly = Center for Media, Data and Society (2014–2022)
Center for Media and Communication Studies (2004–2014)
| type = Research center
| location =
| leader_title = Director
| leader_name = Marius Dragomir
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
The Media and Journalism Research Center is a think tank that produces scholarly and practice-oriented research about journalism, media freedom, and internet policy. The organization maintains a cooperation agreement with the University of Santiago de Compostela.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-12 |title=Contact - Media and Journalism Research Center |url=https://journalismresearch.org/contact/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |language=en-GB}}
History
The center was founded as the Center for Media and Communication Studies at Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary. It began in 2004, and was designed to serve as a focal point an international network{{Cite web |date=2012-08-09 |title=Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) |url=https://milunesco.unaoc.org/mil-organizations/center-for-media-and-communication-studies-cmcs/ |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=Media and Information Literacy Clearinghouse}} of scholars and academic institutions, whose research ranges from media and communications policy, fundamental communications rights through media and civil society and new media and digital technology to media in transition. In September 2014 it was relaunched as the Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS){{cite web |title=Name change |url=http://cmds.ceu.hu/article/2014-10-06/center-adopts-new-name |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009225109/http://cmds.ceu.hu/article/2014-10-06/center-adopts-new-name |archive-date=October 9, 2014}} to represent new interests in technology policy and big data.{{cite web |title=Mission of CMDS |url=http://cmds.ceu.hu/mission |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009083504/http://cmds.ceu.hu/mission |archive-date=October 9, 2014}} Philip N. Howard led the Center from 2013-2015.{{Cite web |title=Phil Howard {{!}} CMDS |url=https://cmds.ceu.edu/phil-howard |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=cmds.ceu.edu}} Media expert, journalist and scholar Marius Dragomir led the center starting in September 2016.{{Cite web |title=Marius Dragomir Appointed Director of the Center for Media, Data and Society {{!}} CMDS |url=http://cmds.ceu.edu/article/2016-07-01/marius-dragomir-appointed-director-center-media-data-and-society |access-date=2018-09-08 |website=cmds.ceu.edu}} Most of CMDS' projects are continued by the Media and Journalism Research Center, a research institute established by Marius Dragomir in October 2022 that is independent of CEU.{{Cite web |title=About |url=http://journalismresearch.org/about/ |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=MJRC |date=12 January 2020}}
Projects
The CMDS' research projects focused on identifying trends and challenges in the use of information technologies and advancing policy discussions about the regulation of data and media. Projects of CMDS included Creative Approaches to Living Cultural Archives,{{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://livingarchives.eu/#30 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228022532/http://livingarchives.eu/#30 |archive-date=2014-12-28 |access-date=2014-12-22}}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2025}} Ranking Digital Rights,{{cite web |title=Ranking Digital Rights - Funders and Partners |url=https://rankingdigitalrights.org/who/funders/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222081438/https://rankingdigitalrights.org/who/funders/ |archive-date=2014-12-22 |access-date=2014-12-22}}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2025}} Strengthening Journalism in Europe,{{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://journalism.cmpf.eui.eu/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919175214/http://journalism.cmpf.eui.eu/ |archive-date=2019-09-19 |access-date=2022-06-29}}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2025}} Research on Violent Online Political Extremism.{{Cite web |title=VOX-POL: Virtual Center of Excellence for Research in Violent Online Political Extremism {{!}} Central European University |url=https://www.ceu.edu/project/vox-pol-virtual-center-excellence-research-violent-online-political-extremism |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=www.ceu.edu}}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2025}} Its projects have been funded by the Open Society Foundations, National Endowment for Democracy, European Union, Media Development Investment Fund, Internews Network, Thomson Foundation, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and the Prague Civil Society Center.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-12 |title=About - Media and Journalism Research Center |url=https://journalismresearch.org/about/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250115011808/https://journalismresearch.org/about/ |archive-date=2025-01-15 |access-date=2025-02-16}}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2025}}
The center has also been known for its monitoring work on media policy. Since its launch in 2017, the Media Influence Matrix project designed by Dragomir expanded to over 50 countries.{{Cite web |date=2023-10-24 |title=Project Summary - State Media Monitor |url=https://journalismresearch.org/2023/10/project-summary/ |access-date=2024-02-28}} The center is also known for its research on media capture, co-funded by the European Commission.{{Cite web |last=Chioccioli |first=Beatrice |date=2024-10-29 |title=Media Capture Monitoring Report: Explore the methodology |url=https://ipi.media/media-capture-monitoring-report-methodology/ |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=International Press Institute}} Dragomir has published studies that attempted to define{{Cite web |title=MDIF publishes report on media capture in Europe |date=21 May 2019 |url=https://www.mdif.org/mdif-publishes-report-on-media-capture-in-europe/ |access-date=2021-09-12 |website=Media Development Investment Fund}} and analyze{{Cite book |title=International Media Development |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4331-5150-7 |pages=93–103 |editor1-last=Benequista |editor1-first=N. |editor2-last=Abbott |editor2-first=S. |editor3-last=Rothman |editor3-first=P. |editor4-last=Mano |editor4-first=W. |last=Dragomir |first=Marius |chapter=Media Capture: Media Ownership, Oligarchs, and the Challenge of Developing Independent Media}} the media capture phenomenon occurring in both public and private media outlets.{{Cite web |last1=Nielsen |first1=Rasmus Kleis |author-link1=Rasmus Kleis Nielsen |last2=Gorwa |first2=Robert |last3=de Cock Buning |first3=Madeleine |date=2019-11-25 |title=What can be done? Digital Media Policy Options for Europe (and beyond) {{!}} Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism |url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/what-can-be-done-digital-media-policy-options-europe-and-beyond |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk |language=en}} In 2018, CMDS joined the Journalism Trust Initiative.{{Cite web |date=2018-04-03 |title=RSF and its partners unveil the Journalism Trust Initiative to combat Disinformation {{!}} RSF |url=https://rsf.org/en/rsf-and-its-partners-unveil-journalism-trust-initiative-combat-disinformation |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=rsf.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=AFP joins RSF initiative to combat disinformation and to distinguish trustworthy media {{!}} AFP.com |url=https://www.afp.com/en/agency/inside-afp/press-release/afp-joins-rsf-initiative-combat-disinformation-and-distinguish |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=www.afp.com}} The MJRC's research on public service media and state media was cited in articles published by the European Journal of Communication and The Political Quarterly in 2024,{{cite journal|last1=Milosavljević|first1=Marko|last2=Poler|first2=Melita|year=2024|title=The role and accountability of the state as a news media owner in the contemporary media landscape|journal=European Journal of Communication|publisher=Sage Publishing|volume=39|issue=5|pages=486–497|doi=10.1177/02673231241267145|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Moore|first=Martin|year=2024|title=Keeping Democracies Alive: The Role of Public Service Media|journal=The Political Quarterly|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|volume=95|issue=1|pages=108–112|doi=10.1111/1467-923X.13359|doi-access=free}} and Dragomir has co-authored academic journal articles about public service media and online disinformation.{{cite journal|last1=Horowitz|first1=Minna|last2=Cushion|first2=Stephen|last3=Dragomir|first3=Marius|last4=Manjón|first4=Sergio Gutiérrez|last5=Pantti|first5=Mervi|year=2021|title=A Framework for Assessing the Role of Public Service Media Organizations in Countering Disinformation|journal=Digital Journalism|publisher=Routledge|volume=10|issue=5|pages=843–865|doi=10.1080/21670811.2021.1987948}}{{cite journal|last1=Dragomir|first1=Marius|last2=Rúas-Araújo|first2=José|last3=Horowitz|first3=Minna|year=2024|title=Beyond online disinformation: assessing national information resilience in four European countries|journal=Humanities and Social Sciences Communications|publisher=Nature Portfolio|volume=11|issue=101|doi=10.1057/s41599-024-02605-5|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|last1=Dragomir|first1=Marius|last2=López|first2=Miguel Túñez|year=2024|title=How public service media are changing in the platform era: A comparative study across four European countries|journal=European Journal of Communication|publisher=Sage Publishing|volume=39|issue=6|pages=608–624|doi=10.1177/02673231241290062}} Dragomir also authored a report for UNESCO in 2020 on editorial independence and state-captured private media that was used to prepare a broader report released in 2022 on global trends on freedom of expression and media development,{{cite report|last=Dragomir|first=Marius|year=2020|title=Reporting Facts: Free from Fear or Favour|publisher=UNESCO|place=Paris|isbn=978-9231004223|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000375061}}{{cite report|title=Journalism Is a Public Good: World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development, Global Report 2021/2022|year=2022|place=Paris|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=978-9231005091|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380618}} and has also written chapters in edited volumes about private media capture by states and journalism in the digital age.{{cite book|last=Dragomir|first=Marius|editor-last1=Goyanes|editor-first1=Manuel|editor-last2=Cañedo|editor-first2=Azahara|year=2024|title=Media Influence on Opinion Change and Democracy: How Private, Public and Social Media Organizations Shape Public Opinion|chapter=2. The Shift in Media Power: How Media Capture Is Changing the Game|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|pages=11–25|isbn=978-3031702303|doi=10.1007/978-3-031-70231-0}}{{cite book|last=Dragomir|first=Marius|editor-last1=Sixto-García|editor-first1=José|editor-last2=Quian|editor-first2=Alberto|editor-last3=Rodríguez-Vázquez|editor-first3=Ana-Isabel|editor-last4=Silva-Rodríguez|editor-first4=Alba|editor-last5=Soengas-Pérez|editor-first5=Xosé|year=2024|title=Journalism, Digital Media and the Fourth Industrial Revolution|chapter=15. Knowledge Transfer: From Corporations to the Media and from the Media to Society|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|pages=197–209|isbn=978-3031631528|doi=10.1007/978-3-031-63153-5}}
= State Media Monitor =
{{See also|List of state media by country|List of public broadcasters by country}}
The State Media Monitor explores the nuances of different types of public and state media, including serving as a database that analyzes many outlets around the world based on factors like editorial independence, funding, and ownership/governance. The 2024 State Media Monitor list, including the evaluation of new sources, was released in September.{{Cite web |title=State Media Monitor – The world's state and public media database |url=https://statemediamonitor.com/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=statemediamonitor.com}}
| class="wikitable"
|+ State Media Monitor ratings{{Cite web |title=Typology – State Media Monitor |url=https://statemediamonitor.com/2022/05/typology/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=statemediamonitor.com}} ! Rating !! Official description !Funding !Governance !Editorial control |
| scope=row | Independent public (IP)
| Public service media whose funding and governing mechanisms are designed in such a way as to fully insulate them from government interference. |{{No Y}} |{{No Y}} |{{No Y}} |
|---|
| Independent state-funded (ISF)
|Public service media whose main funding source is the state, which, however, does not own them or control their governing bodies, and does not attempt to control their editorial agenda. |{{Yes N}} |{{No Y}} |{{No Y}} |
| Independent state-managed/state-owned (ISM)
|Public service media not predominantly funded from state budget resources that are either owned by the state or whose governing bodies are controlled by the government, which, however, does not attempt to control their editorial agenda. |{{No Y}} |{{Yes N}} |{{No Y}} |
| Independent state-funded and state-managed (ISFM)
|Public service media whose main funding source is the state, which owns them or controls their governing bodies, without, however, attempting to control their editorial agenda. |{{Yes N}} |{{Yes N}} |{{No Y}} |
| Captured private (CaPr)
|Privately owned media outlets dependent to a large degree on the government for funding or other privileges (i.e. state advertising or public procurement contracts for other businesses run by their owners). |{{Maybe}} |{{No Y}} |{{Yes N}} |
| Captured public/state-managed (CaPu)
|Public service or state-owned media not predominantly financed through state budget resources, where the state is using its status as owner and/or its control over the management of these outlets to influence their editorial agenda. |{{No Y}} |{{Yes N}} |{{Yes N}} |
| State-controlled (SC)
|State media created as propaganda channels, typical for authoritarian regimes, or failed public media in which the government retains a major role, funding and owning them, controlling their management and closely supervising their editorial agenda. |{{Yes N}} |{{Yes N}} |{{Yes N}} |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}