Public Sentinel: News Media and Governance Reform »

The purpose of this book is to inform governance advisors about the vital role of the news media for governance reform. This book approaches the issue of news media and governance with three broad questions that it attempts to answer on the basis of quantitative data and case studies.

First, a normative approach asks: What ideal roles should media systems play to strengthen democratic governance and thus bolster human development?

Second, an empirical approach considers independent evidence derived from cross-national comparisons and from selected case studies, asking: Under what conditions do media systems actually succeed or fail to fulfill these objectives?

Third, a strategic approach asks: What policy interventions work most effectively to close the substantial gap that exists between the democratic promise and performance of the news media as an institution?

Foreword ix

About the Contributors xi

Preface and Acknowledgments xix

Abbreviations xxi

Part I Introduction: Framing the Debate 1

1 Evaluating Media Performance Pippa Norri sSina Odugbemi 3

2 Diagnostic Tools and Performance Indicators Andrew Puddephatt 31

Part II The Democratic Roles of Media Systems 57

Agenda Setters: Setting priorities

3 Media Coverage of Natural Disasters and Humanitarian Crises Susan D. Moeller 61

4 Media Agenda Setting and Donor Aid Douglas A. Van Belle 85

Watchdogs: Guarding Governance

5 Corruption and the Watchdog Role of the News Media Sheila S. Coronet 111

6 The Media, Government Accountability, and Citizen Engagement Katrin Voltmer 137

Gatkeepers: Inclusive Voices

7 Election Campaigns, Partisan Balance, and the News Media Holli A. Sernetko 163

8 Limits on Press Freedom and Regime Support Pippa Norris Ronald Inglehart 193

9 Media in the Peace-Building Process: Ethiopia and Iraq Monroe E. Price Ibrahim Al-Marashi Nicole A. Stremlau 221

Part III Regional Case Studies of Media Roles 243

10 Central and Eastern Europe Marius Dragomir 345

11 Sub-Saharan Africa Wisdom J. Tettey 277

12 Latin America Silvio Waisbord 305

13 Arab States Lawrence Pintak 329

14 Asia Angela Romano 353

Part IV Conclusions: Summing Up the Evidence, Identifying Effective Policy Options 377

15 Assessing the Extent to Which the News Media Act as Watchdogs, Agenda Setters, and Gatekeepers Sina Odugbemi Pippa Norris 379

16 Policy Recommendations Sina Odugbemi Pippa Norris 395

Bibliography 411

Index 417