Anatomy of the Lebanese Media

El-Richani, Sarah

doi:10.1057/978-1-137-60183-4_3

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Unlike most theories of authoritarianism, Schedler's approach systematically considers information dynamics and the role of the media in hybrid politics and therefore proves particularly useful in the context of our analysis. In the second part of the paper, we analyze the above-mentioned three major dimensions of media hybridity and their interdependence with hybrid politics in the light of the experience of journalists in Lebanon and Tunisia, countries that have received limited attention in media and communication research so far (but see Chouikha 2013; El Issawi 2016; El-Richani 2016; Haugbølle and Cavatorta 2012).…”

Section: Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid Media and Hybrid Politics: Contesting Informational Uncertainty in Lebanon and Tunisia

Voltmer

Selvik

Høigilt

2021

The International Journal of Press/Politics

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This paper investigates the dynamic relationship between hybrid media and hybrid politics in Lebanon and Tunisia. While previous research on the media in hybrid regimes has mainly focused on regime strategies of restricting and manipulating public debate, our analysis moves beyond repression. We argue that the ambiguities of hybrid politics, which combines democratic and authoritarian elements, not only constrain independent and critical reporting but also open up opportunities for journalistic agencies. We draw on Schedler's concept of informational uncertainty to capture the epistemological instability of hybrid regimes and the strategies of political actors to control public knowledge. Distinguishing between three dimensions of media hybridity - economic, cultural and technological - we show how the new hybrid media environment significantly increases the volatility of hybrid politics and informational uncertainty for political actors. Our empirical analysis is based on seventy-one semistructured interviews with journalists in Lebanon and Tunisia conducted between 2016 and 2019. The material reveals a broad range of strategies used by journalists who employ the internal contradictions of hybrid politics to pursue their own agenda. The comparison between Lebanon and Tunisia also highlights contextual conditions that enable, or limit, journalistic agency, such as clientelistic dependencies, economic resources, and civil society alliances.

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Section: Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid Media and Hybrid Politics: Contesting Informational Uncertainty in Lebanon and Tunisia

Voltmer

Selvik

Høigilt

2021

The International Journal of Press/Politics

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“…Despite the limitations of its applicability beyond established democracies and the critique levelled against its normative theorization and overt focus on Western contexts, Hallin and Mancini (2004, 2012) comparative media systems framework remains a leading analytical framework in understanding the structural variations in media environments. 7 Recent years have seen growing analyses on how these models can be tested in non-Western environments and whether there is room for new models that would further develop this framework, including calls by Hallin and Mancini for new explanations (see Brüggemann et al 2014; El-Richani 2016; Hadland 2012; Hallin and Papathanassopoulos 2002; Hallin and Mancini 2017; Voltmer 2012; Waisbord 2020). The importance of linking the analysis of media systems to their contexts and historical trajectories is also acknowledged by Hallin and Mancini (2012: 287) since “comparative analysis is valuable only to the extent that context matters.” Some scholars called for developing sets of variables that can help capture the complexities of media cultures in particular contexts away from the excessive focus on comparative categories (see Humphreys 2012; Kumar 2014; Rodney-Gumede 2020).…”

Section: Media Systems and Emerging Democraciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Media Pluralism and Democratic Consolidation: A Recipe for Success?

Issawi

2021

The International Journal of Press/Politics

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The Tunisian political transition has succeeded in building a working, yet fragile governance beyond ideological and political divides. Political debate across media platforms has become open and dynamic, but the media–politics nexus thrives within a complex system of clientelism forged on shifting alliances between politicians and business tycoons, including recapture by agents of the former regime. The media–politics interplay is taking competitive and antagonistic forms, effectively exacerbating polarized conflicts. This paper reflects on the notions of hybrid media systems, agonistic pluralism, and civic culture, based on data collected in a focus group conducted in Tunis in May 2019 that brought together representatives from media, politics, and civil society complemented by interviews with leading journalists and media stakeholders. This paper argues that the relationship between media and politics is interdependent and marked by confrontation and adaption; the uncertainty of the transition is leading to a complex and volatile power struggle in which neither media nor politics have the upper hand in defining the terms of the game. This ambivalent relationship, taking place within a new system of clientelism, has had a mixed outcome on the process of democratic consolidation.

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“…As it is argued by Hallin and Mancini, the more journalists keep being employees of large enterprises rather than owning their “means of production,” the further their level of autonomy aggravates (Hallin & Mancini, 2004). Michael McDevitt argues that autonomy is a fundamental characteristic of professionalism (El Richani, 2016). Mellado and Humanes (2012) describe autonomy as “a multidimensional construction” that can be figured out by considering different factors like how free the journalists are, how crucial this notion to their profession is, and individual, organizational and geopolitical factors.…”

Section: Polarized Pluralist Model and Professionalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Research Between Italian and Turkish Journalists: Professionalism, Autonomy, Clientelism, and Ethic

Simaku

2021

Sage Open

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The global society which we live in nowadays makes us rethink about media system, global dynamics, and the operation of the influences that these dynamics have on national media systems. Starting from the book by Hallin and Mancini’s (2004) Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics, and under the Polarized Pluralist Model they proposed, the aim of this work is to compare Turkish and Italian journalists’ professionalization. This research has been conducted under the concept of professionalization that these authors suggested in their work and, more specifically, under the Polarized Pluralist Model, in which Hallin and Mancini recognize countries like Italy have the main characteristics described by the model; Turkey can also be included. The main goal of this work is to underline not only the similarities but also the differences that are encountered in these two countries in the journalistic professionalization. The methodology used is in-depth interviews with 10 journalists: five Italian and five Turkish journalists chosen from the biggest journals in their respective countries. Main topics taken into consideration were autonomy, clientelism, and professionalization in journalism based on ethics values. Even if the Polarized Pluralist Model seems to fit in both countries from a macro perspective, with the in-depth interviews, it is clearly seen that different cross-national nuances come out.

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Anatomy of the Lebanese Media

Cited by 4 publications

References 29 publications

Hybrid Media and Hybrid Politics: Contesting Informational Uncertainty in Lebanon and Tunisia

Hybrid Media and Hybrid Politics: Contesting Informational Uncertainty in Lebanon and Tunisia

Media Pluralism and Democratic Consolidation: A Recipe for Success?

A Comparative Research Between Italian and Turkish Journalists: Professionalism, Autonomy, Clientelism, and Ethic

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