The Independence of the News Media: Francophone Research on Media, Economics and Politics (Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A Palgrave and IAMCR Series)

"This book explores the different ways Francophone research on news media has faced the challenges of dependence and independence from three complementary perspectives. The first is economics - how can sustainable business models be developed and to what extent can crowdfunding help to maintain the financial and editorial independence of newsrooms? Secondly, in a time where the role of journalism in the public sphere is more questioned than ever, the authors evaluate to what extent news media can embody the needs of their readers. Thirdly, the authors consider the historical and political context of publication in the light of the ?Arab Spring?. This book deals with major, contemporary evolutions of news media, bringing together research that considers the media in France, Canada, and the Arab region (notably Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt). Using numerous case studies, this book helps to define how complex the question of independence is today." Acknowledgements 6 Contents 7 Notes on Contributors 10 List of Figures 13 List of Tables 14 Chapter 1: Introduction 15 References 18 Part I: Political Economy of the Media in the Age of Crowdfunding 19 Chapter 2: Funding Print and Online News Media in France: Developments and Challenges 20 The Weakness of Crowdfunding for News and Information 22 The Increasing Importance of Subsidies in Financing Print and Online News Media 24 Private-sector Support Replacing Government Aid 26 Final Comments 28 References 29 Chapter 3: French Media: Can Crowdfunding Serve Pluralism? 31 Media and Money 34 “New” Demands 38 Ethics and Economics 41 A (Relatively) Vital Issue 44 More Participatory Editorial Offices? 48 Depending on Readers 51 On a Quest for “Clean Money” 52 References 54 Chapter 4: Crowdfunding: Does It Make a Significant Contribution to Community and Independent Media in Quebec? 57 Unclear and Conflicting Definitions 60 The Need for a Comprehensive and Differentiated Approach 62 Between Cyclical and Structural Needs: Four Types of Financing 64 The Case of Community and Independent Media 66 A Significant Contribution for Quebec’s Independent and Community Media? 68 Some Experiences with Crowdfunding 69 What Needs Can Crowdfunding Meet? 71 Conclusion 73 References 74 Part II: Journalism and the Public Sphere 76 Chapter 5: Audiences and Readership of Revolutionary Leftist Media: The “Media Leader” Hypothesis 77 The Nature of the Enunciator-Enunciatee Relationship 81 The “Leader” and the “Mass” 82 The Substitution of the Ego Ideal 84 The Père Duchesne 85 Enabling Identification by Becoming One with the Recipient 86 A New Discourse Promoting Self-Progress 88 The Cri du Peuple 90 Jules Vallès, the “Objector” 90 Form and Style of the Cri du Peuple 93 First Forms of Audience Feedback 94 The Radio Station Lorraine Cœur d’Acier 95 A Radio Show for All the Men and Women “Who Had Been Silenced” 97 Identities of “Leaders” and the “Led” 100 Building Confidence by Establishing a National Reputation 100 The “Media Leader” Hypothesis in the Light of the Podemos Movement 101 Becoming Media 102 The Strength of Speech 106 The Leader’s Dual Nature 108 Conclusion 110 References 111 Chapter 6: Occupation: “Net Cleaner”—The Socio-economic Issues of Comment Moderation on French News Websites 113 The Role of Comments in News Production 117 Moderation Logic and the Invisible Moderator 118 Method 119 The Moderation Market in France 121 Moderators’ Working Conditions 123 Day-to-Day Life as a Moderator 125 The Mechanics of Moderation 130 Relationships with Editors and Journalists 131 Relationship with Commenters and Hate Speech 134 The Shock of the Attacks 136 Conclusion 139 References 139 Chapter 7: The Local Press as a Medium to Create Diversion 142 Seemingly Diversified Information 147 Four Cities, Four Newspapers 147 Article Types 150 Article Authors 151 Entertain, Inform, Integrate... 153 Staying Upbeat 154 A Hierarchy of Article Topics 157 Conclusion: Creating Diversion 159 References 161 Chapter 8: Media Coverage of the Coalbed Methane (CBM) Controversy in Lorraine, Northeast France: How the Regional Daily Press Boosted the Social Acceptability of an Unpopular Project 163 The Press and Controversy, an Intertwined Relationship 165 The Critical Role of the Press for the Key Figures in a Controversy 165 Controversy, a Challenge for the Press 166 Changes in Media Coverage of the Coalbed Methane (CBM) Controversy in Lorraine, Northeast France 167 Stage 1 (2006–2010): The Regional Daily Press Stands with Its Local Area by Tentatively Supporting an Uncertain Project 168 Stage 2 (2012–2015): The Manipulation of the Regional Press for Crisis and Acceptability Communication 169 Stage 3 (Autumn 2015–2018): The Regional Daily Press at the Centre of the Controversy—Shifting from Biased Press Coverage of Opponents to a Media Blackout 173 The Regional Daily Press and Some Techniques Used to Build a Consensus 173 Framing a Subject to Magnify/Minimise Its Impact 173 (Dis)qualifying the Opponents 175 Publicising the Company’s Message 179 Ethical and Democratic Issues 180 Conclusion: An Independent Press Is Essential for Healthy Public Debate 182 References 182 Part III: Before and After the Revolution: Media in the MENA Region 184 Chapter 9: The Transnationalisation of Information and Journalism: The Case of Arab Media 185 The Geopolitics of Information in the MENA Countries 188 The Events that Shaped the Positions of Transnational News Channels 189 The “Demographic Shift” of Journalism 191 The Domino Effect of Transnational Television and Radio Journalism 193 The Egyptian Case: Constraints and Selection Are Economic Considerations 196 Journalists Are Transnational 200 References 200 Chapter 10: A Conditional Offer: The Strategies Employed in the Field of Power in Morocco to Control the Press Space 204 Direct Political Control Over the Political-Journalistic Offer and Its Distribution 207 Controlling the Extent of Distribution 210 A Twofold Controlled “Opening”: The Emergence of Private, Non-partisan Newspapers (Start of the 1990s) and News Websites (2000s) 210 Economic and Financial Control of the Sector 214 Creating the News Offer 215 Influencing How Media Is Distributed 217 Advertising Under Political Control 218 Using State Aid to Control the Press 220 New Uses of Legal and Police Controls 221 Using the Law and the Administrative System to Control Journalism 221 Establishing the Internal and External “Red Lines” 222 Using Criminal Law 228 References 230 Chapter 11: The Algerian Press: Deregulation Under Pressure—The New Forms of Control or the “Invisible Hand” of the State 232 Analytical Approach and Research Strategy 234 The Transformations of the Printed and Electronic Press Markets in a Context of Political and Economic “Liberalisation” 236 The Printed Press Market: From State Monopoly to “Opening” to the Private Sector 236 A Highly Developed Market, But Strongly Affected by the Decline in Readership 238 Development of the Advertising Market for the Benefit of New Private Television Channels 240 Electronic Press: A Difficult Gestation Period 243 New Forms of State Interventionism 250 The Political Manipulation of Institutional Advertising and State Aid 250 “Freedom” on a Tight Rein 252 Non Partisan Political Parallelism 253 Difficult Professionalisation 256 Conclusion 258 References 258 Chapter 12: Tunisian Post-2011 Private Presses: Economic and Political Mutations 261 A Historical Overview of the Private Press in Tunisia 265 From Gaining Independence (1956) to the “Media Spring” (1977–1985): The Private Press Under Habib Bourguiba and Unanimity as a State Doxa 265 From “Change” to the “Revolution” of 2011: The Private Press Under Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and the Structural Obstacles Impeding Liberalisation of the Sector 268 Economic Fragility and Political Supervision: The Private Press Post-2011 273 Weaknesses of the Tunisian Economy and Uncompensated Drops in Revenue 273 Political Control and Influencing of the Print Media After 2011 278 Conclusion 282 References 282 Chapter 13: Fortune and Misfortune of the Egyptian Private Press: Sociohistorical Study of a Place of Production of Information 284 A New Historic Situation 287 Political and Judicial Origins 290 Private Sector Wealth 293 Conclusion 309 References 309 Author Index 312 Subject Index 317 Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Introduction (Loïc Ballarini)....Pages 1-4 Front Matter ....Pages 5-5 Funding Print and Online News Media in France: Developments and Challenges (Franck Rebillard)....Pages 7-17 French Media: Can Crowdfunding Serve Pluralism? (Loïc Ballarini, Emmanuel Marty, Nikos Smyrnaios)....Pages 19-44 Crowdfunding: Does It Make a Significant Contribution to Community and Independent Media in Quebec? (Anne-Marie Brunelle, Michel Sénécal)....Pages 45-63 Front Matter ....Pages 65-65 Audiences and Readership of Revolutionary Leftist Media: The “Media Leader” Hypothesis (Vincent Goulet)....Pages 67-102 Occupation: “Net Cleaner”—The Socio-economic Issues of Comment Moderation on French News Websites (Nikos Smyrnaios, Emmanuel Marty)....Pages 103-131 The Local Press as a Medium to Create Diversion (Loïc Ballarini)....Pages 133-153 Media Coverage of the Coalbed Methane (CBM) Controversy in Lorraine, Northeast France: How the Regional Daily Press Boosted the Social Acceptability of an Unpopular Project (Marieke Stein)....Pages 155-175 Front Matter ....Pages 177-177 The Transnationalisation of Information and Journalism: The Case of Arab Media (Tourya Guaaybess)....Pages 179-197 A Conditional Offer: The Strategies Employed in the Field of Power in Morocco to Control the Press Space (Abdelfettah Benchenna, Dominique Marchetti)....Pages 199-226 The Algerian Press: Deregulation Under Pressure—The New Forms of Control or the “Invisible Hand” of the State (Cherif Dris)....Pages 227-255 Tunisian Post-2011 Private Presses: Economic and Political Mutations (Enrique Klaus, Olivier Koch)....Pages 257-279 Fortune and Misfortune of the Egyptian Private Press: Sociohistorical Study of a Place of Production of Information (Bachir Benaziz)....Pages 281-308 Back Matter ....Pages 309-320