Karlowicz undertakes an examination of the media in post Balkan states. She seeks to discern how international institutions that seek to provide assistance to nations in transition to democracy can help foster a conducive environment for the media in these countries.

Reiterating the importance of a free press, this excerpt examines the various roles of the fourth estate. Drawing on these, it then elucidates on the importance of free press in transitions to democracy, using Uzbekistan, and Ukraine as illustrations.

This thesis explores the ideological and epistemological constructs surrounding media.

The concepts surrounding the media are often characterised as ‘western’ notions. Berger in his article examines these notions and seeks to reconstruct them in terms of South African media and democracy. The key issue at play here is that media theories need to be improvised on based on socio-economic, cultural, political and economic indices for the media to be a tool of relevance in any society.

This report examines the competence of the EU in fostering an independent and pluralistic media. The recommendations involve establishing media literacy programmes, facilitating a more fluid model of media, ensuring that internet providers do not curb the freedom of speech and expression, and also call upon the EU to administer an independent monitoring organisation, among other things.

Michailidou examines how instruments of mass media and the public have an influential role in shaping the political identity of nation states. It further elucidates on how advances in communication technology have impacted the political landscape and how the public sphere has been instrumental in democratising governance in the EU.

This interview engages with a plethora of issues- the nature of mass media, reconciling changes in communication technology with new democracy, whether the transformed media caters to new democracy, and economic development has influenced new media and technology in the context of Central and Eastern Europe. 

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Jebril et al examine how reforms in media are instrumental for nation states that are transitioning to democracies. They attempt to understand the process through the lens of institutional changes that characterise transitions to democracy. In doing so, they elucidate on the transitional experience of various Latin American and African countries.

The public sphere as envisaged by Habermas was a sphere of the privileged. With the increase in the democratisation of the public sphere however, Magalhaeset al examine through the lens of feminist critique the relevance of plurality in the media and the public sphere.

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