Introduction to "Media Accountability"

A team led by Prof. Dr. Susanne Fengler, Director of the Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism, examined in the MediaAct project’s publication (link here) media self-regulation and the transparency of the media in Europe.

For three and a half years, MediaAct focused on the opportunities offered by innovative instruments for media self-regulation, for example blogs or online ombudsmen. MediaAcT was the only media-related project coordinated by a German institution that the 7th EU Research Framework Program selected for support and funding (€1.5 million).

There were in addition to the Dortmund University researchers, 11 partner institutions from Eastern and Western European countries as well as one from the Arab world. From Finland in the north to Tunisia in the south, the research teams analyzed and compared the development and impact of various forms of media responsibility.

In this broad field of study, the MediaAct researchers and scientists wanted to find out which established and which innovative forms of media self-regulation are represented in the study’s countries.

One goal of the project was to develop policy recommendations for EU lawmakers in the field of media. The scientists also took cultural differences into account and researched which forms of media self-regulation have been established in which media and journalism cultures.

The MediaAcT project started with a kick-off conference in February 2010 in Dortmund. Further workshops and conferences followed in Estonia, Poland and Switzerland.

In her PowerPoint presentation Prof. Dr. Susanne Fengler, Director of the Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism, provides an introduction to this topic.