• search hit 233 of 284
Back to Result List

Media watchblogs as an instrument of media accountability: An international survey

  • Media watchdog weblogs can play an important role in media accountability, provided that the bloggers are regularly active and have an appropriate awareness of their role in the media landscape. The following article examines the presence and influence of media watchblogs in selected nations, as well as the operators’ standards and perceptions of their roles. In semi-structured qualitative interviews, operators of watchblogs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom discussed their perceptions of their role, their ethical guidelines, their financing and any conflicts of interest, and their projections for the future. The interviews reveal that most media watchbloggers do not interpret their role to be a Fifth Estate with a mandate to monitor the mass media. The watchbloggers are reluctant to accept and uphold formal ethical and quality criteria, and limitations on time and money make them unable to guarantee ongoing critical media analysis. For these reasons, media watchblogs are determined to be a weak instrument of media accountability.

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author:Ralf Spiller, Matthias Degen, Elke Kronewald, Katherine GuertlerORCiD
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1386/ajms.5.2.151_1
ISSN:2049-9531
Parent Title (English):Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies
Publisher:intellect
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2016
Release Date:2023/12/18
Tag:ethics; expert interviews; international comparative study; media accountability; role identity; watchblogs
Volume:5
Issue:2
First Page:151
Last Page:176
Institutes:Fakultät Angewandte Natur- und Kulturwissenschaften
Begutachtungsstatus:peer-reviewed
research focus:Lebenswissenschaften und Ethik
Licence (German):Keine Lizenz - Es gilt das deutsche Urheberrecht: § 53 UrhG