Media Freedom Indexes in Democracies: A Critical Perspective Through the Cases of Poland and Chile

Authors

  • Ewa Sapiezynska SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poland
  • Claudia Lagos Universidad de Chile (i.e. University of Chile)

Keywords:

Media freedom indexes, freedom of expression, political economy of the media, Chile, Poland

Abstract

We analyzed the media freedom indexes of Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders to determine which areas they focus on and which they omit. We also assessed the degree to which these indexes are appropriate for measuring media freedom in democratic countries. We concluded that these instruments—with their focus on violence against journalists and government constraints on media—are more appropriate for assessments in nondemocratic countries than for understanding the subtle problems of democracies, often related to the media ownership structure, media’s dependence on advertising, self-censorship, and the scant presence of citizen voices. The instruments examined reduce freedom of expression to its negative dimension, freedom from government interference, and ignore positive freedom that is the universal right to free speech.

Author Biographies

Ewa Sapiezynska, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poland

Ewa Sapiezynska is an Associate Professor at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.She holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Chile and a Master in Spanish and Latin American Studies from the University of Warsaw.Phone: +4879 37 73 375

Claudia Lagos, Universidad de Chile (i.e. University of Chile)

Claudia Lagos is an Associate Professor at the University of Chile, at the Institute for Communication and Image.Lagos is currently comleting her PhD at the Institute of Communications Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Published

2016-01-29

Issue

Vol. 10 (2016)

Section

Articles

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