Albornoz - Ensuring a diversity of voices in the media
Albornoz, L.A. (2022) Ensuring a diversity of voices in the media. In: Re|Shaping policies for creativity: addressing culture as a global public good, (69-90). Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). ISBN 978-92-3-100503-9
While there has been a deterioration of global media freedom since 2006, the number of countries with Access to Information Laws has risen from 40 in 2009 to 126 in 2019.
Many States see the need not only to have quality public service media, but also to diversify heir media landscape by supporting community-based outlets and local media.
While content quotas continue to be a popular tool (used by 68% of Parties), broadcasters in many countries struggle to comply with domestic content quotas due to a lack of local productions.
More financial support is needed to change the situation.
Online services remain less regulated than public and private broadcasting, but media egulatory authorities are expanding their areas of responsibility, which increasingly cover the Video on Demand domain and more complex media monitoring systems.
Most Parties (87%) have public service media with a legal remit to promote a diversity of cultural expressions, and they are starting to adopt measures in response to the absence, under-representation or misrepresentation of different social groups in the stories circulated by the media.
Gender inequality in the media persists both on and off screen, and concrete and evidence-based action is lacking – as most States do not monitor gender equality in the media.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a proliferation of disinformation, the closure of media outlets and a scapegoating of certain groups in the media.
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Culture and creativity account for 3.1% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 6.2% of all employment. Exports of cultural goods and services doubled in value from 2005 to reach US$389.1 billion in 2019. Besides being one of the youngest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world, new and ongoing challenges also make the creative economy one of the most vulnerable sectors that is often overlooked by public and private investment. The cultural and creative sectors were among the hardest hit by the pandemic, with over 10 million jobs lost in 2020 alone. Public investment in culture has been declining over the last decade and creative professions remain overall unstable and underregulated. Although culture and entertainment are major employers of women (48.1%), gender equality is a distant prospect. Additionally, only 13% of voluntary national reviews of progress towards the 2030 Agenda acknowledge culture’s contribution to sustainable development. Disparities between developed and developing countries are significant, with developed countries leading the trade of cultural goods and services – accounting for 95% of total exports of cultural services.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder that no country alone can forge the protection and promotion of diversity within its territory and beyond. Culture’s value as a global public good must be cherished and preserved for the benefit of present and future generations. Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity – Addressing culture as a global public good offers insightful new data that shed light on emerging trends at a global level, as well as putting forward policy recommendations to foster creative ecosystems that contribute to a sustainable world by 2030 and beyond.
Luis A. Albornoz “Ensuring a diversity of voices in the media”