"Celebrities champion global development, bringing public visibility to poverty while spotlighting neoliberal strategies as heroic adventures. The wealthy few are applauded for their noble gestures toward helping the projected grateful beneficiaries. These narratives of individual sacrifice and bene
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fit draw attention away from more complex and contextual issues of inequity and injustice. Issues of global development are of serious concern, with an increasing gap between the wealthy and the poor, impending environmental consequences to human industry, and enduring concerns with human rights. In efforts toward resolution, global development schemes require massive financial capital, steered toward strategic social change, applauded by audiences of celebrities glamourizing development processes. Following a brief articulation of global development as an industry, I turn to the roles of celebrities within this landscape, considering their characterization in narratives that position sanctified heroes as rescuing romanticized victims at the mercy of depoliticized villains. I conclude with concerns over the implications for engagement in global development." (Page 128)
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"Heather Bourbeau finds that in a crisis, media professionals and humanitarian aid providers negotiate a delicate balance between thorough and consistent coverage, and coverage that sensationalizes a crisis and leads to hysteria, misery, and fatigue. In "F" Bourbeau compares the media coverage of th
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e Ebola crisis in Liberia to reporting on the Second Congo War in the DRC. She finds that when the topic is a contagious disease outbreak, media themes can swing the international community into action, but can also create unnecessary fear in countries far from the affected areas. By contrast, ongoing conflicts such as the war in the DRC often become background noise relegated to the back pages of major newspapers, if covered at all by the international press. She concludes that without continued media interest and informed coverage the international community's response becomes dulled or muted and atrocities can be overlooked despite a continuous need for assistance and diplomatic efforts." (Introduction to part 4, page 186)
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"Andersen explores the definition of humanitarian communication, its history, language, visual renderings, and narrative structures. Building on the historical effects of media depictions and their relationship to aid appeals and public response, the chapter engages the concepts of empathy and compa
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ssion, post-humanitarianism, the formulation of an ironic spectator, the contentious notion of compassion fatigue, the ethics of solidarity, and the articulation of global citizenship. She discusses the challenges that complex emergencies and human suffering pose to journalists, media organizations, and aid agencies, and addresses the media pitfalls and dominant critiques of crisis representation. From early-published photographs of starving children, to contemporary aid appeals for Syrian Refugees, issues of stereotypes and narrative exclusions are understood along a trajectory of historical development and context." (Introduction to part 1, page 10)
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"Suzanne Franks discusses how the visually dominated storytelling of famines in Africa distorted the causes of famine and therefore obscured the most effective solutions. As journalists struggled to document the depths of human suffering, humanitarian communication in these early stages raised compa
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ssion, concern, and actions of all sorts, but also helped to extend the conflicts and misled global publics by offering simple explanations for complex circumstances. In addition, it left in its wake a legacy, and a visual convention of stereotypic imagery, of The Starving African; anonymous, vulnerable, powerless, and forever waiting for food from the West." (Introduction to part 4, page 186)
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"Two major media revolutions transformed the humanitarian response to disasters facing the Arab Gulf States, namely the 1991 launch of Pan-Arab satellite TV channels, and the 2010 advent of social media. Drawing on her own professional experience, the author argues that both media revolutions have h
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ad positive effects on humanitarian response in GCC countries and the Arab region. She explores the impact of mainstream Pan-Arab satellite TV channels in successful fundraising through telethons and 24/7 news reporting, resulting in an increasing awareness of humanitarian needs. A new public understanding of accountability in the distribution of mobilized resources has also emerged. Obaid has detailed the use of social media and the connections forged between volunteers, donors, and the victims of conflict and disaster. Both facets of the media revolution have the potential to become more relevant and effective in raising awareness of humanitarian crises, delivering relief, and helping the victims recover. Technological empowerment and skills-based media training will facilitate media accessibility and use, and are the ways forward in creating sustained, effective, and timely humanitarian response in the Arab region, and beyond." (Introduction to part 6, page 304)
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"Culture and Crisis Communication presents an examination of how politics, culture, religion, and other social issues affect crisis communication and management in nonwestern countries. From intense human tragedy to the follies of the rich, the chapters examine how companies, organizations, news out
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lets, health organizations, technical experts, politicians, and local communities communicate in crisis situations. Taking a wider view than a single country’s perspective, the text contains a cross-cultural and cross-country approach. In addition, the case studies offer valuable lessons that organizations that wish to operate or are operating in those cultures can adopt in preparing and managing crises. The book highlights recent crisis events such as Syria’s civil war, missing Malaysia Flight MH370, andJapan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. Each of the case studies examines how culture impacts communication and responses to crises." (Publisher description)
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"Die Kultusministerkonferenz fordert die systematische Integration digitaler Lernszenarien in die Gestaltung der Unterrichts- und Lernprozesse sowie Medienbildung als integralen Bestandteil aller Unterrichtsfächer. Das von Daniel Bernsen und Ulf Kerber herausgegebene Praxishandbuch „Historisches
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Lernen und historische Medienbildung im digitalen Zeitalter“ zeigt auf, wie dies für den Geschichtsunterricht gelingen kann. Auf der theoretischen Grundlage einer „historischen Medienbildung“ zeigen die Autoren digitale Lernszenarien an zahlreichen Beispielen für die Praxis des Geschichtsunterrichts auf. Mit einem transdisziplinären Zugriff werden Geschichtsdidaktik und Medienbildung verbunden. Der Brückenschlag von theoretischer Diskussion zu vorhandenen Praxisansätzen bietet eine fundierte Einführung und einen aktuellen Überblick über historisches Lernen mit digitalen Medien in und außerhalb der Schule. Die Grundlage dafür bildet die Definition einer historischen Medienbildung mit eigenen kompetenzorientierten Aufgaben- und Handlungsbereichen, die Medienbildung im Sinne der Kultusministerkonferenz als integrativen Teil schulischen Geschichtsunterrichts begreift." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Drawing on examples ranging from the Indignados movement in Spain to media activists in Brazil, from rural community workers in Malawi to UNICEF's global outreach programs, [the author] presents cutting-edge debates about the role of media and communication in enhancing social change. He offers bot
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h new and contested ideas of approaching social change from below, and highlights the need for institutions - governments and civil society organizations alike - to be in sync with their constituencies." (Publisher description)
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"Desde una perspectiva crítica de la comunicación para el desarrollo y el cambio social y tomando como referencia una nueva mirada a la Comunicología de la Liberación definida por Luis Ramiro Beltrán (1981), esta presentación analiza experiencias y modelos de comunicación horizontal de radios
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comunitarias en India, con el fin de conocer, desde la práctica, los modos en los que se está involucrando en el proceso de la comunicación a comunidades antes excluidas y silenciadas. Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio sobre la participación de la comunidad en las prácticas de comunicación participativa iniciadas por tres radios comunitarias en India. Este análisis recoge las diversas formas desde las que estas radios comunitarias en India afrontan el proceso de comunicación dialógica con las poblaciones y comunidades a las que dan servicio." (Resumen)
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"O presente artigo apresenta os principais resultados do projeto de pesquisa “Mídia Cidadã e Desenvolvimento Sustentável: mapeamento e análise de rádios comunitárias em áreas de pressão socioambiental na Amazônia”, que busca entender a dimensão e o papel potencial das rádios comunitá
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rias nos embates discursivos pelo desenvolvimento da região amazônica. O objeto da investigação são rádios comunitárias situadas em áreas de potencial conflito socioambiental na Amazônia Legal, o que inclui disputas por território ou pelo uso de recursos naturais, considerando-se grandes obras de impacto, mas também Unidades de Conservação e Terras Indígenas nos nove estados da região. Como produto central do projeto foi gerada uma cartografia digital sobre comunicação cidadã e desenvolvimento sustentável na região, na perspectiva de gerar insumos para o fortalecimento da comunicação comunitária como espaço de contra-hegemonia midiática e consequente empoderamento de grupos locais nas decisões que afetem seu bem-estar." (Resumo)
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"Study findings indicate that community videos aid spousal communication in support of maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN) behaviors even if husbands do not attend the disseminations. The visual presentation of MIYCN messages improved the transmission of information, which then facil
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itated communication between the husband and wife. Community members and family members confirmed these findings; they indicated that community video is a promising approach for strengthening spousal communication on important health issues." (Conclusion, page 3)
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"Development institutions communicate about development through mediated communication strategies. The advent of image-intensive digital spaces such as Instagram has facilitated communication for these institutions, making ‘development’ more accessible to the public. However, the representation
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of development in these institutional digital spaces remains largely unexamined. By conceptualising Instagram as an emerging context for the ‘public face of development’, we conducted a content analysis of 300 Instagram posts by three major bilateral development agencies (USAID, DFID, and SIDA) in order to address critical questions concerning how they communicated about development agendas, subjects, and processes of development to the public. The study reveals that these representations of development in digital space largely adhere to feminised and infantilised visions of ‘ideal victimhood’ when projecting ‘what’ and ‘who’ should receive attention. These representations thus served to justify the Western-centred, neoliberal modes of development. Overall, these agencies’ communicative patterns regarding ‘how development can be achieved’ articulate perspectives on development to ‘look-good’ at home and ‘do-good’ abroad that make social change seem readily achievable." (Abstract)
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"Popular theatre occupies a special space in Matabeleland because it is situated in the everyday lives of ordinary people, and is able to articulate their experiences and to create spaces for them to ‘speak to power’. In the wake of the Gukurahundi massacres and perceived marginalization of Mata
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beleland in the 1980s, theatre groups used their plays to probe issues that were shunned by mainstream media. We argue that theatre has been used as part of radical citizen media in a context in which mainstream public spheres are restricted. We also demonstrate that theatre groups in Matabeleland have shifted between ‘Matabeleland particularism’ and addressing broader, ‘national’ concerns, reflecting historical context. However, theatre is not always used to express views that support the downtrodden against the establishment. In the Matabeleland case and also Zimbabwe as a whole, theatre has also been employed by the state and other pro-establishment groups for ideological mobilization." (Abstract)
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"En el “Seminario Latinoamericano: Internet, Redes Sociales y Radios Comunitarias” se busco conjuntamente entre académicos, activistas de medios, comunicadores comunitarios y gestores culturales, exponer una gran diversidad de reflexiones acerca del estado de la comunicación en la región desd
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e las perspectivas de apropiación y reapropiación de tecnologías, desde las organizaciones sociales que se han expresado históricamente, por medio de radios comunitarias, como también las comunidades que han emergido gracias al uso de plataformas sociales y herramientas digitales en los últimos años." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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"A web-based system was developed to download and analyse news reports relevant to Ebola vaccine trials. This included monitoring major online newspapers in each country with planned clinical trials, including Ghana. All news articles were downloaded, selecting out those containing variants of the w
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ords “Ebola,” and “vaccine,” which were analysed thematically by a team of three coders. Two types of themes were defined: critiques of the trials and rebuttals in favour of the trials [...] The rumours captured through this research indicate the variety of strong emotions drawn out by the trials, highlighting the importance of understanding the emotional and social context of such research. The uncertainty, fear, and distrust associated with the trials draw from the contemporary context of the Ebola outbreak, as well as longstanding historical issues in Ghana. By analysing the debate from its inception, we can see how the controversy unfolded, and identify points of concern that can inform health communication, suggesting that this tool may be valuable in future epidemics and crises." (Abstract, page 2)
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"Media attention and fundraising for humanitarian causes are closely intertwined. Watching people suffering on TV prompts many of us to engage and donate – this is widely known as “the CNN effect.” Journalists need independent access to report from the ground. This might explain why the humani
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tarian situation in two “limited access” countries that rank the lowest in the World Press Freedom Index of Reporters without Borders - Eritrea and North Korea - are among the top crises that received almost zero media attention in 2016. As in most disasters, women and girls are worst affected. They are often the last to eat in times of drought, they often lack the physical strength to escape natural disasters and they face sexual violence during conflicts. One in five refugee women or displaced women in complex humanitarian settings have experienced sexual violence. This report highlights where the global community must step up action to bring an end to human suffering and promote a world of peace and social justice. As an aid organization, CARE International is driven to provide relief even in places where few others dare to go. Journalists also have a responsibility, given that the media has the power to set agendas, hold politicians accountable and help raise crucial funds to deliver aid. This ranking is not meant to compare misery and suffering and place them on a scale; rather, each crisis and each human fate is unique and deserves all the support we can give. With this report, CARE International aims to shine the spotlight on those humanitarian crises that have been neglected or eclipsed by others grabbing the world’s attention. Each one of them is one too many." (Introduction, page 4)
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