"This book provides novel insights into the perspectives of journalists in Sierra Leone and on their work by examining their perceived journalistic values and the influences that shape them. It treats journalism as an occupational identity and as a community that works on the foundation of the sub-S
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aharan African philosophies that exalts communal values in every sphere of life. When journalists speak about their social function in society and values, they are sharing both their individual knowledge and experiences on their work. Therefore, journalistic values are never isolated ideologies, but exist within the contexts in which they practice. In this book, Sarah Bomkapre Koroma examines the perceptions of journalists on the societal influences that impact their work, ranging from individual, procedural, organizational, political, economic, and many more." (Publisher description)
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"This volume presents case studies of news media employing and integrating social media into their news production practices. It links social media use to journalistic practices and news production processes in the digital age of the Global South. Critically, the chapters look at seminal cases of st
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art-up news media whose content is informed by trends in social media, ethical considerations and participatory cultures spurred by the wide use of social media. There has been considerable research looking at the potential of new media technologies, traditional journalism and citizen reporting. The extent to which these new media technologies and 'citizen journalism' have morphed or reconfigured traditional journalism practice remains debatable. Currently, there are questions around the limits of social media in journalism practice as the ethical lines continue to become blurred. It is this conundrum of the role of social media in the reconfiguration of the media, news making, production and participatory cultures that requires more investigation. Social media has also turned the logic of the political economy of media production on its head as citizens can now produce, package and distribute news and information with shoestring budgets and in authoritarian regimes with no license of practice. This new political economy means the power that special interest groups used to enjoy is increasingly slipping from their hands as citizens take back the power to appropriate social media journalism to counter hegemonic narratives. Citizens can also perform journalistic roles of investigating and whistleblowing but with a lack off, or limited, regulation." (Publisher description)
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"The entanglement of Jihad, Political Violence, and Media has determined the lives of Muslims in Europe and the US over the past 20 years. This book unravels the nexus of these elements, to critically examine how their conjunction is perpetuated, reproduced, or disputed. In 16 case studies, the cont
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ributors critically reflect on the identification of jihad with political violence, address the academic, legal, political and broader public production of knowledge on this topic, examine the aesthetic formations involved in the mediation and reaffirmation of this narrow understanding, explore the experiential worlds of people whose ideas and actions are labelled as and affected by notions of violent jihad, and illuminate the institutional and media contexts (e.g. of archives) in which an entanglement of jihad and political violence takes effect, with profound consequences." (Publisher description)
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"Findings indicate that Afghan exiled journalists worldwide struggle to continue practicing their profession. Even among the few who still work in media, the vast majority depend on additional sources of income. This demonstrates a clear need for support, especially since many respondents aspire to
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establish their own medium in exile in the future and would like to continue working in the field. Most Afghan journalists in exile would like to continue to report on Afghanistan related issues and thus reach Afghans both inside and outside the country with their independent stories. Most of the participants rated solidarity within the Afghan media community as either low or very low. This trend is even more pronounced in Germany. At the same time, an absolute majority of the respondents indicated a very high interest in connecting with the Afghan media community in the countries where they are currently based or in other countries." (https://jx-fund.org)
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"The 2023 Synthesis of UNESCO evaluations draws on information contained in 36 evaluations – five corporate and 31 decentralized evaluations. The analysis shows that the Organization is making good progress in a range of areas including demonstrating a sharper focus on SDGs, developing fast as an
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agile, flexible, learning Organization, reimagining its convening power and influence, and deepening and diversifying partnerships. Good progress was also noted with sixty-one percent of the evaluations considered covering programmes and projects that respond to Global Priority Africa, focused entirely or in some part on the continent, and spread across all areas of UNESCO’s mandate. The 2023 Synthesis also identifies areas of improvement particularly with respect to quality and use of monitoring data, continued attention to Global Priority Gender Equality, focus on priority groups and inclusion and improving internal coherence. The Management Response to these issues can be found in Appendix 4 of this report and demonstrates UNESCO’s commitment to accountability and learning. The Synthesis also assessed the quality of evaluations, and the findings show improvement in this regard particularly with respect to decentralized evaluation reports. Targeted capacity building and ongoing backstopping support including webinars and on-site capacity building in field offices continue to make an important contribution to lifting the quality of evaluation practice. The Synthesis also notes the emergence of innovative practices to inspire evaluation commissioners and practitioners when thinking about design and implementation of evaluations." (Abstract)
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"During the past two decades, numerous investigative journalist networks have emerged globally, through which journalists from different places and cultures collaborate. In this article, we focus specifically on the experiences of female investigative journalists and the ways in which they navigate
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challenges of intimidation, threats, and violence and adapt to stay safe and prosper in their practice. Our research is based on interviews with experienced and renowned investigative reporters, or so-called elite interviewees (Figenschou 2010), who have worked on transnational collaborations such as the Panama Papers, the Organized Crime and Corruption Project (OCCRP), and the Forbidden Stories. We interviewed eleven female and four male investigative reporters within these networks, some of them twice, over a two-year period. The study findings show that while the cross-cultural environments of these networks can open doors and be beneficial to female journalists in cultures where women otherwise have limited professional leeway, these journalists must still manage a range of detrimental local conditions on the ground. When confronting globalized structures of crime and power through their collaborative and cross-cultural work, female journalists can face social and professional slander and physical and verbal attacks in return. The exchange of coping strategies within professional networks and collaborations will help to mitigate local challenges on the ground and sustain women's participation in professional journalism." (Abstract)
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"This guide for policy-makers developed by the United Nations’ Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (OSAPG) and UNESCO provides specific strategies and approaches to address hate speech within and through education. Countering harmful, discriminatory and violent narrativ
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es in the form of xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and other types of intolerance, whether online or offline, requires interventions at every level of education, in both formal and non-formal settings. This guide offers concrete recommendations, good practices and lessons learned on how to combat hate speech and provide safe and respectful learning environments, as well as the broader goal of fostering inclusive societies." (Back cover)
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"Based on Articles 10 and 13 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) as an entry-point and building on recent developments in international human rights and multi-stakeholder initiatives focusing on anticorruption, transparency and openness, this Guide documents the importance of
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access to information (ATI) at the transnational and national levels to support efforts preventing corruption, showcasing both existing and emerging practices. It presents examples of how proactive disclosure and reactive disclosure of information support anticorruption efforts in terms of prevention and investigation. ATI is at the heart of many international and sector-based initiatives that build on citizens’ participation to improve accountability and increase transparency in public life. The Guide is an abbreviated version of ARTICLE 19’s detailed guide, published in 2022. It presents to all anti-corruption practitioners’ examples and initiatives initiated by States Parties to the UNCAC, international organizations, civil society organizations, and the private sector to promote ATI. It also exhibits how their combined or individual efforts contribute to fighting corruption and increasing transparency." (Introduction)
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"This guide aims to provide information to help improve press coverage of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on issues relating to the right to freedom of expression, the safety of journalists and access to information with the purpose of improving their ability to inform the public, to a professio
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nal standard, about the various parts of the process and, in doing so, increase the accountability of the various players involved in the review. Journalists themselves are victims of human rights violations around the world. These guidelines are also relevant to helping them understand how to report any violations of their freedom of expression and/or safety that might occur." (About the guide)
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"The Global Media Defence Fund (“the Fund”) is a UNESCO Multi-Partner Trust Fund/Programme developed with the goal of enhancing media protection and improving the access of journalists to specialized and gender-sensitive legal assistance. Administered by UNESCO, the Fund was established thanks t
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o initial donations by the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada. This Fund is one of the outcomes of the Global Campaign for Media Freedom, and contributes to advancing the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. Established for an initial 5-year period, the Fund contributes to a free and safer environment for journalists to undertake their work through four key approaches or outputs: 1. Fostering international legal cooperation, as well as the sharing and implementation of good practices to promote the defense of journalists under attack; 2. Reinforcing the operationalization of national protection mechanisms and peer support networks, to ensure journalists’ rapid access to specialized legal assistance, bolster their defense and enhance their safety, taking into account the gendered nature of threats against them; 3. Supporting investigative journalism that contributes to reduced impunity for crimes against journalists, and enhancing the safety of those conducting this line of work; 4. Enhancing structures for fostering strategic litigation in order to protect environments where the legal frameworks are conducive to an independent, free and pluralistic media ecosystem." (Page 6)
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"Since its founding in 1980, the IPDC has worked to foster and secure a healthy environment for free, pluralistic, and independent media in developing countries, countries in transition, and countries in conflict and post-conflict situations. Through this mandate, the Programme has since dedicated o
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ver $115 million to media development through more than 2,200 projects, carried out in at least 140 countries. In 2021, the IPDC Bureau approved a total of 86 project proposals and 9 Special Allocation initiatives. Nine of those projects, approved through the Rapid Response mechanism, reported to the Bureau in 2022. This report therefore covers 77 projects and the 9 Special Allocation initiatives approved in 2021, implemented in at least 90 countries over the course of 2021 and 2022." (Executive summary)
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"The IPDC Bureau at its 64th meeting (June 2020) requested the Secretariat to develop a targeted fundraising strategy in accordance with UNESCO’s overall fundraising strategy. It was first presented to the 32nd session of the Intergovernmental Council of the IPDC in November 2020. The Council then
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instructed the Secretariat to implement resource mobilization aimed at the private sector and civil society. The Secretariat presented a revised fundraising strategy, which also included elements on visibility to the 65th Bureau meeting in June 2021, and reported on its implementation at the 66th Bureau meeting in June 2022 and at the 33rd Council session of the Intergovernmental Council of the IPDC in November 2022. This document reports to the Bureau on the implementation actions thus far and includes a draft decision by the Bureau." (Page 1)
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"The main objective of coming up with the manual is to equip media practitioners and media houses with the necessary knowledge and skills on how to report elections to assist in the creation of a conducive environment for the holding of free and credible elections. The manual gives media practitione
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rs an opportunity to understand basic electoral processes as well as the electoral cycle. It is the Zimbabwe Media Commission's expectation that this manual will be used as a critical resource material in the training of media practitioners towards the appreciation and understanding of the electoral cycle. It is also hoped that the manual will be used by training institutions as part of training modules in elections reporting. The manual is also intended to raise awareness on media practitioners' safety when covering electoral processes and any other related activities." (Foreword, page II-iii)
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"Over the last year, the Theory of Change (ToC) has guided the MDP’s activities and actions. The Programme has followed a dual approach, reinforcing the capacities of duty-bearers and empowering rights-holders, with a focus on local media stakeholders. The aim of this approach is to create a safe
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and enabling environment for media to thrive at national, regional, and global levels, by improving legislative frameworks and policies relative to freedom of expression, access to information, the safety of journalists, community media, media in crisis preparedness and vulnerable situations, Media and Information Literacy (MIL) and access to information." (Summary)
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"The first part of these guidelines describes specific stakes related to Public Sector Information and Data (PSID) Access. It starts by defining PSID and their typology, continues by positioning their access at the heart of RTI, and stresses its role in giving a new boost to GPDI promotion. PSID dis
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closure and dissemination multidimensional values, are then described from governance, social, cultural, economic perspectives. Ubiquitous and intelligent technologies’ Impact on PSID is discussed at the end of this part. The second part highlights main issues to consider while developing and promoting PSID access, and how to address them. The focus is put on components necessary to any normative framework for a broader, trustworthy and inclusive disclosure, namely its constitutional basis, strategic levers, legal foundations, and structures to support PSID requests and appeals. Other dire ctives are also proposed to ensure a serene and sustainable PSID disclosure, such as balancing PSID access and privacy, proactive release, intellectual property protection, and request algorithms transparency. This part describes also how set-up and reinforce institutional capacities to oversee access to information, as well as practices and directives necessary to manage PSID resources." (Introduction, page 10)
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"The release of ChatGPT at the end of 2022 met with fears and optimism. One particularly important avenue of research that is emerging revolves around ChatGPT's ability to provide accurate and unbiased information on a variety of topics. Given the interest that Google and Microsoft have shown in sim
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ilar technologies, it is likely that Large Language Models such as ChatGPT could become new gateways to information, and if this is the case, what kind of information this technology provides needs to be investigated. The current study examines the usefulness of ChatGPT as a source of information in a South African context by first investigating ChatGPT's responses to ten South African conspiracy theories in terms of truthfulness, before employing bias classification as well as sentiment analysis to evaluate whether ChatGPT exhibits bias when presenting eight South African political topics. We found that, overall, ChatGPT did not spread conspiracy theories. However, the tool generated falsehoods around one conspiracy theory and generally presented a left bias, albeit not to the extreme. Sentiment analysis showed that ChatGPT's responses were mostly neutral and, when more emotive, were more often positive than negative. The implications of the findings for academics and students are discussed, as are a number of recommendations for future research." (Abstract)
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