"Recent trends in journalism education in Africa indicate a substantial increase both in scope and specialisation. While this increase is usually attributed to higher education institutions’ response to market trends, certain journalism education programmes are born out of development assistance i
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nitiatives that envision nation-building imperatives of democratisation and development. The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) is notable for its involvement in higher education journalism training at a graduate level in select countries in the Global South. This article assesses the presently discontinued involvement of NORAD in the establishment of a graduate journalism programme at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia between 2004–2007. In doing so, it reviews what has been learned over the lifespan of NORAD's sponsorship of the programme by discussing what worked and what did not work. Findings generated from document analysis, an online survey, and interviews indicate the project fell short of its mission due to its top-down, “magic-bullet” conceptualisation of democratisation that failed to take into account the political and legal-rational conundrums of the Ethiopian state. However, unanticipated yet useful contributions emerged from the project in terms of forging small-scale partnerships that yielded favourable results in the development of journalism education in sub-Saharan Africa." (Abstract)
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"The volume digs beneath the standardised and universalised veneer of professionalism to unpack routine practices and normative trends shaped by local factors, including the structural conditions of deprivation, entrenched political instability (and interference), pervasive neo-patrimonial governanc
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e systems, and the influences of technological developments. These varied and complex circumstances are shown to profoundly shape the foundations of journalism in Africa, resulting in routine practices that are both normatively distinct and equally in tune with (imported) Western journalistic cultures. The book thus broadly points to the dialectical nature of news production and the inconsistent and contradictory relationships that characterise news production cultures in Africa." (Publisher description)
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"Bias free-language is important because language reflects on the attitude in communication. Words and audiovisual selection have also a critical role in achieving greater gender equality. Therefore, messages should be carefully examined based on the six following principles: 1. Ensure that women an
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d men are represented; 2. Challenge gender stereotype; 3. Avoid exclusionary forms; 4. Use equal forms of address; 5. Create a gender balance; 6. Promote gender equity through titles." (Page 1)
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"A sub-text in the discourse on international development assistance is the argument that aid is not necessarily a beneficent, or sustainable, solution to the development needs of African countries. This argument raises a conceptual conundrum with respect to the many training programmes and fellowsh
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ips designed to address the skills deficits of journalists and media in Africa. While the necessity and value of such interventions may be taken for granted, a counterintuitive question arises about the extent to which beneficiaries are able nonetheless to act independently. This study sought to find out the extent to which capacity-building assistance to journalists in Ghana may have fostered or inhibited their independent practice. Individual interviews were conducted with 24 journalists to ascertain their experiences with such programmes and their subsequent dispositions towards the host country or agency. The findings showed that underlying the manifest objectives of building the capacities of beneficiaries was the implicit intent of the aid country of origin to use the media as agents of economic and cultural diplomacy. The consequent prospect of compromising the journalistic autonomy of beneficiaries of training aid brings into question their capacity to contribute to sustainable development in Ghana." (Abstract)
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"The growing influence of social media on journalistic work has attracted scholarly attention worldwide in recent years. However, due to cultural and language barriers, we lack comprehensive understanding of the journalist social media practice in non-Western countries. To help fill this gap, this s
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tudy offers a review and synthesis of existing scholarship on journalist social media practice in China. The authors systematically analyzed recent research studies published in both English-language journals in the West and Chinese-language journals in Mainland China. Drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory, the synthesis provided a comprehensive review of the patterns of practice as well as key tensions that social media use helped amplify and with which Chinese journalists had to contend." (Abstract)
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"This report aims to identify, evaluate, and discuss models to finance investigative journalism in the EU. To provide a thorough evaluation, we developed a set of criteria that cover six areas to that the financial source may exert an influence from high to low degrees. Those are (1) Independence, (
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2) Quality, (3) Market Structure, (4) Processes, (5) Sustainability, and (6) Competitiveness. This set of criteria is applied to eight representative financing models that stretch from the classical publishing house over innovative financing to publicly supported media. The analysis reveals that only a mixture of models allows the market to benefit best from each model’s core asset. The diversity of finance models is a natural inhibitor of market concentration, when regulative interference is well dosed. Also, the pluralistic set of finance models supports independence in that power is spread over many market actors." (Executive summary)
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"Dieses Buch erklärt, wie man eine investigative Recherche plant, ausführt und abliefert – von der Idee bis zur Story. Der Clou: Wir stellen uns vor, die Geschichte sei schon geschrieben, und gehen in Gedanken den Entstehungsprozess rückwärts durch. So versteht man am besten, was es braucht, u
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m eine Geschichte zu erzählen. Wir nennen die Vorgehensweise Story-Based Inquiry. Wir hören auch nicht mit der Publikation der Geschichte auf – von wegen: „Aus der Druckerpresse aus dem Sinn“. Die „Nachsorge“ ist für den Erfolg des Projekts genauso wichtig wie die Recherche. Wir müssen dafür sorgen, dass wir mit der Geschichte all diejenigen erreichen, die von den Recherche-Ergebnissen profitieren können. Denn den Impact einer investigativen Recherche bestimmt nicht allein der Inhalt der Story, sondern auch ihre Verbreitung. Die in diesem Handbuch vorgestellte Methode arbeitet vor allem mit Fragen – sorgfältig ausgewählten Fragen in einer sorgfältig ausgesuchten Reihenfolge. Wer unserer Anleitung folgt, wird merken, dass sich manche Hürden im Rechercheprozess von selbst auflöst und man eine Menge Zeit sparen kann. Denn die hier vorgestellte Recherchestruktur ist gleichermaßen das Gerüst einer überzeugenden und spannenden Geschichte. Recherchieren und Schreiben gehen Hand in Hand, sie unterstützen sich gegenseitig. Ungefähr zu dem Zeitpunkt, an dem die Recherche abgeschlossen ist, steht auch ein Großteil der Geschichte. In diesem Leitfaden haben wir die wichtigsten Erkenntnisse aus unserem vorigen Handbuch Story-Based Inquiry: A Manual for Investigative Journalists (2009) zusammengestellt und um neue Aspekte ergänzt." (Einleitung)
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"Este artículo analiza las estrategias de colaboración transnacional desarrolladas en los últimos años por medios latinoamericanos, destinadas a desplegar proyectos periodísticos que ponen el acento en la investigación y la calidad. Financiadas con la aportación de fundaciones internacionales
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, estas iniciativas aprovechan las ventajas digitales y las sinergias para unir esfuerzos en la denuncia de la corrupción o la violación de derechos humanos." (Resumen)
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"This exploratory study [.] argues that in a continent where traditional media organizations are increasingly failing to hold power to account, not-for-profit organizations are leading by example, setting the agenda and constantly scrutinizing those in power. This study further looks at the motivati
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on behind the formation of three not-for-profit investigative organizations, their funding model, as well as their impact in their respective countries. The following organizations are being studied: South Africa’s Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism; Nigeria’s Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism; and Botswana’s INK Centre for Investigative Journalism. This study also argues that although these organizations are playing a crucial role in keeping power in check, their overreliance on donor organizations may spell doom for some of them." (Abstract)
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"For a motivated journalist in Bulgaria it is easy to detect, investigate and collect proof of corruption and abuse of power. But currently, when making their findings public, instead of a gratifying applause, journalists encounter great chances of hitting a wall of silence, facing authorities with
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“eyes wide shut”, or even worse: being followed, intimidated, discouraged through smearing campaigns and labeled “Enemy of the State”. The reasons are classic - corrupt editors and publishers, self-censorship, pressure from the authorities and media ownership concentrated in the hands of oligarchs, who are using the press like “media bats” to gain control and punish the few defiant ones.
This said, in such a difficult context, investigative journalism in Bulgaria is not dead yet. It even shows signs of being in good shape. Thanks to the wise use of the technologies, investigative reporters can continue their work and even bypass the wall of silence, spreading their findings among the public through social media and gaining popularity that makes the uncovered issues ineludible for the mainstream media and the authorities." (Page 1)
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"This paper examines the teaching of conflict-sensitive reporting, safety education and peace journalism in the curricula of institutions offering mass communication/journalism programmes in three English speaking countries of West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. It assesses the status of r
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esearch and teaching of reporting of conflicts, peace journalism and professional safety in institutions of the selected countries." (Abstract)
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"This article argues that constructive journalism scholarship should look to service journalism and its subfields, cultural journalism and lifestyle journalism, to understand the key characteristics of this newer type of journalism. Though constructive journalism is typically associated with the rep
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orting of political and social issues, it is also seen to challenge the traditional ways of writing about such hard news topics due to its positive and solution-oriented approach. In this respect, constructive journalism seems to reuse some of the approaches known from service journalism, especially in terms of audience address and an expanded social role for journalists. However, service journalism emerged in the increasingly commercialized and globalized media landscape of the post-World War II period, whereas constructive journalism has emerged in the digital media landscape of the 2010s. These historical contexts provide particular circumstances for both types of journalism." (Abstract)
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"¿Cómo contar el desastre y mostrarlo, sin horrorizar a la comunidad ni ocultarle información? ¿Cómo conservar la objetividad, cuando la cronista o el movilero deben convivir con la desgracia? ¿Qué criterios se deberían seguir para hacer un buen uso de las redes sociales y no dejarse llevar
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por mitos y rumores? Esta publicación sistematiza paso a paso cómo llevar a cabo una de las coberturas más complejas en el periodismo, a partir de los conocimientos de una profesional y docente con treinta años de experiencia en informar desde el lugar del desastre." (www.eudeba.com.ar)
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"This study examines the potential of constructive journalism ideas and their implementation in Croatia, a country with a different social, cultural and historical background than that of Denmark or other Western European countries where constructive journalism is practised. Three Croatian linguists
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explain the potential hidden meanings of the word constructive for Croatians. Fifteen broadcast journalists and editors in Croatia have been interviewed in order to examine the potential opportunities and obstacles for the implementation of constructive journalism ideas in their newsrooms. Croatian journalists have a more active approach towards journalism and their overall impression of constructive journalism ideas is positive. Both linguists and journalists noticed potential ideological connotations of the word constructive, while journalists were careful about reporting on possible solutions and things that would work so as not to cross the line and be pulled into ideology. When it comes to implementation, most journalists point out differences in mindset, political influences and newsroom routines as main obstacles. A development of a specific strategy for Croatian newsrooms that moves away from adhering to ideas only is recommended, while the word constructive may be used only if it is clearly defined." (Abstract)
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"In sum, the representation of the several discussed topics – regional unions, regional cooperation organizations such as the EAEU, CIS, CSTO; Kyrgyz-Uzbek relations, Kyrgyz-Kazakh border conflict, Kyrgyz-Tajik relations and border issues, Central Asian integration, Central Asia and Caucasus, Cent
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ral Asia and Ukraine, Central Asia and Moldova, Russia as regional power etc. – provides a rich example of how differently the 15 websites frame the partnership between Central Asia, Caucasus, Ukraine and Moldova. Topics about Kyrgyzstan’s relationships with neighboring Central Asian countries are prevalent in most state-owned media." (Conclusion, page 35)
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