"Tom McDonald spent 15 months living in a small rural Chinese community researching how the residents use social media in their daily lives. His ethnographic findings suggest that, far from being left behind, many rural Chinese people have already integrated social media into their everyday experien
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ce. Throughout his ground-breaking study, McDonald argues that social media allows rural people to extend and transform their social relationships by deepening already existing connections with friends known through their school, work or village, while also experimenting with completely new forms of relationships through online interactions with strangers. By juxtaposing these seemingly opposed relations, rural social media users are able to use these technologies to understand, capitalise on and challenge the notions of morality that underlie rural life." (Back cover)
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"The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and analyse the role of community-based media in information distribution in the Riverside community, Chanthaburi province, Eastern Thailand. Recently, this strong community has been identified as a cultural tourism destination. The community has started
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to produce its own media, and to use social networks to promote itself and its attractions to the nation. This project advances knowledge of the role of community-based media in a community environment in the Thai public sphere. Furthermore, it strengthens knowledge of the role of community-based media in its broadest sense as an important form of cultural production. By using ethnographic action research, this research gains strength through a rich understanding of the community by following an ongoing research cycle of planning, doing, observing and reflecting. Beyond that, this study reflects the idea of "hyperlocal" media. With approximately a hundred households on which to focus, it is much easier for hyperlocal media to reach local people by providing local news, covering local politics and engaging local people in the affairs relevant to their area. As a result, the findings of this paper will reinforce the idea that "hyperlocal" communication has played a much more proactive role in the community context." (Abstract)
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"There are more than 400 active hyperlocal websites in the UK, compared with 1,045 local papers. New sites are being uncovered by researchers on a daily basis. One in ten say they use local community websites or apps at least weekly (7 per cent in 2013). 17 per cent of UK internet users use websites
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or apps each week for news about their local area or community; a further 31 per cent do so quarterly. Consumption of this content online is increasing. The most common topic covered by hyperlocal media is community activities e.g. festivals, clubs and societies, local councils and the services they provide. Functional information about community events, services, local weather and traffic, are the most popular content types with hyperlocal audiences. Investigative reporting, which has helped uncover controversial new information about local civic issues or events, has been produced by almost half of the UK’s online hyperlocal publishers in the last two years." (Pages 4-5)
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"This report was produced by the Pew Research Center and aims at understanding the news ecology of three distinct metropolitan areas in the United States: Denver, Colorado; Macon, Georgia; and Sioux City, Iowa. Data in this report are drawn from separate analyses, each with its own methodology: a su
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rvey conducted July 8-August 18, 2014, among a representative sample of adult residents in each city; an analysis of news content; an audit of local news providers; interviews with individuals in each community from local government, civic life, business, academia and journalism and a social media analysis." (About this report, page 1)
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"The Cambodia Communication Assistance Project (CCAP) is a media development initiative (2012-2014) funded by Australia’s aid program. The project is implemented by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s International Development (ABCID) unit, in collaboration with four Cambodian Provincial D
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epartments of Information (PDIs) and the Department of Media and Communication (DMC) at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). The project targets provincial media in Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampot and Siem Reap. The goal of CCAP is to contribute to the achievement of better governance in Cambodia. This is achieved by using communication for development tools that enhance citizens’ voices and promote transparency and accountability of local authorities. The CCAP Endline Research Briefing illustrates the progress and impact of the project over the previous three years (2012-2015). One of the objectives is to assess the impact of CCAP at an audience level – to determine their understanding and engagement on governance issues. It explores audience knowledge and perceptions of governance, transparency, and accountability and specifcally draws upon comparisons between radio talkback listeners and non-talkback listeners. The briefng examines the potential changes in the capacity of PDI staf in radio program production and professional skill development. This research briefng provides some of the key fndings of the Endline Study analysis at the audience and PDI level. The Endline Research Briefing is based on quantitative audience research with 119 talkback program listeners and non-talkback listeners from the four targeted provinces – Kampot (30), Battambang (29), Kampong Cham (26), and Siem Reap (34). A comparative analysis was also conducted against baseline indicators. A slightly higher baseline sample (177) was achieved." (Page 4)
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"L'article examine en particulier la relation entre les radios dites communautaires et la gouvernance locale. Se fondant sur l'exemple du Sénégal, elle montre comment la décentralisation politique et administrative d'une part et l'émergence des radios locales d'autre part ont été deux dynamiqu
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es concomitantes et intimement liées. Elle souligne combien certaines radios peuvent effectivement contribuer à améliorer la gestion de la chose publique au niveau local, mais relève aussi le caractère relativement isolé de ces bonnes pratiques." (Introduction, page 8)
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"Die Tageszeitungen stecken in der Krise. Neben dem Rückgang der Verkaufsauflagen und den Einbrüchen bei den Werbeerlösen prägen auch der Besitzerwechsel bei Verlagen und Zeitungstiteln sowie der kräftige Abbau an journalistischem Personal den aktuellen Trend in der Zeitunsgbranche. Viele Medie
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nmacher erklären die Zeitung für tot, andere haben griffige Lösungsstrategien parat. Doch beide Seiten vernachlässigen die gründliche Trendanalyse des Medienwandels. Gewiss tragen das Internet und die sich wandelnden Lebensstile der jungen Bevölkerung zur Misere bei. Übersehen wird dabei, dass auch die Zeitungsmacher selbst dazu beitragen, die Krise zu verschärfen. Viele verweigern sich der Anstrengung, das Publikum und seine Erwartungen an die Zeitung zu verstehen und auf das veränderte Nutzungsverhalten der jungen Erwachsenen nachhaltig einzugehen. Sie sehen nicht, dass der größte Teil der Leserschaft – dies sind die berufstätigen Erwachsenen ab 35 Jahren – weiterhin eine aktuelle, gehaltvolle Tageszeitung mit hoher Informationsleistung wünschen. Diese Leserschaft erwartet, dass ihre Tageszeitung eine Orientierungshilfe in der täglichen Informationsflut bietet – und reagieren enttäuscht, weil ihre Zeitung Informationsleistungen abbaut und nach und nach zum Geschichtenerzähler zu werden scheint. Auf der Grundlage langfristig angelegter Erhebungen und empirischer Studien zeigt der Autor, wann und warum die Zeitungen ihre Leser verloren haben. So ist ihr Reichweitenverlust, der auf eine Kluft zwischen Medienrealität und Lesererwartungen zurückzuführen ist, kein Naturgesetz. Michael Hallers Befunden zufolge gibt es Wege, den Graben zwischen den jungen Onlinern und den älteren Offlinern zu schließen. Der Autor formuliert Vorschläge, wie die Zeitung ihre Stimme im cross- und multimedialen Konzert wiederfinden und so auch neue Leserschaften erschließen könnte." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"In this book, the author presents what he calls the 'Mobile Community Reporting' approach based on a six-year training experiment [of the Voices of Africa Media Foundation] in which he was involved as trainer and coach in eight African countries. The main argument underlying the MCR approach is the
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following: if a member of the community covers news using a reporting tool that is familiar to that community, and taking into account the values, interests and worldviews of that community, chances of capturing what the community thinks are very high." (Back cover)
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"Examining experiences at a wide variety of community papers – from a 7,000-circulation weekly in West Virginia to a 50,000-circulation daily in California and a 150,000-circulation Spanish-language weekly in the heart of Chicago – "Saving Community Journalism" is designed to help journalists an
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d media-industry managers create and implement new strategies that will allow them to prosper in the twenty-first century. Abernathy's findings will interest everyone with a stake in the health and survival of local media." (Publisher description)
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"A new news disseminator has emerged to revitalize the profession of information gathering – the non-profit news organization. Adopting a framework of community trust, this article begins a scholarly response to the questions: Who are these non-profit journalists and what do they aim to accomplish
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? A rhetorical analysis of nearly 50 mission statements and ethnographic work on two case studies revealed a commitment to rebuilding public trust, to reclaiming community journalism, to re-emphasizing the “ordinary” citizen, and to pioneering collaborative news work by means of digital technologies. Our analysis demonstrated that many of these organizations, in considering news as a public good, work to re-conceptualize the industry for citizens, but depend upon a level of funding that might not be viable in the long term. However, this research posits that little in the way of true community trust can be achieved until these organizations discover a sustainable business model." (Abstract)
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"This article examines the discourse surrounding Kibera, a highly populated low-income community in Nairobi, Kenya. Based on 11 months of fieldwork and interviews with 56 Kibera residents, this article discusses the disconnect between the lives experienced by residents and the hyperbolic and essenti
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alised discourse that depicts Kibera as a community defined by sickness, crime and despair. While residents do not deny many of the hardships that are central to the Kibera discourse, they articulate maisha mtaani [life in the neighbourhood] as complex, diverse and contextual. Sadly, several groups that claim to serve the good of Kibera are partially responsible for perpetuating this harmful discourse. In fact, some NGOs, journalists and residents benefit from reproducing a discourse that actively marginalises Kibera and its people." (Abstract)
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"Transformer des radios existantes en radios «communautaire» n’est pas un modèle envisageable à large échelle. Toutefois, le lien créé avec les communautés à travers les groupes d’écoute dans l’ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire a con tribué au processus de rapprochement social entre les
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communautés. Les programmes radiophoniques de ces régions témoignent de la richesse du contenu apporté par les communautés, une fois la relation établie. Tant que le statut des radios reste ambigu et que la gestion financière opaque, il est difficile de chercher à impliquer les communautés dans la gestion financière et humaine des stations de radio. Trop promettre aux communautés sur leur capacité à influencer leur radio locale peut créer de l’amertume si le but n’est pas atteint. En revanche, continuer à former les radios sur la bonne gestion de leurs fonds et des ressources humaines est un prérequis pour les inciter à se stabiliser." (Conclusion)
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