"This article describes a phenomenon known all over Africa, for which there is no really satisfactory term in English but which is summed up in the French term 'radio trottoir', literally 'pavement radio'. It may be defined as the popular and unofficial discussion of current affairs in Africa, parti
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cularly in towns. Unlike the press, television or radio, pavement radio is not controlled by any identifiable individual, institution or group of people. An examination of the social role and pedigree of pavement radio reveals it to be qualitatively different from either rumour or gossip and to have a quite different social and political function from its counterpart in Europe. It is also different from mere rumour in its choice of subject, often discussing matters of public interest or importance which have been the subject of no official announcement. Pavement radio should be seen in the light of oral tradition and treated as a descendant of the more formal oral histories associated with ruling dynasties and national rituals." (Abstract)
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"Twenty-eight experts examine broadcasting in 24 countries in this essay handbook. John Lent takes on Cuba and India; Benno Signitzer and Kurt Luger look at Austria; and Marvin Alisky reports on Chile, Mexico, and Peru. Other included countries are Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, the Fede
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ral Republic of Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Union, Sweden, and the United States. According to the introduction, "At present no reference work exists where one can readily ascertain what the broadcast structure is in a given nation and how it came to be. By filling this void, we hope that our work will make a substantial contribution to the field of international broadcasting." This they have done. Most essays include a bibliography; information on history, regulation, economic structure, programming, new technologies, and broadcast reform; and a conclusion and/or forecast. What type of information can be found under "broadcast reform"? In Israel, for example: The reaction against the "leftist mafia," a nickname coined for broadcasters, has been strongly felt in programming and personnel appointment policies. A popular TV satirical program was taken off the air in the late 1970s in response to harsh political criticism. The television prime-time weekly news magazine, broadcast on Friday nights, was cancelled in the mid-1980s on the grounds that the Israeli people should not be exposed to "demoralizing" news on the Sabbath eve." (Jo A. Cates: Journalism - a guide to the reference literature. Englewood, Col.: Libraries Unlimited, 2nd ed. 1997 nr. 445)
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"Los objetivos de la investigación emprendidad son: [...] identificar a) los niveles que alcanzan en la emisiones radiofónicas la participación popular, la integración territorial y la identidad cultural de la nación; b) las posibles polÃticas y cursos de acción para crear, ampliar y/o mejora
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r sus niveles, lo mismo que para promover la solidaridad social; c) lÃneas de capacitación para comunicadores populares con vistas a ampliar su participación y la de sus mensajes en las emisoras de difusión masiva. Para alcanzar los objetivos se analizaron 579 horas de programación, equivalentes a cuatro dÃas completos, de ocho emisoras en todo el paÃs [...] Asà resultaron elegidos las siguientes emisroas: Radio Rivadavia (Buenos Aires), Radio Universidad (Córdoba), Radio JunÃn (JunÃn, Prov. Buenos Aires), Radio Mocovà (Charata, Chaco), Radio Provincia de Corrientes (Corrientes), Radio Guaranà (Curuzú-Cuatiá), Radiodifusora Santiago de Estero y Radio Nacional Santiago de Estero." (Página 33-35)
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"Although a number of books have been written on African journalism, this, according to Ochs, a professor of mass communication at the American University in Cairo, is the first to take an overall look at the continent as a whole, notwithstanding the lack of data and frequent change of ownership whi
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ch made his task difficult. The first 50 pages survey the continent, following which are case studies of seven countries offering representative yet contrasting languages and press situations: Tanzania and Nigeria (English-speaking), the Ivory Coast and Senegal (French-speaking), Morocco and Algeria (Arabic and French-speaking), and Egypt (Arabic-speaking). Throughout he has attempted to show the effect on the press of the extreme diversity of peoples, countries, cultures and politics. The term "press" includes broadcast as well as print media, but in the case of the former the "almost monolithic government control makes research here less productive." (Eleanor Blum, Frances G. Wilhoit: Mass media bibliography. 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 Nr. 327)
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