"Community broadcasting is anecdotally considered a ‘training ground’ for the mainstream media. However, there is little empirical research that supports these claims around skill development and career outcomes. Similarly, while community broadcasting is broadly recognized as contributing to so
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cial cohesion, the focus of much of this research is on audiences rather than the experiences of community media practitioners. This article is based on a broader programme of research that interrogated the experiences of people with significant involvement in the Australian community broadcasting sector to examine the impact of community media participation on career pathways. Here we consider a key finding: working or volunteering in community radio plays an important role in developing robust and meaningful networks, connections, and relationships which are central to shaping personal and professional pathways. These findings draw on rhizome theory to highlight the importance of community broadcasting for building and maintaining diverse and enduring networks." (Abstract)
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"Tribalism is a social phenomenon polarising South Africa along ethnic lines and undermining democratic efforts for social cohesion in the newly reconfigured inclusive territorial zones. Community radio is expected to play a social cohesion role of uniting cohabiting disparate ethnic groups within t
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hese spaces by promoting multilingualism. This paper examines the role of community radio policies in promoting social cohesion within the interethnic communities of Collins Chabane Municipality in Limpopo Province, using Malamulele FM and Vuwani FM as case studies. The study is situated within the broadcasting policy perspective and adopted an analytic approach to document studies which combined elements of content analysis and thematic analysis to analyse the policies of Malamulele FM and Vuwani FM that contain detailed language policy provisions. We found that language functions ideologically in these community radio policies and regulatory models to perpetuate tribalism. The article proposes a realignment of community radio language policies and regulation towards the objective of social cohesion and an inclusive South African society by promoting multilingualism in its broadcasting, and away from its current majoritarianism model." (Abstract)
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"With the advent of social media, traditional analogue radio has converged to audio-visual with print formats. Using the case of community radio in Zimbabwe, this article explores how radio broadcasters have taken advantage of media convergence to disseminate text as implant on radio. A qualitative
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content analysis of community radio platforms on Facebook reveals that some multilingual community radio stations still maintain their local languages in written text as captions or print, although there is a tendency towards English and major indigenous language dominance. Using language revitalisation theory, we argue that merging written text with radio on social media should always maintain the distinctness of radio and text as implant that reflect the local languages of community radio stations to revitalise or strengthen indigenous languages. We find the affordances of digital connection through Facebook useful to revitalise languages which are no longer used in the everyday communication of a digital audience." (Abstract)
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"We, the signatories of the appeal for the protection and support of community radio stations in the Sahel [...] call on the political authorities of the Sahel countries to combat impunity for crimes committed against community radio journalists by systematically opening investigations to ensure tha
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t these murders do not go unpunished; to break the silence on the fate and whereabouts of community radio journalists kidnapped by armed gangs and take action to secure their release; to help rebuild community radio premises destroyed by attacks and to support them in restoring their professional equipment; to provide community radio teams with security training; to recognise the importance of community radio stations as key players in the right to information in the Sahel in media legislation." (Pages 1-2)
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"News consumers have come to expect and demand the unprecedented immediacy of experience and coverage of breaking news offered by photographs, video clips, audio recordings, tweets, commentary: content created by ordinary citizens. The use of user-generated content is a salient aspect of how journal
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ists and news organizations are responding to technological changes in the twenty-first century. Eyewitness Textures examines the far-reaching changes in journalism spurred by the growing importance of user-generated content. Bringing together the voices and experiences of professional journalists and academic researchers from across five continents, this collection explores news production practices, changing skills among editors and journalists, and corporate and newsroom restructuring. Chapters by practitioners collectively reflect the newsroom experiences of major global media organizations, while the academic contributions address issues of industrial transformation, political influence, truth and verification, aesthetics, and ideological implications. Both perspectives combine to deepen our understanding of what constitutes the conditions and creation of good journalism, as well as the implications of how the profession should be taught to future journalists." (Publisher description)
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"The current situation for journalism in Argentina represents a great challenge due to the continuous economic changes linked to inflation and labour precariousness. Faced with this, a phenomenon known as self-managed media has grown over the recent years, also connected to recovered media that prom
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otes innovation, providing material for use in newsrooms to produce novel content and connect with audiences. For this explorative study, based on journalists' roles and innovation, we conducted a mixed-methods design to analyse self-managed media composed of recovered, cooperatives, community, popular, and alternative media. First, a focus group was held with 10 communicators to understand their current situation; second, 60 journalists were consulted about their roles and innovations; finally, in-depth interviews were conducd with three communicators who work on self-managed media at the Community and Cooperative Media Confederation. The findings reveal the presence of innovative actions, reported by 90% of respondents, and confirm that 70% of the consulted journalists had assumed new roles in management and administration. In addition, 80% of the journalists praised community work as fostering a sense of belonging and its associated benefits regarding motivation and freedom. These sentiments were further validated by the insights shared by the three interviewees. This sense of belonging could be included in the fifth area of innovation in journalism, which centres on the social dimension." (Abstract)
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"En el primer eje -Memoria de la otra Comunicación- se compilan los aportes de mujeres que tempranamente trabajaron en experie ncias de comunicación alternativa, mujeres fundantes en la teoría y la praxis de la comunicación para el cambio social y que nos abrieron las puertas heredándonos el ca
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minar y la palabra. [...]
El segundo eje –Prácticas de Comunicación Popular y Oficio Periodístico– recorre los trayectos de experiencias emblemáticas en comunicación surgidas desde abajo, movidas por la reivindicación de derechos en la esfera política, social, cultural y ecológica. De ahí que visibiliza el aporte de las mujeres diversas -indígenas, negras, campesinas, entre otras- que desde el campo popular han tomado la palabra como un gesto político de resistencia y lucha. Este eje revela cómo se ha sostenido el legado de la otra comunicación, se ha logrado pluralizar las voces, así como democratizar la comunicación desde un ejercicio de soberanía y autorrepresentación. [...]
Docencia e Investigación: Este eje convoca a diversas mujeres cuyo principal campo de acción es la academia; pero también comparten su vida -en un habitar anfibio- entre la ciencia y la militancia. Algunas de ellas están vinculadas a las luchas de género y feminismos, y otras a la consolidación de la comunicación como derecho y a la política pública. En los últimos años ha existido un importante despunte de académicas en el ámbito de la comunicación, que, por su formación doctoral y sus publicaciones científicas, gozan de prestigio profesional; sin embargo, el texto es finito y queda sentada la deuda pendiente. En esta sección hicimos un esfuerzo por honrar a las académicas que con su labor anfibia han dado un giro en la institucionalidad de la comunicación, en la política pública y, por supuesto, en la consolidación del campo de conocimiento." (Prólogo, páginas 13-15)
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"El conjunto de textos reunidos en este libro demuestra la vigencia histórica y actual de la comunicación popular en Nuestramérica - y más allá. De las iniciativas barriales a las construcciones algorítmicas, pasando por miradas ancestrales y decoloniales, la reflexión y practica de esta comu
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nicación popular desvela la fuerza de unas epistemologías en las que coherentes con el "barro en que pisan" las gentes se toman la comunicación como ingrediente en la lucha por dignidad y justicia." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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"Paz y reconciliación son temas cruciales de nuestra historia. En la coyuntura de análisis y debates, La fiesta de las paces reflexiona sobre la construcción de la paz desde una perspectiva interdisciplinaria y, lo que es más importante, desde voces no institucionales. Los autores demuestran que
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la paz desborda lo oficial y académico; rescatan esfuerzos cívicos, populares y sus distintas formas de expresión en el territorio. Los enfoques que aquí se compilan presentan a la paz desde miradas indígenas, negras, femeninas, artísticas, medioambientales y territoriales. No solo es la ausencia de guerra, sino la oposición a cualquier forma de violencia. La fiesta de las paces nos recuerda que la paz se celebra colectivamente y se vive en lo común. Es un llamado a liberar la fiesta, el humor, el relato y la alegría como elementos fundamentales en el camino hacia una paz auténtica y diversa." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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"Zimbabwe has a tainted media history under Mugabe replete with examples of state orchestrated repression, draconian legislation, harassment of journalists and violation of their work premises. The post-November 2017 coup period is a critical reference point to understand the political economy of al
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ternative media under the so-called ‘New Dispensation’ of President Mnangagwa with its promises of prodemocracy reforms. Using political economy as a theoretical approach that analyses media systems in a holistic manner by linking them to politics, economy, legislation and technology, this study assesses the extent to which the ‘New Dispensation’ has implemented political economy reforms that impact alternative media. Drawing from interviews with selected alternative media journalists and proprietors, the findings reveal that alternative media in Zimbabwe remain entrenched in repression and are in a crisis caused by an exacerbation of the same structural factors that existed before. The ‘New Dispensation’ has instead led to the entrenchment of a new dictatorship by the military junta. Undue political interference, a fragile economy and state orchestrated repression continue to constrain the democratic functions of alternative media. By teasing the continuities and discontinuities of alternative media repression during the Mugabe era and under the ‘New Dispensation’, the paper contributes to ongoing debates about the consequence of the 2017 coup and the need for genuine democratic reforms in Zimbabwe post-Mugabe epoch." (Abstract)
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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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"This article aims to present an emerging perspective for analyzing digital technologies, centering around the concepts of pluriversality and communality, and drawing on the experiences of the Network of Communicators Boca de Polen, a civil organization that has been supporting community and indigen
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ous radios in Chiapas, Mexico for over two decades. Using a Participatory Action Research framework, the study delves into the network’s experiences and those of the radios it has accompanied, revealing a profound interplay of sociotechnical practices deeply rooted in communal experiences. It sheds light on a particular pathway of technology appropriation and resistance and, by shifting the place of enunciation, explores new dimensions of concerns and possibilities enabled by digital technologies. The experiential knowledge gained from Boca de Polen is presented as a tangible manifestation of a pluriversal vision of technology, vital for fostering inclusive critical reflections on the multifaceted implications of digital technologies." (Abstract)
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"O artigo analisa os impactos da plataformização na criação de redes de divulgação coletiva de podcasts no Brasil, formadas por grupos tradicionalmente subalternizados como mulheres, comunidade LGBTQIAP+, população negra, entre outros. A partir de entrevistas, os dados demonstram que a luta
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contra a invisibilidade nas plataformas digitais de áudio permite o encontro e a troca de experiências entre os participantes, um enfrentamento à desigualdade e a colaboração mútua dos grupos na defesa de direitos, além de sustentar o apoio do cenário de rádio expandido para a emergência de novos atores e novas tensões sociais por meio do podcasting." (Resumo)
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"[Este libro] condensa textos elaborados por mujeres que llevan adelante proyectos colectivos, gestionan, producen, investigan, aprenden y enseñan. Recirculan la palabra desde la experiencia pero, también, desde la teoría comunicacional [...] Sobresale una convicción: no es posible transformar e
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l mundo sin transformarnos entre nosotras y nosotros. Por eso mismo, lejos del tono celebratorio o autocomplaciente, las autoras nos señalan los desafíos de las experiencias de comunicación popular. Ofrecen un balance crudo. Sin omitir errores ni contradicciones." (Cubierta del libro)
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"This article explores the use of YouTube in the increasing practice of vlogging in Zimbabwe. Vlogging counters authoritarian media policies that restrict the entry of new media players and democratic participation in existing traditional media. This dearth of public debate on traditional media has
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created a window of opportunities for social media as alternative voices through YouTube ‘televisions’. We consider this a metaphorical yearning for alternative television stations in the mainstream media-dominated context of Zimbabwe. Employing the theoretical concept of counterpublics, this article presents a thematic analysis from three selected YouTube channels: Bustop TV, Goldgator TV and TV 7. The findings reveal that although authoritarian media laws are a huge setback to freedom of expression, YouTube empowers non-professional journalists to challenge those who possess political power. The article establishes that authoritarian media laws are no longer as effective in stifling dissent. We argue new thinking towards a liberal trajectory is called upon." (Abstract)
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