"This article constitutes an examination on how citizen journalism has challenged Robert Mugabe’s authoritarian regime on issues pertaining to national heroes and usages of the Heroes’ Acre as central national identity markers. Under Mugabe’s ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe has seen the public being limited
...
from directly participating in salient national debates. ZANU-PF’s control of the official public sphere has also constrained alternative views from ventilating the government-controlled communicative spaces. The party’s narrative on heroes, the Heroes’ Acre and national identity has gained a taken-for-granted status in the public media. This has obtained against the backdrop of what has become known as the Zimbabwe crisis, characterised by a declining economy, a constricted political space, a breakdown in the rule of law, and the subsequent flight of a number of Zimbabweans into the diaspora. The accompanying wave of technological advancements and the mushrooming of mostly diaspora-based online media have opened up new vistas of communication, enabling a hitherto ‘silenced’ community of ordinary people to participate in national conversations. The conclusion reached here, is that citizen journalism has not only enhanced the culture of conversation among people (as espoused under democratic conditions) but has also covered up the democratic deficit experienced in the public sphere, mediated by traditional media, parliament and pavement radio." (Abstract)
more
"En octubre de 2009, la Ley 26522 inaugura un escenario inédito para las radios y televisoras del sector social-comunitario. La norma, por primera vez en la historia de la radiodifusión argentina, reconoce a todos los medios sin fines de lucro –incluidas las cooperativas- como prestadores legale
...
s de los servicios de radiodifusión, les reserva un tercio del espectro radioeléctrico, no les impone restricciones para su funcionamiento, les asigna un lugar de representación en el Consejo Federal de Comunicación Audiovisual, y establece un fondo de fomento. La Ley se basa en el paradigma de la comunicación como derecho humano [...] Desde entonces y hasta 2015, los medios sin fines de lucro del país contaron con las condiciones más favorables para su emergencia y desarrollo que se conocieron hasta ahora. No obstante, se enfrentaron también a nuevas dificultades y desafíos a resolver, tales como: las condiciones para su legalización, la fortaleza de la gestión institucional y económica para asegurar su sostenibilidad y crecimiento, la cantidad y calidad de producción temática y estética para disputar sentidos y alcanzar masividad, la formalización de sus relaciones laborales para evitar la precarización laboral, entre tantos otros. Para pensar políticas públicas que contribuyan a la resolución de estos problemas y para que las radios y televisoras no lucrativas puedan diseñar estrategias en ese sentido, fue y sigue siendo necesario contemplar aquello que distingue a estos medios de los privados y estatales, las diferencias entre los diversos tipos de medios no lucrativos, las particularidades de las regiones donde se desarrollan, las especificidades de las tareas desarrolladas por sus trabajadores, el contexto general en que se producen." (Presentación, página 5-6)
more
"This paper examines the role of open source research in human rights fact-finding and seeks to address a gap in the current literature, which lacks a human rights perspective, is dominated by journalistic approaches, or focuses on specific tools. It focuses on citizen media, the visual subset of op
...
en source information, and provides a practitioner’s perspective that is based on several years of analyzing open source materials for a global human rights group. The paper includes case studies on video and image verification, and identifies best and worst practices. The author argues that open source content, specifically citizen media, can play a crucial and increasingly important role in human rights documentation, if analyzed using sound and transparent methodologies based on well-established factfinding principles. It presents, for the first time, a tool-independent analytical framework that will allow both seasoned and new human rights researchers to review and assess open source content. Specific recommendations are offered for human rights organizations, funders, academics, and technology companies in order to realize the full potential of open source content for human rights documentation." (Abstract)
more
"El reportaje es uno de los formatos radiofónicos más interesantes. Puede hacer uso de todos los recursos sonoros, da más libertad en la composición periodística e involucra a la persona comunicadora en todas las fases de su realización -desde la investigación hasta la edición final-. Este m
...
anual busca dar consejos y generar motivación para adentrarnos en este maravilloso formato y para elaborar producciones radiofónicas más vivas e interesantes." (Introducción)
more
"This tool is designed to support decision makers in understanding how information contributes to a more connected and resilient community. Whether your community is defined by place, population, issue, or a mix of these, a good understanding of a community's information needs and use are essential
...
elements in the design of effective, responsive systems and actions that enable a community to understand and adapt to change." (Page 1)
more
"This study examines how community radio operates transnationally through a media ethnography of the Latin American Association of Radio Education (ALER) executive secretariat in Quito, Ecuador. Findings show that ALER staff members share a common vision of their work based around 4 themes: collecti
...
ve self-representations, unity, inclusion, and transformation. Having a shared collective conviction in the transformative function of radio shapes how ALER staff conceptualize its journalistic production. This research advances knowledge of how community radio scales-up to the transnational level and the shared values underlying this journalistic practice." (Abstract)
more
"Las ideas que se recogen en este manual no tienen derechos de autor. Ni de autora. Las hemos ido practicando, quien escribe y quienes no escriben, en todos los países de la región. Las hemos validado a lo largo de, al menos, 30 años de experiencia colectiva. Y las compartimos sin ninguna pretens
...
ión de exhaustividad. Es evidente que el proceso de aprendizaje no se agota en talleres. Necesitamos ampliar el lente y conocer las diferentes estrategias de capacitación que tienen (o que no tienen) las emisoras y las redes. Pero vayamos de los arbolitos al bosque. Comencemos conociendo la actividad que ha sido más frecuente entre nosotros, los eventos breves de capacitación, los talleres. Veamos qué criterios pedagógicos podemos sacar de ellos. Luego nos asomaremos a una panorámica más amplia. Ya contamos con varios libros de producción radiofónica. Este pequeño manual se refiere a las metodologías para capacitar en dicha producción. No entro en temas siempre urgentes para las emisoras como la sostenibilidad, la gestión, las modernas tecnologías, las legislaciones. Me concentro, por ahora, en la producción de contenidos y cómo capacitar para ello." (Página 10)
more
"Revenant sur une longue expérience personnelle en Afrique et en Asie, Birgitte Jallov met en avant les éléments fondamentaux nécessaires à la consolidation [des radios communautaires] dans la durée. Elle dissèque les facteurs qui garantissent la durabilité sociale, organisationnelle et fina
...
ncière de ce type de projet et insiste sur la nécessité absolue de leur appropriation au niveau local." (Introduction, page 8)
more
"The thesis investigates community radio as a tool for development drawing on case studies of Nkhotakota and Mzimba community radio stations in Malawi. The thesis employs communication for development and ‘another’ development theories to help understand the role of community radio in developmen
...
t. The research aims are firstly, to investigate the extent and ways in which community radio is used as a tool for development through audience participation; and secondly to examine the extent to which communication for development in community radio in Malawi takes the form of participatory communication. Using the case study approach (Yin, 2009), the thesis specifically examines the functions of participation in development through community radio; whether community radio can encourage development through enhancing capabilities and participation even when people do not own and manage the stations; how radio listening Clubs (RLCs) help to expand people’s capabilities; and how the programming of community radio in Malawi is influenced by the agendas of development agencies. Arnstein’s (1969) ladder of participation and Carpentier’s (2011) minimalist and maximalist versions of participation are adopted as criteria for evaluating the different levels of participation in and through community radio." (Abstract)
more
"In the Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on the role of community media in promoting social cohesion and intercultural dialogue passed on 11 February 2009 by the Council of Europe, stations run by religious institutions were explicitly excluded from the community media definition, as being
...
too dependent on the Church. But the reality seems to be far from this definition. In practice, in many countries the religious radio stations officially belong to—or even dominate—this sector. In 2011 a new period began for community broadcasting in Hungary. While most of the former community media broadcasters could not find resources with which to operate, the community media landscape was dramatically overwhelmed by religious broadcasters both on regional and local levels. The legally-recognised third tier of broadcasting in Poland called ‘social broadcasting’ is actively and exclusively used by religious radio—seven stations broadcast locally and one is a powerful nationwide radio station called Radio Maryja. The authors gathered information and points of views from radio experts, organizations and activists living and working in different EU and non-EU states about the place of religious broadcasting in the community media sector. Two case-studies (Hungary and Poland) may be of interest for countries considering the introduction or reorganisation of regulations regarding community broadcasting." (Abstract)
more
"Community media is an integral component of CEMCA’s TYP 2012-15 and mission, “to assist governments and institutions to expand the scale, efficiency and quality of learning … in open, distance and technology enabled learning.” In September 2013, CEMCA contracted Ashish Sen to evaluate its C
...
ommunity Media activities for its Three Year Plan (TYP) 2012-15. The Evaluation process comprises three parts. These include: 1) Development of the Monitoring & Evaluation Plan (October 2013). 2) Interim Report (August 2014). 3) Final Report (April 2015). It focuses on the four key goals specified in CEMCA’s TYP. These comprise: 1) 20 % increase in number of community radio stations supported by CEMCA. 2) 100 community women empowered in media literacy, health, and leadership & democracy to develop community learning programmes. 3) 9 community radio stations adopt sustainable models & and show case best practices. 4) Increase in the number of stakeholders among content exchange platforms to share programmes in different formats and media." (Pages 9-10)
more
"Community radio in Australia is now well established and considered an important part of the radio sector, however, in today’s economically driven world it is at the bottom of the media money pile. In order to argue for its continuing existence, funding and development in an ever-changing media l
...
andscape, some means of capturing its value is essential. This article describes the development of a theoretical framework of value for community radio. The content of the framework was achieved by, first, examining, community media/radio literature through five relevant lenses of analysis. Secondly, a subsequent meta-analysis was applied to consolidate the framework. In order to test the utility of the draft theoretical framework of value, three case studies were conducted with different types of community radio stations in Perth, Western Australia. Two primary research methods were used: interviews with staff and audience focus groups. The testing exercise provided a multimodal insight into the values of community radio as reflected in real life practice. The analysis revealed how value was perceived by participants across three stations as personal motivations, and second, that value at individual stations was contingent upon the characteristics of the individual community radio stations." (Abstract)
more
"Many people in rural areas in Malawi lack access to information due to illiteracy and the unavailability of reliable sources of information. There is also an absence of a proper forum where rural ordinary people can express their views and have their voices heard. However, in communities where ther
...
e are community radio stations, the stations are helping create spaces for ordinary people to participate in public life by setting up radio listening clubs (RLCs). This article examines how RLCs offer ordinary people opportunities for mediated participation in public debate and for self-representation. Based on face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation, the article argues that the organization of listeners into RLCs by community radio stations enables ordinary people to receive and discuss crucial information and hold debate on issues of interest. As such, the RLCs possess some characteristics of the public sphere; hence the reference to them as alternative public spheres." (Abstract)
more
"The Institutionalizing Social Accountability of Community Radio in Nepal project sought to strengthen the institutional capacity of community radios to promote social accountability and represent the interests of their constituencies. Its intended outcomes were to: 1) improve internal governance, o
...
versight, financial and operational management of 100 community radios; and 2) have community radios across Nepal actively promote transparency, equity and social accountability [...] Project impact is difficult to assess. ACORAB made good efforts to collect output and some results-level data, such as the pre and post training tests and the post-workshop check to see how many stations had improved their policies. It also undertook the CR status review which served as a project baseline. But this was not repeated, nor was any data collected on what the stations then achieved with their updated policies, trained staff and public hearings. There is no market research on CR programming so no data is available on the size and nature of their audience or on the impact of their efforts. From the anecdotal information gathered, however it is likely that this project resulted in an increased number of public hearings with a broader range of stakeholders than would have otherwise been the case and that these hearings resulted in improvements to their communities and residents." (Executive summary, page 1-2)
more