"This paper draws on the contrast between community media and the nature of its communities in Africa that are not participatory but use participatory media. The general contention is that participatory media in Africa preside over non-participatory communities. The paper uses data collected at one
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Ugandan community media to prove that the limitations between community media and ‘the community’ require over half a century to solve. The immediate solution should be to rethink the idea of community, pay more attention not just to the nature of which media can develop which community as if it (community) was a homogeneous entity but also the idea of which community has the ability to host which media. The paper concludes by suggesting a redefinition of media to include non-media forms that show more potential in enhancing participation for all than community media." (Abstract)
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"The book contains profiles of 12 women between the ages of 18 and 26 that were selected to follow a 3-month journalism fellowship and work at community radio stations. The program was designed and implemented by Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) in cooperation with 11 comm
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unity radio stations across Bangladesh and supported by Free Press Unlimited. During the fellowship the women received training and mentoring and afterward started reporting and producing programs and articles reflecting the problems and everyday life of women, children, disadvantaged groups and poor from rural and remote areas [...] Though this program the fellows have not only developed their personal and professional skills. 10 out of the 12 fellows are already employed in media, and some have even become station managers." (Preface)
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"There is a conspicuous importance of having newspapers that publish in the indigenous African languages for the indigenous population in a democratic dispensation. The indigenous African languages are key components of their respective cultures. The survival of the language is, in some way, depende
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nt on the print media (newspapers) (Salawu, 2004:8). In addition, the indigenous language newspapers have cardinal roles of promoting previously marginalised languages, preserving indigenous cultures and upholding democracy. Nevertheless, these newspapers are struggling to sustain themselves in the print media industry. It is, therefore, critically important to examine the factors that adversely affect the sustainability of these newspapers." (Abstract)
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"The project aimed at enhancing the capacity of community radio stations to operate as agents of change for the rural poor and marginalised people [...] The project worked with a sample of 15 community radio stations – five per country – in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. In implementing the RPCD
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project, Panos Southern Africa used the Radio Listening Club (RLC) approach, which is a unique and proven methodology that empowers the often marginalised and neglected communities to participate in the development of community radio content." (Summary)
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"Blogs have become a communicative alternative for Cuban civil society in recent years. Cuban communities, inside and outside the island, are characterized by substantial ideological differences and economic gaps that highlight the challenges for consensus building and collective action in the count
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ry’s politics. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), however, are gradually facilitating the creation of spaces outside the control of the state for the exchange of ideas about the present and future of the nation. Through content analysis and qualitative interpretation, we undertake a case study of the most renowned Cuban blog, ‘Generación Y’, to evaluate users’ participation, the content they generate for the site, and the nature of debates taking place within it. Our findings show that while this blog opens an unprecedented opportunity for Cubans to engage in relatively unrestricted political dialogue, its users tend to favour expressive participation and antagonistic exchanges over the rational deliberations associated with traditional conceptualizations of the notion of the public sphere." (Abstract)
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"Fostering a participatory political culture is a crucial part of the on-going transformation processes which we witness across North African and Middle Eastern countries since 2011. This paper considers which role participatory communication plays in these processes, by examining the potential of c
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itizens’ radios to accompany Tunisia’s transition at a grassroots level. Analysing the case of Radio 6 Tunis – a local, non-commercial Internet-radio founded by Tunisian journalists under the rule of Ben Ali in 2007 – citizens’ radios are discussed as sites of political contestation and cultivation of critical consciousness. While they empower citizens to reclaim both their voice and public space, their influence is however limited. The manifold challenges which citizens' radios face in the transitional context of post-autocratic Tunisia, may well impede nascent democratisation dynamics." (Abstract)
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"The growing nonprofit news sector is showing some signs of economic health, and most leaders of those outlets express optimism about the future, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. But many of these organizations also face substantial challenges to their long-term financial well-be
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ing. The report finds that large, often one-time seed grants from foundations help many of these nonprofit news outlets get up and running. But as those grants expire, many organizations do not have the resources or expertise necessary for the business tasks needed to broaden the funding base. More than half of the nonprofit news organizations surveyed by the Pew Research Center in late 2012 (54%) identified business, marketing and fundraising as the area of greatest staffing need, compared with 39% who said the top need was for more editorial employees. In addition, nearly two-thirds of the nonprofits (62%) cited “finding the time to focus on the business side of the operation” as a major challenge—compared with 55% who cited “increasing competition for grant money.” Most nonprofit news organizations are small, with minimal staffs and modest budgets. Indeed, 78% of the survey respondents reported having five or fewer full-time paid staffers—including 26% with none." (Overview, page 1)
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"In der noch jungen indonesischen Demokratie gibt es mittlerweile um die 600 Community Radios, wovon sich 400 auf Java befinden. Sie senden in einem begrenzten Radius und im Interesse ihrer Community. Je nach Region und Bedarf gibt es verschiedene thematische Ausrichtungen. In katastrophengeplagten
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Gebieten geht es um Disaster Management, in anderen Regionen geht es um nachhaltige Entwicklung und Wiederaufforstungsprogramme. Bei manchen geht es um die Bewahrung der Kultur, oder um politische Partizipation. Durch viel Engagement und Eigeninitiative schaffen die Radiomacher es, die Gemeinschaft zu verbinden und zu stärken. »Der Staat hilft uns nicht, also helfen wir uns selbst«, war ein Satz, den ich auf meiner zweimonatigen Reise durch Java oft hörte. Die Erwähnung der Community Radios im Rundfunkgesetz (Broadcasting Act No. 32/2002) wurde 2002 als großer Erfolg gefeiert, denn es bietet die Möglichkeit, durch den Erwerb von Lizenzen aus dem Zustand des »illegalen Radios« herausgeführt zu werden, was letztendlich auch vor Polizei-Razzien schützt. Bis heute jedoch stecken die Community Radios im Registrierungsprozess fest, und kein einziges hat bisher eine Lizenz erworben. Netzwerke wie JRSP fordern die Regierung auf, die hohen Hürden zu überarbeiten, doch bisher ist nichts passiert." (Seite 41)
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"Community radio is often theorized as being (1) independent from political and economic influence and (2) a platform for the meaningful engagement of marginalized populations traditionally excluded by its private and commercial cousins. Contrasting this theoretical model against the reality of prac
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tice, this study argues that the theorized benefits of community radio are unlikely to be realized given the reality of donor, rather than community, funding structures. Voices from 64 in-depth interviews reveal a community radio environment in East Africa that is significantly influenced by the interests – both political and economic – of external donors. Rather than engendering meaningful participation in media-making, this study also demonstrates that donor funding has caused some communities to assume recipient roles in the communication process." (Journalism)
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"Bringing together new and classic work by Tony Harcup, this book considers the development of alternative journalism from the 1970s up until today. Bringing theory and practice together, Harcup builds an understanding of alternative media through the use of detailed case studies and surveys. Includ
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ing opinions of journalists who have worked in both mainstream and alternative media, he considers the motivations, practices and roles of alternative journalism as well as delving into ethical considerations. Moving from the history of alternative journalism, Harcup considers the recent spread of ‘citizen journalism’ and the use of social media, and asks what the role of alternative journalism is today." (Publisher description)
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"This publication is a diagnostic tool for a "health check" or assessment of the sustainability of community radio stations. The check includes five areas: mission and governance of a community radio station; management and staffing; infrastructure and finances; programming; and community involvemen
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t. Core aspects of these five areas are succinctly described in the first part of "The healthy community radio station". The second part provides checklists of ten factual questions (which require a simple yes/no answer) and two qualitative questions for each of the five sectors, and proposes combining the "checklist scores" and "judgement scores" to get an overall picture of the "health" of a given radio station. Also included are guidelines for focus group discussions. This publication is highly recommended, both because of its convincing concept of five "pillars" of community radio sustainability and its practical approach." (CAMECO Update November 2013)
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"This report maps the complex legislative frameworks of community broadcasters in more than 30 countries. It examines how the sector can be strengthened in line with international standards and provides analysis and recommendations that may be of interest to donors and policy makers as they set prio
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rities for media development." (Foreword)
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