"The media have shaped and will continue to play a central role in shaping Kenya’s democracy. The recent record of the media, according to many within it, is that media has undermined as well as invigorated that democracy. An understanding of democracy and democratic governance in Kenya is not pos
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sible without a strong understanding of the media’s role in the country. We would urge development actors to be better engaged and more supportive of media in the future. The problem facing Kenya’s media is not an excess of media freedom. It is a lack of it. Media freedom cannot, however, be described simply in terms of ndependence from government. Journalists and broadcasters face immense commercial and political constraints which are constraining their journalistic independence and integrity. Some local language radio stations have incited fear and hatred particularly at the height of the violence. Local language radio stations are routinely partisan and fl out codes of ethics. Talk shows have provided the greatest opportunities for hate speech and talk show hosts are not trained in confl ict reporting or moderation. Nearly all we spoke to on the subject felt this was a priority. More recently, most local language stations (and much of the rest of the media) appear to have been playing an important role in calming tension and promoting dialogue. A strengthening of such a role by a genuinely independent media will form a critical contribution as Kenya navigates the turbulent waters ahead of it." (Summary of policy conclusions)
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"Journalistenmorde und Maulkorb für die Medien: Nachrichten über die russische Presse handeln meist von äußeren Angriffen auf ihre Freiheit. Doch wie die ticken die Journalisten selbst? Wie verstehen sie ihre gesellschaftliche Aufgabe? Fast im gesamten Verlauf seiner Geschichte wurde der russisc
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he Journalismus von den Mächtigen instrumentalisiert und von der Zensur überwacht. Journalisten hatten immer eine Mission. Meinungsjournalismus statt reiner Informationen war die Folge - eine Tradition, die von der Intelligenzija im 19. Jahrhundert stammt. Auffällig ist die Kontinuität zwischen Zarenreich, Sowjetunion und Russischer Föderation. Westliche Einflüsse seit Mitte der 1980er-Jahre haben traditionelle Muster nicht verdrängt. Selbst unter Moskauer Hauptstadt-Journalisten existieren bis heute westlich liberale Einstellungen parallel zu traditionell russischen, wie Leitfadeninterviews zeigen. Ein Teil der Medien bezieht auch heute im Sinne des Intelligenzija-Modells offen Stellung, statt nach dem westlichen Modell möglichst neutral Informationen zu vermitteln. Die Staatsmacht, die ihrerseits die neuen demokratischen Spielregeln noch nicht verinnerlicht hat, nimmt sie dadurch als politischen Gegner wahr und bemüht sich, den Mediensektor unter Kontrolle zu bringen. Verantwortlich für die Einschränkung der Pressefreiheit in Russland ist damit das fehlende demokratische Rollenverständnis beider Seiten." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Las radios comunitarias en el área rural, se vuelven comunitarias sobre todo en tiempos de conflictos, al decir que la gente llega, participa, no cobran nada de la entrevista. Algunas de estas personas, se convierten en especie de reporteros populares, cuando llaman y se reportan. Sin que la radio
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, envíe sus periodistas, tienen una especie de reporteros en su misma comunidad, no son empleados de la radio, son los propios comunarios que opinan, llaman una y otra vez, diciendo que esto está pasando. Sin duda, como Ondas del Titikaka y la radio San Gabriel, históricamente se constituyeron en el centro de comunicación popular, en los conflictos sociales protagonizando como instrumento de articulación entre las comunidades movilizadas en los conflictos sociales del 2000 – 2003 de los bloqueo de caminos. El papel de las radios comunitarias, ha logrado socializar y politizar públicamente la información difundida, convirtiéndose en un punto de conexión que permite interactuar con la población movilizada, coadyuvando y convirtiéndose en valuarte de las movilizaciones. El papel de la radio es el centro articulador, al estar asociados discursivamente sobre los destinos que efectuarían al conjunto de las comunidades, cuando precisamente se alude críticamente sobre el sentido de las políticas públicas para la sociedad.
[...] San Gabriel, se constituye en un espacio de amplificación de la noticia radial, que ha generado la movilización colectiva de los movimientos sociales, convirtiéndose en un canal de información, de esta manera en parte integrante de la estructura social, durante los conflictos sociales 2000 – 2003. Se ha demostrado que la labor de Radio San Gabriel, ha sido muy importante para las comunidades rurales, en los procesos de conflictos sociales y bloqueo de caminos (véase Cap. IV). El conjunto de la población del altiplano sigue con mucha atención la programación de ésta emisora, para estar informado de las noticias de las comunidades, provinciales y nacional. Del número de reporteros populares capacitados por San Gabriel, un promedio de 4 respondieron enviando noticias del bloqueo de caminos del 2000 y 2003, éstos viven en la zona movilizada. Y los otros, viven fuera del área del conflicto. Los reporteros populares de San Gabriel, son hombres y mujeres, militantemente comprometidos con su comunidad, trabajan sin recibir ningún pago económico, recupera la devolución de los gastos erogados en el envió del despacho, reciben algunos casetes y pilas para su grabadora, una credencial de la emisora por tiempo definido de un año, que les acredita a cumplir su función de prensa popular en el área rural." (Conclusiones, páginas 131-132)
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"The examination of the ethical and moral issues surrounding the reporting of war crimes signals one of the outstanding problems facing journalism in the contemporary era. As the nature of war has changed, so has the nature of the journalism mandated to cover it, and the selection of war crimes tria
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ls, tribunals and truth commissions are key places in which to analyse these changes. Journalists and news organizations are divided over the merits of testifying at international war crimes tribunals. To some degree, the debate about appearing before war crimes courts has split along European and US lines. A number of European journalists and documentary film makers willingly testified before the war crimes tribunal in The Hague whilst US journalists tend to see the subpoena power of the tribunals as a threat to First Amendment freedoms. Based on interviews conducted with journalists, editors, lawyers and humanitarian aid workers, this article explores questions of journalistic objectivity and impartiality; the verification of journalists' stories; the safety repercussions for journalists participating in international trials; and the implications for the erosion of confidentiality of journalists' sources." (Abstract)
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"Der als Revolution in Orange bezeichnete Widerstand Ende 2004 bot auch die Chance für eine einschneidende Veränderung der staatlichen Strukturen in der Ukraine. Eine Entwicklung hin zu einer demokratischen Gesellschaftsordnung, die mit konsolidierten Demokratien Ostmitteleuropas vergleichbar wär
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e, erscheint möglich. Eine herausragende Rolle bei einem solchen Transformationsprozess spielen die Massenmedien. Ihre Unabhängigkeit stärkt die Bestrebungen nach mehr Demokratie. Doch trotz der Lösung von der Vorherrschaft Russlands ist es der Ukraine bislang nicht gelungen, unabhängige Massenmedien zu etablieren. Systematischen Lenkungsversuche beherrschen nach wie vor die Medienpolitik. Die Massenmedien und der Grad der Pressefreiheit stehen im Mittelpunkt der Fallstudie. Ausgehend von den politischen Ereignissen im Jahr 2004 untersucht die Autorin die Entwicklung der Pressefreiheit vor und nach der Revolution. Sie prüft die Berichterstattung in vier ukrainischen Zeitungen und vergleicht bzw. ergänzt die Ergebnisse mit Aussagen von ukrainischen Journalisten." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Stock taking of organisational forms, methodologies, intentions, themes and aesthetic form of Theatre for Development in Tanzania 1980 to 2002. In spite of the widely criticized dependency on funding organisations, Theatre for Development is still a vibrant form of theatre in Tanzania. The aestheti
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c forms of expression and dramaturgical characteristic make it a genuine artistic genre of its own, while the inherent contradictions of ideal form and pragmatics form part of its dynamic." (Publisher description)
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"Das Internet besitzt das Potenzial, neue Formen von gesellschaftlicher Vernetzung und Kommunikation hervorzubringen und trägt damit wesentlich zur Ausgestaltung sozialer und politischer Systeme bei. Auch in Iran hat sich das Internet trotz infrastruktureller Schwierigkeiten und staatlicher Zensurm
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aßnahmen zu einem wichtigen Medium für bestimmte gesellschaftliche Bereiche entwickelt. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt unter Berücksichtigung des politischen Systems, der Infrastruktur sowie der gesetzlichen Vorschriften, welchen politischen und sozialen Wandel das Internet in der iranischen Gesellschaft angestoßen hat." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Wie arbeiten Journalisten in einem Land wie Afghanistan? Wie sah und vor allem wie sieht die Medienlandschaft und die Pressefreiheit in dem vom Krieg geschundenen Land am Hindukusch aus? Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert Antworten zu diesen bisher von der Forschung komplett vernachlässigten Fragen. D
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ie Autorin bietet eine erste Bestandsaufnahme des Journalismus in Afghanistan und verbindet aufschlussreich zeitgeschichtliche Hintergründe und den aktuellen Transformationsprozess des Mediensystems. Mit dem analysierenden Teil und der aufwändigen empirischen Untersuchung versteht sich diese Studie als ein Basiswerk in der Journalismus- und Medienforschung in Afghanistan." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This study is about Community Radio Madanpokhara (CRM) in Palpa district in Western Nepal. Initiated and managed by the local residents, CRM has been on the air on frequency modulation (FM) band serving 800,000 potential listeners in the region since 2000. Triangulating in-depth interviews, observa
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tions and an audience survey as methods, this research explores the nature and extent of the local residents’ participation in the communication process. The station, operating with a wide participation from its community members, has not only been successful in providing them with an access to much needed information and entertainment but has also, in fact, proved to be an important avenue for the local population to express their opinions and views as well as exchange feelings. An audience survey, conducted in January 2004, revealed that 80.8 percentage of the local respondents listen to their community radio station for information and entertainment. Community radio in the region not only took away listeners from the state owned radio station, it also added new listeners. Thus, operation of a community radio station is not about sharing power, but it is also about creating new power. CRM has increased access to information for a larger section of rural population previously not served or underserved by the state media or the capital based-elite media. If knowledge is power and democracy is more about decentralization of power, then community radio stations in Nepal are truly championing this cause by creating many centers of power in the nation by empowering those left behind in the process and by securing their active involvement. They are encouraging the dispossessed and the marginalized in breaking the ages-old culture of silence, and CRM is leading the way in this endeavor." (Abstract)
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"Headlines From the Heartland: Reinventing the Hindi Public Sphere is the first in-depth study of the ongoing newspaper revolution in the Hindi-speaking states of India. With improved literacy levels, communications and purchasing power, the circulation of Hindi newspapers has grown rapidly in small
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towns and rural areas. By focusing their content to serve a local readership, some multi-edition Hindi newspapers have risen to the top of the national readership charts. Against the backdrop of the relationship between press and society, author Sevanti Ninan describes the emergence of a local public sphere; reinvention of the public sphere by the new non-elite readership; the effect on politics, administration, and social activism; the consequences of making newspapers reader rather than editor-led; the democratization of the Hindi press with the advent of village-level citizen journalists; and the impact of caste and communalism on the Hindi press. Based on over 150 interviews with journalists, readers, publishers, politicians, administrators, and activists, as well as expert content analysis, this book tells the ongoing story of the press in the Hindi heartland." (Publisher description)
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"In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die Demokratisierung und die Rolle der Medien innnerhalb dieses Prozess auf Taiwan untersucht. Dabei werden die im Westen entwickelten Transitionsansätze angewandt. In der bisherigen Transitionsforschung wurde die Rolle der Medien nur in geringem Maße einbezogen.
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Dass die Doppelrolle der Medien als Subjekt/Objekt in der politischen Transition einen entscheidenden Anteil am Demokratisierungsprozess haben, wird in der Untersuchung nachgewiesen. Es wird ebenfalls ersichtlich, dass die Zunahme der Bedeutung von Medien im politischen Prozess Gefahren für die Konsolidierung der Demokratie in sich birgt. Es zeigt sich ferner, dass die im Westen geprägten Ansätze nicht vollständig auf asiatische Verhältnisse anwendbar sind." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"There has been significant growth in media outlets. In the new regime, the relationship between the media and the government has improved greatly. For the media in Tanzania to develop, resource allocation should be considered as a priority. There is a need to look at how much the government and don
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or community are funding the development of media, and which media should be given priority. Commitment from media players is very important, as is ethical reporting that contributes to a better society. The production of local content should be increased. In order for the media truly to understand the audience and their needs, they must engage in dialogue with the public. There exists a big gap between the concentration and number of media outlets in rural vs urban parts of Tanzania. Community media should be prioritised. There is a critical need for journalists to be trained in specialist areas and in investigative journalism, and for them to understand the importance of the role they play in improving democracy. Although most media organisations have planned media activities, only a few of them have a specific annual budget set aside for such activities. To improve media planning activities there should be a specific planned budget for media activities." (Summary & conclusions, page 57)
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"The lack of a consolidated government since the fall of Siyad Barre’s regime in 1991 has led to a proliferation in the number and variety of media sources in Somalia. However, inter-factional violence and conflict has since torn the country apart, creating a difficult environment for media practi
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tioners to work in. In the self-proclaimed autonomous state of Somaliland, relative political stability and cooperation from the community has created a potentially conducive environment to media development. However, a lack of international recognition has limited access to the financial assistance needed to strengthen the media sector outside of the public domain. Changes in university curricula and international initiatives have increased training options for journalists. More and more journalists are being trained in the basic skills and ethics of journalism which, as interviewees agree, has had a positive impact on the quality and quantity of information disseminated. Steady changes in production methods and content have increased the variety of programmes on TV and radio. Poverty and lack of infrastructure have limited the spread of TV and print in Somalia. Likewise, with low levels of literacy in Somalia, radio has the greatest reach, but stations remain concentrated in Mogadishu. An important change to the industry has been the formation of various journalistic trade unions, but journalists remain amongst some of the poorest paid in the world." (Summary & conclusions, page 77)
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"The liberalisation of airwaves and emerging democratic ideals have been important variables influencing increment in FM stations, new media products, a free press and freedom of expression. Occasional problems between the government and media players arise. The recognition by government of the incr
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easing relevance and role of the media in the country is evidenced by the committal to pass both the ICT policy and Media Bill, which have already been presented to parliament. With respect to various media organizations and their operations, there have been remarkable changes towards a vibrant media. For instance, broadcast and print media are now more careful about how they package and present information in order to obtain a competitive edge. The journalism curriculum is being reviewed continually to meet arising needs, while the spotlight is slowly turning to rogue trainers. The role of the public in the media and that of the media to the public are increasingly being acknowledged. A lack of sound policy and poor journalism practice continue to be critical issues. With regards to the impact of media development initiatives, the debate regarding selfregulation versus government regulation will continue to arise, especially with the Media Bill and ICT policy." (Summary & conclusions, page 65)
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"Changes have been gradual but the watershed was 1992/4 when the airwaves were liberalised, leading to the mushrooming of media institutions especially in the broadcasting area. In the past five years, the media in Uganda has become more vibrant, more liberated and there has been more freedom of exp
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ression overall. Opening up of media space led to the proliferation of private newspapers, private radio stations and private television stations, and the introduction and eager embrace of the Internet and mobile phones by many people. The horizon of news reporting has been widened to cover East Africa and the Great Lakes Region. There has been more diversity in what the media is reporting. The media has acquired prominence as one of the four pillars of governance. Investigative journalism has been improved, but there are many draconian laws on the books. Some are active but others lie dormant and may be activated at any time. There is a recognition by the media that there is a need to move their relations with government to a level that is more professional and more engaging, rather than accusing the latter simply of control and denial of access. More people are using the media as a tool for advocacy and development. Communities now actively participate in, and influence media programmes by contributing ideas." (Summary & conclusions, page 61)
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