"When conflicts emerge the media often become, intended or not, a key actor. It is through media that every party within a conflict attempts to convey its own narrative, contributing to a complex reality that affects journalists’ work in many different ways. This article aims to reflect on Bläsi
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s (2004) factors of influence on conflict coverage in the context of media development in Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic. Developed from a western standpoint on war reporters covering foreign conflicts, we propose to adapt this model to ‘local’ contexts in order to provide a more holistic analysis of journalism in conflict settings, but also to propose entry points for constructive coordination among multiple media development actors. In this article, we discuss the audience dimension, the pressure put through lobbies, the journalists’ personal features, the situation on-site, structural factors referring to the broader media and information system, and the political climate. We strive to offer a critique so as to adapt to the relevance of ‘local’ journalists living and reporting in conflict-affected areas, in which media development assistance often takes place, in opposition to international foreign correspondents that are deployed to cover far-away violent conflicts." (Abstract)
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"The present report provides the findings of a combined baseline evaluation of “‘I Love My Country:’ Promoting Localized Understanding and Peaceful Coexistence in South Sudan” (PLUPC) funded by the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPS) of the Canadian government, and endline eva
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luation of the project, “‘I Love My Country’: Strategic Communications for Peace Building in South Sudan” (SCPB) funded by the European Union (EU). The goal of the “‘I Love My Country:’ Promoting Localized Understanding and Peaceful Coexistence in South Sudan” project is to build greater understanding and application of key concepts embodied within the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) through key stakeholder meetings, participatory theater performances, civil society engagement, small-scale peace initiatives, short media productions, and radio drama production and broadcast. The project began on December 15, 2016 is expected to end on June 15, 2018. The purpose of the “‘I Love My Country’: Strategic Communications for Peace Building in South Sudan” project is “to promote social cohesion, resilience, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts among individuals and communities in South Sudan” by strengthening national platforms for diverse and constructive and promoting peace, tolerance, and reconciliation with key groups and individuals. Search for Common Ground, iHub, UNESCO, and Catholic Radio Network launched the project in November 1, 2014 and it was concluded on March 1, 2017. The objectives of the baseline evaluation for PLUPC are to update the analysis of local conflict dynamics in the targeted zones for outreach activities, collect baseline data for project indicators, to reflect upon the Objectives and Theory of Change (TOC) of the project, and to evaluate potential risks to project participants, implementing staff, and partners. The final evaluation for SCPB seeks to measure changes in key indicators after the implementation of activities, evaluate the project using OECD-DAC criteria (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability), and provide lessons learned and recommendations to inform future peace building activities in the country." (Executive summary)
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"From small beginnings in the 1960s, Western governments and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) are today spending huge sums on media intervention in Arab countries, to the point where such intervention has become an industry. Among the plethora of media projects aimed at moulding
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Arab public affairs are a subset intentionally framed in terms of a discourse of conflict resolution, conflict handling and peace-building. Since 1998 external donors have financed such projects bilaterally and multilaterally, with the explicit aim of replacing violence and threats among regional antagonists with mutual understanding, diversity, dialogue and exchange. When it comes to measuring their impact and effectiveness, however, the results have generally failed to meet expectations, and there have been some spectacular disasters. Despite this, the number of such projects in the region is on the increase, with an ever wider range of donors becoming involved. This chapter reviews the development of these interventions for peace. It proposes a typology for understanding their objectives, evaluates their general success and failure and concludes with some considerations about requirements for success." (Page 135)
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"This study analyzes media projects designed to contribute to the development of peace. Therefore, it examines post-Cold War mass communication projects developed in direct response to violent conflicts initiated by a party that is not involved in the conflict. The practical effort is named “peace
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media.”
The review of the literature from the fields of media effects, propaganda research, peace studies and communication for development offers a broad spectrum of studies pointing towards a common conclusion: mass media/communication indeed have the potential to affect populations in a variety of ways. The rhizomatic approach by Deleuze and Guattari was used as the theoretical foundation to the methods employed in the study. As a result, in-depth interviewing, text analysis and a quantitative effects assessment were used as the methods of inquiry. In order to fully understand the rhizomatic foundation of peace media, this study examined three kinds of data: interview transcripts, texts describing peace media projects and the quantitative data of audience effects conducted by practitioners.
Thirteen conflict sites in 18 countries generated a total of nearly forty peace media projects. The analysis begins with the description of the actors and practitioners responsible for peace media projects (who). It continues with an examination of media approaches to peace development (what), followed by a description of the beneficiaries of peace media (whom). The last two segments discuss the means of communication (channels) and examine the effects of peace media and the most effective utilization of such practices (effects). The study concludes that the impact of media is both substantial and limited. Because action or behavior is dependent on many outside variables and because these variables contribute to the end result as much as any form of communication initiative, only the true integration of media within peacebuilding strategies can insure a significant move toward a peaceful society. In order for this to happen, the following four components need to be integrated in the media plan for conflict transformation: journalism, entertainment, advertising and regulation. The final chapter of the dissertation presents a set of recommendations for the future practice." (Abstract)
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"This paper is an exploration of different approaches to programming for conflict resolution media and its complementary interventions. It presents a new model for media communicators to use in creating programming focused on peacebuilding. It is based on the authors' recent mission to Liberia to as
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sess the work of Talking Drum Studio, a conflict resolution organization of media producers, journalists, and activists [...] The objectives of our research and evaluation mission to Talking Drum Studio in Monrovia, Liberia included an evaluation of the processes they use to develop conflict resolution media. We formally observed what TDS is doing on a day-to-day basis, and worked with them to generate for us and for them a clear understanding of the procedures that they employ. We analyzed the procedures and put them together in a framework that accurately characterized what they do. With the addition of a more formal assessment component, that framework became the “Responsive Programming Model” that we describe in this report. (Introduction)
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