"In this book, leading international scholars examine the way new media is reshaping lives and politics. Covering topics from women's rights to terrorism, and countries from Israel to Saudi Arabia, these authors explore the global and regional ramifications of the proliferation of communication tech
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nologies and the information they disseminate." (Publisher description)
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"[...] This authoritative book answers key questions about the connections between media and political change in the Arab world. Using research into, for example, practices of Internet users, journalists, demonstrators and producers of reality TV, it explores the interface between public interaction
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over the airwaves, at the polls and on the streets. A lively group of contributors explores such issues as whether young people are served well by new media, whether blogging is an influential political tool, whether satellite news helps or hinders diasporic communities politically, and much more." (Publisher description)
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Provides a mappping of 26 initiatives to develop indicators of media development and their respective methodologies, and analyses these initiatives in terms of their value and relevance to the priorities of the IPDC. The paper also proposes sample indicators and data sources for five principal media
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development outcomes which are broken down into separate categories.
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"There is a general consensus that media are an essential element of democracy if they fulfil particular quality requirements in their reporting. Abundant literature deals with media quality from a theoretical perspective, but empirical knowledge on journalistic practice with regard to its role in d
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emocratization is rare, and this is even more so in the case of African countries. First, this article seeks to assess the quality of radio in Liberia, which is the country’s most popular medium. Second, the article tests a specific methodology in order to measure the contribution of radio to democracy. It argues that radio stations in Liberia strongly differ in their quality, each with specific shortcomings. These findings are confirmed by interviews with civil society representatives and by audience research." (Abstract)
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"This book examines processes of media change in post-Communist countries. Considerable attention is paid to the general process of transformation before turning to the media in particular. In this reexamination of the media under the Communist system and its role in the transition, the stress is on
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analysis of media policy and media systems. The author develops a model of change in Central and Eastern Europe and how it can be applied. As such, the intention is not to provide a full account of the debate but to illustrate the main elements and mechanisms of the process as exemplified by the situation in selected countries." (Publisher description)
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"Exporting Press Freedom examines the history and practice of media assistance, and argues that the dilemma of media independence and sustainability is best understood as an economic problem rather than one of poor editorial standards or lack of will. It includes profiles of news and public affairs
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media in developing and democratizing countries, and also of two non-governmental organizations that have pioneered the use of low-interest loans in media assistance. These profiles exemplify strategic and entrepreneurial approaches to developing and supporting public service media. Such approaches may be of use not only in the developing world, but in the consolidated Western democracies as well, where concern has grown about poor journalistic performance and its consequences for democratic governance." (Publisher description)
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"Aiding and training journalists and media managers, along with civil society groups, paid off in Georgia. The American and Western investment helped to generate the Rose Revolution, and resulted in a potentially more democratic, open and Western-leaning society. It was a comparatively economical, a
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nd certainly more peaceful, way of inducing democratic change than most other forms of intervention." (Conclusion, page 27)
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"Draws together thinking and analysis that covers the breadth and depth of the media development landscape. The opening section, 'Why Media Matters: Global Perspectives' gathers the work of several thought leaders on major trends that cut across both the communications and development policy arenas;
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this is followed by an examination of the current debate that is engaging researchers, development professionals and media assistance experts alike, namely 'How Media Matters: Measuring its Impact'. The third section, 'Challenges in Media Matters: Practitioner Experiences' presents a range of regional and sectoral case studies, and the final section forms a guide to current information sources and studies of the field of media support, in 'Mapping the Sector - Literature, Surveys and Resources'. Media matters has four key aims: 1 To help development policy makers and practitioners understand the relevance of vibrant, independent media systems to their wider goals; 2 To highlight work on the evidence of the relationship between media, communications and the development agenda; 3 To flag key global and regional trends and opportunities in media assistance; 4 To map the media assistance sector, its growing body of literature, and the emerging international research partnerships that will help define its priorities to 2015." (Overview + executive summary)
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"A collection of 22 papers on the indigenous language press (and other media) in Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, primarily devoted to the activities of African language newspapers and periodicals. Some papers examine the significant and pioneering role religious publications
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– both Christian and Islamic – have played in the development of indigenous languages presses in Africa, while others examine some of the socio-political and economic changes that have greatly affected indigenous language media over the years, and have lead to its demise to some extent. Also included as an Appendix is a paper in Dutch by Honoré Vinck, “Het belang van de periodieke koloniale pers in Afrikaanse talen”, which examines the role of the African language press during colonial days in the Belgian Congo." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 2135)
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"This paper has shown that media assistance donors to Central Europe misplaced their emphasis on the trainign of journalistic craft skills as a principal means of introducing what they rather uncritically called 'democratic journalism' to post-Communist societies. There are many narrative choices in
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telling stories, even news stories, and there are few convincing reasons to beleive that mainstream western news conventions are the most likely to contribute to democratic political culture." (Conclusion)
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