"The proceedings of a conference held at the Africa Institute of South Africa in 2009, this is a major new collection of essays on the state of scholarly publishing in Africa, with a strong emphasis on the situation in South Africa. The conference was convened, and the papers published, in an attemp
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t to influence “policymakers and other relevant stakeholders in developing an enabling environment for scholarly publishing to thrive.” Containing a total of 26 papers – all of them, usefully, preceded by abstracts – content is arranged under seven sections: (i) The State of Research Publishing in Africa, (ii) The State of Scholarly Publishing in Africa, (iii) The Challenges of Book Distribution, (iv) The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Scholarly Publishing, (v) Alternative Publishing Models, (vi) The Politics of Peer Review in Scholarly Publishing, and (vii) Scholarly Publishing and Intellectual Property Development in Africa. While the majority of the contributors are from South Africa, other contributors include Kenyan veteran publisher Henry Chakava, James Currey of James Currey Publishers, Mary Jay, Chief Executive of the Oxford-based African Books Collective, and a number of academics from the West African region. The book is particularly strong in overviews of scholarly publishing in South Africa, covering both book and journal publishing. It offers some interesting discussions and fresh insights about alternative publishing and distribution models, with articles reporting about new initiatives and strategy approaches, and also including papers on the politics and practise of the peer review process, and on South African intellectual property rights. One or two papers, by academics from other regions of Africa, unfortunately are weak and poorly informed about the current state of scholarly publishing in Africa, for example citing literature that goes back to books and articles published in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the book can be seen as a useful companion to ‘African Scholarly Publishing Essays’, edited by Alois Mlambo, and published by African Books Collective in 2006." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 2581)
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"This report provides an overview of the discussions and conclusions from the International Partnership Meeting in New York on 26 January 2010 organised by the Open Society Institute and International Media Support. At the meeting, 30 media support and press freedom organisations from across the wor
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ld met to discuss partnerships and countries in which the partnership process might be pursued in 2010. Nine target countries in 2010 were selected for partnership action in 2010." (IMS website)
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"Since the mid-1990s, the influence of satellite television broadcasting in the Middle East has become central to the shaping of public attitudes in the region and beyond. While many of the main influential mainstream satellite channels are news-focused, entertainment and religious broadcasting are
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also significant. Religious Broadcasting in the Middle East offers a synopsis of a conference held at Cambridge in January 2010. It focuses on the discourses of a selection of Islamic, Christian and Jewish religious broadcasting channels, as well as the wider factors and structures that sustain them." (Back cover)
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"International media development and media support is often structured and planned without taking into account the current and future position of media as economic subjects and their long term sustainability and development opportunities. Sida’s policy to engage and involve private sector actors i
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n international development efforts and WAN-IFRA’s unique position as a media trade organisation with a human rights mandate, has resulted in a partnership between Sida and WAN-IFRA to work together in advancing media development and press freedom worldwide [...] This event is the beginning of an initiative to establish a systematic and holistic approach to assistance to financially viable independent media in developing markets." (Foreword)
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"As ACCU decided to conclude its programmes in book development in the fiscal year of 2009, “ACCU Experts Meeting on Book Development and Reading promotion in Asia and the Pacific” was held from 8 to 10 December 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. 20 experts and officials from the field of book development an
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d reading promotion, who closely worked with ACCU participated from 18 countries in Asia and the Pacific. The participants shared the current situation of the book development and reading promotion in their countries and how ACCU’s such activities contributed to their countries and in the region. On the third day of the Meeting, Culture Division and Education Division together held the Symposium “Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation for the Promotion of Culture and Education” inviting 63 experts and government officials in book development and non-formal education gathered from 24 countries." (ACCU website, 23/2/2011)
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"In the past few years China has rapidly become an important player in the media sector in many African countries in at least three ways. First, its economic success and the impressive growth of media outlets and users within China have quietly promoted an example of how the media can be deployed wi
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thin the larger political and economic strategies of developing states, moving beyond the democratization paradigm promoted in the West. It has shown that heavy investments in media and information and communication technologies can go hand-in-hand with a tight control over them, posing a lesser challenge to local governments and to political stability. Second, the Chinese government, and its associated companies, have enhanced their direct involvement in the telecommunication and media markets in Africa. Chinese companies have started winning large bids on the continent, as exemplified by the 1.7 billion dollars project won by the Chinese telecom giant ZTE to overhaul Ethiopia's telecommunication system. At the same time, the Chinese government has provided significant support to state broadcasters in selected countries, such as Kenya and Zambia. Third, China's public diplomacy strategy has been stepped up through expanding the reach and content of its international broadcasters including China Central Television-CCTV and China Radio International-CRI. There has also been a heavy investment in the growth of the government news agency, Xinhua. Cultural diplomacy has been growing through the continued establishment of Confucius institutes. And programmes that offer scholarships for foreign students and journalists to study in China have been expanded." (Executive summary)
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"The Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) organized a series of policy dialogues to seek expert opinion on a PIPS research report titled ‘Understanding Militants’ Print Media in Pakistan and its Impact’. The report maps the militants’ media, its genesis and evolution, and impact on the Pak
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istani state and society. The report also profiles publications of the militants’ media, colloquially known as ‘jihad media’, along with publications of madrassas, sectarian groups and/or associated individuals, and mainstream media groups which support the narrative of the militants’ media. Besides content analysis of the four types of publications, the report also discusses at length the parallel propaganda campaign by militants in the form of leaflets and Shabnamas (night letters). The report finds that the militants’ media is gradually expanding its influence and outreach, having frustrated government efforts to close it down by continuously resurfacing under new names." (Page 1)
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"Esta publicación reúne los artículos y testimonios del Seminario Interamericano de Periodismo y Comunicación Científica, realizado en la ciudad de Buenos Aires del 13 al 15 de octubre de 2010." (Página 3)
According to this document "media support interventions tend to be conceived and implemented late in the electoral cycle". Support to media around elections could be developed through: mechanisms to map the implications of rapid media and communication changes for electoral outcomes; mechanisms for
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lesson learning on which media support strategies have proved most effective (or ineffective); coordination of media support around elections.
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"Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the Afghan media sector has experienced dramatic growth in all areas: television, radio, print, internet, mobile phones. As such, the sector holds tremendous potential for making significant contributions to peacebuilding in the country. However, the media sec
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tor also confronts numerous challenges that impede its ability to realize this potential – which can only be addressed through the combined efforts and attention of international and domestic stakeholders alike. Among the most pressing challenges is resolving the tension between information operations and counterinsurgency, on the one hand, and developing a viable, credible media sector on the other. All too often efforts to counter extremist messages through expanded military and government access to the airwaves (via purchased air time and proliferating “radio in a box” broadcasts from military outposts) have had a negative impact on both media market economics and media credibility. Sustainability is also a significant issue. A glut of media outlets has arisen that are privately licensed yet sustained by international donor funds and strategic communications money. This has had a deleterious effect on the perception of media, and its effectiveness as a guardian of public interests. The shortcomings of state-owned RTA as a public broadcaster further contribute to this, leading many experts to call for greater investment in long-term training and mentoring as well as regulatory reform to limit government manipulation of the airwaves." (Summary)
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