"The Untold films bear testimony to the success of the skills development element of this Regional Programme initiative. The fact that these television dramas were developed, written, directed and produced in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabw
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e by local people; constitutes the achievement of one of the central goals of the Untold project – to build a community of new voices and grow local skills to develop edutainment drama. The audience reception study conducted across the region has shown that the films were successful in highlighting a range of issues relating to HIV & AIDS. These issues include orphanhood, HIV testing, stigma, and gender-based violence. The dramas reinforce the complexity of the HIV & AIDS epidemic and the need for individuals and communities to develop new ways of thinking and acting to curb its spread. The Untold series has moved and entertained audiences, created dialogue and debate, and got people thinking about their lives and the choices they face in relation to HIV & AIDS. The project has thus, through successful regional collaboration, achieved its stated goals." (Conclusion)
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"This report aims to 'assist radio stations to understand formative target audience research and enable them to conduct such research'. The report is primarily based on the experiences with Focus Group Discussions (FGD's) of five South African community radio stations. The publication contains an in
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troduction to the history and situation of community radio stations in South Africa, followed by five detailed case studies. Besides general information about these community radio stations, the case studies picture and quote the opinions of the FGD participants on language use, programme content, listeners' participation, and other topics related to the programme and management of the radio stations they listened to. The publication is not a research guide, but gives concrete examples of the benefits which community radio stations can derive from audience research." (commbox)
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"[...] The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of international media training on radio professionals in Indonesia. The study examined the effectiveness of training organizations in implementing training programs in Indonesia. Diffusion of innovation theory was used as a theoretical fr
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amework based on the premise that training has been one of the most common tools used to diffuse new ideas and knowledge other than the formal education setting. A mixed-methodology by combining focus group discussion and survey was used in order to understand the impact of training for Indonesian radio professionals. Finding suggested that most journalists and managers adopted training and diffused the new knowledge and skills to fellow professionals. Some of them continued to adopt while others stopped due to both internal and external challenges. Journalists said management was the main obstacle to for adoption; while managers blamed the market situation. In addition, other factors that occurred in training also played a role in adoption including participant selection, needs assessment, training materials, trainers and the structure of training." (Abstract)
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"This research project in Liberia has tried to do first steps to understand in detail the quality of media, especially radio, in Liberia and what the audience is thinking of and expecting from the media. Being the first of its kind in Liberia after the end of the civil war it has investigated a) the
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quality of media output by means of content analysis and b) audiences perceptions of the media quality extracted from focus group discussions." (Page 4)
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"Jóvenes con discapacidad de tres países de América Latina debaten sobre cuándo y de qué manera retratan su realidad los medios de comunicación, especialmente en el caso de la televisión. Las opiniones documentadas dan pistas sobre cómo se construye una disociación en el ámbito discapacida
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d y adolescencia, por lo menos en la pequeña pantalla." (Resumen ejecutivo)
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"This study attempts to explore entertainment-education (E-E) radio drama audience responses/reactions, their motivating factors in writing letters to the drama and the relationship between audience responses and over all program goals of the drama, Menta Menged (Crossroads), in Ethiopia. Because en
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tertainment-education mass media programs which aim at promoting pro-social behavior attract huge audiences both in listening and participating due to their entertainment and educational functions, this study explores these audiences’ feedback with the aim to understand the kind of relationship that exists between audiences and the radio drama. The data was collected through a textual or qualitative content analysis of audience letters, and focus group discussions with audience members; and it was qualitatively analyzed and discussed. The data showed that audiences typically have four kinds of reactions: commentaries, appreciations, associations and reflections with the drama, characters and actors. Furthermore, a number of motivating factors, in addition to the drama (both the messages and model characters), influenced audiences to respond to the drama and involved in the writing of letters. Interestingly, their reactions are mixed when compared to the program’s intended outcomes on audience behaviors." (Abstract)
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"This essay provides an overview of mediated religion in Brazil, focusing on people’s responses to the 'Life Network' (Rede Vida) in Porto Alegre. In addition to a general overview, a case study offers a glimpse into how countries and cultures outside of the U.S. experience the interaction of comm
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unication and religious practices. Based on dissertation research (Sierra Gutiérrez, 2006), the text falls into six parts: the first part reviews past research in North and South America; the second explicates the context and the general problem encountered in this kind of study; the third part lists the central questions and objectives. Part 4 reviews the theoretical implications of mediated religion while Part 5 reviews methodology for studying the topic. Finally, the last section specifies some conclusions based on the investigation and some more general observations about televised religion and the post-modern challenge it presents." (Page 3)
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"En el presente estudio exploratorio se describirá las características de la percepción que las personas mayores tienen de los medios de comunicación (técnica de grupos focales) y se analizará la información que los medios (técnica de observación de medios) emiten acerca de las personas may
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ores." (Metodología, página 5)
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"The purpose of the study is to determine the challenges and prospects of community radio in Ethiopia, taking Harar Community Radio (HCR) as a case study. This radio station is selected because it has already stopped broadcasting a few months ago. For the effectiveness of the research, efforts have
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been made to study the overall operational activities of Harar Community Radio and the attitudes of its audience toward the managing, financing and production processes. The researcher acquired the necessary data and information by employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, including document inspection. Taking sample survey as the main means of acquiring data, focus group discussion and in-depth interviews have been used to complement the study. In addition, different books and documents were revised to give depth to the research outcome. The researcher has also examined the theories of participatory communication and Jankowski’s community media research agenda to specify the research objectives and questions. The outcome of the study has pointed out that Harar Community Radio lacked many qualities of a community radio station. As the findings clearly identify, it is not possible to take HCR as a well organized community radio station. On the other hand, however, the radio station still has the support and trust of its audience." (Abstract)
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"This report shares the findings of five studies of media coverage of HIV/AIDS, carried out in Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe by the Panos London AIDS Programme, with the support of Johns Hopkins University. The studies aimed to explore some of the issues and tensions involved
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in the relationship between the media and HIV/AIDS. In particular, they aimed to identify how the media could better fulfill its potential role in responding to the epidemic, for example by 'moving beyond awareness raising' and acting as a channel to encourage individual and social change, providing a forum for debate and holding decision-makers to account. According to the writers, the studies focused on radio and print media. They used desk research, individual interviews and group discussions, involving editors, broadcasters, journalists, academics and health workers, as well as representatives of HIV/AIDS agencies, non-governmental organisations, faith-based groups and the general public. They were carried out by local consultants over two months during 2004, with supplementary desk research and interviews in 2005. Sections 1 & 2 of this report provide an analysis of the context, themes and recommendations that emerged from across the different studies. Sections 3-7 summarise the audit for each country, including: a summary of the national political and HIV/AIDS context; information about policy and ownership issues in relation to radio and print; an analysis of the relationship between the media and HIV/AIDS; and conclusions and recommendations." (www.comminit.com, January 30, 2006)
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"The Task Force research initiative has resulted in the most comprehensive study on cultural diversity and the media ever undertaken, anywhere, that will serve as a major source of information for future research. Interview subjects generally concluded that some advances have been made regarding the
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presence of cultural diversity on television in the past decade, but there is still a great deal of progress required. Many provided suggestions for improvement, such as the increased use of internships and the development of a database of actors, directors, producers and experts from Canada’s ethnocultural and Aboriginal communities. The Task Force initiated a round of consultations with interview subjects to discuss Recommended Best Practices and Industry Initiatives in April 2004. Focus groups provided a broad range of strong opinions and perspectives on the issue of cultural diversity and television. Several areas of concern were highlighted by focus group participants across the country: the persistence of stereotyping; too many instances of negative or inaccurate portrayal; underrepresentation of many groups; unbalanced or negative portrayal on newscasts; and a serious absence of Aboriginal representation on television. The benchmark content analysis substantiated many concerns raised within the focus groups, and provided a very rich assessment of exactly how cultural diversity is reflected and portrayed on television." (Executive summary)
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"The summary of findings for this study is drawn from extensive research conducted in the form of questionnaires and focus groups. The aim of the study was to assess the level at which community radio stations in Africa are involved in programming of content on sustainable development themes/ topics
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. Investigations conducted through the study indicate that in general, community radio stations are still struggling with producing content on sustainable development. One of the reasons is the lack of understanding and distinction of what sustainable content is especially in the specific context of the different communities. Findings however also indicate that despite challenges faced by the sector, community radio stations are making some efforts to produce programmes on sustainable content although they are also faced with challenges on identifying and working with relevant stakeholders for content development. This report makes specific recommendation on how community radio stations can improve on sustainable programming." (Executive summary of findings, page 5-6)
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"This report, Audience Perceptions of Radio Programming in Afghanistan, is the result of qualitative research conducted to assess audience perceptions of 3 key radio stations in the cities of Kabul and Herat in June 2004. The stations are: Radio Afghanistan (the state broadcaster) Arman FM (Afghanis
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tan’s first commercial station) and Radio Herat (the state broadcaster). A total of 12 focus groups were conducted, split by age (18 – 29 and 30+) and gender. For each target station, 4 groups were held. Each group comprised 8 participants. The overall objective was to explore listening habits and audience preferences, particularly in terms of coverage of news and elections-related information, in order to inform the BBC WST project as it builds capacity within the Afghan media to play its part in the process of democratisation.
The research revealed a number of findings relating to general media consumption in Afghanistan: Listeners regularly switch between radio stations to listen to particular programming or presenters they like. Men and women listen at different times of the day, men more frequently in the early mornings and evenings, women during the day. Interactivity (such as phone-ins and letters) in programming appeals to listeners. Programmes that offer help and advice and have educational benefit are popular. Listeners dislike language that is overly formal and difficult but equally dislike language that is regarded as trivial or inappropriate. There are generational and gender differences in programme preferences, with younger audiences drawn especially by music programming. There is high awareness of programme names and presenter names." (Executive summary, page 2)
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