"This article focuses on how Koch FM and Pamoja FM, two community radio stations in Nairobi, Kenya, worked during the 2007–08 tumult and 2013 general election. The article is based on observations and interviews with community radio practitioners conducted between 2007 and 2013, and addresses the
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following questions: How do the community radio stations work during elections – times of increased tensions? How do they discourage ethnic violence in their community? How is participation used in order to bring unity to the community?" (Abstract)
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"This study has found that Uchaguzi represents a blended model incorporating both crowd-seeding (placing monitors on the ground to collect data) and crowd-sourcing (collecting information from the public). The success of crowd-seeding is a function of Uchaguzi’s partnerships with local and interna
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tional agencies. Overall, the blended model is quite remarkable in that it theoretically provides a robust monitoring mechanism incorporating feedback from both experts and ordinary citizens. Future projects in Kenya and other locations across the world should consider such a model." (Conclusion)
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"We analyzed more than 13,000 statements during the project. This report primarily builds on the statements that were collected between 24 February and 24 June 2015, three months before and one month after the parliamentary elections that took place in Ethiopia on 24 May 2015. FINDING 1 - Hate and d
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angerous speech are marginal forms of speech in social media. Only 0.4% of statements in our sample have been classified as hate speech (i.e. speech that incites others to discriminate or act against individuals or groups based on their ethnicity, religion, or gender) and 0.3% as dangerous speech (i.e. speech that builds the bases for or directly calls for widespread violence against a particular group) [...] FINDING 2 - The elections on Facebook were a “non-event” - they were broadly discussed, but there was widespread disillusionment. Most Ethiopian Facebook pages discussed the elections, but many statements either directly referred to, or seemed informed by, the perception that the outcome of the elections was already predetermined, with low levels of suspense and low expectations on the part of online users [...] FINDING 3 - Dangerous speech is a distinctive and more deliberate form of attacking other groups or individuals. When compared to hate speech, as well as to other types of messages, dangerous speech reflects a more deliberate strategy to attack individuals and groups. Almost all dangerous statements in our sample are uttered by individuals seeking to hide their identity (92%). This proportion is significantly lower for statements classified as hate speech (33%) and offensive speech (31%) [...] FINDING 4 - The political, social and cultural views reflected in social media in Ethiopia are less polarized than might be expected ..." (Executive summary)
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"Hoy gracias a lo logrado con el monitoreo de medios realizado en las elecciones de Congreso y Presidencia 2014 el país cuenta con información cualificada para que especialistas, investigadores y la MOE puedan crear diálogos con periodistas de todo el país sobre la importancia de temas como la p
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articipación política de la mujer y la transparencia electoral durante los procesos democráticos." (Página 9)
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"This document provides general guidelines for electoral management bodies (EMBs) and other stakeholders, including political parties, candidates, citizen journalists and other social media commentators, who wish to agree on a code of etiquette for the publication and dissemination of election-relat
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ed news and information. Of course, each country must adapt these guidelines to develop a code of conduct that suits its particular political context and its own population’s use of social media." (Introduction)
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"For the last couple of years, there were more reporting on disability in the media but most of them only reporting and portraying the ‘uniqueness’ of disability. In the election news reporting, media only portray the Persons with Disabilities on the voting process but the news still did not hav
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e the clear message and even used incorrect terminologies. Learning for these experiences, General Election Network for Disability Access (AGENDA) which is the consortium of Jaringan Pendidikan Pemilih untuk Rakyat (JPPR/ People’s Voter Education Network), Persatuan Penyandang Disabilitas Indonesia (PPDI/Indonesian Association of Persons with Disabilities) and International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), took an initiative to develop the Media Guidelines for Reporting on Accessible Elections. This guideline explains about the terminology on disability and accessible election, how to interact with Persons with Disabilities, and how to make the news article on the political rights of Persons with Disabilities. The guidelines also provides the examples of good reporting and the contact information of the Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) in Indonesia. We hope the guidelines will be useful for the journalist to report on the Persons with Disabilities, especially to report on the accessible election. By having good and massive reporting on accessible election, we hope the public have more knowledge about the political rights of Persons with Disabilities. As a result of this efforts, the public awareness is increased and together we can advocate the political rights of Person with Disabilities in elections." (Foreword)
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"The five reports that make up this collection are variously concerned with humanitarian aid, social and cultural evolution, crisis response, the mitigation of cultural divides, and political unrest. The themes that bind them are an international movement towards public safety; a trust-based relatio
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nship between states and citizens; community led social development; and the capacity of social media and big data to make use of, and amplify, the thoughts and voices of under-represented elements of society. Importantly, the reports also begin to question the inluence these violent contexts are having on the development of social media, where communities in crises utilise and shape these new technologies though real-time engagement. The potential of these media is being maximised to such an extent that these platforms are under strain, and developers are increasingly learning how to adapt to the needs of a variety of audiences in volatile contexts." (Introduction, page 6)
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"In my opinion it is too easy to conclude whether eleetion coverage in the media is balanced, solely based on quantitative data. Although this is obviously important, other aspects are equaliy important, particularly in a country such as Mozambique, where the written press does not penetrate much. A
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nd that is the entertainment value of the television reports, where Frelimo rallies were more speetacular. Important is also the attitude of reporters, where my impression was that journalists in both television channels and in RM were more enthusiastic in their reporting ofthe Frelimo campaign. Analyses such as the one undertaken by the EU observer mission underline the need for proper multi-method research into the role of the media in elections. Only then will the full picture ofhow important media are in the political process become clear." (Page 154)
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"The election protests in Moscow in December 2011 signified an important moment for Russian society. Political dissent, historically reserved for the private domain of Soviet kitchens and in recent years to the regulation-free space of the Russian Internet (RuNet), entered the public space of Moscow
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streets. Just like the protests revealed the long-held tension between the political discussion (and action) in Russian public and private spheres, the coverage of the protests by different media brought to light similar struggles in Russian journalism. This project combines the textual analysis of the protests' coverage by two progovernment and two oppositional media with the analysis of their connections to the RuNet-a space that played an important role in the protests' organization and coordination. The project aims to gain a deeper understanding of the role RuNet-a private space that increasingly becomes more public-plays in the development of Russian journalism." (Abstract)
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"This paper seeks to identify the extent to which the national TV and radio programme Sema Kenya (Kenya Speaks), part of BBC Media Action’s governance work in Kenya, supported accountability, peace and inclusion at the time of the 2013 Kenya election. It shows the specific value placed on Sema Ken
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ya by audiences and experts at election time [...] Sema Kenya is a weekly programme, in the Kenyan national language of Swahili, involving a panel discussion led by questions from the audience. In its first season, episodes were recorded in 14 different locations across the country. Sema Kenya is not an election programme, which allowed it to tackle local and national governance issues and present a diversity of views and dialogue at a time when the rest of the Kenyan media maintained a very narrow election focus [...] The research also shows that at a time when media coverage and debate was influenced by a peace agenda, resulting in an avoidance of sensitive issues, Sema Kenya provided the public with arguably more detailed information than other media sources." (Abstract)
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"SAEF’s major finding in Malawi was that although the media had covered the entire election process fairly well, it had failed to give equitable coverage to all three parts of the elections – presidential, parliamentary and local government. The press gave 40% coverage to the presidential race,
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11% to the parliamentary one and 1% to local government elections, according to research done by the Media Monitoring Project of the US funded Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). The state broadcaster, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) performed poorly at first in that it gave 90% coverage to the ruling Peoples’ Party and the incumbent President, Dr Joyce Banda and only 10% to opposition parties. Only after complaints were lodged with Government through the Minister of Information did the figure of 90% drop to 70%." (Executive summary)
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"This guide is designed to be a key reference tool for electoral practitioners including electoral management bodies (EMBs), independent broadcasting authorities and international assistance providers. It aims at improving an understanding of some of the key issues related to media and elections. Th
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e guide is comprised of ten chapters that deal with the issues of media and communications during the electoral process. Each chapter can be read independently so that electoral practitioners only concerned with one facet of media and elections can turn directly to that section as a resource." (Page vi)
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"Kenya’s 2010 Constitution guarantees press freedom in a way the country has never previously seen. However, the concentration of media ownership and pending consensus on new media legislation are tarnishing the triumphs of Kenya’s media liberalization and development. Regulation of news content
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, including hate speech and political bias, as well as journalistic standards are also issues provoking discussion and sullying the image of Kenya as a role model for other East African countries. On May 21, 2014, international scholars gathered in Bonn to discuss their research under the heading “Kenya’s Media Landscape: A Success Story with Serious Structural Challenges”. This publication provides a supplement to the presentations and discussions held at the fifth annual DW Media Dialogue." (Publisher description)
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