"Divisive debates on what constitutes the Ethiopian nation, how the state should be structured and how power should be devolved, have dominated Ethiopia’s private press since the ruling party, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), came to power. The press has served as both
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a mirror reflecting these issues and a space for literate elites to engage in political debates. This article analyses the role of the media, and the press in particular, in Ethiopia’s political debates. It also explores how the tenets of ‘‘Revolutionary Democracy’’ have shaped the media. This has polarized Ethiopia’s media, which has been unable to effectively serve as a forum for the negotiation of political power or for reconciliation between divided sectors of society." (Abstract)
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"En América Latina las relaciones entre medios y Estado son bien complejas, ambiguas y contradictorias. Casi siempre es una relación entre medios de comunicación y gobiernos porque hay pocas políticas de Estado, pues cada gobierno acomoda leyes, poder y medios para asegurar su éxito. ¡La comun
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icación como gobierno! ¡La efervescencia del Estado Comunicador! Y del otro lado el gran poder de los medios de comunicación para incidir en la toma de decisiones; los medios de comunicación han optado políticamente hacia la derecha para defender al mercado; la crisis de la legitimidad del periodismo y el auge de los medios comunitarios y digitales en el internet. ¡La mediática del poder!" (Página web)
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"InterMedia conducted in-depth interviews with 15 senior Ghanaian policy actors, comprising mostly senior politicians and bureaucrats, as well as a few influential figures outside government. The interviews focused on how the policy actors gather, assess, share and disseminate information critical t
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o development policy work. The aim was to understand how external stakeholders, particularly members of the international development community, can most effectively engage and assist these policymakers. The policy actors showed substantial overlap in information source preferences and media use habits, as well as in the ways they share information with fellow policy actors. They highlighted several actions that development organizations could take to improve the policy information environment. They also described many challenges in communicating with the public about development issues, as well as offering some creative solutions." (Report summary, page 7)
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"To understand the potential implications of Putin’s media strategy, it is useful to recall the rule and fall of Peru’s Alberto Fujimori. Like Putin, Fujimori used the wealth and power at his disposal to emasculate much of the country’s media. Also like Putin, however, he stopped short of impo
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sing a uniform system of state ownership and censorship [...] In principle, the “minimalist” system of media control used by authoritarian leaders like Putin and Fujimori can work indefinitely, but it is vulnerable to shocks. Control of only the commanding heights leaves room for information to circulate at lower altitudes, threatening the regime’s carefully calibrated message." (Page 85)
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"This article analyzes the liability of the Philippine President for the tort of constitutional negligence in relation to the murders and forced disappearances of leftists, journalists, and other dissidents. It uses the international law doctrine of command responsibility as a form of attribution th
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at may be used, by analogy, to hold the President accountable for a culture of impunity. The article describes the role of the President as the regulator of a human rights-conducive information ecology and argues that massive human rights violations meant to silence dissidents are a source of liability for which a class action suit is an available remedy. Finally, it looks at the concept of presidential immunity from suit from a comparative perspective and argues that the continued application of restrictive immunity rules established during the American colonial era is misplaced considering the universalist design of the present Philippine Constitution and developments in immunity jurisprudence in the United States." (Abstract)
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"This book is a contribution to efforts to improve governance systems around the world, particularly in developing countries. It offers a range of innovative approaches and techniques for dealing with the most important nontechnical challenges that prevent many of those efforts from being successful
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or sustainable. By so doing, the book sets out the groundwork for governance reform initiatives. Its overarching argument is that the development community is not lacking the tools needed for technical solutions to governance challenges. The toolbox is overflowing; best practice manuals in various areas of interest tumble out of seminars and workshops. However, difficulties arise when attempts are made to apply what are often excellent technical solutions under real-world conditions. Human beings, acting either alone or in groups small and large, are not as amenable as are pure numbers. And they cannot be put aside. In other words, in the real world, reforms will not succeed, and they will certainly not be sustained, without the correct alignment of citizens, stakeholders, and voice." (Introduction, page 1)
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"Le président brésilien Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva n’a jamais eu de relations faciles avec la presse de son pays. Cette dernière a en effet appuyé, en grande majorité, le coup d’État qui a mené à la dictature militaire (1964-1985), et mis, depuis le rétablissement de la démocratie, tou
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te son énergie au service des candidats conservateurs. Cela n’a pas empêché finalement Lula de l’emporter en 2002, et d’être réélu en 2006, les deux fois avec un nombre record de suffrages. Cet ouvrage met l’accent sur le rôle d’acteur politique que joue la presse au Brésil, avec ses intérêts propres, y compris économiques, même lorsqu’ils sont dissimulés sous le manteau des grands principes démocratiques (« l’indépendance du quatrième pouvoir », « l’intérêt public », etc.). Publiant des témoignages inédits provenant des coulisses du gouvernement et des rédactions, Giancarlo Summa montre comment un leader charismatique, qui gouverne au nom des intérêts matériels et symboliques de la majorité défavorisée de la population, parvient à rompre le blocus des médias traditionnels. Le choix du président d’une communication directe (meetings, messages télévisés, Internet, recours à la presse locale et aux radios communautaires, etc.) lui a permis assurément de contourner le monopole médiatique des grands groupes commerciaux. Cependant Lula a renoncé à mettre sur pied une véritable politique de communication susceptible de remettre en question les intérêts structurels de ces grandes compagnies et de favoriser la création de médias alternatifs d’importance." (Dos de couverture)
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This document presents a methodology for evaluating the contribution that communication interventions can make to accountable governance. CommGAP engages in complementary programme areas in an effort to amplify citizen voice; promote free, independent, and plural media systems; and help government i
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nstitutions communicate better with their citizens. The three programme areas are: research and advocacy; capacity building and training; and support for development projects. This document describes the evaluation framework - that is, the outcome and impact indicators, and the methodology behind the assessment - that CommGAP has developed.
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"El público colombiano tiene hoy con esta importante obra, un lúcido y sugerente estudio acerca de la relación entre la política de ‘seguridad democrática’, –principal componente e la gestión gubernamental del presidente Álvaro Uribe Vélez –, y los medios de comunicación. El texto q
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ue la Universidad Autónoma de Occidente entrega, explica sin dubitaciones como los medios sirven a los intereses del Gobierno y sin distancia alguna cerraron filas en torno a un estilo, a una forma de gobernar y de entender la democracia, aupando la posibilidad de que Uribe sea reelecto. El actuar de los medios será vital para el fortalecimiento de la democracia o por el contrario, para dejarla aún más frágil, dada la importancia que tiene la información y el papel de los medios como generadores de opinión pública. El libro representa, ante todo, un esfuerzo de seguimiento al trabajo interpretativo e informativo de columnistas y espacios periodísticos televisivos y en general a varios medios masivos colombianos en torno a la forma como unos y otros abordaron, entendieron y presentaron los hechos, asuntos y perspectivas de la política pública de ‘seguridad democrática’, ejecutada en la administración de Uribe Vélez (2002- 2006). El trabajo se divide en seis capítulos a través de los cuales los autores dan cuenta de la mirada minimalista que en general medios, periodistas y columnistas hicieron del concepto de ‘seguridad democrática’ y de la política pública que –en últimas – garantizó el triunfo electoral de Uribe Vélez y mantiene su buena imagen mediática." (Prólogo)
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"'Informing Citizens: opportunities for media and communications in the Pacific' reports on the findings of a situation analysis and needs assessment (SANA) of the capacity of the media, government and civil society to produce information on good governance in 14 Pacific Island Forum countries. The
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report consists of 17 chapters in the following order: a regional overview chapter, a legislative overview chapter, a chapter on the findings of a news content analysis in the 14 countries, and 14 country chapters organised in alphabetical order, commencing with the Cook Islands. Chapter One, the Regional Overview, details the methodology for SANA, the principles which informed the research, and how the data was complied. The chapter contains an analysis of the major themes and issues that emerged in the 14 country chapters, divided into four sections: legislative environment, media sector, government sector, and civil society sector. It concludes with a list of regional strategies based on the research findings recommended by a SANA Reference Group of key stakeholders. Chapter Two, Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media, analyses the constitutional guarantees for freedom of expression, freedom of the media and the right to information in the Pacific Island countries surveyed. It also analyses the degree to which public service broadcasting and media legislation guarantees separation from government in some of the countries surveyed. Section 1, Legislative Environment, in the country chapters provides further detail on the media regulatory environment in each country and complements Chapter Two. Chapter Three, Pacific News Content Analysis, summarises the findings of the news content analysis conducted in the countries surveyed. Its focus is the coverage of news on governance issues. Appendix F contains the breakdown of the regional findings and the findings for each country in alphabetical order. Chapters Four to Seventeen consist of country chapters. Each country chapter summarises the research findings for that country under the four main headings, Legislative Environment, Media Sector, Government Sector, and Civil Society Sector." (Page ix)
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"[...] pour lutter contre les affres du sous-développement, les autorités ont entrepris de réorganiser le secteur de la communication et décidé de la mise en œuvre d’une Politique nationale de communication pour le développement. C’est ainsi que, de 2000 à 2002, le Gouvernement, en parte
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nariat avec la FAO, le Fonds des Nations Unies pour l’Enfance (UNICEF) et le Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD), a fait établir un état des lieux de la communication au Niger. A cet effet, 10 études sectorielles et thématiques ont été effectuées. Des ateliers tenus dans chacune des huit régions du pays ont per mis de recueillir la perception par les communautés de base de la problématique de la communication pour le développement. En janvier 2002, à l’issue d’un atelier national qui a regroupé plus de 200 participants, le Niger a jeté les bases d’une véritable Politique nationale de communication pour le développement (PNCD). Cette politique nationale de communication pour le développement vise à instituer un système d’implication rationnelle et pérenne de tous les moyens de communication et de tous les acteurs au processus de développement économique et social. La PNCD prend en compte les aspirations des populations à la base, les atouts et faiblesses dans la mise en œuvre des stratégies et du plan d’action aux niveaux régional et national [...] La PNCD, qui prône une approche participative, contribuera à un plus large accès des populations au débat démocratique, au renforcement du dialogue social en vue de la réalisation des pro grammes prioritaires de développement du Niger (lutte contre la pandémie du Sida, lutte contre le paludisme et la poliomyélite, promotion de la bonne gouvernance). La PNCD accordera la plus grande priorité au développement rural en appuyant les actions visant à améliorer les secteurs sociaux (santé – éducation – alphabétisation), la préservation de l’environnement, le désenclavement des zones à fortes potentia lités, l’accès des femmes et des jeunes aux moyens de produc tion ainsi qu’à la promotion d’une communication institution nelle pour appuyer le secteur. Enfin, la PNCD se veut un document de référence unique pour les partenaires au développement du Niger (pays amis, organi sations non gouvernementales, institutions, associations et groupements des producteurs) dans le cadre de leurs interven tions dans le domaine spécifique de la communication pour le développement." (Préface, page ix-x)
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