"The Handbook of Global Health Communication offers a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the role of communication processes in global public health, development and social change. It brings together 32 contributions from well-respected scholars and practitioners in the field, addressing a wid
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e range of communication approaches in current global health programs; offers an integrated view that links communication to the strengthening of health services, the involvement of affected communities in shaping health policies and improving care, and the empowerment of citizens in making decisions about health; ddopts a broad understanding of communication that goes beyond conventional divisions between informational and participatory approaches." (Publisher description)
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"This new issue of Westminster Papers of Communication and Culture is dedicated for the first time to Latin America, and by re-visiting the cultural and communication standpoints undertaken in the region, it will help to address the ongoing questions on globalisation, and cultural hybridisation from
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the local and regional cultures. The papers explore a range of important issues including media democracy, hybrid identity, media and migration, structure and agency, social change, technology, and resistance." (Editorial)
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"Press freedom indices such as those administered by Freedom House, IREX, and Reporters Without Borders have emerged as crucial tools, not only for the general public, but also for donors, implementers, and academics in their attempts to understand the relationships among media assistance, democrati
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zation, and other forms of development. Bringing together a variety of viewpoints and perspectives on evaluating media assistance, Measures of Press Freedom and Media Contributions to Development offers a critical reflection on the theories and tools of measurements that are used by the academic, donor, and civil society communities. A variety of theoretical and geographic perspectives are drawn upon, offering a timely debate from both academics and practitioners." (Publisher description)
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"This review from the BBC World Service Trust examines why and how the role of communication can be mainstreamed into programme-based approaches (PBAs), one of the main methods now used by bilateral donors to disburse funding to developing countries. The review, which has been developed in associati
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on with (but is published independently of) the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), is intended for three types of audience: communication and media practitioners who work in support of development objectives, or who have a link with the development and aid sectors; donors and developing country policymakers concerned with increasing public understanding and engagement within developing countries with the development system; and country-based organisations that provide technical support and conduct advocacy to prioritise communication and media issues among donors and governments." (Executive summary)
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"Objectives: to assess the challenges in reducing tuberculosis (TB) in prisons in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay and propose ways to address them through communication interventions. Methods: challenges to two central goals of TB control—early diagnosis of positive cases and successful application
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of the directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) strategy— were examined. Data were gathered (through in-depth, structured interviews) and focus groups were conducted in the prisons that housed the largest number of male inmates in each country. Interviewees and focus group participants included program directors, administrative personnel, correctional health and security staff, and incarcerated people who were or had been under treatment for TB and had participated as “peers” in health services. Results: the findings showed a range of entrenched obstacles for adequate TB control. Stigmatizing attitudes and low knowledge about TB among inmates and key prison personnel discouraged people living in prisons from seeking diagnosis and treatment. Systemic problems in prison health services, along with squalid living conditions, lack of coordination between national TB programs and prison health systems, and insufficient allocation of resources to health prevented the provision of adequate TB prevention and care. Conclusion: in addressing the barriers to effective TB control in prison systems in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay, a participatory approach to communication is necessary." (Abstract)
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"This article analyzes the strategies and the impact of two ‘media movements’ in Latin America — the experiences of civic coalitions working on media policy reform in Uruguay, and advocacy journalism about tobacco control in Argentina — through interviewing the principle actors involved in t
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hese movements and reviewing the literature relevant to them. Media movements refer to a broad set of civic initiatives to transform media structures, practices, and content. The analysis aims to discuss the goals and tactics of civic actions to promote media democracy. The cases show a critical yet pragmatic sensitivity among progressive actors who use advocacy and legislative mechanisms to catalyze changes in media systems. The article has three implications for the study of global media democracy. First, to assess the impact of media movements, it is necessary to understand the press as a field that ‘refracts’ the influence of external forces. The successes and setbacks of media movements suggest the need to understand the conditions that make the media susceptible to civic efforts. Second, the findings bolster the case for conceptualizing the role of the state as an arena for competing interests struggling to influence media systems. Third, the state remains a crucial actor for media democracy in a globalized world. Key decisions affecting media structures and news content remain closely linked to the state." (Abstract)
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"This article analyzes how selected programs articulate broad media objectives with program goals and apply indicators to determine impact with the goal of understanding how media assistance goals are operationalized and measured, and how program goals are linked to broad objectives. Guided by the n
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otion that institutions and institutional incentives matter in international aid, it is proposed that IMA program goals should not only be the reflection of normative arguments about desirable media structures and practices, and models of development and change. They also need to be viewed as the expression of the dynamics and organizational goals of aid institutions." (Abstract)
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"This book highlights the importance of the news media as watchdogs, agenda setters and gatekeepers for the quality of democratic deliberation in the public sphere. At the same time, it theorizes that the capacity of journalists and media systems to fulfill these roles depends on the broader context
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determined by the profession, the market and the state. Media systems' performance often falls far short of the ideals, as succesive case studies from different world regions demonstrate. Finally, the book asks what policy interventions work effectively to close the gap between the democratic promise and perfomance of the news media as an institution. The final chapter, "Policy recommendations", concludes (page 406): "Interventions include reforms directed at strengthening the journalistic profession, notably institutional capacity building, through bodies such as press councils, press freedom advocacy NGOs, and organizations concerned with journalistic training and accreditation. Other important reforms seek to overcome market failures, including developing a regulatory framework for media systems to ensure pluralism of ownership and diversity of contents. Finally, policies also address the role of the state, including deregulation to shift state-run broadcasting to public service broadcasting, overseen by independent broadcasting regulatory bodies, and the protection of constitutional principles of freedom of the press, speech, and expression." (commbox)
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"This chapter reviews historical and contemporary advocacy journalism in a global context, and identifies future directions for research. The intention is not to offer a comprehensive survey, a rather ambitious scope given the diversity of journalistic practices worldwide, but rather to review conce
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ptual definitions and historical developments to locate advocacy journalism as a specific form of journalistic practice." (Abstract)
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"This article offers an explanation for the limited uses of participatory communication in development by taking an institutionalist perspective that examines prevalent notions about communication and organizational uses in international aid institutions. The argument is that institutional goals and
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dynamics determine the use of disciplinary and theoretical approaches. The selection of specific communication approaches is not primarily based on their analytical or normative value, but rather, on institutional factors and expectations. Institutional dynamics undercut the potential contributions of participatory communication in three ways. First, bureaucratic requirements favor the use of informational models over participatory approaches to communication. Standard institutional procedures inside development agencies, donors and governments perpetuate understandings and uses of communication as a set of technical skills to disseminate messages. Second, the weak status of communication as a field of study and practice in development organizations undermine the prospects for expanding the understanding of communication that do not fit prevalent institutional expectations. As long as technical experts in public health or other fields expect communication to be ‘the art of messaging,’ communication staff lacks autonomy to make decisions and incorporate participatory approaches. Third, the institutional predominance of a technical mindset also limits the uses of participation thinking. The prioritization of technical perspectives decouples ‘development’ programs from local processes of participation and change." (Abstract)
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"This report makes a case for revitalizing investments in communication for immunization. It considers communication in a broad sense, including advocacy, social and community mobilization, and information, education, and communication (IEC) activities. It identifies communication challenges that af
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fect the success of immunization services; offers evidence of the contributions of communication activities; identifies lessons learned, and suggests ways in which communication can continue to strengthen immunization programs. Without well-planned, adequately funded strategic communication, immunization programs fall short of meeting and sustaining coverage goals. Communication is particularly needed to achieve vaccination coverage in hard-toreach populations and to build trust in vaccines among those who question them. Stakeholders also need to advocate for immunization programs to persuade governments, donors, and other actors to support vaccine programs vis-á-vis other health programs and priorities." (Page 2)
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