"[...] It is too early to assess the full impact of media development efforts undertaken since February 2002, given the short timeframe and the absence of reliable audience surveys. Nevertheless, OTI and Internews deserve credit for adopting an innovative, cost-effective approach to media assistance
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that helped open up civic life in towns and villages across the country, while planting the seeds for Afghanistan’s first commercial radio market. Emphasizing sustainability and quality programming, USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) and Internews appear to have avoided pitfalls that have plagued projects in other postconflict settings. Internews carefully chose aid recipients, stipulated that the aid would be phased out, and organized training courses relating to core editorial and management skills. The main pillar of the assistance effort has been a loose network of community radio stations where journalists and business managers receive training, equipment, and a relatively modest level of funding. The network was launched February 2003 with a $327,897 grant from OTI. A subsequent grant was awarded to expand the network, which, by November 2004, had 25 community stations with a potential audience of 7.47 million Afghans, or 36 percent of the population. It is hoped that plans to add an AM component to the network will not prove too ambitious or burdensome for the stations. The community radio stations may sound amateurish at times, but they have helped raise community issues for public debate for the first time and held local authorities accountable. Other stations have provided an unprecedented arena for discussion of social concerns and formerly taboo women’s issues, including forced marriage and domestic violence." (Executive summary, pages ix-x)
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"This practical workshop manual forms part of a five day course run by the Health and Media Partnership. The workshop aimed to teach reporters how to report on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in ways that contribute to the prevention and control of these diseases and positively influence the attitudes and
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behaviours of community members and decision makers." (www.comminit.com, September 11,2006)
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"This handbook [...] is a practical, hands-on manual designed to help local journalists in societies undergoing major crisis and change. It outlines the core internationally recognised standards of journalism and provides essential guidance on many of the basic techniques of reporting. The handbook
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reviews reporting on general, political, economic and humanitarian issues. It provides guidance on safety and security and sensitive reporting in conflict areas, as well as libel issues. Developed as part of our practical training programmes, it also reviews particular requirements for reporting for IWPR. Each chapter provides exercises and discussion sections and further references. The handbook is designed to be used in coordination with an international trainer or can be worked through on its own. The text is available in several languages." (Introduction)
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"This book documents the 16th conference of the international audience research association CIBAR that was held at the Deutsche Welle headquarters. Experienced experts give first-hand accounts of their work and show perspectives for the future." (Back cover)
"This reader 'aims to show that ordinary people, even non-technical rural folk, can plan, set up, manage and produce radio programmes by themselves with a minimum of dependence on outside help, whether for technical advice and training or for funds and equipment.' To do so, it highlights case studie
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s from several countries like Homa Bay Radio in Kenya, Radio Apam in Ghana, Radio Sagarmatha in the Kathmandu valley, Tambuli Community radio in the Philippines and others, and it explains the main factors for planning a community radio station, eg, examining the legal framework, applying for a license or doing preparatory work in the community. Moreover, it briefly explains the technical background of broadcasting, such as the difference between AM and FM broadcasting, as well as the basics about the equipment which is needed. What makes the publication particularly interesting is its perspective on community involvement in every step of setting up a radio station - which is, as many community radio stations are built up by institutions like NGO's, churches or universities, not something to be taken for granted." (commbox)
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"The media can be a major force for improving the quality of government in developing and transitional countries – which is critical if opportunities for the poor and disadvantaged are also to improve. To fulfil this role the media need room to manoeuvre – tight government regulation and censors
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hip produce media which are ineffective and lacking in credibility. Too little regulation, on the other hand, may lead to the domination of commercial media ruled by advertising, to the detriment of serious content and of the interests of those without purchasing power – i.e. the poor. What is needed are policies that impose responsibilities as well as freedoms on the commercial sector, and that clarify and facilitate the role of the public service media. Effective media also need good management, and good professional and technical skills. The main purpose of this guide is to help governments and development agencies to decide whether to support the development of the media, and if so how." (Introduction, page 3)
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"The Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North African Film is a unique, one volume work which illuminates a fascinating variety of cinema which is little known outside its own area. The Encyclopedia is divided into nine chapters, each written by a leading scholar in the field. Each chapter
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covers the history and major issues of film within that area, as well as providing bibliographies of the leading films, directors and actors. The areas covered are: Central Asia, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, The Magreb, Palestine, Turkey. It contains more than 60 black and white photographs of featured films, includes references and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter, and the volume concludes with comprehensive name, film and general indexes." (Publisher description)
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"This book looks at the political economy of communication and information, media in development and social change, media theory and practice, international communication technology and communication values and ethics." (Publisher description)
"This book is the most comprehensive and accessible short guide to evaluations available. It explains clearly what evaluations are, how they can be used most effectively, and outlines the strengths and pitfalls of different evaluation methods. Each chapter comes with tasks to demonstrate the practic
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al importance of the issues covered and to lead the reader through the steps necessary to carry out a successful evaluation [...] Stakeholder models are compared and contrasted with other models of involvement, such as participatory evaluation and practitioner-centred action research. Ethical and political considerations are placed in context. Designs for different purposes are systematically considered [...] The book is aimed at anyone who is faced with the task of doing small-scale evaluations for the first time, wether or not they have a professional background in the field." (Cover)
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"De-Westernizing Media Studies brings together leading media critics from around the world to address central questions in the study of the media. How do the media connect to power in society? Who and what influence the media? How is globalization changing both society and the media?" (Publisher des
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cription)
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"The innovative and rapid growth of communication satellites and computer mediated technologies in the late 1980s and early 1990s, combined with the deregulation of national broadcasting, led many media commentators to assume that the age of national media had been lost. But what has become clear is
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that, whilst there has been a limited growth in global media, there has been an emergence of a strong localised television and communications industry. Mapping the world media market, and using examples of programming from countries as diverse as Thailand, Hong Kong, Brazil, Taiwan, Spain and Britain, this volume explores theories of media globalization, examines the local culture of television programming and analyses the blurring of distinctions between the global and the local." (Publisher description)
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"Through accounts and analysis of specific projects across four continents, the authors show how communication has been used to mobilize societies, to facilitate democratic participation, and to help people acquire new knowledge and skills. The book focuses on community radio and video, and health c
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ommunication, with major sections on projects in Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines. Colin Fraser was one of the founders of the FAO communication section. Sonia Restrepo-Estrada has worked for a long time as a communication specialist for UNICEF in matters of health, nutrition and women's and children's rights." (InteRadio 1/98; Media Development 2/99)
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"International Media Research offers a rigorous and critical review of key approaches and concerns that have recently defined the field of media research. In this clearly argued collection of essays, the contributors analyze and reflect upon dominant themes and debates that have made media research
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an increasingly important element of cultural theory. The volume begins with a critical evaluation of the work of the leading media scholar, Elihu Katz, and continues with an exploration of the relationship between media studies and adjacent disciplines: cultural studies and gender and sexuality. Contributors drawn from Britain, America, Canada and Belgium consider the relationships between media research and media policy in different national and international contexts. Focusing on the European Union, East-Central Europe, North America and Latin America, chapters assess the impact of social, economic and political circumstances on policy debates and the shaping of the research agenda. The final chapter adopts a transatlantic perspective in tracing and analysing the history of the media's role in reporting war." (Publisher description)
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"This brief volume looks at institutional interactions between the news media (both print and electronic) on the one hand, and government policymakers and humanitarian agencies on the other. Case studies from Liberia, Northern Iraq, Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, Haiti, and Rwanda distill some of t
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he experiences gained from calamities that have elicited widely varying coverage and responses." (About the book, page 123)
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"This book brings together experts in economics, sociology, anthropology, the humanities, and communications to explore what effects the North American Free Trade Agreement will have on the flow of cultural products among Mexico, the United States, and Canada. After an overview of free trade and the
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cultural industries, the book covers the following topics: dominance and resistance, cultural trade and identity in relation to Mexico and to French Canada, and intellectual property rights. Based on present trends, the contributors predict that there will be a steadily increasing flow of cultural products from the United States to its neighbors. This book grew out of a 1994 conference that brought together leaders of the cultural industries, policy makers, and scholars. It represents state-of-the-art thinking about the global influence of U.S. cultural industries." (Publisher description)
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