"The focus in this article is on two different modes of 'giving a voice to the voiceless' in Southern African new democracies, namely South African community radio and its support apparatus, Democracy Radio, and the Namibian People's Parliament. So
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uth African community radio operates within a sphere of its own, it is supposed to be closely linked to the grassroots, while the Namibian contact programmes fall under the auspices of the Namibian Broadcasting Company. There are differences in administrative form, but both models have come up against very similar problems in the design of the content. It is easy to talk about community and grassroots orientation, but to implement such policies is difficult, especially when the basic task is to promote democracy and citizenship." (Abstract)
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"On February 2, 2006, Angola’s National Assembly approved a new press law, which entered into force on May 15. The law regulates the activity of media companies and professionals in television and radio broadcasting and in the written and electro
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nic press. This report analyses the new law in the context of international human rights standards. Given the Government of Angola’s poor record in protecting freedom of expression, the press law is especially crucial in the current pre-election period in Angola to ensure that the press can report freely in the run-up to national elections, tentatively scheduled for 2007. The new legislation represents an improvement over Angola’s previous press law in many respects. Key improvements include the elimination of the state monopoly over TV broadcasting; the creation of public TV and radio that are to be governed by principles of public interest (such as ensuring the plurality of opinions, providing accurate and impartial information that is widely accessible and providing politically balanced information during election periods), and provisions that allow a journalist accused of defamation to cite the truthfulness of the facts reported in his or her defense in cases involving Angola’s president. While Human Rights Watch welcomes the Government of Angola’s reform of its media law, it is concerned that the new law still contains elements that fall short of international human rights standards. The law defines certain conduct as “criminal” in unclear and sweeping terms and establishes excessive penalties for those crimes, including defamation; it includes provisions that may result in excessive limitations on press freedom; and it provides for the establishment of licensing procedures for private TV and radio broadcasters that are largely subject to the discretion of governmental bodies. The Angolan government should amend those provisions of the press law that are not in accordance with international and regional human rights standards, most urgently those criminalizing defamation. In addition, too many key principles and procedures of the law are left for further implementing laws and regulations and no transitional arrangements are defined to address problems that may arise in the application of the law pending adoption of the implementing legislation. The lack of such laws and regulations makes several provisions of the new press law largely inoperable." (Summary)
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"This dissertation examines international aid in support of Afghan media from fall 2001 to fall 2004 as a case study to interrogate the notion o
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f “media transition” and its underlying assumptions. It examines how development organizations such as the United Nations, bilateral aid agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, and non-governmental agencies created the institutional structures that define and support the practice of media transition. It analyzes how the nascent Afghan state media institutions and non-governmental organizations dedicated to media reconstruction negotiated and mobilized the discourse of media transition to further their own aims. It also analyzes how changing political considerations, media production and dissemination outlets, and media producers’ own sense of mission affected the production of a series of radio programs designed to promote Afghan political transition. This dissertation argues that democracy should not be treated as a self-evident goal for media transitions, but should be viewed as a discursive process that shares many of the same concerns as development communications, and that mobilizes a transnational public sphere." (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 in
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formation, education, and communication (IEC) activities. It identifies communication challenges that affect 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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"The democratic transition in Indonesia after the fall of the Suharto regime brought about important liberalization of the media sector. Focusing on radio as an effective medium for increasing citizen engagement with the political process and impro
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ving government accountability, USAID selected Internews to provide journalism training; management, sales, and marketing training; public affairs programming; institutional support, including provision of digital recording and editing equipment, internet access, and technical help; and building media law expertise and capacity. USAID’s 2004 assessment of the nature and focus of the Internews program, its achievements and limitations, and its Summaryoverall contribution to the independent radio subsector concluded that USAID media assistance made a tangible difference to the Indonesian radio subsector. The assessment team found that the program improved and expanded news coverage and upgraded professional skills in the radio subsector. The USAID-funded Internews program also pioneered development of media law capacity and expertise. Morover, by helping citizens engage the political process through interactive radio and emphasizing local news for local communities, the program contributed to consolidating Indonesia’s democratic gains and helped subvert the top-down information flow model that characterized the Suharto era. Despite these positive developments, challenges lie ahead. Radio station owners can exert pressure on journalists to slant coverage—as can large conglomerates, the military, and other vested interests—and journalists’ low wages continue to make bribery an inescapable reality for many. Smaller stations still have limited access to newer equipment. And while physical violence against journalists has diminished, subtler forms of press control remain, including litigation and self-censorship. Overlooking such lingering and emerging issues could endanger the significant gains of the past six years." (Executive summary)
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"In this nuanced and detailed study of newspaper reporting during the escalation of the second Intifada in the fall of 2000, Daniel Dor shows how real events are subject to distortion and manipulation by the media. In an analysis of the heart of Is
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rael's media establishment—the newspapers Yediot Ahronot, Ma'ariv, and Ha'aretz—he finds a wide gap between the reality reported by field reporters and the eventual newspaper accounts framed by editors. Led by beliefs, opinions, and emotional responses rather than the facts provided by their reporters, these editors created a platform on which a new and fearful narrative for Israeli–Palestinian relations was built. Yet while Dor demonstrates that the media construct the news rather than simply report it, his sophisticated analysis also shows that no one entity or person is responsible. Rather than a supreme authority, Dor argues, it is the influence of fear, anger, ignorance, and a desire to please and sell newspapers that threatens the freedom of the press in a liberal democracy." (Publisher description)
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"In the list of ‘Africa's 100 Best Books’ published in 2002 over a quarter of the books had been published in the African Writers Series. Chinua Achebe is renowned for his novel Things Fall Ap
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art which has sold close on 10 million copies. Much less well remembered is his creative role as the first Editorial Adviser to the Series in encouraging new writers from Africa. He firmly pressed Heinemann Educational Books to publish writing of quality without regard to problems of sex, religion or politics. Thus it was that an educational publisher established a general market in Africa for poetry, novels, plays and political memoirs. As Heinemann was based in London, it provided an international market for African writers in Europe, North America and the rest of the world." (Abstract)
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"Analyzing the “clues to conflict” in vulnerable societies can enable policymakers to identify societies that are particularly vulnerable to media abuse and decide on the most appropriate type and timing of media interventions. These clues are divided into two categories. Structural indicators c
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oncern media outlets, media professionals, or government institutions concerned with media; these indicators can include media variety and plurality, degree of journalist isolation, and the legal environment for media. Content indicators concern content designed to create fear (such as a focus on past atrocities and history of ethnic hatred) or content designed to create a sense of inevitability and resignation (such as discrediting alternatives to conflict). In response to the clues to conflict, a number of opportunities for intervention are suggested. These media interventions fall into three categories: structural interventions, such as strengthening domestic and international journalist networks; contentspecific interventions, such as issue-oriented training; and aggressive interventions, such as radio and television jamming." (Summary)
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"The theme of the 2001 Indaba at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair was devoted to “Changing People’s Lives: Promoting a Reading Culture in Africa”, and this volume brings together 34 of the papers that were presented, together with
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a record of some of the discussions that took place following each presentation, the conclusions from some sessions, and concluding remarks. Papers are presented in five parts: Plenary Sessions, Publishing, Writing, Scholarship, and Policy & Access. The papers – from contributors in anglophone, francophone, lusophone, and North Africa – examine some of the “obstacles and opportunities inherent in the ambiguities of the continent’s complex post-colonial linguistic inheritance.” What are publishers, writers, booksellers, and governments doing, or not doing, to overcome these obstacles? Is the indigenous linguistic richness of the continent a drawback or a benefit for the publisher? Participants in the Policy & Access sessions also addressed issues such as strategies for targeting readers, strategies for promoting readership, and policy implications for developing a reading culture." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 2232)
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"Until the advent of African independence, Africans were not considered fitting subjects for historical research and their words, voices, and experiences were largely absent from the continent's history. In 13 lively and provocative essays focusing on all areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, oral sources ar
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e seen as a way to restore African expression to African history. African Words, African Voices evokes the richness and relevance of oral sources for understanding a complex past for readers at all levels." (Publisher description)
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"This article reviews the transformation in society and the media in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Adopting a path dependence approach, "the different countries of the region are analysed and allocated to two general
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categories, depending upon the nature and extent of the changes that have taken place in society and the media. The first group of countries (called here 'Type A') have advanced relatively far along the road to transformation. Examples would be Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, and Estonia. The second group (called here 'Type B') retain much more of the old order. Examples would be Russia and some of the other republics that have issued from the collapse of the old Soviet Union. A range of theories of media change are reviewed, and their prognoses for the development of the media after the fall of communism are tested against the subsequent developments. It is argued that the media in both Type A and Type B countries remain highly politicised, particularly in the case of broadcasting, and with limited independence from the political elite. Journalism, too, remains paternal and didactic, partly as a result of the historical position of intellectuals in the region. While there are important differences between Type A and Type B countries, neither represents a stable and finished model of transformation. In neither case, are the media the passive victims of social forces. On the contrary, their shortcomings help to reproduce the limits of the overall transformation process." (Abstract)
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"The main purpose of this guide is to highlight some of the benefits, challenges and options when considering funding of media and communication interventions. This publication is not designed to be a ‘how to’ guide for designing and implementi
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ng such programmes. Rather, it aims to guide DFID staff, responding to conflicts and other emergencies, on: when to support media initiatives; what types of assistance to provide to media organisations; how to appraise and monitor media based interventions. Thematically, most attention is given to the role of media in conflict situations as this is where most experience has been gained to date. However, sections on natural and man-made disasters are also included. Furthermore, the main focus is on electronic media, such as local, national and international radio and TV broadcasting. This focus has been adopted because the bulk of media initiatives undertaken in areas of conflict fall within these categories." (Introduction, page 6-7)
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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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"In the pages that follow, the two authors argue that communication for social change is a distinct way of doing communications – and one of the few approaches that can be sustained. Such sustainability is largely due to the fact that ownership o
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f both the message and the medium – the content and the process – resides with the individuals or communities affected. We believe that this approach can help make greater contributions to the pace of development. From this basic assumption we move to questioning “how” and “if” and “where” we might find interesting work and committed individuals to test the effectiveness of this approach. In order to do this work, the Rockefeller Foundation has brought together a group of social activists, academics, filmmakers and journalists, funders, electronic communications experts, service providers and professional communicators. The ideas expressed in this position paper reflect discussions held at two conferences – one at the foundation’s Bellagio Study and Conference Center on Lake Como, in Italy, and the other in the fall of 1998 in Cape Town, South Africa." (Introduction)
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"Radio journalists have witnessed much of the history of the twentieth century. From early documentary recordings, to the ground-breaking war reporting of Ed Murrow and Richard Dimbleby, to the sophisticated commentaries of Alistair Cooke and reporters such as Fergal Keane, International Radio Journ
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alism explores the way radio has covered the most important stories this century and the way in which it continues to document events in Britan, America, Europe and many other countries around the world. International Radio Journalism is both a theoretical textbook and a practical guide for students of radio journalism, reporters, editors and producers. The book details training and professional standards in writing, presentation, technology, editorial ethics and media law in America, Britain, Australia and other English speaking countries and examines the major public sector broadcast networks such as the BBC, CBC, NPR and ABC as well as the work of commercial and small public radio stations. Timothy Crook investigates the way in which news reporting has been influenced by governments and media conglomerates and identifies an undercurrent of racial and sexual discrimination throughout the history of radio news." (Publisher description)
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"An inside look at the media since the fall of Mao Tse Tung, based largely on first-hand evidence the author collected on the spot. After an analysis of the role of communications in today's China, Howkins deals with the various media - broadcastin
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g, film, publishing, telecommunications (''From Beacon Fires to Satellites") and advertising - a new development. Appendix A is "A Chronology - 1900-1980's"; other appendixes include "A Note on the Language," "Population," and "Names and Addresses of Selected Media Organizations." (Eleanor Blum, Frances G. Wilhoit: Mass media bibliography. 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 Nr. 198)
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"One of Marshall McLuhan's outstanding contributions has been to bring into prominence the works of the late Canadian economist, Harold Innis, whose early insights into the importance of media to economics and culture have become increasingly pertinent. His thesis is that the communications systems
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of empires have influenced their rise and fall. In 'Empire and Communication' he discusses the possibility, with emphasis on economics, that communication may occupy a crucial position in the organization and administration of government and in turn of empires and of Western civilization." (Eleanor Blum, Frances G. Wilhoit: Mass media bibliography. 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 Nr. 203)
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"Problème du changement de la mentalité des masses rurales au Sénégal — Il faut sortir les villages de leur isolement par le travail d'animateurs issus du village et formés en ville — L'information doit avoir pour but de préparer la tâche des animateurs, qui sera d'éduquer et de modernis
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er les paysans." (Jean-Marie Van Bol, Abdelfattah Fakhfakh: The use of mass media in the developing countries. Brussels: CIDESA, 1971 Nr. 1590, topic code 110.41)
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