commbox Kenya

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Publics in Africa in a Digital Age

Journal of Eastern African Studies, volume 13, issue 1 (2019), pp. 1-213

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Community Media: Building Trust and Resilience in Kenyan Post-Election Conflicts

Jacinta Mwende Maweu

African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review, volume 9, issue 2 (2019), pp. 9-32

"This article examines the constructive roles of community and faith-based radio in building resilience and trust in Kenya after post-election violence. Since the 2007/08 post-election violence, Kenya has had two hotly contested elections (2013 and 2017), which have contributed to the lack of trust ... more

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Perspectives on Political Communication in Africa

Bruce Mutsvairo, Beschara Karam (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2018), xxiii, 272 pp.

"Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally drawing comparisons with other regions of the world, this book critically addresses the development of the field focusing on the current opportunities and challenges within the African context. By using a wide variety of case studies that include Moza ... more

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Religion, Media, and Marginality in Modern Africa

Felicitas Becker, Joel Cabrita, Marie Rodet (eds.)

Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press (2018), ix, 320 pp.

"Religion, Media, and Marginality in Modern Africa is one of the first volumes to put new media and old media into significant conversation with one another, and also offers a rare comparison between Christianity and Islam in Africa. The contributors find many previously unacknowledged correspondenc ... more

Do East Africans Still Want a Free Media? Afrobarometer Finds Weakening Popular Support

Accra: Afrobarometer (2018), 5 pp.

"Popular support for a free news media has declined significantly in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania – three countries currently making headlines for government attempts to limit press freedom. Recent Afrobarometer surveys show that the proportion of respondents who say the government “should have t ... more

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The Digital Natives Are Coming! How Social Media Are Changing Political Discourse in Kenya

Jan Cernicky, Antonie Hutter

KAS International Reports, issue 1 (2018), pp. 38-47

"Many factors seem to be coming together in Kenya that can pave the way towards a free, dynamic internet as a space for social and democratic freedoms. On the other hand, the newly re-elected government already exhibited authoritarian tendencies in the last legislative period and indicated – immed ... more

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African Digital Media Review (3)

African Journalism Studies, volume 39, issue 1 (2018), pp. 1-128

Content of Vernacular Radio Stations Programs and Public Participation in Devolved Governance in Nyeri County, Kenya

Dorcas Wakio Mwangi, Caroline Biwott, David Gichuhi

Journal of Development and Communication Studies, volume 5, issue 2 (2018), pp. 70-81

"The study has concluded that there exists a positive relationship between vernacular radio programming content and participation of community in issues of governance. Therefore, it is recommended that vernacular radio stations should give more attention to the content of these programs. Priority sh ... more

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Les civic tech en Afrique: Citoyens et technologies pour dynamiser la démocratie. Premier bilan au Bénin, au Kenya, au Sénégal et en Tunisie

Philippe Couve, Edem Gbetoglo et al.

CFI (2018), 62, 25 pp.

"Dans ces quatre pays africains (Bénin, Kenya, Sénégal, Tunisie) où l’étude a été réalisée, il apparaît qu’à l’origine des civic tech se trouvent le plus souvent des citoyens et des citoyennes engagés, désireux de traduire leur frustration, et parfois leur colère, devant le déca ... lage observé entre l’affirmation officielle de principes démocratiques et une réalité de terrain assez éloignée des discours. Pour la grande majorité d’entre eux, les initiateurs de ces actions ont suivi des parcours universitaires exigeants et connu des expériences à l’étranger. Les hommes sont très largement majoritaires, à l’exception du Kenya où les femmes sont presque aussi nombreuses que les hommes. Elles considèrent toutefois qu’elles ne se trouvent pas sur un pied d’égalité, notamment lorsqu’il s’agit pour elles de prendre la parole publiquement ou de se lancer dans l’entrepreneuriat. Les difficultés d’une mobilisation à grande échelle Les jeunes adultes (20-25 ans) qui s’investissent dans les civic tech s’engagent généralement pour exprimer une forme d’irritation face aux dérives liées à la corruption ou au manque de prise en compte de l’avis des citoyens dans les décisions politiques. De l’avis général des « doyens » (activistes des civic tech ayant plus de 6 ou 7 ans d’expérience) que nous avons interrogés, la jeune génération est très prometteuse, car mieux formée sur les nouvelles technologies et très mobilisée sur les objectifs de bonne gouvernance et de participation citoyenne. En termes d’audience et de développement, l’étude montre que, dans les quatre pays concernés, les acteurs des civic tech rencontrent le plus souvent des difficultés à mobiliser de larges communautés de citoyens. Ils peinent à faire entendre leur message dans des pays où l’illettrisme au sens littéral et au sens numérique sont importants. Il en résulte des actions qui mobilisent essentiellement un petit nombre de citoyens, à la fois très engagés et très motivés. En général, le système d’organisation des initiatives civic tech varie selon les projets : le degré de structuration est plus ou moins formel et dépend surtout de l’ancienneté des initiatives, de l’ampleur des financements collectés et, in fine, du nombre de participants actifs impliqués à temps plein. Lorsqu’une forme de professionnalisation de l’action est évoquée, beaucoup de nos interlocuteurs mentionnent la difficulté à recruter et à fidéliser des profils combinant sensibilité aux questions de redevabilité et de transparence, savoir-faire en matière de gestion de projet, capacités technologiques et maîtrise des techniques de communication, notamment sur les réseaux sociaux." (Résumé analytique) more

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Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Kenya

Nanjala Nyabola

London: Zed Books (2018), xxiv, 273 pp.

"Explores the drastic efforts being made by elites to contain online activism, as well as how ‘fake news’, a failed digital vote-counting system and the incumbent president’s recruitment of Cambridge Analytica contributed to tensions around the 2017 elections. Reframing digital democracy from ... more

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Digital Inclusion: An International Comparative Analysis

Massimo Ragnedda, Bruce Mutsvairo, Gerard Goggin (eds.)

Lanham: Lexington Books (2018), xx, 223 pp.

"The volume examines the risks and opportunities of a digital society characterized by the increasing importance of knowledge and by the incessant rise and pervasiveness of information and communication technologies (ICTs). At a global level, the pivotal role of ICTs has made it necessary to rethink ... more

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Can the TV Makeover Format of Edutainment Lead to Widespread Changes in Farmer Behaviour and Influence Innovation Systems? Shamba Shape Up in Kenya

Graham Clarkson, Chris Garforth, Peter Dorward, George Mose, Carlos Barahona, Francisco Areal, MacKenzie Dove

Land Use Policy, volume 76 (2018), pp. 338-351

"Edutainment, the combination of education with entertainment through various media such as television, radio, mobile phone applications and games, is increasingly being used as an approach to stimulate innovation and increase agricultural productivity amongst smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Afri ... ca. Shamba Shape Up, a widely publicised makeover reality TV programme, is an example of edutainment that has received considerable attention, and airs in three countries in East Africa where it is estimated to be watched by millions of viewers. There is no published academic research on the influence of makeover television formats on innovation systems and processes in smallholder agriculture. Using an Agricultural Innovation Systems approach, this paper explores how makeover edutainment is influencing smallholder farmer innovation systems together with the effect this is having on smallholder farms. In the absence of previous research, it articulates a Theory of Change which draws on research traditions from mass communication, agricultural extension and innovation systems. Data came from two large scale quantitative (n=9885 and n=1572) surveys and in-depth participatory qualitative research comprising focus group discussions, participatory budgets, agricultural timelines, case studies and key information interviews in Kenya. An estimated 430,000 farmers in the study area were benefiting from their interaction with the programme through increased income and / or a range of related social benefits including food security, improving household health, diversification of livelihood choices, paying school fees for children and increasing their community standing / social capital. Participatory research showed SSU enhanced an already rich communication environment and strengthened existing processes of innovation. It helped set the agenda for discussions within farming communities about opportunities for improving smallholder farms, while also giving specific ideas, information and knowledge, all in the context of featured farm families carefully selected so that a wide range of viewers would identify with them and their challenges. Broadcasts motivated and inspired farmers to improve their own farms through a range of influences including entertainment, strong empathy with the featured host farm families, the way ideas emerged through interaction with credible experts, and importantly through stimulating widespread discussion and interaction amongst and between farmers and communities of experts on agricultural problems, solutions and opportunities. The fact that local extension workers also watched the programmes further enhanced the influence on local innovation systems. The findings indicate that well designed makeover edutainment can strongly influence agricultural innovation processes and systems resulting in impact on the agricultural production and behaviours of large numbers of smallholder farmers." (Abstract) more

Community Radios: Broadcasting for Peace

Njuki Githethwa, Sheila Ngatia, Tom Mboya et al.

Nairobi: Kenya Community Media Network (KCOMNET) (2018), 82 pp.

Online Supplement to Working Paper 2018.1. Challenging Truth and Trust: A Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation

Samantha Bradshaw, Philip N. Howard

Oxford: University of Oxford, Oxford Internet Institute;Computational Propaganda Research Project (2018), 81 pp.

"These are the background case notes complied for MEMO 2018.1: Challenging Truth and Trust: A Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation. For details on the methods behind this content analysis please see the methodology section of the report. This document contains data from over 500 s ... more

Media Interventions and the Syrian Crisis: Can We Do More?

Lina Srivastava, Vanessa Parra, Linda Raftree, Keefe Murren

Creative Impact and Experience Lab (CIEL);FilmAid (2018), 72 pp.

"[This publication] seeks to create a deeper understanding of the role of media interventions as strategic drivers of impact on the ongoing Syrian crisis. In exploring the impact of media interventions in this context, we conducted a landscape scan and a review of programs and approaches conducted b ... more

Mapping Digital Rights and Online Freedom of Expression in East, West and Southern Africa

Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) (2018), 100 pp.

"This report maps the current landscape in respect of digital rights and online freedom of expression in East, West and Southern Africa. It looks at the trends regarding law and policy developments, as well as recent litigation, within these regions. The report focuses on 18 countries – 6 per regi ... more

How Influential Are Chinese Media in Africa? An Audience Analysis in Kenya and South Africa

Herman Wasserman, Dani Madrid-Morales

International Journal of Communication, volume 12 (2018), pp. 2212-2231

"This article uses data from seven focus groups with media and communication university students in Kenya and South Africa to explore the efficacy of Chinese-mediated public diplomacy. We show that Chinese media have little impact on students’ information habits, demonstrate that attitudes toward ... more

The Relevance of Journalism Education in Kenya for Professional Identity and Ethical Standards

Maryann Ijeoma Egbujor

Geneva: Globethics.net (2018), 133 pp.

"In summary, this study recommends improving and promoting journalistic ethical standards in media education and professional identity as necessary tools for the growth of sustainable development, knowledge generation and authentic African cultural identity. This is possible because the media and in ... more

The State of Digital Publishing: Facts and Figures from Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria

Nancy Brown, Rachel Heavner

San Francisco: Worldreader (2018), 25 pp.

"At a glance, there are a number of societal and infrastructural barriers to overcome before digital publishing has a huge market in these three countries. However, there are certainly opportunities at hand, particularly when it comes to testing and vetting content, where digital books can save publ ... more