commbox West Africa

Filter

1865

Sort by:

Direction:

The Global Faith and Entertainment Study: A Study of Attitudes and Perceptions Regarding Faith and Religion in Entertainment

HarrisX;Faith & Media Initiative (2024), 25 pp.

"The study seeks to understand consumers’ and decisionmakers’ perspectives on how current entertainment media treats themes of faith, religion and spirituality in its narratives and characters, if there is a market for more accurate and diverse representation of faith, and what opportunities exi ... more

External Link (10)

Approche des impacts des coupures d’internet de 2023 sur la société sénégalaise, son économie et sa confiance en la démocratie

Laura Vidal, Laura Schwartz-Henderson, El Hadji Daouda Diagne, Assane Sy Emmanuel Maurice Diokh

Internews (2024), 21 pp.

External Link (12)

Google Scholar (10)

WorldCat (10)

China, media, and international conflicts

Shixin Ivy Zhang, Altman Yuzhu Peng (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), xii, 212 pp.

"This book focuses on China’s media diplomacy and its interplay with a range of international conflicts. It assesses the representation and framing of China, as well as the perception and reception of China’s media communication in relation to various crises and conflicts. Including detailed ana ... more

External Link (16)

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023
Top Insights

Nic Newman, Richard Fletcher, Kirsten Eddy, Craig T. Robertson, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (eds.)

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2023), 158 pp.

"Across markets, only around a fifth of respondents (22%) now say they prefer to start their news journeys with a website or app – that’s down 10 percentage points since 2018. Publishers in a few smaller Northern European markets have managed to buck this trend, but younger groups everywhere are ... showing a weaker connection with news brands’ own websites and apps than previous cohorts – preferring to access news via side-door routes such as social media, search, or mobile aggregators. • Facebook remains one of the most-used social networks overall, but its influence on journalism is declining as it shifts its focus away from news. It also faces new challenges from established networks such as YouTube and vibrant youth-focused networks such as TikTok. The Chinese-owned social network reaches 44% of 18–24s across markets and 20% for news. It is growing fastest in parts of Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. • When it comes to news, audiences say they pay more attention to celebrities, influencers, and social media personalities than journalists in networks like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. This contrasts sharply with Facebook and Twitter, where news media and journalists are still central to the conversation. • Much of the public is sceptical of the algorithms used to select what they see via search engines, social media, and other platforms. Less than a third (30%) say that having stories selected for me on the basis of previous consumption is a good way to get news, 6 percentage points lower than when we last asked the question in 2016. Despite this, on average, users still slightly prefer news selected this way to that chosen by editors or journalists (27%), suggesting that worries about algorithms are part of a wider concern about news and how it is selected. • Despite hopes that the internet could widen democratic debate, we find fewer people are now participating in online news than in the recent past. Aggregated across markets, only around a fifth (22%) are now active participators, with around half (47%) not participating in news at all. In the UK and United States, the proportion of active participators has fallen by more than 10 percentage points since 2016. Across countries we find that this group tends to be male, better educated, and more partisan in their political vie ws. • Trust in the news has fallen, across markets, by a further 2 percentage points in the last year, reversing in many countries the gains made at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. On average, four in ten of our total sample (40%) say they trust most news most of the time. Finland remains the country with the highest levels of overall trust (69%), while Greece (19%) has the lowest after a year characterised by heated arguments about press freedom and the independence of the media." (Summary, page 10) more

External Link (14)

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024
Top Insights

Nic Newman, Richard Fletcher, Craig T. Robertson, Amy Ross Arguedas, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (eds.)

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2023), 167 pp.

"In many countries, especially outside Europe and the United States, we find a significant further decline in the use of Facebook for news and a growing reliance on a range of alternatives including private messaging apps and video networks. Facebook news consumption is down 4 percentage points, acr ... oss all countries, in the last year. • News use across online platforms is fragmenting, with six networks now reaching at least 10% of our respondents, compared with just two a decade ago. YouTube is used for news by almost a third (31%) of our global sample each week, WhatsApp by around a fifth (21%), while TikTok (13%) has overtaken Twitter (10%), now rebranded X, for the first time. • Linked to these shifts, video is becoming a more important source of online news, especially with younger groups. Short news videos are accessed by two-thirds (66%) of our sample each week, with longer formats attracting around half (51%). The main locus of news video consumption is online platforms (72%) rather than publisher websites (22%), increasing the challenges around monetisation and connection. • Although the platform mix is shifting, the majority continue to identify platforms including social media, search, or aggregators as their main gateway to online news. Across markets, only around a fifth of respondents (22%) identify news websites or apps as their main source of online news – that’s down 10 percentage points on 2018. Publishers in a few Northern European markets have managed to buck this trend, but younger groups everywhere are showing a weaker connection with news brands than they did in the past. • Turning to the sources that people pay most attention to when it comes to news on various platforms, we find an increasing focus on partisan commentators, influencers, and young news creators, especially on YouTube and TikTok. But in social networks such as Facebook and X, traditional news brands and journalists still tend to play a prominent role. • Concern about what is real and what is fake on the internet when it comes to online news has risen by 3 percentage points in the last year with around six in ten (59%) saying they are concerned. The figure is considerably higher in South Africa (81%) and the United States (72%), both countries that have been holding elections this year. • Worries about how to distinguish between trustworthy and untrustworthy content in online platforms is highest for TikTok and X when compared with other online networks. Both platforms have hosted misinformation or conspiracies around stories such as the war in Gaza, and the Princess of Wales’s health, as well as so-called ‘deep fake’ pictures and videos." (Executive summary, page 10) more

External Link (11)

Google Scholar (9)

WorldCat (11)

The Future of Television in the Global South: Reflections from Selected Countries

George Ogola (ed.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2023), xv, 233 pp.

"This book explores how television in the global South is 'future-proofing' its continued relevance, addressing its commercial, social and political viability in a constantly changing information ecosystem. The chapter contributions in the book are drawn from countries in East, South and West Africa ... more

Download (1)

Localising Sustainable Development Goals Through Participatory Community Radio in Ghana

Africanus L. Diedong, Lawrence Naaikuur

Journal of Development Communication, volume 34, issue 1 (2023), pp. 38-46

"There seems to be little knowledge and awareness of the relevance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among communities in Ghana. The study’s main objective was to find out how the 22-member Community Radio (CR) stations of the Ghana Community Radio Network (GCRN) – the umbrella organis ... more

External Link (14)

Google Scholar (11)

WorldCat (14)

Indigenous Language for Social Change Communication in the Global South
Inspiring Practice

Top Insights

Abiodun Salawu, Tshepang Bright Molale, Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed, Mohammad Sahid Ullah (eds.)

Lanham et al.: Lexington Books (2023), vii, 284 pp.

"Indigenous Language for Social Change Communication in the Global South brings together voices from the margins to engage in dialogue about common social change issues in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. This book argues that resistance and social movements, expressed in music and songs and exchang ... more

External Link (17)

Google Scholar (13)

WorldCat (15)

African Language Media

Phillip Mpofu, Israel A. Fadipe, Thulani Tshabangu (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), xxi, 317 pp.

"This book outlines how African language media is affected by politics, technology, culture, and the economy and how this media is creatively produced and appropriated by audiences across cultures and contexts. African language media can be considered as a tool for communication, socialization, and ... more

External Link (13)

Disinformation exports: How foreign anti-vaccine narratives reached West African communities online

Carlotta Dotto, Seb Cubbon

First Draft (2023)

"Pro-Russian disinformation networks and American anti-science websites are pushing anti-vaccine content that is reaching large West African Facebook Pages and Groups. These networks are spreading social media posts and articles that contain misleading messages about Covid-19 vaccines. These message ... more

External Link (9)

Saving Lives through Effective Flood Warning Communications in Nigeria

Bamidele Olajide

Abuja: Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) (2023), 21 pp.

"This report explores the importance of a robust Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) in Nigeria and the need for effective communication to ameliorate the loss and damage caused by flooding. Following Nigeria’s Floods of 2022, which resulted in over 600 lives lost, 3000 injured, 300 thousand hectare ... more

Download (1)

Clones and zombies: Rethinking conspiracy theories and the digital public sphere through a (post)-colonial perspective

Iginio Gagliardone, Matti Pohjonen, Samuel Olaniram Stephanie Diepeveen

Information, Communication & Society, volume 26, issue 12 (2023), pp. 2419-2438

"This article investigates what is at stake in decolonising the study of conspiracy theories online. It challenges the confidence with which conspiracy theories are often dismissed as aberrations and negative externalities of digital ecosystems. Without reifying conspiracy theories, we identify as p ... more

External Link (8)

Evaluation finale: « Projet renforcement de la résilience communautaire à la désinformation dans les régions du nord et du centre du Mali »

Sékou Doumbia, Zoumana Kone

Search for Common Ground (2023), 57 pp.

"Les objectifs du projet cadrent bien avec un certain nombre de politiques ou stratégies comme décrit dans le présent rapport. A titre d’exemple, on citer la politique nationale de lutte contre le terrorisme et l’extrémisme violent dans son Pilier 1, ainsi que la stratégie nationale de la r ... more

External Link (11)

Google Scholar (9)

WorldCat (9)

Vernacular Radio and the Practice of Resistance: Community Radio as a Cultural Tool to Engage on Health and Social Identities Among Marginalized Communities in Ghana

Emmanuel Essel, Eliza Govender

Journal of Radio & Audio Media, volume 30, issue 1 (2023), pp. 99-118

"This article explores how local values and social identities can be integrated into Ghana’s formal COVID-19 public health communication interventions using community radio. The study adopted a qualitative approach using focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and reflexive thematic analysis ... more

External Link (14)

Google Scholar (14)

WorldCat (14)

Indigenous Language for Development Communication in the Global South
Top Insights

Abiodun Salawu, Tshepang Bright Molale, Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed, Mohammad Sahid Ullah (eds.)

Lexington Books (2023), 310 pp.

"This edited collection brings together voices from the margins in underrepresented regions of the Global South, within the context of scholarship focusing on indigenous languages and development communication. Contributors bring together research from often-overlooked parts of the world to engage i ... more

External Link (8)

How Radio Can Build a More Supportive Environment for Girls’ Education, Learning, and Empowerment

Karen O´Connor, Sophie Stelle, Mohamed Kpaka et al.

London: BBC Media Action (2023), 15 pp.

External Link (10)

Google Scholar (10)

WorldCat (11)

Instant Messaging meets Diary Studies: Employing WhatsApp in Audio Diary Research with Female Journalists in Burkina Faso

Viviane Schönbächler

ZQF Zeitschrift für qualitative Forschung, volume 24, issue 1 (2023), pp. 139-155

"This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities of using instant messaging (IM) technologies for diary studies. The discussion shows that IM as well as diary methods are both highly adaptable and flexible tools for qualitative data collection. In combination, they allow for innovative designs ... more

External Link (3)

An Evaluation of ‘Civilia’: Working with Local Media to Tackle Hate Speech in Côte D’Ivoire

Internews (2023), 38 pp.

External Link (8)

Google Scholar (8)

WorldCat (6)

The erosion of media freedom in Ghana: A signal democratic backsliding?

Paul Achonga Kabah Kwode, George Asekere, Jasper Abembia Ayelazuno

Media, Culture & Society, volume 46, issue 1 (2023), pp. 112-129

"Ghana is a poster child of the consolidation of liberal democracy in Africa, the signal evidence of which is the freedom of the Ghanaian media as the fourth estate of the realm. However, recent developments in the media landscape of the country, such as sustained death threats, assaults, use of unw ... more

External Link (10)

Collective Trauma

D+C: Development and Cooperation, issue 1 (2023), pp. 21-31

"If a society does not come to terms with horrific atrocities of the past, tensions may fast escalate into new strife. People must know the truth. The causes of violence must be spelt out and the perpetrators must be named. Otherwise, a new sense of mutual trust cannot grow. Such trust is needed for ... more

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 Top Insights

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024 Top Insights

Indigenous Language for Social Change Communication in the Global South Inspiring Practice Top Insights

Indigenous Language for Development Communication in the Global South Top Insights

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023
Top Insights

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024
Top Insights

Indigenous Language for Social Change Communication in the Global South
Inspiring Practice

Top Insights

Indigenous Language for Development Communication in the Global South
Top Insights