"The Qatari news network, Al Jazeera, has emerged as a prime example of a global media contra-flow that has been able to give its region a voice in the international news arena. At a time when developments like the global economic crisis have called for greater checks and balances on Western governm
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ents and corporations, this paper takes a critical look at an increasingly prominent news player in the fast-growing developing region of East Asia, Channel NewsAsia, to ascertain if it is likely to rise up the ranks to the level of Al Jazeera. A critical discourse analysis comparing the coverage of Channel NewsAsia and the BBC’s most salient stories, however, shows that the Singapore-based station falls short in its claim to ‘provide Asian perspectives’ because it is constrained by political-economic factors to operate within an authoritarian developmental news model." (Abstract)
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»Die Khmer mögen keine Dokumentarfilme. Hier geht es nur um Unterhaltung.« Das haben mir lokale Filmemacher und TV Produzenten gesagt, als ich Kambodschas erstes unabhängiges Medien- und Kunstzentrum Meta House (www.meta-house.com) 2007 in der Hauptstadt Phnom Penh eröffnete. Ich wollte zu Kamb
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odschas kultureller Renaissance beitragen, nachdem es 30 Jahre lang unter Bürgerkrieg und dem Genozid Pol Pots gelitten hatte. Kambodschas eigene Filmindustrie wurde durch die Khmer Rouge 1975 zerstört. In den 80er und 90er Jahre erlebte es eine Art Wiederauferstehung, bis es dann durch steigende Produktionskosten, die Verfügbarkeit von billigen DVD Raubkopien und das Schließen vieler Kinos wieder zerstört wurde. Heute entsteht aber eine neue und spannende Filmszene um junge Filmemacher_ innen, die preisgekrönte Dokumentarfilme produzieren." (Seite 18)
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"Drawing on a historical approach to Malaysia's political development since independence, this paper argues that the political effects of the rise of Malaysia's new media are best understood as being parallel to those of modernization and socio-economic change from previous decades, which augured im
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portant changes in the political strategies of incumbent and opposition politicians, but did not upset the fundamental logic through which the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime has ruled since the 1970s." (Abstract)
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"Dance, music, and oral narratives are an important and vibrant part of cultural practice and heritage in Timor-Leste. But while Timorese people have used such creative methods and processes during rituals, celebrations, and their fight for independence, today arts and artistic expression become an
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increasingly popular strategy in development cooperation. Especially different forms of so-called participatory theater with origins in development cooperation, arts, and social movements, present themselves as innovative, participatory, and well applicable in terms of capacity building and stimulating positive social transformation. Based on the author’s experience and observations, this article critically examines the alliance between various stakeholders in Timor-Leste engaging with the fact that the current scene of participatory theater can hardly be seen as an independent grassroots or even social movement, rather than an initiated top-down process by donors with specific agendas." (Abstract)
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"This monograph provides a critical overview and assessment of the new and rising phenomenon of dakwahtainment or Islamic televangelism in post-reformasi Indonesia. This phenomenon feeds on the increasing materialist, consumerist, nihilistic and voyeuristic culture of celebrity that is currently eng
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ulfing Indonesia. It is set against a context where democratisation and media liberalisation are taking root in the Indonesian state and society. This work stems from action research conducted throughout 2012." (Introduction)
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"Rather than viewing social media activism as the harbinger of social change or dismissing it as mere “slacktivism,” the article provides a more nuanced argument by identifying the conditions under which participation in social media might lead to successful political activism. In social media,
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networks are vast, content is overly abundant, attention spans are short, and conversations are parsed into diminutive sentences. For social media activism to be translated into populist political activism, it needs to embrace the principles of the contemporary culture of consumption: light package, headline appetite and trailer vision. Social media activism is more likely to successfully mobilise mass support when its narratives are simple, associated with low risk actions and congruent with dominant meta-narratives, such as nationalism and religiosity. Success is less likely when the narrative is contested by dominant competing narratives generated in mainstream media." (Abstract)
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"Myanmar durchläuft derzeit einen rasanten gesellschaftlichen Öffnungsprozess. Nicht zuletzt wachsen die Freiräume für politische Aktivisten, Journalisten und Filmemacher. Welche Wirkungen aber haben Filme auf politische Reformen in Myanmar, dessen Medienzensur zu den striktesten Zensursystemen
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der Welt gehörte? Dabei ist es sinnvoll zwischen Film per se, der sicherlich wenig zur Demokratisierung und Verbesserung der Menschenrechtslage beiträgt und politischem Film zu unterscheiden. Der politische Film in Form von Videoaktivismus und Dokumentationen hingegen beeinflusst durch Aufklärung, Anregung zu Diskussionen und Mobilisierung gesellschaftliche Öffnungsprozesse in Myanmar." (Abstract)
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"This report analyses current media legislation and regulation in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam and examines the opportunities for the development of public service and community broadcasting. The report also includes useful references to Singapore." (Preface)
"Through the methodological framework of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), the report measures the extent to which 144 economies, from both the developed and developing worlds, take advantage of ICTs and other new technologies to increase their growth and well-being. The NRI identifies the most r
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elevant factors driving ICT readiness and impacts, providing policymakers, business leaders, and civil society at large with a useful tool for designing national strategies for increased networked readiness and for benchmarking their country’s performance against other relevant comparators. The Global Information Technology Report 2013 features the latest computation and rankings of the NRI, and in referring to this year’s theme, dives deeper into the connection between ICTs and economic growth and job creation. As in previous years, it also showcases a number of ICT development stories of particular interest. In addition, the report includes detailed profiles for the 144 economies covered this year together with data tables for each of the 54 indicators used in the computation of the NRI." (Back cover)
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"As Europeans began to travel to all corners of the earth beginning in the 15th century, they were determined not only to conquer new lands but also to spread their faith. From Johann Gutenberg they had learned the power of the printed word, and were determined to use this revolutionary new technolo
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gy to christianize Asia. The impact of these efforts varied depending on a number of circumstances. The two most significant variables were the ability to wield control as a colonial power (e.g. in the Philippines, but not in Japan or China) and the pre-existence of a widespread print culture (e.g. in China), or lack thereof (e.g. in India and Malaya). This summary account of missionary printing also suggests that the principal difference between Roman Catholic and Protestant presses was the emphasis placed by the former on the exposition of Christian doctrine and the printing of catechetical treatises, and the early concentration by the latter on the preparation of partial or complete versions of the Bible in local languages." (Page 114)
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"In order to understand people’s needs and identify opportunities to communicate with them effectively, Climate Asia has analysed survey data from across the seven project countries – Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam, and China – and placed people into five discrete segme
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nts using a process called cluster analysis. Each segment varies in the factors that enable and prevent response. As such, each has different communication needs and can be supported in different ways. We have called these segments surviving, struggling, adapting, willing and unaffected. The proportions of these segments represent the extent to which people from the seven countries (regional analysis) perceive impacts and are taking action to respond to them. Across the region, the majority (78%) are currently feeling the impacts of changes in climate, the environment and resources now: surviving (17%), struggling (21%), adapting (20%) and willing (19%). The unaffected (23%) are feeling fewer impacts and are taking less action." (Page 2)
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"The study is divided into three parts: Part One is a discussion on brief history of civil war in Myanmar especially in Kachin State, the past experiences of the Church in pastoral and evangelizing communication in Kachin State and the current life situation of the Kachin refugees. In Part Two, we p
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resent the concept of refugees from the Church documents and social teaching of the Church, and. the Church’s approach of Pastoral and Evangelizing Communication. Part three is a discussion on how the Church responds to the pastoral needs of the refugees and it also proposes some qualifications of communicators that the Church ministers would be able to respond effectively to the needs of the Kachin refugees." (Abstract)
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"The 2nd Conference on Media Development in Myanmar took place from May 20-21 2013 in Yangon. With over 300 participants, the conference marked another significant milestone in Myanmar’s media reform process. This report is a summary of the presentations held at this conference. Under the theme
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The Role of Media in Democratic Transitions: Successes, Challenges and the Way Forward”, government officials, private and state-owned media companies, professional journalist associations, academia, civil society representatives and international organisations met to take stock of the media reforms in Myanmar and develop a set of practical recommendations for further media development in the country. The conference was organised by the Ministry of Information (MoI) and the Myanmar Media Development Thematic Working Group (MMDTWG) in partnership with UNESCO and International Media Support (IMS). The theme of the 2013 conference was linked to the previous year’s conference, which focused on media’s potential to strengthen democratic processes, bringing international experience and exposure to Myanmar. This year, the main emphasis was to take stock and bring to the forefront the successes and challenges faced by Myanmar stakeholders. It provided a venue for participants to report on concrete progress achieved in pursuing media development and reforms. The fact that the conference drew over half of its participants from outside Yangon was a testament to the strong regional focus and relevance of this year’s theme." (Introduction, page 5)
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"Vietnam is changing rapidly: attitudinal, socio-economic and media usage. Traditional media, especially television, is still dominant. New media is pushed forward by young people and those with the most education: urban-rural divides in media use are closing; internet has overtaken radio as key new
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s source; Google is a critical tool. How to reach Vietnamese Audiences: find ways to share content that is most important to residents; look to new media and focus on engagement and sharing; optimize placement on search results." (Closing thoughts, slide 48)
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"This paper reveals that Cambodian newspapers have tendency towards being biased to their political affiliations. According to the findings of this study, Cambodian newspapers have three inclinations: pro-government, opposition, and neutrality. The pro-government and opposition newspapers are the ma
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jority in circulation. Most news articles published by these newspapers favor their own party‘s endeavors and concerns rather than the common public interest. There are also a small number of newspapers that claim to be neutral and independent from any political attachments. In contrast, the independent newspapers‘ contents serve public interest and are more in-depth. The case study on media coverage on the detention of 13 Beoung Kak activists, which is on the latter part of this study, proves this assertion. While it has been found that there are a few Khmer language newspapers that publish articles on this incident regularly, results of the content analysis suggests that English language newspapers more regularly and actively observe the developing story of the dispute ranging from less to most important events. Majority of the news focus on accidents, crime and land issues. This research has also observed that newspapers give more attention to recent events and issues rather than prioritizing on ongoing social problems. Opinion-based articles, news analysis of social issues and editorial are rarely published. Although editorials are appear in some newspapers, they are used to attack their enemy instead of providing solutions on the problems. When compared to English language newspapers, news reporting in some Khmer language newspapers lacks professionalism and ethical practice. In terms of news coverage, both Khmer and English newspapers are more focused on their reporting on events in Phnom Penh and undermine the news from provincial areas of Cambodia. Respondents agreed that media has an important role in building peace in Cambodia and that the local print media has yet to fulfill this crucial role due to economic, professional, and self-imposed ethical limitations. There is an immense need to educate and re-educate many Cambodian journalists to their responsibility to the public and their power to effect positive change, which includes sustainable peace." (Executive summary)
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