"This book is the result of a research project covering eight countries in South and South East Asia examining the role and impact of alternative media. The definition of alternative media depends very much on the political, social, cultural and economic environment you live in. Thus, this book give
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s the reader an idea of the diversity of alternative media sources available across Asia, which is very much a result of the different media regulatory regimes in the countries we have included in this study. While Bangladesh has had alternative media, in the form of community theatre and other artistic expressions for a long time, yet, community radio, which is fast becoming one of the most effective forms of alternative media in Asia, is slow to take off, because the regulations still do not allow it. Meanwhile in Indonesia and Thailand, community radio has taken off rapidly, with regulators struggling to come up with a formula to help regulate the sector while not shutting it down. In the Philippine community radio has existed legally for many years and is thriving, thus, there may be lessons others can learn from this experience. In Malaysia, where legislation tightly controls the establishment of media outlets, there are yet, some interesting examples of how alternative media could be effectively operated via the Internet. Sri Lanka, offers an interesting model where elements of community broadcasting could exist within a public service broadcaster. Thus, this book, gives you interesting examples from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand of how people are getting their voices heard - or are struggling to make that happen - using a variety of media and methods of expression." (Publisher description)
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"Long before the descriptor “citizen journalism” became a topic of research interest in academia, Indonesia’s Radio Elshinta (www.elshinta.com) in Jakarta had already opened its airwaves for listeners, most with no formal journalism training, to call in their stories. This paper contextualises
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Elshinta’s experience with Asia’s top online citizen media portal Ohmynews (english.ohmynews.com) in South Korea to identify their common and divergent characteristics. The case study is complemented by interviews with journalists from Elshinta and Ohmynews. The study concludes that despite relatively unreliable access to Internet facilities in Indonesia, the main catalysts for Elshinta’s engagement with its listeners are (a) the predominantly oral culture in Indonesia; (b) low literacy, thus their reliance on radio as the primary source of information and entertainment; and (d) the popularity of mobile phones for formal and informal communication. Indonesian television and newspapers, however, have been slow in catching up with people-initiated journalism because of (a) fear of losing its reputation and credibility, and thus its commercial base; and (b) conflict between unedited reports by untrained reporters with the professional practice standards and the Press Law. Other obstacles to people-initiated journalism in television and newspapers are the slow uptake of amateur handycam images by TV stations, poor Internet access, lack of writing skills and lack of interactivity in existing online news sites." (Abstract)
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"Wer sich heute auf eine Reise in die malaiische Welt (Indonesien, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam) begibt, wird beobachten, dass sich das Angebot in den Buchhandlungen von Land zu Land zum Teil erheblich unterscheidet. In Indonesien etwa, das mit seinen zur Zeit etwa 230 Millionen Einwohnern fast 90% d
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er malaiischen Welt ausmacht, scheinen Bücher mit islamischen Themen besonders populär zu sein."
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"This evaluation has five main objectives: to evaluate the implementation results of the project, to extract the lessons learnt, to propose a way forward for the Khoun Radio, to assess the feasibility of a national scale-up strategy, and finally to consider which role UNDP could play in these proces
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ses. In summary it can be said that the project has managed to have a number of the crucial components of the project implemented. In spite of strong and committed initiative, support and management from the UNDP side, the uniting and facilitating organisational framework is not yet fully in place. It is, however, considered possible to remedy this lack through an intensive, participatory planning process in Khoun among the board members and the community broadcasters – facilitated by the project staff. The report presents, analyses and extracts recommendations in connection with all of the project’s four activities: establishment of a radio station; training of district and provincial information officers; training of (volunteer) programme producers and the board; elaboration of a baseline study and collaboration with other communityoriented radio activities in Laos." (Executive summary, page 6)
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"This paper discusses the ways in which efforts aimed at democratising the media system and empowering communities in Indonesia in three discursive periods (the 1998 "Revolution Movement," the "Reform Era" follow-up, and the 2002 Broadcasting Act up till the present time) have ebbed and flowed. The
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main result of the changing winds so far has been the liberalisation of the market, in line with global media trends. The Government has tried to frustrate the prospects of community media. Hence, the current development of community radio in the country remains stagnant, the main challenge being to create a more visible position in the media landscape, which in turn may bring about a more supportive stance in the government's policies. Our tour d'horizon of the state of affairs of community radio, its complementary status to the mainstream national media scene, and the assessment of current needs are based upon empirical evidence gathered in the Manado and Jogyakarta areas. Departing from the different dynamics of these two cases, weaknesses and critical success factors will be assessed, taking into account the different backgrounds of the regions, radio practitioners as well as their audiences in terms of religion, ethnicity, and life styles."
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"This paper presents preliminary findings from a multi-sited qualitative study of poverty and information and communication technologies (ICTs) in India, Indonesia Sri Lanka and Nepal. It draws upon data gathered by 12 ethnographic action researchers working across 15 community ICT initiatives. Thes
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e local, 'embedded researchers' are part of a larger international project called Finding a Voice: Making Technological Change Socially Effective and Culturally Empowering, which includes UNESCO (South Asia) and UNDP (Indonesia), in partnership with Queensland University of Technology, the University of Adelaide and Australian Research Council, along with numerous local and regional organisations." (Introduction)
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"Discussions on how to support sustainability of independent media generally focus on the political conditions, the legal framework and – especially in German development cooperation – on the quality of journalistic coverage. Nevertheless, economic factors are of equal importance, not only for p
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ure survival but also with respect to editorial independence and the resources available to enhance or guarantee the quality of media outlets. The German Forum Medien und Entwicklung (Media and Development) highlighted in its annual international Symposium, “Money Matters – How independent media manage to survive”, two dimensions marking economic sustainability: factors constituting a restricting or enabling media environment; factors supporting the business management of media in their endeavour to become self-sustainable." (Executive summary, page 5)
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"This collection of writing on community media describes attempts at local media development and case studies of functioning projects. It presents a range of perspectives on grassroots media originating from community groups; research representing participant observation; hands-on community involvem
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ent; service on international boards of directors; content analysis; and ethical inquiries. The book draws on both theoretical and practical examples from Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ghana, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latin America, Native Americans, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and includes perspectives ranging from cyberdating to ethics and policy-making. Sections include Aboriginal/Indigenous Experiences, Current Case Studies, and Virtual Community Visions. It intends to appeal to a range of academic disciplines, community media groups, and people who work in their local cable television centres in order to provide an alternative voice to mainstream media." (https://www.comminit.com)
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"Un panorama du « cinéma engagé » sous deux de ses aspects : en première partie, onze auteurs examinent la façon dont le cinéma, dans différents pays et à différents moments de son histoire, aborde le plus chargé de tous les thèmes sociaux, celui de la guerre. La seconde partie entrepren
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d une tâche précieuse d’information à l’intention du cinéphile en faisant état de l’engagement tous azimuts qui caractériserait aujourd’hui tant de cinémas nationaux à travers le monde – à l’exception notable de la France." (Description de la maison d'édition)
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"This study critically evaluates international democratization assistance in postconflict societies to discern what has worked, what has not, and how aid programs can be designed to have a more positive impact. The authors offer a unique recipient perspective as they explore three dimensions of demo
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cracy promotion: elections, free media, and human rights. Drawing on the experiences of Afghanistan, Cambodia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, they suggest concrete ways in which the international community can better foster democratization in the wake of conflict." (Publisher description)
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"In May 2005, a programme was initiated to support reconstruction and development of media in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province destroyed by the tsunami on December 26, 2005. This programme, which was given the name Aceh Media Construction Assistance (AMRA), received funding of € 1,097,927 from Fr
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ee Voice, Oxfam, ICCO, and NED. Under the coordination of Free Voice, the AMRA programme is run by Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI), Kantor Berita Radio 68H (KBR 68H), and Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia Daerah (KPID) – hereinafter referred to as the AMRA partners. From July through August 2006, Free Voice, in its capacity as programme coordinator, decided to carry out an external evaluation of the AMRA programme through an independent evaluator. The purpose of this evaluation was to compare the results achieved by the partners with the objectives established in the project proposal and other preparatory documents. The evaluation also aims to identify the extent to which the collaboration between the partners had created synergy to build the media in Aceh and to make recommendations for future programme implementation – including specific recommendations on implementation of Aceh’s first ever direct elections of regional heads, which are scheduled to take place on December 10, 2006." (Introduction, page 4)
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