"Burundi: even in very difficult situations, SDC partners managed to identify entry points and continue their work. Networking with international media as a source of information is very crucial in such situations. Policy dialogue is also important to work on issues that divide the government and me
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Rwanda: The coaching in situ has so far led to tangible results. However, building capacity and working on the mindset are still needed. The culture of the leader/chief is very strong and weighs strongly on the quality of media work. The economic progress of the country has not had impact on the financial health of media houses. When funding media, it is very important to aim at transformation (transformative funding).
DRC: diversity of media does not necessarily mean diversified information. Professionalization of media is very much needed. Social ownership of community radios would be very useful in increasing access to information, citizen’s engagement and propensity to hold the leaders accountable
Tanzania: on one hand, involving media actors in policy dialogue on legal/policy issues and not dealing them directly with the government has proved very effective (SDC ‘s support to local stakeholders ’actions in policy dialogue on specific issues has been very successful). On the other, at operational level, static framework can hinder effectiveness. The context is constantly changing. This requires flexibility from SDC and calls for embedding learning processes in the programme, having joint reviews annually and adjusting based on lessons learned." (Lessons learned, page 13)
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"This paper exams the theory and practice of media development by differentiating two major models: The good governance and the sustainable livelihoods strand. Based on this the author questions how governments, organizations, and civil society today collaboratively rethink and organize media system
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s to enable them to consolidate good governance and development. His critical analysis shows that a great deal of development and reconstruction assistance is invested in strengthening democratic and independent media systems and institutions, an approach conceptualized as media development. This paper makes the case that the discussion on media development is biased towards Western theory and approaches as it has not examined media development approaches outside the dominant syntaxes of neoliberal governance frameworks." (Abstract)
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"ICTs in Developing Countries is a collection of conceptual and empirical works on the adoption and impacts of ICT use in developing societies. Bringing together a wide range of disciplines and contributors, it offers a rich examination of digital divide and ICT for development both in terms of cont
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extual information and disciplinary perspectives." (Publisher description)
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"This descriptive, empirical study gives context to how print journalists in two politically different African nations, Senegal and Ethiopia, use Twitter and Facebook to report the news and to what extent. We ask, ‘how is this new model of online reporting manifesting itself in Ethiopian and Seneg
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alese newsrooms, given Senegal’s track record of democratic government and free press and Ethiopia’s infamously authoritarian control and censorship of the country’s journalists?’. The method is a content analysis of 60 days of posts on ten print newspapers’ Twitter and Facebook pages, to establish a comparative assessment of the two nations. Findings are also given context by comparing the print newspapers’ popularity on Twitter and Facebook against each nation’s top 20 most popular Twitter and Facebook pages. Results show Ethiopia to be markedly behind in Twitter posts, but the newspapers of each country show similar rates of posting to Facebook. Journalists in both nations are not livetweeting events, but instead are linking content on social media to the newspaper’s main home page." (Abstract)
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"Au second chapitre, nous avons vu que, dans l’ensemble, cette mission du journaliste se heurte à pas mal de défis dont l’identité, la qualité de l’audience, le contenu, ainsi la formation de ses agents. Le journaliste catholique travaille dans une entreprise qui, naturellement répond aux
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lois structurelles, économiques, managériales et productives précises. L’information, pour être pondue, passe par des canaux classiques qui s’imposent au journaliste catholique. Tout de même, dans le monde obnubilé par l’argent et le prestige, les journalistes sont tentés de donner la parole aux leaders plus qu’au plus petits, aux peuples puissants plus qu’aux peuples "moins avancés [...] Au troisième et au quatrième chapitre, nous avons analysé six périodiques hebdomadaires sur une période de 5 mois, pour voir combien ils parlent de l’homme des périphéries. Notre analyse du contenu révèle que le journaliste catholique va dans les périphéries mais qu’il peut encore aller plus loin. Il y a des situations encore ignorées, des laissés-pour-compte. Il ressort de cette recherche que la communication pastorale de l’Église peut encore viser plus haut, ou mieux, plus profond, vers les plus oubliés. La news value de proximité est bel et bien un critère journalistique qui gagne les lettres de noblesse car elle permet d’actualiser l’invitation du Saint-Père d’aller vers les périphéries, d’actualiser la loi d’amour, d’imiter le Bon Samaritain et de laisser les quatre-vingt-dix-neuf brebis bien portante pour aller chercher celle qui s’est égarée.285 Le critère de proximité devient le principe d’action pour la fraternité humaine et la solidarité universelle aux dépens des contraintes économiques, politiques et socioculturelles qui régissent le monde des médias." (Conclusion générale, page 145-146)
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"Interactive TV and radio shows are popular phenomena in Kenya and Zambia. Drawing primarily from interview- and observation based research in TV stations in Kenya and Zambia, this paper examines the role of media practitioners in shaping interactive broadcast programmes, and the nature and possibil
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ities of audience participation. Looking at the cases of Muvi TV’s The Assignment in Zambia and Power Breakfast and Cheche on Kenya’s Citizen TV, it considers the agency of the host and presenter of interactive shows. This working paper analyses the various ways that hosts implement ground rules for appropriate behaviour of audience members and seek to create space for different voices. It then turns to analyse the constraining effects of the wider political and regulatory environment in the two countries, for instance, Zambia as a ‘Christian nation’ and a relatively peaceful country, and Kenya as a ‘volatile nation’ due to insecurity, including terrorism-related threats and ethnic tensions. In so doing, this paper finds that despite structural factors and individual limitations, the hosts of these shows see themselves, and have been seen by audiences, guests and political elites, as key drivers and celebrities that shape access and nature of participation." (Abstract)
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"Journalisten leben in Ruanda gefährlich. Für Kritik am Regime riskieren sie Prügel oder ihr Leben. Von einem, der sich nicht einschüchtern lassen wollte." (Einführung)
"This research covers the adoption of ICT in Comboni missions, a faith-based organization with operations in Kenya among other global countries. Comboni missions focus on less developed Kenya counties, and in economically challenged areas such as slums in Mathare, Korogocho, Kariobangi in Nairobi. R
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egarding ICT adoption in Comboni missions and other faith-based organizations in Kenya, there is little empirical data available. The reasons are neglect by organization and information theorists who have focused on for-profit organizations and the unique nature of most faith-based organizations in general. Comboni missions are unique in terms of organizational culture and values, in their economies and in focus. They are faith-based and mostly voluntary in nature and seek no profits. Their economies are donor-dependent. They focus on accountability of received funds rather seek to attain competitive advantage. Donor funds allowing, ICT adoption may be adopted in a mission. This adoption is in isolation and without policy guidelines. The problem is haphazard adoption leading to poor adoption and low quality systems. To solve this problem, this study proposes a framework of how Comboni missions should adopt ICT; the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, (UTAUT). The framework proposes that Comboni missions device a policy to govern ICT adoption; involve stakeholders in the adoption, besides lending support in ICT infrastructure development where needed. The framework was validated and tested for accuracy through the inferential statistics (regression analysis model) at 5% level of confidence. The significance of the study is that by adopting ICT, Comboni missions will bridge the organizational divide; or attain the capacity and competence to adapt business and technological capacities of private and public organizations to be digitally competent. The Comboni missions would also bridge the digital divide currently plaguing the underdeveloped areas and the slums where Comboni missions offer services. The study findings are that policy, user behaviour, ICT infrastructure and community determine ICT adoption in Comboni missions and similar faith-based organizations." (Abstract)
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"Now in paperback for the first time, the Handbook is an academic adaptation of information contained in the Global Report on the Status of Women in News Media, a study commissioned by the International Women's Media Foundation. The book's editor was the principal investigator of the original study.
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This text draws together the most robust data from that original study, presenting it in 29 chapters on individual nations and three additional theoretical chapters. The book is the most expansive effort to date to consider women's standing in the journalism profession across the world. Contents organize nations in relation to their progress within newsrooms, with those most advanced in gender equality representing diversity in terms of region and national development. Contributing authors are, in most cases, the original researchers for their respective nations in the Global Report study." (Publisher description)
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"[This] report is an inaugural effort to gain a better understanding of how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide use online technology to communicate with their supporters and donors. Over the last two decades the NGO sector has embraced Internet technology, but at varying speeds based up
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on the Internet infrastructure of the country in which they reside. Social, economic, and political factors in each of the world’s countries have either hastened or hindered the development of Internet infrastructure, yet there is little research that compares NGOs globally and their use of online technology." (Page 2)
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"Project locations experienced general improvement with regards to social cohesion and conflict resolution. This was particularly the case in Wau, where results were encouraging. In contrast, Bor continued to feature more negative results than other project locations, although the county saw importa
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nt improvements since the undertaking of the baseline study in January 2015. This suggests a general positive impact of project activities. Indeed, project activities were at large seen as effective in fostering peacebuilding among local communities. Respondents held particularly positive views about the role of [the radio talkshow] Hiwar al Shabab in the promotion of peacebuilding. In contrast, the sustainability of the trainings and theatre performances, and divergent expectations and miscommunication within the UNICEF-SFCG partnership were highlighted as the weak links in the implementation of the programme. Despite this, research participants underscored the potential for media as a useful tool for peacebuilding." (Page 2)
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"This article presents two communities in Uganda that use Community Audio Towers (CATs) as an alternative to community radio, and examines why the communities prefer the use of CATs to ‘mainstream’ community radio. Using data collected through observation at two sites in Uganda and 10 key inform
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ant interviews from major communication stakeholders, including Uganda’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology, the article presents findings indicating that CATs are self-sustaining, with no NGO influence, and they redefine news to mean local emergencies and occurrences, while having no structures (horizontal/vertical rhetoric) as they are started and run by one community member. The challenges of the new alternative media are also discussed." (Abstract)
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"This publication will contribute to ensuring that the breadth of human rights violations in Eritrea becomes known, and that the issue of human trafficking migrates more strongly upwards into the public eye." (Back cover)
"Few aspects of Liberian society have suffered more under UNMIL than the media, which is critical for any young democracy but all the more so for one emerging from civil war. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.N. mission itself, and other donors have spent more than $10 mil
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lion since 2003 to develop a robust independent media market capable of holding Liberia’s leaders accountable — only to watch UNMIL turn around and build a media behemoth that monopolized the country’s talent, resources, and audience, making it impossible for smaller outlets to compete. UNMIL Radio, the U.N. mission’s flagship media outfit, has a budget of $1.4 million this year — more than the annual revenue of the country’s commercial media combined. We are not aware of a media market in any other democratic country where one player so dominates all others in terms of revenue and resources. And there’s a massive misrepresentation at the heart of UNMIL Radio’s presence in Liberia. Although it now masquerades as an independent media outlet, operating in the same radio space as other news providers and delivering a product that looks like that of other news providers, the U.N. shows little interest or aptitude for the hard, dirty work of independent journalism. It claims to set a standard for journalism in the country but then fails to deliver on the industry’s most important responsibility — holding leaders, not just Liberia’s but the U.N.’s own, to account." (Introduction)
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"This practice briefing sets out what BBC Media Action learned in delivering and supporting health communication in response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa in 2014–15. It has a particular focus on Sierra Leone as this was the hub of the organisation’s response. The paper aims to contribute t
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o a body of knowledge about how to best harness and deploy media and communication in public health emergencies. It also underscores the need for the global community to plan and invest in communication long before any crises take hold, to ensure that communication plays a central role in reducing the impact of future crisis events. The paper sets out the specific communication challenge posed by Ebola and why it was so difficult to get to grips with this in the early months of the outbreak. It then documents when the health communication response became more useful and explores what that tells us about effective media and communication. Finally, it offers recommendations to ensure that media and communication are used to their full potential during other disease outbreaks or humanitarian crises." (BBC Media Action website)
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"Community video is a powerful approach to improving nutrition practices, even in areas beset by drought, conflict, and food shortages. When community members create and share videos that promote optimal nutrition and hygiene behaviors, friends and neighbors pay attention. This report details the po
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sitive impact of a pilot community video project for better maternal, infant, and young child feeding in Niger and offers important lessons learned." (Back cover)
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"The research examines the possibilities of new digital technologies along with radio to facilitate adaptive management processes through rapid feedback to help ensure that agricultural development projects are farmer-centered, and meet the needs of those they intend to serve. Grounded in assessing
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Farm Radio International’s Listening Post—a methodology for collecting real-time, unfiltered feedback from farmers through a multi-channel platform linked to radio—the research highlights barriers to success and articulates lessons learned during the process of designing and implementing the model [...] The research demonstrates that linking a mobile-based crowd-sourcing tool with radio is effective at ensuring engagement from a large number of farmers. The radio stations offer a simple way to recruit participants from among the regular listeners of farmer radio programs. Also, the radio stations tend to be trusted sources of agricultural information among farmers, increasing motivation to participate. Further, the radio programs offer an easy way to close feedback loops by disseminating information about actions that stakeholders are taking in response to feedback. The Listening Post faced many of the same challenges documented by organizations utilizing similar tools—it was difficult to incentivize stakeholders to adequately respond to farmers, and competing motivations between extension officers, farmers, funders and partner organizations made it difficult to collect high-quality information that was usable and actionable. Moreover, an overarching focus on developing and implementing the technology and engaging a large number of farmers at the exclusion of other factors meant that many of the processes and mechanisms for effectively using the data collected and for responding to what farmers were saying weren’t fully developed. Despite these issues, there is significant evidence that the Listening Post model holds potential to act as a conduit for civic action if the correct stakeholders are engaged from the outset, if mechanisms for analyzing and disseminating relevant data from the platform to partners, local stakeholders and farmers is further refined, and if stakeholders ensure farmers can effectively use the technology." (Executive summary)
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