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Radio, Zeitung & Co.: Werkzeuge für den Frieden. Erfahrungen aus der Projektarbeit von 2002 bis 2008

Martin Zint

Neuwied: Eirene (2009), 51 pp.

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Beyond Broadcasting: The Future of State-Owned Broadcasters in Southern Africa

Guy Berger

Fackson Banda; Jane Duncan; Rashweat Mukundu; Zenaida Machado (contrib.)

Grahamstown: Highway Africa, School of Journalism & Media Studies, Rhodes University;Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2009), 65 pp.

"Digital communications technology does many new things. Its spread means that it is no longer a case of a tiny minority of professionals and politicians having a monopoly on mass communication. Implicit in the observations of this report, is the recognition that - amongst other things - digitisatio ... n also disrupts old boundaries between inter-personal and mass communication. What used to be the subject of, or product of, communication between a few individuals, can increasingly be put into the public sphere. Much of this content remains personal in quality, despite it being public in availability. But there is also much that is of public interest. In some ways, this therefore threatens those institutions supposed to be specialising in public interest information. In other ways, it can help them not only reinforce this mission, but to also take a step towards expanding their role into becoming wider public interest content and commun-ications agencies. They can, in short, be the motive force that pulls personal conversations into focussing on journalism that is of common public interest. That image of leading the transformation of mass communication is, however, just one of the scenarios outlined in this report. The others point to lesser roles, even including extinction. It should be noted that scenarios are not predictions of the future, but attempts to highlight a range of possible options. They help guide action in one or other direction. The complication is that digitisation and all that comes with it can deal a surprise to even the best-considered scenario possibilities. Who would have thought that a search engine company (Google) could become such an effective player in the advertising arena? Or that newspaper newsrooms would start hiring video-capable staffers, or that some cell-phone companies would move into distributing content? Could anyone have guessed that a company like Twitter could attract and burn millions of dollars of investment without even a proper business plan about how it intends to make money? The digital revolution, if it is to succeed, needs to have top quality cadres in the newsrooms. In the face of these kinds of developments, it is tempting to throw up one’s hands and take a come-what-may approach. That’s preferable to the illusion of controlling and managing the process. At the same time, between these two extremes of paralysis and over-planning, there is a broad direction that can be identified and pursued. We may not know exactly where we are going, but - as this Report seeks to do - we can look at where we are and what’s immediately ahead. More fundamentally, however, there’s worth in remembering from whence we come. In other words, while looking at the present and near-present, and keeping an eye on what future scenarios we can imagine, we can hold onto our values. In the context of public broadcasting, these values are - in a nutshell - to focus mass communications on deepening democracy and development. These public interest values remain all the more valid in a time when the historical informational “service” model is being expanded to also function as a public interest communicational mode. Keeping these ideals aloft helps state-owned broadcasters steer a course between delivering government-interest and commercial-interest content. They help to define the meaning of universal access in the face of financial pressures and socio-economic divides. They empower people to see the big picture and to bring concerted action to bear on it. In sum, they help us reinvent “public service broadcasting” in a fashion appropriate to its contemporary possibilities. Roll on digitisation in Southern Africa - and the transformation of at least some state-owned broadcasters to become leaders in this process." ("Summing up", page 53-54) more

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Mapping the Void: A State-By-State Media Assessment Report on South Sudan and Selected Northern States

John Gacie, Richard Mogga, Mac Maika

Consortium on Promoting Freedom of Expression and Civil Society Involvment in Developing Media Legislation in Sudan (2009), 83 pp.

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Building Commitment to Reform Through Strategic Communication: The Five Key Decisions
Key Guidance

Cecilia Cabañero-Verzosa, Helen Garcia

Washington, DC: World Bank (2009), xiii, 133 pp.

"The Five Communication Management Decision Tool helps reformers and their teams develop a framework for their communication strategies. This decision tool helps managers see change initiatives through the eyes of those who will be affected by the reforms. When the decision tool is used in the early ... more

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Youth Engaging with the World: Media Communication and Social Change

Thomas Tufte, Florencia Enghel (eds.)

Göteborg: International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media (2009), 341 pp.

"The Yearbook 2009 focuses on youth as a generation of actors and citizens who are increasingly exposed to and making use of media/ICT for entertainment and informational purposes, for social networking and mobilization, and for knowledge sharing. At the core of this creativity and these innovative ... more

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Journalismuswelten: Ein Vergleich von Journalismuskulturen in 17 Ländern

Thomas Hanitzsch, Josef Seethaler

Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft, volume 57, issue 4 (2009), pp. 464-483

"Der vorliegende Aufsatz berichtet erste deskriptive Befunde aus einer multinationalen Studie zum Vergleich von Journalismuskulturen. Im Rahmen des Projekts wurden insgesamt 1700 Journalisten in 17 Ländern zu ihren professionellen Orientierungen befragt. Im Vordergrund standen Fragen nach dem Verst ... more

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Reporting Gender-Based Violence: A Handbook for Journalists

Johannesburg: Inter Press Service (IPS) Africa (2009), 73 pp.

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Contemporary Issues in South Africa: A Toolkit for Journalists

Tanya Farber

Open Society Foundation for South Africa (2009), 60 pp.

"In today’s climate in the media industry, reporters are expected to cover a broad range of issues. They no longer have the luxury of concentrating on a small piece of a larger puzzle, and at times, they may feel as if they need a better understanding of the background information before moving fo ... more

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Untold: Stories in a Time of HIV & AIDS. Audience Reception and Capacity Building Report

Soul City (2009), 24 pp.

"The Untold films bear testimony to the success of the skills development element of this Regional Programme initiative. The fact that these television dramas were developed, written, directed and produced in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabw ... more

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The Role of the Media in the Agricultural and Rural Development of ACP Countries: Compilation Document

Wageningen: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) (2009), 89 pp.

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Mobiles for Development: How Mobile Technologies Can Enhance Plan and Partners in Africa

Hannah Beardon

Helsinki: Plan Finland (2009), 44 pp.

"This guide provides an overview of relevant and innovative examples of how mobile telephones have been successfully integrated into development projects and processes; and a three stage process to help Plan staff and other development practitioners identify the key social, economic and technical fa ... more

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The Right to Offend, Shock or Disturb: A Guide to Evolution of Insult Laws in 2007 and 2008

Carolyn R. Wendell

Reston, Virg.: World Press Freedom Committee (2009), 155 pp.

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African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment
Inspiring Practice

Ineke Buskens, Anne Webb (eds.)

London; Ottawa: Zed Books;International Development Research Centre (IDRC) (2009), ix, 222 pp.

"Women in Africa are undeniably participating in the information and communication technology (ICT) revolution and they are doing so in many and varied ways; the changes that the use of these tools have brought about are visible everywhere. Furthermore, the prospects of ICTs for development and wome ... more

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Children's Views Not in the News: Portrayal of Children in South African Print Media 2009

Ronell Naidoo

Melissa Meyer; William Bird (eds.)

Johannesburg: Media Monitoring Africa (2009), 32 pp.

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La loi et les medias en Republique du Niger

Abdourahamane Gayakoye Sabi

Legon (GH): Fondation pour les Médias en Afrique de l’Ouest (2009), 15 pp.

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Manual sobre periodismo y justicia transicional: Oportunidades y desafíos para el periodismo regional en Colombia

José Barbeito

Bogotá: Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) (2009), 67 pp.

"Las desmovilizaciones de los grupos paramilitares y la implementación de la Ley de Justicia y Paz, en medio de condiciones muy complejas, han puesto sobre la mesa – nuevamente – la pregunta sobre el papel que juegan los medios de comunicación en Colombia. Y en este punto es importante hacer u ... more

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Understanding Film and Video as Tools for Change: Applying Participatory Video and Video Advocacy in South Africa

Julia Cain

Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University, Thesis (2009), v, 240 pp.

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Learning and Knowing in Indigenous Societies Today

Peter Bates, Moe Chiba, Sabine Kube, Douglas Nakashima (eds.)

Paris: UNESCO (2009), 127 pp.

"The book is organised into three sections. The first addresses the link between indigenous knowledge and indigenous language, and explores the opportunities this interconnection provides for understanding and countering declines in both. The second section examines how the loss of indigenous knowle ... more

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Development Through Electronic Networks: Information and Communication Technologies in Africa
Top Insights

Christopher Coenen, Ulrich Riehm

Berlin: German Bundestag, Office of Technology Assessment (2009), 268 pp.

"Following an initiative of the Committee on Economic Co-operation and Development, the Office of Technology Assessment (TAB) at the German Bundestag (i.e. the German parliament) has carried out a project on the relevance of the Internet and other new information and communication technologies (ICTs ... more

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Ein Leuchtturm mit Stromschwankungen: Die Rolle der Medien bei der Entwicklung einer demokratischen Kultur

Reinhard Wagner

DED-Brief, issue 2 (2009), pp. 42-43

"In den vergangenen Jahren hat Ghana einen großen Sprung gemacht, was die Achtung der Pressefreiheit und der Menschenrechte betrifft. Aber eine grundlegende qualitative Verbesserung der Medienlandschaft würde beinhalten, dass sich die Journalisten ihrer verantwortungsvollen Rolle in einer Demokrat ... more

Building Commitment to Reform Through Strategic Communication: The Five Key Decisions Key Guidance

African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment Inspiring Practice

Development Through Electronic Networks: Information and Communication Technologies in Africa Top Insights

Building Commitment to Reform Through Strategic Communication: The Five Key Decisions
Key Guidance

African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment
Inspiring Practice

Development Through Electronic Networks: Information and Communication Technologies in Africa
Top Insights