"Through the qualitative method of study, it was discovered that despite the rich extant documents of the Church on effective use of the means of communication, there is a wrong understanding of communication, lack of will-power to incarnate media use into the Nigerian pastoral context and suspicion
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concerning the use of virtual reality. Engaging the media of communication, supporting the Directorate of Social Communications and establishing a National Pastoral Plan were recommended for efficient use of social communication in the mission of the Church in Nigeria. It concluded that shying away from engaging the media for the purposes of evangelisation amounts to playing the ostrich which has dire consequences." (Abstract)
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"En étudiant les discours sur le livre africain, discours d’éditeurs africains et évolution du marché international du livre africain francophone depuis les années 1980, cette réflexion se propose d’interroger la relation entre l’industrie du livre en Afrique et le phénomène de mondial
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isation du livre, afin de mettre au jour un tissu permanent d’échanges, de tensions et d’influences, faisant du marché du livre africain un espace « glocal », s’il en est." (Résumé)
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"This working paper defines the scope of the FemmePowermentAfrique project, its significance, its research approach and its intended beneficiaries. This project originated in an impact assessment of radio on women’s rights and empowerment in Niger, yet has broadened to incorporate a series of rela
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ted and important research questions. The research draws on various methodologies including focus groups with listeners, semi-structured interviews, workshops and context analysis of radio output. The project pursues the following aims: 1. To assess the impact of radio on women’s rights and empowerment in the Sahel region of Africa. Three countries have been selected for initial investigation: Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. 2. To assess perceptions of female empowerment within the context of these countries, particularly in comparison with existing concepts and those widely used by nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and countries and donors in the North. 3. To produce recommendations on the use of radio with regard to women’s rights and empowerment to be used by media development organisations, civil society organisations, journalists and the media, donors, and research organisations. 4. To contribute to understandings of impact and its measurement. 5. To contribute to methodological approaches used by researchers working in the field. 6. To benefit radio organisations, media, listeners and marginalised and disempowered communities in the three countries through the application of the recommendations. 7. To identify other geographic and topic areas that could benefit from the research findings and methodology (for example, youth, governance, and radicalisation)." (Executive summary)
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"This study was conducted between April 2018 and July 2019 with the aim of assessing the impact of Studio Kalangou’s radio broadcasts on women’s rights and empowerment in Niger. It comprised: A content analysis of approximately 60 hours of radio programmes broadcast in 2018 by Studio Kalangou in
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Niger; A series of 40 focus groups, 20 conducted before, and 20 after, the programmes were broadcast; Two knowledge exchange workshops in Niger with representatives from the media, civil society organisations, NGOs, and donors, held before and after the programmes were broadcast; A third and final knowledge exchange workshop, on completion of the research [...] Radio remains a main source of information in Niger and, based on the data collected during the study, is accessed primarily by mobile phone. Use of social media to access sources of information, including radio, remains limited. Whilst radio remains the main source of information amongst older focus group respondents, younger participants demonstrate little interest in radio, preferring social media. A generational divide exists between older and younger listeners. Older listeners are adamant about what youth should be doing, what they should like and what they should enjoy listening to. This does not chime with what young people want or are interested in. Female empowerment, according to the broadcasts, is a long-term process and affects women as part of a group. In contrast, according to listeners, empowerment must affect their daily lives and be on a personal, more micro level. Women-focused programmes, whilst necessary and beneficial, may serve to isolate information and themes as they depart from the normal expectations of a male-dominated society. Gender equality, which already emerges in Studio Kalangou’s mainstream broadcasts, needs to be encouraged and extended throughout the schedule to impact all listeners. There is evidence of changes in behaviour amongst listeners as a result of Studio Kalangou broadcasts. Improvements in general and specific awareness of subject matter and themes emerge strongly. There are differences in editorial priorities between what Studio Kalangou offers and what the listeners want." (Pages 4-5)
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"This ethnic conflict frame performs three functions when used by African journalists. The first is that it works to domesticate the conflict [in Darfur] by relying on already sedimented knowledge among African audiences about identity formation … The second function of this frame is based on know
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ing that the national media subfields in the three countries [i.e., Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa] have a nuanced understanding of ethnic identities. When asked about the role of ethnicity in Darfur, a Nigerian journalist responded, "It's a factor, religion is a factor as well. Religion shapes ethnicity" (interview with a journalist, Nigeria 2015). This approach alerts us that, as far as African journalists are concerned, ethnicity does not always have a path-deterministic relationship with violence, as some journalists in the Global North have sometimes suggested (Wahutu 2017b, 16-17). The third point is that this ethnic conflict frame works to create a sense of shared affinity between the victims and the audience in Kenya, South Africa and Rwanda while othering those framed as Arab/Muslim as being radically different. This explanation is one that was more present during my interviews with journalists. In both Kenya and South Africa, journalists often viewed as Sudan as not "real Africa." (Page 246)
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"A brief recap of the examples discussed here suggests, among other things, the following considerations: When information circulation is limited due to censorship or security concerns, it may be necessary to restrict information to what is essential for survival. In the case of BBTT in South Sudan,
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humanitarian information is produced and transmitted by residents of the UN protected sites, in local languages and for local residents only; Likewise, in post-genocide Rwanda, where broadcasting news about atrocities would have been very challenging, the newsreel project provided information and space for discussion for different groups, while creating a conversation that extended beyond each screening and location; BBTT and the newsreels project also demonstrate that closed environments may be the best option to provide information safely and allow for open discussions among individuals affected by violence. By employing the use of listening and discussion groups, the program furthers its goal of engaging residents and extending their participation in the local form of public sphere. These controlled environments are particularly important to encourage the participation of victims, women and other marginalized groups in dialogue; Training and engaging citizens to gather, curate and disseminate content, as BBTT does with community correspondents, is an effective way to provide information that matters to people's lives and to foster a culture of critical engagement. These processes potentially help communities rebuild media structures once the political situation stabilizes; Media outlets that create avenues for interaction and feedback tend to be most successful in providing content that is relevant and engaging to audiences, as in the case of Sawa Shabab in South Sudan; Drama, games, storytelling and other forms of engagement with narratives provide opportunities for individuals to work together, regain social trust, learn about alternate forms of participation and reconstruct symbolic narratives, as demonstrated by the examples in Colombia; Recognition of the suffering of the victims as well as of their agency in resisting violence is also crucial in a post-atrocities context. This may come in the form of interactive media-making by citizens or in initiatives supported by media or research organizations such as the National Center for Historical Memory." (Pages 226-227)
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"Das Buch befasst sich mit der Rolle von Medien in einem politischen Ausnahmezustand. Bettina Haasen hat in Burundi Journalistinnen und Journalisten zu ihrem beruflichen Rollenselbstverständnis befragt und diese Aussagen unter Berücksichtigung ihrer sozialen Herkunft und den Zielen der internation
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alen Medienentwicklungszusammenarbeit (MEZ) kritisch in den Blick genommen. Mit dem gescheiterten Putsch im Jahr 2015 hat das Mediensystem in Burundi einen grundlegenden Wandel erlebt: Medienhäuser wurden vollständig zerstört, Hunderte von Journalisten leben im Exil und die Meinungsfreiheit wurde begraben." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Despite the efforts of the news industry, we find only a small increase in the numbers paying for any online news – whether by subscription, membership, or donation. Growth is limited to a handful of countries mainly in the Nordic region (Norway 34%, Sweden 27%) while the number paying in the US
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(16%) remains stable after a big jump in 2017. • Even in countries with higher levels of payment, the vast majority only have ONE online subscription – suggesting that ‘winner takes all’ dynamics are likely to be important. One encouraging development though is that most payments are now ‘ongoing’, rather than one-offs. In some countries, subscription fatigue may also be setting in, with the majority preferring to spend their limited budget on entertainment (Netflix/Spotify) rather than news. With many seeing news as a ‘chore’, publishers may struggle to substantially increase the market for high-priced ‘single title’ subscriptions. As more publishers launch pay models, over two-thirds (70%) of our sample in Norway and half (50%) in the United States now come across one or more barriers each week when trying to read online news. In many countries, people are spending less time with Facebook and more time with WhatsApp and Instagram than this time last year. Few users are abandoning Facebook entirely, though, and it remains by far the most important social network for news. Social communication around news is becoming more private as messaging apps continue to grow everywhere. WhatsApp has become a primary network for discussing and sharing news in non-Western countries like Brazil (53%) Malaysia (50%), and South Africa (49%). People in these countries are also far more likely than in the West to be part of large WhatsApp groups with people they don’t know – a trend that reflects how messaging applications can be used to easily share information at scale, potentially encouraging the spread of misinformation. Public and private Facebook Groups discussing news and politics have become popular in Turkey (29%) and Brazil (22%) but are much less used in Western countries such as Canada (7%) or Australia (7%). Concern about misinformation and disinformation remains high despite efforts by platforms and publishers to build public confidence. In Brazil 85% agree with a statement that they are worried about what is real and fake on the internet." (Summary, page 9)
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"This is the fourth in a series of annual reviews of select new literature in English that has appeared on the topic of publishing and the book sector in sub-Saharan Africa [...] Extensively annotated and/or with abstracts, the present list brings together new literature published during the course
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of 2018, a total of 141 records. Also included are a small number of articles and other documents published in 2017 or earlier, which have not hitherto been included in previous annual literature reviews, or in the Publishing, Books & Reading in SubSaharan Africa online database. The literature review covers books, chapters in books and edited collections, journal articles, Internet documents and reports, theses and dissertations, interviews, audio/video recordings and podcasts, as well as a number of blog postings, with their posting dates indicated." (Page 1)
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"Climate and Sustainability Communication builds upon traditional approaches to understanding the role of mass media in shaping social issues by amplifying diverse perspectives of opinion leaders, as well as voices of those affected by climate and sustainability issues. From South Korea and China, t
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o the United States and Zambia, the studies reported in this book—compiled using a variety of formal research methods, including content analysis, interview, and survey—emphasize cultural orientation and global implications of climate and sustainability concerns and issues. The contributors explore the cultures, geographies, and media systems underpinning climate and sustainability campaigns emerging around the world, how we theorize about them, and the ways in which media are used to communicate about them. The way in which complex problems and opportunities associated with globalization and power inequities interplay with climate and sustainability communication requires creative, interdisciplinary, approaches. This book opens new conversations for integrating scholarly arenas of mass media communication, science and environmental communication, political communication, and health communication, as well as their respective theory and research method sets." (Publisher description)
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"This book rethinks the history of decolonisation and new nationhood in the Ghana-Togo borderlands, and speaks to an increasingly urgent debate on the production of knowledge about Africa. It does this through the close reading, translation and analysis of a unique primary source - a newspaper entit
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led Ablode (meaning 'the Key to Freedom'). Ablode was initiated and sustained by a shoemaker named Holiday V. K. Komedja, and written almost entirely in his mother-tongue, Eve. Whilst many studies of nationalism have highlighted the importance of anti-colonial newspapers, this volume is unique - in its intensive focus on a single African-language newspaper, in providing translations of entire issues, and in following the story of decolonisation into the era of new nationhood. The manner in which Komedja recounted and explained political events challenges existing scholarly accounts of the rise and fall of Togo's first independent government, and of ethnic nationalisms and local loyalties within new nation-states. In re-reading the history of the Ghana-Togo borderlands through the pages of Ablode, this volume demonstrates that intensive inter-disciplinary engagement with specific African-language texts is indispensable to the meaningful study of Africa and Africans in global history." (Publisher description)
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"The aesthetic form and financial infrastructures of African popular film has transformed in recent years leading to a revision of the paradigms for thinking African screen media. This paper assesses that rethinking. It examines three things. First, I argue the analysis of the technical, financial,
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and institutional infrastructures of film has a longer history in studies of African screen media and is, perhaps, one of its most innovative aspects. Second, I expand analyses beyond the dichotomy between traditional African cinema and popular film to take in colonial and postcolonial educational cinemas, the historical and continuing presence of foreign films (U.S., Indian, French, Chinese), and emergent art-world, gallery cinemas. These have all generated rich scholarly debate but are often segregated from each other. I argue we can fruitfully analyse them as part of a single cinematic ecology. Third, I turn from a general discussion of infrastructures of distribution and exhibition to a more narrow focus on “new Nollywood” cinema in Nigeria. I re-examine recent debates about the political effects of these new infrastructures of production and exhibition and their supposed complicity with contemporary neo-liberalism." (Abstract)
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"In presenting some of the findings from an analysis of 3,387 media reports and from interviews with Africa correspondents and other journalists from eight countries, this chapter provides several insights on patterns of media representations of the conflict in Darfur. After initial neglect, peaks i
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n reporting followed political initiatives, especially Kofi Annan's analogical bridging from the Rwandan genocide to Darfur, and the ICC interventions. Judicial interventions increased reporting and citations of the crime frame. While the humanitarian emergency frame featured prominently in early stages, its use declined quickly as continued suffering was no longer news and as the government of Sudan cut off sources of information. Diplomatic representations also declined over time. Patterns of reporting follow similar paths in all countries, but they do so at different levels of intensity. In addition, receptivity to the crime frame and use of the genocide label vary across countries. The causal factors of such variation are country-specific policy preferences and cultural sensitivities, distinct characteristics of media fields and varying strengths, that is, resources, power and prestige, of social fields that surround journalism." (Conclusions, page 270)
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"Today, a typical journalist in Africa is a professional workshop attendee. Non-governmental organisations from every sector “train” journalists in their subject matter, often with content conceived in Western capitals by people with no experience in journalism or in the target countries. Journa
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lists go from workshop to workshop, turning up long enough to collect their per diems and write a puff piece. This approach is as costly as it is regrettable. In one African country, a media-development organisation with which I have worked spent more than $1-million of taxpayer money to produce a one-hour program on governance, which was then aired on community radio, its content so sanitised to appease local officials that few people tuned in. But even more problematic was the distortion to the domestic media market. To produce the program, the NGO recruited ten top journalists from established outlets and paid them as much as ten times their normal salary. Once the project was over, most of the journalists quit their old jobs in search of better pay in the aid and government sectors. From my experience, most African journalists know how to report a well-sourced story. What they lack are the resources to put this knowledge to use. The deficiencies of African media are best addressed as a business challenge, not a training problem." (Author)
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"This chapter demonstrates the critical importance of stringers and local journalists to international news production, and how much harder we need to work to understand the motivations and perspectives of these excluded groups of journalistic actors. News bureaus should restructure to cater to the
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needs of these vital subaltern journalists to create higher quality journalism, while according these journalists proper credit and compensation. Post-Colonial theory finds several applications in current news structures. It is my belief that this analogy, which I introduce in some detail, can be further developed to better understand how modern news production systems function and can diminish their appropriation from the margins and subalterns. Chronicles about stringers and local journalists serve to humanize and illuminate these journalists, in particular for readers generally unaware of the invisible actors behind their daily international news. With greater empathy and understanding, the gap between news producers and consumers narrows, and consumers, in seeing the inner workings of news production, come to understand just how much to trust what they read on the page or hear on television." (Conclusion)
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"The rise of social media in Zimbabwe has brought with it a greater variety of platforms which offer people a means to express themselves. However, the democratisation of information and the increase in digital spaces have also come with greater state restriction and polarisation among Zimbabweans.
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This policy brief intends to discuss the state’s attempts to act as the proctor of social media in order to explore the relations between users of online platforms in terms of political leanings and gender. To this end, it will also discuss the damaging effects of online targeting and how it can exacerbate already existing political divisions between people. The paper will also discuss how the state uses legal instruments to surveil and regulate online activity as a way of maintaining its iron grip on the people." (Abstract)
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"The trend in international newsgathering is to greater reliance on local journalists and fixers to provide crucial information to a global audience. At the same time, these local journalists are themselves becoming targets of violence. Increasingly, local journalists are being killed in the line of
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fire. Their deaths create stress for their colleagues, families and communities. It remains a challenge to discern areas in which the global community can provide support to journalists in these circumstances. As long as we continue to rely on fixers and local journalists for news and information from hot spots around the world, we must also provide them with adequate support to mitigate risk, including to their mental health. Local journalists, such as those in the Central African Republic, are one of the most likely groups of journalists to experience psychological trauma, thanks to the implicit risks of their work, combined with public pressure to provide news from these situations. What support can be provided to these journalists and how can it best meet the specific needs of such a community? Can we promote resiliency? The first step is to acknowledge the dearth of relevant research on mental health and psychosocial support for local journalists in conflict or emergency settings. There is a need for research on the kinds of trauma (and resilience) that journalists experience and their causes, including impacts on the individual and colleagues and impacts on the work […] Second, "little has been done to develop treatments based on local coping styles, culture-specific idioms of distress, and culturally appropriate helping methods" (de Jong 2017, 209) […] Third, any training efforts of journalists should be accompanied with mental health and psychosocial support […] Finally, the United Nations has adopted the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity This may at least give some wider symbolic support to journalists who are victims of traumatic attacks. Ultimately, there must be a recognition that the mental health of the journalist can have an impact on their reporting - something that is particularly critical in conflict environments." (Conclusion)
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