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Strategic Communication Management for Development and Social Change: Perspectives from the African Region

Tsietsi Mmutle, Tshepang Bright Molale, Olanrewaju Olugbenga Akinola, Olebogeng Selebi (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2024), xix, 287 pp.

"This book is the first of its kind within the African region to combine scholarly perspectives from the fields of Strategic Communication Management and Communication for Development and Social Change. It draws insights from scholars across the African continent by unravelling the complementary nat ... more

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Kenya Media Landscape Guide

London: CDAC Network;Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2024), 31 pp.

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Technology enabled learning in Kenya: Kwa Ground insights on building resilient distance learning ecosystems

Jennifer Otieno, Rebecca Ward

Washington, DC: IREX (2024), 31 pp.

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Communication, community engagement and accountability in Sudan’s regional response. Outcomes of the high-level meeting to discuss elevating collective CCEA in the regional Sudan conflict response

London: CDAC Network (2024), 4 pp.

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Image-centrism in Africa’s political communication: A social semiotic analysis of self-presentation practices by women political candidates in Kenya’s social media space

Nancy Gakahu

Information, Communication & Society, volume 27, issue 8 (2024), pp. 1687-1711

"This study explores self-visual presentation practices by female political candidates on Facebook during Kenya’s political campaigns that culminated in the national elections of 2022. The unit of analysis is the Facebook profile image of the women leaders. Image-centrism is operationalized as the ... more

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Imaging and Assessing Mobile Technology for Development

Richard Musabe, John Sören Pettersson (eds.)

Newcastle upon Tyne (UK): Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2024), xvi, 186 pp.

"Several studies have already depicted the development of M4D and of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), and that will not be repeated here. However, as this collection of chapters have sprung out from one of the M4D conferences – the M4D 2022 in Kigali – some notes ... on what have been salient at different conferences can be made. If we start with the M4D in Senegal 2014, we can see that from that conference stems a book where the chapters “initiate evocative conversations on how mobile technologies can contribute to expanding mobile participation practices” (Wamala-Larsson, Hellström, and Scharff 2015, 12). In Mozambique, in 2016, there were some contributions connecting to radio and TV technology; the M4D 2018 conference in Uganda included some papers on how utilities can be backed by subscription schemes via mobile services, as well as by apps where citizens can report dysfunctions and illicit use. The M4D 2020 did not take place, as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the possibility of running a conference on site and it was postponed to 2022, when Rwanda saw the first blended M4D conference. The Zoom presence for several dozen participants over three days went very well and, via two cameras and two large screens at the venue site, they blended in well at the conference. The IT maturing effect caused by the pandemic was thus noticeable. Among the presentations it was noticeable that the Internet of Things and drones, often blended with machine learning, are now imaginable as “mobile technology”. Of course, drones are always mobile, and IoT sensors often travel with cargo, but it was the realisation of the affordability of these technologies for food chain, livestock, and crop management, combined with their reliance on mobile phone networks to make use of farmers’ photos and senor data, that made such presentations appropriate at a conference that focuses on affordable communication technology. While technology is a prerequisite, in this volume, based on selected contributions to that conference, we will balance some imaginations with some assessments. The focus will not be on the “new” M4D, even though we acknowledge that it is time to set up demonstration farms with IoT and machine learning, as pointed out by Ronald Katamba from Uganda in an interview (Pettersson and Rehema 2022, 145), and books are now published on Applying Drone Technologies and Robotics for Agricultural Sustainability (Raj, Saini, and Pacheco 2023, with examples from India and Zimbabwe; see also FAO and ITU 2022). Instead, the chapters selected for this book adhere to the theme of knowledge dissemination and knowledge development, as mentioned already. One chapter was invited to report from the African Center of Excellence in Internet of Things, hosted by the University of Rwanda in Kigali, to illustrate the efforts to build native technological competence on an advanced level. That chapter simultaneously demonstrates the growing pan-African collaboration in the academic infrastructuring project." (Foreword, pages x-xi) more

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Coping into Self-Censorship: Exploring Coping Strategies of Journalists Working in South Sudan

John Gai Alier, Samuel Kazibwe, Fred Kakooza

In: Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism

Lungile Augustine Tshuma; Trust Matsilele; Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga; Sadia Jamil (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), pp. 203-222

"Local journalists in South Sudan have faced enormous threats from security groups, politicians and powerful individuals in the country. These threats have made the work of the press difficult. Despite the precarious security situation, some journalists have had the courage to continue working in So ... more

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Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023
Top Insights

Nic Newman, Richard Fletcher, Kirsten Eddy, Craig T. Robertson, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (eds.)

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2023), 158 pp.

"Across markets, only around a fifth of respondents (22%) now say they prefer to start their news journeys with a website or app – that’s down 10 percentage points since 2018. Publishers in a few smaller Northern European markets have managed to buck this trend, but younger groups everywhere are ... showing a weaker connection with news brands’ own websites and apps than previous cohorts – preferring to access news via side-door routes such as social media, search, or mobile aggregators. • Facebook remains one of the most-used social networks overall, but its influence on journalism is declining as it shifts its focus away from news. It also faces new challenges from established networks such as YouTube and vibrant youth-focused networks such as TikTok. The Chinese-owned social network reaches 44% of 18–24s across markets and 20% for news. It is growing fastest in parts of Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. • When it comes to news, audiences say they pay more attention to celebrities, influencers, and social media personalities than journalists in networks like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. This contrasts sharply with Facebook and Twitter, where news media and journalists are still central to the conversation. • Much of the public is sceptical of the algorithms used to select what they see via search engines, social media, and other platforms. Less than a third (30%) say that having stories selected for me on the basis of previous consumption is a good way to get news, 6 percentage points lower than when we last asked the question in 2016. Despite this, on average, users still slightly prefer news selected this way to that chosen by editors or journalists (27%), suggesting that worries about algorithms are part of a wider concern about news and how it is selected. • Despite hopes that the internet could widen democratic debate, we find fewer people are now participating in online news than in the recent past. Aggregated across markets, only around a fifth (22%) are now active participators, with around half (47%) not participating in news at all. In the UK and United States, the proportion of active participators has fallen by more than 10 percentage points since 2016. Across countries we find that this group tends to be male, better educated, and more partisan in their political vie ws. • Trust in the news has fallen, across markets, by a further 2 percentage points in the last year, reversing in many countries the gains made at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. On average, four in ten of our total sample (40%) say they trust most news most of the time. Finland remains the country with the highest levels of overall trust (69%), while Greece (19%) has the lowest after a year characterised by heated arguments about press freedom and the independence of the media." (Summary, page 10) more

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Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024
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Nic Newman, Richard Fletcher, Craig T. Robertson, Amy Ross Arguedas, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (eds.)

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2023), 167 pp.

"In many countries, especially outside Europe and the United States, we find a significant further decline in the use of Facebook for news and a growing reliance on a range of alternatives including private messaging apps and video networks. Facebook news consumption is down 4 percentage points, acr ... oss all countries, in the last year. • News use across online platforms is fragmenting, with six networks now reaching at least 10% of our respondents, compared with just two a decade ago. YouTube is used for news by almost a third (31%) of our global sample each week, WhatsApp by around a fifth (21%), while TikTok (13%) has overtaken Twitter (10%), now rebranded X, for the first time. • Linked to these shifts, video is becoming a more important source of online news, especially with younger groups. Short news videos are accessed by two-thirds (66%) of our sample each week, with longer formats attracting around half (51%). The main locus of news video consumption is online platforms (72%) rather than publisher websites (22%), increasing the challenges around monetisation and connection. • Although the platform mix is shifting, the majority continue to identify platforms including social media, search, or aggregators as their main gateway to online news. Across markets, only around a fifth of respondents (22%) identify news websites or apps as their main source of online news – that’s down 10 percentage points on 2018. Publishers in a few Northern European markets have managed to buck this trend, but younger groups everywhere are showing a weaker connection with news brands than they did in the past. • Turning to the sources that people pay most attention to when it comes to news on various platforms, we find an increasing focus on partisan commentators, influencers, and young news creators, especially on YouTube and TikTok. But in social networks such as Facebook and X, traditional news brands and journalists still tend to play a prominent role. • Concern about what is real and what is fake on the internet when it comes to online news has risen by 3 percentage points in the last year with around six in ten (59%) saying they are concerned. The figure is considerably higher in South Africa (81%) and the United States (72%), both countries that have been holding elections this year. • Worries about how to distinguish between trustworthy and untrustworthy content in online platforms is highest for TikTok and X when compared with other online networks. Both platforms have hosted misinformation or conspiracies around stories such as the war in Gaza, and the Princess of Wales’s health, as well as so-called ‘deep fake’ pictures and videos." (Executive summary, page 10) more

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Social Media 4 Peace: Taking Stock of Progress Achieved

Brussels: UNESCO Office Brussels (2023), 3 pp.

"Increased understanding of the root causes, scale, and impact of online harmful content and the effectiveness of the existing frameworks and tools: 10 research reports examining the national legal frameworks governing harmful content [...] Local stakeholders empowered and new cooperation and practi ... more

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The Future of Television in the Global South: Reflections from Selected Countries

George Ogola (ed.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2023), xv, 233 pp.

"This book explores how television in the global South is 'future-proofing' its continued relevance, addressing its commercial, social and political viability in a constantly changing information ecosystem. The chapter contributions in the book are drawn from countries in East, South and West Africa ... more

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Radio Waumini: 20 Years of Evangelization Through Radio

Nairobi: Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) (2023), 62 pp.

"Radio Waumini 88.3 FM is a project of Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB). It was officially launched on 6th July 2003 by the late Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa. It is a Catholic radio at the service of the gospel, an instrument of evangelization and promotion of all initiatives and ... more

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Indigenous Language for Social Change Communication in the Global South
Inspiring Practice

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Abiodun Salawu, Tshepang Bright Molale, Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed, Mohammad Sahid Ullah (eds.)

Lanham et al.: Lexington Books (2023), vii, 284 pp.

"Indigenous Language for Social Change Communication in the Global South brings together voices from the margins to engage in dialogue about common social change issues in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. This book argues that resistance and social movements, expressed in music and songs and exchang ... more

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The Routledge Companion to Media Anthropology
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Elisabetta Costa, Patricia G. Lange, Nell Haynes, Jolynna Sinanan (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), xxv, 617 pp.

"Comprising 41 chapters by a team of international contributors, the companion is divided into three parts: histories; approaches; thematic considerations. The chapters offer wide-ranging explorations of how forms of mediation influence communication, social relationships, cultural practices, partic ... more

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Media activism, artivism and the fight against marginalisation in the Global South: South-to-South communication

Andrea Medrado, Isabella Rega

New York: Routledge (2023), 186 pp.

"This book analyses a South-to-South connection between media activists and artivists – artists who are activists – in the Global South. The authors, Andrea Medrado and Isabella Rega, emphasise the urgent need to engage in South-to-South dialogues in order to create more sustainable connections ... more

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Evaluation findings report: A norms and behaviour change campaign targeting employers of child domestic workers in Ethiopia

Eric Vaughan, Catharine Russell

Altai Consulting;Freedom Fund (2023), 39 pp.

"Child domestic workers (CDWs) in Ethiopia tend to face challenging working conditions with limited access to education. Child domestic work refers to live-in or live-out work done in a household where the child’s biological parents do not reside and which often but does not always include some fo ... rm of remuneration. Child domestic work is common in Addis Ababa as it serves as an entry point into the labour market for girls migrating from rural to urban areas in Ethiopia (Erulkar et al., 2017). Indeed, a recent study estimated the prevalence of domestic work among girls aged 12–17 in Addis Ababa to be 37% (Erulkar et al., 2022). Though domestic work is not necessarily a harmful form of child labour, CDWs in Ethiopia often face mistreatment and abuse from their employers (Population Council and Freedom Fund, 2021). This mistreatment is linked to broader social norms which place CDWs as inferior and less worthy than other members of the household. In an effort to change norms and behaviours towards the treatment of CDWs, the Freedom Fund implemented a norms and behavioural change campaign (NBCC) in 2022. The NBCC targeted employers of CDWs in Addis Ababa. It was funded through the Program to End Modern Slavery, an initiative of the United States Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and was part of the Freedom Fund’s broader ‘Reducing the Prevalence of Child Domestic Servitude in Ethiopia’ programme. Based on the findings of formative research, the main objectives of the NBCC were to shift norms and behaviours relating to CDWs’ working conditions and access to education. [...] The NBCC reached 57% of employers interviewed during the baseline. Television was by far the main medium through which respondents were exposed to the campaign (95%) followed by online media (13%), physical posters (13%), and community discussions (6%). Using data on recall of campaign materials and participation in campaign activities, respondents were classified into three categories based on level of exposure: no exposure (43%), low exposure (17%), and high exposure (40%). The NBCC’s reach appears to have been uneven as younger respondents, women, and those with more education tended to have a higher level of exposure. Survey findings emphasised the differences in working conditions and access to school between CDWs who are related to their employer and those who are not. Whereas some CDWs are recruited as domestic workers, others are relatives of their employer (for example, a niece) and have been sent by their family to live in Addis Ababa. Those in the first category tend to work longer hours, as reported by their employer (35 per week compared to 24 for those related to their employer) and are less likely to be enrolled in school (25% compared to 75%)." (Executive summary) more

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The State of Press Freedom in Southern Africa 2023

Harare: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) (2023), 78 pp.

"The report has, in summary, shown that although there are positive developments across the Southern African region, meeting the international standards is still work in progress and in some instances, states are regressing. There is evidence of a plethora of challenges that hinder the practice of i ... more

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Annual Report: Journalists Safety and Media Freedom in Somalia, June 2022 -2023

Mogadishu: Somali Mechanism for Safety of Journalists (SMSJ) (2023), 31 pp.

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Assessing the risks of journalists reporting in conflict zones: A case study of Somalia

Anne Maureen Syallow

International Journal of Advanced Mass Communication and Journalism, volume 4, issue 1 (2023), pp. 16-20

"This study was conducted to assess the risks journalists face while reporting in Somalia. It was guided by three specific objectives that included: evaluating the cases of physical attacks on journalists reporting in Somalia, analyzing the cases of arbitrary arrests and imprisonments of journalists ... more

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Preparing to publish: How journalists negotiate content restrictions in semi-authoritarian states

Ruth Moon

International Communication Gazette, volume 85, issue 2 (2023), pp. 120-140

"Journalists act strategically in response to their political environments, using practices like self-censorship to avoid negative repercussions from powerful actors. But what does self-censorship look like in practice? Grounded in theories of policy response and media sociology, this study uses jou ... more

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 Top Insights

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024 Top Insights

Indigenous Language for Social Change Communication in the Global South Inspiring Practice Top Insights

The Routledge Companion to Media Anthropology Top Insights

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023
Top Insights

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024
Top Insights

Indigenous Language for Social Change Communication in the Global South
Inspiring Practice

Top Insights

The Routledge Companion to Media Anthropology
Top Insights