commbox South Asia

"This new study, a follow-up to 2007’s The Future of Journalism in the Advanced Democracies, includes a comparative analysis of possible alternative business models that may save the future of the quality news business across the developed, intermediate, and developing worlds. Its detailed evaluat ... more

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Cultures of Memory in South Asia: Orality, Literacy and the Problem of Inheritance

D. Venkat Rao

New Delhi: Springer (2014), xvi, 336 pp.

"Culture of Memory in South Asia reconfigures European representations of India as a paradigmatic extension of a classical reading, which posits the relation between text and context in a determined way. It explores the South Asian cultural response to European “textual” inheritances. The main a ... more

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In the Service of the Public: Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries
Inspiring Practice

Jan Lublinski, Petra Berner, Merjam Wakili (eds.)

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2014), 300 pp.

"This study constitutes the attempt to draw some initial conclusions from the work conducted by DW Akademie and other media development organizations in the past. It aims at a better understanding of which public service functions former state broadcasters can provide at all and which approaches of ... media development actors have proved to be successful. Reforming of state mouthpieces into public service media can indeed be achieved. This is one of the most important findings of this study. DW Akademie researchers here present examples of media outlets that fulfill their public service remit of creating a public sphere and supporting integration to a substantial degree. Even among the success stories, not all the media outlets studied here have adopted a public service ethos to its full extent. Their work, however, improved considerably. In assisting reform, media development actors were thus able to enhance the public’s freedom of expression as well as its access to information – two basic human rights we see as important prerequisites for peace and democracy. On the other hand, this study shows how difficult and complex transformation is. State media are often highly politicized. Successful transformation, therefore, requires support of a lot of different actors: the political elite, civil society, the management of the broadcaster, its staff, and last but certainly not least, the public as a whole. It is vital that media development actors identify windows of opportunity and profit from them in order to propel change forward. At the same time, this study demonstrates that media development organizations have to think beyond their traditional fields of expertise: capacity development and newsroom consultancy. A much broader approach is needed if substantial and sustainable development is to be achieved. DW Akademie is currently implementing a new, more complex strategy for successful media development cooperation that takes this into account. Political and legal frameworks have become a strategic area of activity. Other equally important areas comprise qualifications, professionalism, and economic sustainability of the media sector, participation in society, and digital change. With regard to public broadcasting, political and legal frameworks are especially important in order to ensure editorial independence of former state broadcasters. Furthermore, media development actors have to engage more in organizational development. Therefore, at the end of this study, we dedicate a whole chapter to this question. This study of selected media outlets from twelve countries does not attempt to provide a final answer to the question of successful public service transformation. It aims at giving an overview of what has been achieved in practical work in this field in the course of the past years. More research is needed to understand which steps of reform are needed for a genuine transformation that is sustainable in the long term. The media are undergoing crucial developments. Digital change, convergence, and social media have increased pluralism of opinion substantially in many parts of the world. At the same time, the media face new challenges with respect to their economic sustainability. The notion of public service media that offer a model for providing journalistic quality without financial dependence deserves further thought." (Preface) more

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Social Media, Culture and Politics in Asia

Lars Willnat, Annette Aw (eds.)

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2014), xi, 350 pp.

"Leading media scholars from nine Asian nations focus on three main questions: How frequently do Asians use social media to access and discuss political information? Does the use of social media increase political participation? What political, social and cultural factors influence the impact of soc ... more

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Global Citizenship in a Digital World

Sherri Hope Culver, Paulette Kerr (eds.)

Göteborg: International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media;Nordicom (2014), 404 pp.

"We are pleased to be sharing with you the second yearbook on media and information literacy and intercultural dialogue. The first MILID Yearbook was published in June 2013 [...] The theme of the 2014 Yearbook is Global Citizenship in a Digital World. Global citizenship assumes ease of participation ... more

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BBC Media Action’s Governance Research: Emerging Evidence and Learning

Josephine Casserly, Sara Elias, Zoe Fortune

London: BBC Media Action (2014), 57 pp.

"The paper synthesises findings from quantitative and qualitative data from across African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries. The second section draws on baseline data from Bangladesh, Burma, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories and Sierra Leone to explore the media and governance contex ... more

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On Media, Social Movements, and Uprisings: Lessons from Afghanistan, Its Neighbors, and Beyond

Wazhmah Osman

Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, volume 39, issue 4 (2014), pp. 874-887

"From Tehran to Tahrir Square to Gezi Park-to mention only three key sites of protest made prominent in 2013-social media has been lauded as one of the key factors enabling popular uprisings and social movements. This has provided further hype for new or digital media, which were already being toute ... more

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More or Less Equal: How Digital Platforms Can Help Advance Communication Rights

Philip Lee, Dafne Sabanes Plou (eds.)

Geneva: Globethics.net (2014), 158 pp.

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Meanings of Audiences: Comparative Discourses

Richard Butsch, Sonia Livingstone (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2014), xi, 206 pp.

"With essays on audiences in ancient Greece, early modern Germany, Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, Zimbabwe, contemporary Egypt, Bengali India, China, Taiwan, and immigrant diaspora in Belgium, each chapter examines the ways in which audiences are embedded in discourses of power, representation, and ... more

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Why Information Matters: A Foundation for Resilience
Top Insights

Tara Susman-Peña

Internews (2014), 84 pp.

"This report: 1. Defines “information ecosystems” and proposes an analytic framework of eight critical dimensions for understanding them; 2. Analyzes information ecosystems across a spectrum of change and their impact on resilience, referencing four case studies of Internews’ previous work [In ... more

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Theorizing Development, Communication, and Social Change

Pradip N. Thomas

In: Communication Theories in a Multicultural World

Clifford Christians; Kaarle Nordenstreng (eds.)

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2014), pp. 213-227

"This chapter will focus on the theorizing of communication and social change. It will argue that theory must enable people to know the world. It will also argue the limits to token participation and the unsustainability of "behavioral change communication'' that is theorized outside of structures, ... more

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Curtailing Corruption: People Power for Accountability and Justice

Shaazka Beyerle

Rienner (2014), vi, 325 pp.

"Campaigns and movements targeting corruption often face decentralized targets rather than an identifiable dictator or external government, and can be found both in undemocratic and democratic systems. Graft and abuse are manifested in a systemic manner rather than a hodgepodge collection of illicit ... more

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Media Survey Findings: Nationwide National Opinion Survey, Wave III, September 2014

Internews (2014), 36 pp.

Key findings include: 35% of people interviewed had family members working outside of Nepal; 86% of households had a working mobile phone (92.5% in urban; 84.3% in rural areas); 49% had a working television (79.5% in urban; 42.3% in rural areas); 45% a working radio (46.1% in urban; 45.3% in rural a ... more

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Communicating with Communities: A Case Study and Guide from Pakistan and Elsewhere

Brian Kelly, Ariane Quentier

Geneva: International Organization for Migration (IOM);Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) (2014), xix, 109 pp.

"The purpose of this handbook is to highlight achievements, as well as ongoing efforts and future plans, in improving information delivery to and communication with affected communities. This guide highlights the lack of critical information in emergency response and what needs to be done to ensure ... more

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Contemporary Media Use in Pakistan

Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG);Gallup (2014), 2 pp.

"Just 18.1% of Pakistanis say they follow current events about the country “a lot,” but almost half (47.7%) follow current events “somewhat.” About one-third report being less attentive, following current events “very little” (29.6%) or “not at all” (4.6%). Results trend upward with ... more

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Trust, Influence, and Connectivity: Understanding Information Ecosystems in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas. A Design Research Approach

Panthea Lee

Reboot;Internews (2014), 75 pp.

"This report offers a fresh perspective on the information and media landscape in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). It presents insights into the human impacts of information challenges and articulates opportunities to design development programming. By bringing a ground-level ... more

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Global Communication: New Agendas in Communication

Karin Gwinn Wilkins, Joseph D. Straubhaar, Shanti Kumar (eds.)

New York; London: Routledge (2014), ix, 206 pp.

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The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconflict Reconstruction

Tim Kelly, David Souter

Washington, DC: World Bank (2014), 99 pp.

"Examines how policymakers, the donor community, and the private sector have prioritized and sequenced ICT initiatives in the aftermath of conflict. Case studies look at countries at different stages of post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan, Liberia, Rwanda and Timor-Leste, and postrevolution ... more

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Ethics in Conflict Coverage

Karachi: Pakistan Press Foundation;Pakistan Coalition for Ethical Journalism (2014), 33 pp.

"This discussion paper studies several main sources to assess the health of ethical journalism in Pakistan today. It takes three main areas of conflict and examines the ethics of reporting in relation to them. They are faith based issues (the blasphemy charge against 14-year-old Rimsha Masih, a Yout ... more

In the Service of the Public: Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries Inspiring Practice

Why Information Matters: A Foundation for Resilience Top Insights

In the Service of the Public: Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries
Inspiring Practice

Why Information Matters: A Foundation for Resilience
Top Insights