"The Afghan media have flourished since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001. Under Taliban rule, television was banned and there was only one government-controlled radio station. Today Afghanistan boasts over 75 TV stations, 175 radio station and hundreds of newspapers and magazines. However,
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according to pro-democracy groups, heavy handed government controls on radio, television and newspapers and the harassment and intimidation of journalists remain major problems. Radio is still the main channel for communicating news and information. But it is losing ground steadily to television, particularly in the towns and cities. As television ownership grows, the number of households with a radio set is declining. A media audience survey commissioned by USAID in 2010 found that 63% of all Afghans listen to radio regularly. The survey, conducted by Altai Consulting, found that only 48% of all Afghans watch television regularly. But it showed that once Afghans get a television in their home, they tend to abandon the radio. The Altai Consulting survey of 6,648 people in over 900 towns and villages indicated that 58% of households with a TV no longer possess a radio. Other recent audience surveys by BBC World Service Trust and the Asia Foundation indicate a slightly higher rate of radio listening than the Altai Consulting study. But all three point to a steady drift of broadcasting audiences from radio to television. It is therefore vital that humanitarian agencies communicate with the public through television as well as radio to ensure that they engage a wide audience." (Media overview, page 9)
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"In the year of the Arab uprisings Global Information Society Watch 2011 investigates how governments and internet and mobile phone companies are trying to restrict freedom online – and how citizens are responding to this using the very same technologies. Everyone is familiar with the stories of E
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gypt and Tunisia. GISWatch authors tell these and other lesser-known stories from more than 60 countries. Stories about: Prison conditions in Argentina - prisoners are using the internet to protest living conditions and demand respect for their rights; Torture in Indonesia - the torture of two West Papuan farmers was recorded on a mobile phone and leaked to the internet, the video spread to well-known human rights sites sparking public outrage and a formal investigation by the authorities; The tsunami in Japan - citizens used social media to share actionable information during the devastating tsunami, and in the aftermath online discussions contradicted misleading reports coming from state authorities. GISWatch also includes thematic reports and an introduction from Frank La Rue, Un special rapporteur." (Back cover)
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"Based on CommGAP’s interactions with the global anticorruption community as well as earlier research, we were able to collate 18 representative instances (case studies) from around the world, with real-life examples of citizens coming together to speak up against corruption and social norms vis-
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-vis corruption or to change public services affected by corrupt practices. This report is a “one-step-up” analysis of the collated case studies, which is intended to shed light on practical approaches, tools, and techniques that have been successful in bringing citizens together to stand against the daunting phenomenon of corruption." (Page 1)
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"There is abundant evidence of underrepresentation of women as subjects of coverage, but until now there were no reliable, comprehensive data on which to make a clear determination about where women currently fit into the news-making operation or in the decision-making or ownership structure of thei
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r companies. The IWMF Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media seeks to fill this gap by presenting for the first time sound data on gender positions in news organizations around the world [...] The findings presented in this report, conducted over a two-year period, offer the most complete picture to date of women’s status globally in news media ownership, publishing, governance, reporting, editing, photojournalism, broadcast production and other media jobs. More than 150 researchers interviewed executives at more than 500 companies in 59 nations using a 12-page questionnaire." (Introduction)
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"All journalists in Balochistan should undergo conflict sensitive journalism (CSJ) trainings. All journalists should undergo media law clinics to be educated on rights and responsibilities. A Safety Fund for Balochistan should be set up to provide resources on safety and security and address their l
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egal, psychological and, where needed needed most, financial needs. The court order should be used to forge a united stand against threats from militant organisations. Journalists should be hired on basis of merit. Those with a degree in journalism should be given preference or at least those with a master’s degree [...]." (Mission recommendations, page 12)
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"This essay analyses the role of audience research as a change agent in media development interventions in Afghanistan. It analyses how audience research in transnational contexts involves a complex set of intercultural negotiations and translations that contribute to the enduring relevance and sust
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ainability of the highly popular Afghan radio soap opera New Home, New Life. This is a ‘development drama’ that has been broadcast across Afghanistan since 1993. It is based on BBC Radio 4’s The Archers and produced by BBC Afghan Education Projects (BBC AEP). Audience research has been vital to forging a dynamic relationship between the creative teams who make the drama, the donors who pay for it, and the audiences who consume it. The article addresses three broad themes. First, we outline how data gathered in formative audience research, prior to the creation of the drama, provides the creative team with the dramatic raw material for the radio serial. The extensive qualitative data gathered by Afghan researchers in local milieux is translated so as to enable culturally diverse teams of writers and producers to ground the serial narratives in the lived experiences of its audiences, and to introduce multiple local perspectives on development issues. Second, we show how evaluative audience research, data gathered in the postproduction phase, plays a key role in providing critical audience interpretations of New Home, New Life’s dramatic themes. In so doing, it creates feedback loops that allow audiences to become active participants in the ongoing creation of the drama. The research designs and devices, developed over the last two decades to document the changing life-worlds of Afghan citizens-cum-audiences, are part of an ongoing set of transcultural encounters that contribute to strengthening the social realist appeal of the drama and to calibrating how far any given storyline can be pushed in terms of cultural propriety. Third, we examine how during periods of military conflict, when routine audience research becomes dangerous or impossible and audience feedback loops are disrupted, the writers and producers have to rely on their own personal and political experiences, often with unpredictable ideological consequences. We draw attention to the limitations and challenges of making dramas for development in highly charged politicised and postcolonial contexts. While, development dramas may be a cheap and effective way of dealing with certain informational needs, such as landmine awareness, they cannot redress social and structural inequalities or, as Western donors wish, eradicate opium cultivation." (Abstract)
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Examines the impact that the rise of digital communications is having on the media, and on human rights activism. The report goes on to explore the main policy issues which must be addressed at the national and international levels to shape an enabling environment. The report combines global level a
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nalysis with a specific focus on eight countries: Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, India, Indonesia, South Africa and the United States of America.
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"The report focuses on Crisis Communication during the most devastating floods of 2010 ever witnessed in the history of Pakistan in which the death toll of human beings exceeded 2,000 [...] According to the views of various media reporters and natural calamity analysts, unfortunately crisis communic
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ation could not play any effective role in this most crucial time of Pakistan. Interviews carried out with the victims, studies, facts and figures indicate that international response to this natural calamity has been slow and inadequate. Pakistan government’s inability to sustain its grip in tackling this natural calamity is also responsible for the insufficient international reaction. The need of the time is to chalk out immediate rehabilitation programs and long-term planning in order to confront this crisis in the shortest possible time and to counter any similar calamity in future and to prevent it from turning into a long term mishap." (Abstract)
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"ICTs and Development in India' is a unique attempt to study the nature and consequences of the growing presence of Information Technology in development projects in India." (Publisher description)
"Die Forderung nach Sicherheit im Internet, besonders in Hinblick auf die persönlichen Daten, die Gewährung der Freiheit dieses Mediums ohne staatliche Eingriffe, die Diskussion um adäquate Formen des Urheberrechts und seiner Durchsetzung sowie eine Fokussierung auf die Risiken verbunden mit eine
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m latenten Vorwurf eines unbedingten Reglementierungswillens des Staates sind Eckpunkte der deutschen netzpolitischen Debatte. Die Publikation soll mit Blick auf die netzpolitischen Entscheidungen in anderen Ländern einen Referenzrahmen bieten, der die Diskussion in Deutschland befruchten kann." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This is an applied facilitator’s guide for reform managers, change agents, development practitioners, and training professionals who need to use smart communication techniques—the relevant concepts, frameworks and applications—to promote change through governance reform. It is grounded on the
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expert knowledge and practical research from academics and scholars and practitioners in the field, culled and enriched from CommGAP’s series of global dialogue on key governance issues." (Back cover)
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"This article describes and analyzes a little understood Afghan Taliban propaganda tool: chants or taranas. These melodic refrains effectively use historical narratives, symbology, and iconic portraits. The chants are engendered in emotions of sorrow, pride, desperation, hope, and complaints to mobi
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lize and convince the Afghan population of the Taliban’s worldview. The chants represent culturally relevant and simple messages that are communicated in a narrative and poetic form that is familiar to and resonates with the local people. They are virtually impossible for the United States and NATO to counter because of Western sensitivities concerning religious themes that dominate the Taliban narrative space, not to mention the lack of Western linguistic capabilities, including the understanding and mastering the poetic nature of local dialects." (Abstract)
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