"Beyond Access was the first major global attempt to connect the international development and public library worlds. Taking the form of a series of projects in a dozen countries meant to help catalyze library development around national goals, the program operated from 2011 to 2018. Starting from a
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point at which libraries in most low – and middle-income countries were neglected, disused and staffed by librarians with outdated skills, it effectively launched public libraries into national dialogue in some countries and failed to do so in others. This article explores the conditions and actions that led to effective projects and what lessons for future library development efforts might be gleaned from the program’s work. In Myanmar and Georgia, the program attracted new investment into public libraries aligned with central government digital strategies. In Bangladesh and the Philippines, the program integrated public libraries into education efforts where they had been previously ignored. With more than a quarter million public libraries in low – and middle-income countries, there remains vast potential for library systems to reinforce their relevancy in the 21st century, attract new resources, and provide vital services. Library leaders around the world can build on the experience of Beyond Access to help inform initiatives to revivew libraries around modern needs." (https://www.ictworks.org, 2021/6/31)
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"Since October 2017, the Common Service for Community Engagement and Accountability (‘the Common Service’) has been funded as a dedicated project providing key services and support to help humanitarian organisations engage effectively with Rohingya communities and Bangladeshis living near Rohing
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ya camps (host communities) in Cox’s Bazar. A sub-national working group on communicating with communities (CwC) already existed in Bangladesh and was activated in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis. The Common Service project operates alongside the working group carrying out a diverse range of activities including creating and sharing audio and visual content in the Rohingya language; supporting and training humanitarian agencies on language, communication, community engagement and accountability; and operating a collective feedback analysis service, collating and analysing community feedback and complaints data from different sources and producing a fortnightly bulletin" (Preface, page 4). –- "There is strong evidence to suggest that community members have improved access to coordinated, timely and responsive two-way community engagement as a result of the Common Service. The evaluation has found causal evidence to suggest that support the Common Service has provided to the humanitarian sector, through provision of communication materials and training has led to humanitarian agencies being better equipped to communicate with communities and in turn community members having access to key, useful information which has prompted them to take action." (Conclusions, page 50)
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"Featuring contributions from a diverse range of internationally-recognized experts and practitioners, this timely volume discusses recent developments in the field in the context of related scholarship, public policy, formal and non-formal teaching and learning, and DIY and community practice. Offe
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ring a truly global perspective, the Handbook focuses on empirical work from Media and Information Literacy (MIL) practitioners from around the world. The book’s five parts explore global youth cultures and the media, trans-media learning, media literacy and scientific controversies, varying national approaches to media research, media education policies, and much more." (Publisher description)
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"Social media (Instagram, Facebook, Telegram followed by Twitter) are the biggest information channels in general, but especially for youth, with preference for visual content (short videos, reels, pictures with quotes, little text). For example, in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan between 50% and 63% of l
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abour migrants and ethnic minorities report Instagram as their preferred information source. Labour migrants were the most covered vulnerable community among the three target groups of this study in all media across Central Asia during COVID-19. Only local media is reported to have, occasionally, addressed refugee and stateless persons and ethnic or other minority groups. High levels of Internet restrictions on information access are reported among vulnerable communities. At times, this correlates with Internet access, depending on connection strength. In many other cases, it however refers to blocked websites and censors hip directly imposed by governments. Thirty-six percent of refugees and stateless persons reported Internet restrictions, while the figure for ethnic minorities in Tajikistan is 50% and 56% in Kazakhstan [...] There is a strong tendency among media consumers to consider online media as a source of fake news. The survey data as well as in-depth interviews suggest that the trust in traditional media, such as television and radio, correlates with distrust in online media. On the other side, it is clear that a similarly large group of respondents distrust television and radio, primarily because these two types of media are associated with government control. International media is cited as more reliable and accurate for COVID-19-related news compared to local news, as there is a lack of credible, independent and financially sustainable local media, particularly targeting vulnerable communities." (Executive summary, page 2)
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"This year's report reveals new insights about digital news consumption based on a YouGov survey of over 92,000 online news consumers in 46 markets including India, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, Colombia and Peru for the first time. The report looks at the impact of coronavirus on news consumption a
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nd on the economic prospects for publishers. It looks at progress on new paid online business models, trust and misinformation, local news, impartiality and fairness in news coverage." (Overview)
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"This book features pathbreaking analysis from journalists and academics of the changing nature and peril of media capture - how formerly independent institutions fall under the sway of governments, plutocrats, and corporations. Contributors including Emily Bell, Felix Salmon, Joshua Marshall, Joel
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Simon, and Nikki Usher analyze diverse cases of media capture worldwide, many drawn from firsthand experience. They examine the role played by new media companies and funders, showing how the confluence of the growth of big tech and falling revenues for legacy media has led to new forms of control. Contributions also shed light on how the rise of right-wing populists has catalyzed the crisis of global media. They also chart a way forward, exploring the growing need for a policy response and sustainable models for public-interest investigative journalism." (Publisher description)
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"Definitions of impunity regarding crimes against journalists have thus far been too narrow. Therefore, we propose a new approach to understanding impunity as also being grounded in journalists’ lived reality and perceptions to better understand the complexity and breadth of impunity. It is based
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on the findings obtained through a set of semi-structured interviews with 40 editors and senior journalists in five countries and expressed in a new typology of impunity. We argue that what we call the ‘Politics of Impunity’ is a policy of governance whereby impunity is used as a political tool by the state and state-sponsored actors to achieve journalistic self-censorship. This is done through the deliberate deprivation of private autonomy brought about by the enforced exile of journalists into a ‘space of exception’ where they are both within and beyond the law. The exercise of the ‘Politics of Impunity’ in an increasing number of states creates an environment that only allows for politically compliant journalism." (Abstract)
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"This 3rd edition maps the new world of Investigative Journalism, where technology and globalisation have connected and energized journalists, whistle-blowers and the latest players, with far-reaching consequences in politics and business worldwide. In this new edition, expert contributors demonstra
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te how crowdsourcing, big data, globalization of information and changes in media ownership and funding have escalated the impact of investigative journalists. The book includes case studies of investigative journalism from around the world including the exposure of EU corruption, destruction of the Malaysian environment, and investigations in China, Poland and Turkey. From Ibero-America to Nigeria, India to the Arab world, investigative journalists intensify their countries' evolution by inquisition and revelation. This new edition reveals how investigative journalism has gone digital and global." (Publisher description)
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"In 2017, following the #MeToo movement stirred by the public outing of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, the safety of women at the workplace became a prime agenda for international news media. Although far from being truly inclusive, the #MeToo movement rapidly spread to other parts of the worl
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d. Women of different nationalities, backgrounds, and race shared their stories of abuse and survival using the #MeToo hashtag and its variants. In 2018, women within the news media industry in India joined the movement and called out prominent editors, filmmakers, and artists on social media for perpetrating and abetting acts of sexual harassment and abuse against them. As an immediate result, several accused were made to resign from their organizations and dropped from prestigious public posts. However, a backlash to the movement followed soon after, most evidently in the form of victim-shaming and defamation lawsuits against women. Based on the theory of epistemic advantage, the study explores the perception of sexual harassment among journalists in India using in-depth interviews." (Abstract)
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"Social media technology is having a dramatic impact on social and political dynamics around the world. The contributors to this book document and illustrate this "techtonic" shift on violent conflict and democratic processes. They present vivid examples and case studies from countries in Africa, So
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uth and Southeast Asia, Latin America as well as Northern Ireland. Each author maps an array of peacebuilding solutions to social media threats, including coordinated action by civil society, governments and tech companies to protect human minds, relationships and institutions. Solutions presented include inoculating society with a new digital literacy agenda, designing technology for positive social impacts, and regulating technology to prohibit the worst behaviours." (Publisher description)
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"Mental health in workplaces is a global concern today, and Bangladesh is not an exception to that. It is a big concern in journalism as good journalism depends on healthy journalists and news organizations. Most of the scholarships on the topic have been done from the perspective of western and dev
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eloped countries. Little is known about it from the context of developing countries like Bangladesh. As such, the present study aimed at assessing mental health and well-being of professional journalists in Bangladesh. Data were collected through a survey using a semi-structured questionnaire from 191 Dhaka-based journalists reached with the aid of snowball sampling method. Psychometric instruments such as improvised depression scale, the perceived stress scale, Beck hopelessness scale (BHS), and satisfaction with life scale were used to collect data. The results show that most of the journalists perceive their job as highly stressful, suffer from depression up to some extent, are extremely dissatisfied with their life, and severely hopeless about their life and future." (Abstract)
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"This paper problematizes the role of the Georgian mainstream media in the current polarized political environment. First, political actors, including the government and political parties, significantly affect the way these media organizations work. Second, mainstream media outlets behave as direct
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extensions of political actors, contributing to the divided and radicalized political atmosphere. The paper first describes the current major political and management shifts in several media companies. Then, it demonstrates specific examples of media work when TV companies simply disregard professional standards for the sake of engaging in political battles during elections. The Georgian media system certainly needs much more detailed research to construct the full picture; nevertheless, this paper sketches the current state of the polarized mainstream media that could serve as a basis for future explorations." (Abstract)
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"The internet brought new opportunities for Pakistan to develop into a progressive society and a more democratic country, and it opened doors for more forms of criminal activity (like fraud, child pornography, etc.), more intimidation and the spreading extremism, and more information gathering on ci
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tizens by business and state agents. It will be highly important to Pakistan to more actively and more successfully develop the positive sides of IT technology, internet services, and the social media, while at the same time check its excesses, problems and abuses. FES Pakistan is delighted to present the report “Internet Landscape 2020” It is providing an excellent overview of internet usage, and on its dangers and opportunities. We hope, the report will facilitate a broad discussion about the use and further development of the internet in Pakistan, to fully tun it into another means for Pakistan to utilize its full potential and develop into a more progressive, citizen-oriented country." (Preface, page 4)
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"This edited volume presents ground-breaking empirical research on the media in political transition in Tunisia, Turkey and Morocco. Focusing on developments in the wake of the region’s upheavals in 2011, it offers a new theoretical framework for understanding mediascapes in the confessional and h
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ybrid-authoritarian systems of the Middle East. In this book, media scholars focus on three themes: the media’s structure as an expression of governance, the media’s function as a reflection of the market, and the media’s agency in communicating between power and the public. The result is a unique addition to the literature on two counts. Firstly, analysis of similar players, issues and processes in each country produces a thematically consistent comparative assessment of the media’s role across the southern Mediterranean region. The first cross-country comparison of specific media practices in the Middle East, it covers issues such as women in talk shows, media’s relationship with surveillance, and comparative practices of media regulation. Secondly, actualising the idea that media reflects the society that produces it, the studies here draw on field data to lay the foundations for a new theory of media, Values and Status Negotiation (VSN), which evolved from the region’s unique characteristics and practices, and offers an alternative to prevailing Western-centric approaches to media analysis." (Publisher description)
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"The book discusses the socio-historical contexts which allowed community radio to thrive in India. It highlights its potential to create alternative spaces of representation, and opportunity and its importance in preserving and disseminating local knowledge and traditions. The author weaves togethe
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r ethnographic research and literature, as well as personal narratives and stories of those involved in the field. Further, the monograph critically examines the impact of development agendas on community projects and processes, discussing in detail the pervasiveness of the development discourse in every aspect of community radio and how it manifests on air. It also illustrates the limitations of community radio, within the context of its participation in the 'spectacle of development'." (Publisher description)
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"This book explores how religion manifests itself in television. It focuses on how religious traditions, practices, and discourses have been incorporated into non-religious television programmes and how they bring both the community and the media into the fold of religion. The volume traces the cult
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ural and institutional history of television in the state of Sikkim, India, to investigate how it became part of the cultural life of the communities. The author analyses three televised shows that captured the community’s imagination and became ceremonial and religious engagement. Through these case studies, he highlights how rituals and myths function in mass media, how traditional institutions and religious practices redefine themselves through their association with the visual mass medium, and how identities based on religion, cultural tradition, and politics are reinforced, transformed, and amplified through television. The book further analyses the engagement of televised religion with audiences, its reach, relevance, and contents and its relationship with urbanity, tradition, and identity." (Publisher description)
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"Embracing an international perspective encompassing the Global North and Global South, chapters explore expressions and performances of youth and young adults as shifting and entangled, in and through the clothed body, gender, sexuality, race, artistic and pedagogical making practices, in spaces an
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d places, framed by new materialism, social media, popular and material culture. The overarching emphasis of the collection is on youth and young adults’ strategies for engaging in and with the world, becoming a someone, and belonging, in settings that include a juvenile arbitration program, an artist community, high schools, universities, families and social media." (Publisher description)
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