"GISWatch has three interrelated goals: surveying the state of the field of information and communications technology (ICT) policy at local and global levels; encouraging critical debate; strengthening networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society. Each year the report focuses on
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one particular theme. GISWatch 2009 focuses on access to online information and knowledge – advancing human rights and democracy. It includes several thematic reports dealing with key issues in the field, as well as an institutional overview and a reflection on indicators that track access to information and knowledge. There is also an innovative section on visual mapping of global rights and political crises. In addition, 48 country reports analyse the status of access to online information and knowledge in countries as diverse as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Switzerland and Kazakhstan, while six regional overviews offer a bird’s eye perspective on regional trends." (Back cover)
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"I have primarily looked at how Radio Selam, an Ethiopian peace radio programme run by the local Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), might have been constrained by four spheres of influence. The spheres I looked at encapsulated certain organizational, individual, economic and politica
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l influences. Given my number of corroborating sources and the similarities to research presented in the theory chapter, I feel I have shown that it is plausible that all four spheres generally influence and also constrain the project." (Conclusion, page 110)
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"It is generally said that an independent press is vital for any democracy. However, the case in many African countries is that the independent or private press is weak and lacks credibility, although its assumed role as a cornerstone of young democracies is repeatedly stressed by commentators and p
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olicy-makers. This research investigates the role of the private press in Ethiopia since 1991, when democracy came to the country. Through interviews with 15 key actors in the media and political sector, it reflects on the role of the private media vis-à-vis Francis Kasoma’s theories of the independent press in Africa. From the Ethiopian perspective, the research takes on a slightly more pessimistic view of the role of the private newspapers in building democracy than what Kasoma concluded in light of his comparative research of media in Sub-Saharan countries in general. Findings indicate that the Ethiopian private press has had a pragmatic relationship with recognized professional and ethical standards; the private press has largely failed to represent and inform the citizens; and it has been generally politicized. However, the existence of the private press has also served as a caution for the government, although the press has had more of a symbolic role than being a real cornerstone of democracy." (Abstract)
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"This book examines how the media in different parts of Africa plays an important role in the continent's political and social processes of change. The perspective of the book is comparative. It contains overviews of the role of communication, as well as case studies, of the situation in individual
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countries and societies: Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The book analyzes the printed press and broadcasting, as well as the function of new digital media, such as the Internet and cell phone technology. The chapters discuss both the more political and democratic implications of the media, as well as issues around communication for development." (Publisher description)
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"One of the main dilemmas facing journalism education across Africa is whether one can argue for a ‘universal’ set of journalistic standards while at the same time maintaining a culturally sensitive journalism practice. Underlying the dilemma is the question of whether there is a need to identif
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y an ‘African journalism’ philosophy that is normatively different from its Western counterpart. In light of a newly started MA programme in journalism at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, this article argues that rather than seeing journalistic practices as a negotiation between journalism ‘universals’ and cultural particulars they ought to be seen as the interplay between the two. Following this argument, the article calls for a rethinking and distinction of the roles of conventional news media and alternative media." (Abstract)
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"The essays in this volume reflect a wide-range of issues and concerns related to children’s media culture in Africa. For example, several address the role of entertainment television in Addis Abba, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Zambia and in the lives of Muslim children. Other essays introduce
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us to children-centered media from Ghana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, and the innovative programs of PLAN-International. In addition to entertainment media and children-centered media, media education and digital media literacy are also discussed." (Publisher description)
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"This study attempts to explore entertainment-education (E-E) radio drama audience responses/reactions, their motivating factors in writing letters to the drama and the relationship between audience responses and over all program goals of the drama, Menta Menged (Crossroads), in Ethiopia. Because en
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tertainment-education mass media programs which aim at promoting pro-social behavior attract huge audiences both in listening and participating due to their entertainment and educational functions, this study explores these audiences’ feedback with the aim to understand the kind of relationship that exists between audiences and the radio drama. The data was collected through a textual or qualitative content analysis of audience letters, and focus group discussions with audience members; and it was qualitatively analyzed and discussed. The data showed that audiences typically have four kinds of reactions: commentaries, appreciations, associations and reflections with the drama, characters and actors. Furthermore, a number of motivating factors, in addition to the drama (both the messages and model characters), influenced audiences to respond to the drama and involved in the writing of letters. Interestingly, their reactions are mixed when compared to the program’s intended outcomes on audience behaviors." (Abstract)
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"Internews Network, a U.S.-based organization that for more than two decades has trained journalists around the world, in 2002 received funding from the United States Agency for International Development to launch a project in Africa to help media improve their coverage of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Cal
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led “Local Voices,” the project expanded to Ethiopia in 2005 and India in 2006. In 2004, Internews Europe started a similar project in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia, “Turnaround Time,” with funds from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. That project evolved to do trainings in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. This report evaluates Local Voices and Turnaround Time and aims to help strengthen the continuing training programs [...] Both projects had a similar, overarching goal: To increase the quality and quantity of HIV/AIDS coverage, improving the environment for prevention, treatment and care. Although we have no way of assessing whether the projects had an impact on a societal level, over 1000 journalists went through carefully designed workshops, subsequently printing or broadcasting more than 5600 HIV/AIDS-related stories that Internews mentors often helped produce. Journalists clearly benefited from the trainings at each site, and many praised the program for fundamentally altering how they approach their jobs." (Executive summary)
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"The experience of citizen involvement in public policy advocacy around the world has shown that the status quo tends to prevail unless political will to implement change is strengthened by active citizen participation. A “Global Information Society Watch” is needed to make governments and inter
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national organisations accountable. This publication, the first in a series of reports covering the state of the information society on an annual basis, focuses on the theme of participation. The report has three interrelated goals: surveying the state of the field of ICT policy at the local and global levels; encouraging critical debate; and strengthening networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society. It discusses the WSIS process and a range of international institutions, regulatory agencies and monitoring instruments from the perspective of civil society and stakeholders in the global South. Alongside this discussion, we present a series of country reports which examine issues of access and participation within a variety of national contexts." (Introduction)
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