"There is a general consensus that media are an essential element of democracy if they fulfil particular quality requirements in their reporting. Abundant literature deals with media quality from a theoretical perspective, but empirical knowledge on journalistic practice with regard to its role in d
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emocratization is rare, and this is even more so in the case of African countries. First, this article seeks to assess the quality of radio in Liberia, which is the country’s most popular medium. Second, the article tests a specific methodology in order to measure the contribution of radio to democracy. It argues that radio stations in Liberia strongly differ in their quality, each with specific shortcomings. These findings are confirmed by interviews with civil society representatives and by audience research." (Abstract)
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"As part of a broader analysis of corruption in emergencies, the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre initiated a dialogue on the role(s) of the media. On 30 May 2006, a working meeting held at NORAD offices in Oslo brought together donors, NGOs and journalists, including media practitioners from Sri
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Lanka, Liberia and Nepal. The purpose was to draw on actual case studies to suggest ways in which humanitarian agencies and the media can mutually support responsible coverage of corruption in emergency aid. Recommendations to donors, humanitarian agencies, and both local and international media are presented at the end of this report." (Back cover)
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"Capturing Believers" provides a history of the reception of American conservative evangelical missionary broadcasting from its inception in 1931 through the rise of the commercial era in 1970. The dissertation narrates accounts of two major Protestant stations, HCJB and ELWA, located in Ecuador and
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Liberia, respectively, as well as the U.S.-based project to build a custom transistor radio for the mission field. Employing a case-study approach, the thesis demonstrates the innovativeness of religious broadcasters who formulated a range of pragmatic responses to the drastic shortage of receiving sets in the southern hemisphere, including the use of social convention and the development of pretuned receiver technology. Missionary stations imported not only radios, but a constellation of American values into host countries through their reception activities. Overall, officials employed creative methods to construct a particular type of listener experience known as radio capture, characterized by regular listening in a domestic setting. By penetrating into the home or village and exposing listeners to proprietary broadcasts on a continual, even daily, basis, missionary receiver programs legitimized American conservative evangelicalism abroad and sowed seeds for a widespread revival of Protestantism in Latin America and Africa after 1970." (Summary)
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"This report outlines the findings and conclusions derived from the assessment mission undertaken by the ‘Partnership for Media and Conflict Prevention in West Africa’ to Liberia in December 2003. This mission brought together the expertise of a number of the national, regional and international
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media development and freedom of expression actors. The report seeks to layout collaborative approaches for supporting the media during the immediate and longer-term transition periods, both in terms of overcoming obstacles and developing capacities and resources, as well as contributing towards the creation of lasting peace, stability and democracy." (Executive summary, page 3)
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"The International Media Support (IMS) Conference, entitled ‘Friends or Foes? - Peacekeeping Forces, Humanitarian Aid and Media Development’ was held in Copenhagen on 26 and 27 November 2004. The theme of the Conference was the dilemma facing media development in the wake of peacekeeping and hum
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anitarian aid operations in conflict-affected areas. The need for rapid and effective dissemination of information from aid organisations and peacekeeping forces sometimes collides with the development of an independent media sector. The conference therefore sought to examine cases from post-conflict situations, including amongst others Liberia, Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan. The speakers included representative from peacekeeping forces, humanitarian aid agencies, media organisations and freedom of expression organisations." (Page 3)
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"Kurze Darstellung und "lessons learned" von 7 Fallbeispielen, v.a. Radiosendern. Der Autor stellt u.a. fest: "Medienprojekte werden von westlichen NGOs erst dann gestartet, wenn ein gewaltsamer Konflikt vorbei ist. Medienprojekte mit ausgesprochenem Präventionscharakter sind nahezu unbekannt, auch
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wenn sie dringend nötig wären" (Seite 39). Er empfiehlt u.a. eine "Revitalisierung" der früheren GTZ-Medienarbeit, denn diese stelle eine "gelungene und international renommierte Mischung aus professioneller Beratung bei der Institutionalisierung von demokratischen Mediensystemen und Sozialarbeit mittels Medien" (Seite 47) dar." (commbox)
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"This paper is an exploration of different approaches to programming for conflict resolution media and its complementary interventions. It presents a new model for media communicators to use in creating programming focused on peacebuilding. It is based on the authors' recent mission to Liberia to as
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sess the work of Talking Drum Studio, a conflict resolution organization of media producers, journalists, and activists [...] The objectives of our research and evaluation mission to Talking Drum Studio in Monrovia, Liberia included an evaluation of the processes they use to develop conflict resolution media. We formally observed what TDS is doing on a day-to-day basis, and worked with them to generate for us and for them a clear understanding of the procedures that they employ. We analyzed the procedures and put them together in a framework that accurately characterized what they do. With the addition of a more formal assessment component, that framework became the “Responsive Programming Model” that we describe in this report. (Introduction)
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