"This report advances the Meaningful Connectivity framework as a way to support more inclusive societies and strengthen digital economies. It measures the gap in the number of people with just basic internet access and those with meaningful connectivity and examines what this digital divide means fo...r people’s online experiences. The framework focuses on four pillars: 4G-like speeds, smartphone ownership, daily use, and unlimited access at a regular location, like home, work, or a place of study. This report looks at nine low and middle income countries (Colombia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa), using mobile phone surveys to estimate the number of people with meaningful connectivity in each. We found that, on average, only one in ten people in these countries have meaningful connectivity. This compares with just under half who have basic internet access, by latest official figures." (Executive summary, p.3)
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"Online violence against women journalists is one of the most serious contemporary threats to press freedom internationally. It aids and abets impunity for crimes against journalists, including physical assault and murder. It is designed to silence, humiliate, and discredit. It inflicts very real ps...ychological injury, chills public interest journalism, kills women’s careers and deprives society of important voices and perspectives. This ground-breaking three-year global study on gender-based online violence against women journalists represents collaborative research covering 15 countries. It is the most geographically, linguistically, and ethnically diverse scoping of the crisis conducted up until late 2022. The research draws on: the inputs of nearly 1,100 survey participants and interviewees; 2 big data case studies examining 2.5 million social media posts directed at Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa (The Philippines) and multi award-winning investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr (UK); 15 detailed individual country case studies. The Chilling illuminates the evolving challenges faced by women journalists dealing with prolific and/or sustained online violence around the world. It calls out the victim-blaming and slut-shaming that perpetuates sexist and misogynistic responses to offline violence against women in the online environment, where patriarchal norms are being aggressively reinforced. It also clearly demonstrates that the incidence and impacts of gender-based online violence are worse at the intersection of misogyny and other forms of discrimination, such as racism, religious bigotry, antisemitism, homophobia and transphobia. Further, it identifies political actors who leverage misogyny and anti-news media narratives in their attacks as top perpetrators of online violence against women journalists, while the main vectors are social media platforms - most notably Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube." (Exexutive summary)
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"The Global Handbook of Media Accountability brings together leading scholars to 'de-Westernize' the academic debate on media accountability and discuss different models of media self-regulation and newsroom transparency around the globe. With examination of the status quo of media accountability in... forty-four countries worldwide, it offers a theoretically informed, comparative analysis of accountability regimes of different varieties. As such, it constitutes the first interdisciplinary academic framework comparing structures of media accountability across all continents and represents an invaluable basis for further research and policy-making. It will therefore appeal to scholars and students of media studies and journalism, mass communication, sociology and political science, as well as policy-makers and practitioners." (Publisher)
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"Trust in the news has fallen in almost half the countries in our survey, and risen in just seven, partly reversing the gains made at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. On average, around four in ten of our total sample (42%) say they trust most news most of the time. Finland remains the countr...y with the highest levels of overall trust (69%), while news trust in the USA has fallen by a further three percentage points and remains the lowest (26%) in our survey.• Consumption of traditional media, such as TV and print, declined further in the last year in almost all markets (pre-Ukraine invasion), with online and social consumption not making up the gap. While the majority remain very engaged, others are turning away from the news media and in some cases disconnecting from news altogether. Interest in news has fallen sharply across markets, from 63% in 2017 to 51% in 2022.• Meanwhile, the proportion of news consumers who say they avoid news, often or sometimes, has increased sharply across countries. This type of selective avoidance has doubled in both Brazil (54%) and the UK (46%) over the last five years, with many respondents saying news has a negative effect on their mood. A significant proportion of younger and less educated people say they avoid news because it can be hard to follow or understand – suggesting that the news media could do much more to simplify language and better explain or contextualise complex stories.• In the five countries we surveyed after the war in Ukraine had begun, we find that television news is relied on most heavily – with countries closest to the fighting, such as Germany and Poland, seeing the biggest increases in consumption. Selective news avoidance has, if anything, increased further – likely due to the difficult and depressing nature of the coverage.• Global concerns about false and misleading information remain stable this year, ranging from 72% in Kenya and Nigeria to just 32% in Germany and 31% in Austria. People say they have seen more false information about Coronavirus than about politics in most countries, but the situation is reversed in Turkey, Kenya, and the Philippines, amongst others." (Summary, p.10)
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"Media and information literacy is paramount to empower the population, and especially the youth, with the capacity of critical thinking and in providing quality information on traditional and social media platforms. During the period of 2018-2021, UNESCO worked towards achieving this goal through t...he integration of the Media and Information Literacy Curriculum into the country’s educational system. UNESCO has engaged with different stakeholders on sustainable ways to build a knowledge society with strong competencies in information management. Significant achievements have been attained during the reporting period, including with media and information literacy embedded as a compulsory component of all teacher trainings in Nigeria." (p.2)
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"The book offers a critical map to navigate the field of media governance. A thread of cosmopolitan critique connects the fourteen chapters to enhance media governance literature beyond the West and regional foci. The first part addresses the epistemological and ontological flaws in the use and adap...tation of media governance. The second part opens pathways for critique and provides a thorough understanding of the ambivalences that scholars encounter when addressing media governance as a field of study. The third part highlights shortcomings like geographical narrowness and tensions in the use of media governance concepts. The scholarly contributions show that media governance as a field of study is far from being established: its conceptualizations are in flux and need scholarly self-reflection, and ongoing discussions need to leave behind universalist conceptualizations and methods of analysis. The chapters reflect on hegemony, power, sovereignty, and identity as conceptual center points in media governance research. The book uniquely breaks with self-referential Western academia and is part of ongoing collaborative scholarly efforts towards epistemic transformation through dialogue." (Publisher)
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"This edited collection brings together voices from the margins in underrepresented regions of the Global South, within the context of scholarship focusing on indigenous languages and development communication. Contributors bring together research from often-overlooked parts of the world to engage i...n dialogue towards an understanding of the similarities and differences between issues of language and development in the Global South, presenting cases as a starting point for further research and discussions about indigenous language and development communication in Latin America, Africa, and Asia." (Publisher)
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"This collection engages with alternatives to mainstream radio systems, histories and concepts. It addresses the impacts and challenges that alternative, community and pirate radio represent." (Publisher)
"This study examined perceptions on the effectiveness, attendant challenges and remedies of community media for effective acculturation in Nigerian languages. The qualitative survey design was adopted with focus group discussions and key informant interviews of 50 purposively chosen informants. It ...was perceived that community media could serve as veritable platform for effective acculturation in Nigerian languages since they would engender the setting of acculturation in Nigerian languages as national objective or goal. It was further held that the strengths of community media for acculturation were in being goal-defined, ensuring local content and diversification. The study identified that as palatable as the proposal for community media for effective acculturation in Nigerian languages is, it would be fraught with some set-backs or challenges that were very much surmountable. Perceptions pointed towards transient nature of community media and funding as challenges as well as multibased funding as one remedy. Immediate establishment of community media for the purpose of acculturation in Nigerian languages was recommended." (Abstract)
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"The publication is focused on the ways fake news, disinformation, misinformation and hateful statements are spread across society, predominantly within the online environment. Its main ambition is to offer an interdisciplinary body of scholarly knowledge on fake news, disinformation and propaganda ...in relation to today's journalism, social development, political situation and cultural affairs happening all around the world." (Publisher)
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"The book goes beyond critiques of the marginality of African approaches in media and communication studies to offer scholars the theoretical and empirical toolkit needed to start building critical corpora of African scholarship and theory that places the everyday worlds, needs and uses of Africans ...first. Decoloniality demands new epistemological interventions in African media, culture and communication, and this book is an important interlocutor in this space. In a globally interconnected world, changing patterns of authority and power pose new challenges to the ways in which media institutions are constituted and managed, as well as how communication and media policy is negotiated and the manner in which citizens engage with increasing media opportunities. The handbook focuses on the interrelationships of the local and the global and the concomitant consequences for media practice, education and citizen engagement in today’s Africa." (Publisher)
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"Das Werk bietet, nach Ländern bzw. Regionen aufgeschlüsselt, einen kompakten und aktuellen Überblick über geschichtliche Herkunft, weitere Entwicklungen und aktuelle Herausforderungen der afrikanischen Kirche aus katholischer Sicht. Dabei liegt ein Akzent auf den Beziehungen der Ortskirche zu a...nderen Konfessionen und Religionen. Experten aus den jeweiligen Ländern bzw. Kenner der jeweiligen Situation vor Ort ermöglichen einen raschen und gründlichen Zugang zu den Besonderheiten der Kirchen und ihrer jeweiligen Rolle in den afrikanischen Gesellschaften heute. Dabei werden die Komplexität und die Vielfalt der verschiedenen Situationen innerhalb Afrikas deutlich." (Klappentext)
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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...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)
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"2019 has seen major achievements resulting from needs-based, and specifically-tailored support through the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists (MDP). Actions building on ongoing work and others opening new avenues, have initiated substantial changes in favour of... freedom of expression and media development. The stories presented here are some examples of how the MDP works to provide countries and their populations with the necessary tools to nurture a free and independent media. This includes promoting the adoption of policies and standards on freedom of expression and safety of journalists, and fostering diversity, gender equality and media and information literacy through and with the media. Hence the name given to this series of articles: Let Free Media Thrive." (Editorial, p.2)
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"Generally, the relevant authorities in Nigeria have, to a large extent, been proactive with press briefings and national addresses since the outbreak of the pandemic. However, reporters have realised that they are often unable to access information beyond what is said in the briefings. Officials so...metimes delay in responding to, or are totally unresponsive to information requests. This situation affects the media’s ability to do critical and fact-checked reporting to provide information beyond what is presented at the press briefings. Other issues that affect the media’s access to information on COVID-19 included the lockdown restrictions announced to contain the spread of the virus; self-censorship by some journalists; the lack of appropriate PPEs for coverage of isolation centres or infected areas; and press violations. The economic impact of the pandemic on media houses threatens the future of the industry, which has been and will be crucial to continuing to educate and inform the public on this pandemic and hold authorities accountable over their role in halting the spread and other issues. Below is a summary of the key challenges the media in Nigeria have faced in reporting the COVID-19 pandemic: 1) Delayed information or lack of access to an official for interviews 2) Attacks on the media, including destruction of eqipment and other properties 3) Lack of PPEs to report safely 4) Job losses and salary cuts." (Conclusion, p.7-8)
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"An increasing number of media platforms - from newspapers and television to Internet social media networks - are the major providers of indispensable information about the natural world and environmental risk. Despite the dramatic changes in the news industry that have tended to reduce the number o...f full-time newspaper reporters, environmental journalists remain key to bringing stories to light across the globe. With contributions from across the world broken down into five key regions - the United States of America, Europe and Russia, Asia and Australia, Africa and the Middle East, and South America - this book provides support for today's environment reporters, the providers of essential news in the 21st century." (Publisher)
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"Drawing on over a dozen new empirical case studies – from Kenya to Somalia, South Africa to Tanzania – this collection explores how rapidly growing social media use is reshaping political engagement in Africa. But while social media has often been hailed as a liberating tool, the book demonstra...tes how it has often served to reinforce existing power dynamics, rather than challenge them. Featuring experts from a range of disciplines from across the continent, this collection is the first comprehensive overview of social media and politics in Africa. By examining the historical, political, and social context in which these media platforms are used, the book reveals the profound effects of cyber-activism, cyber-crime, state policing and surveillance on political participation." (Publisher)
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"Transnational Media: Concepts and Cases provides a clear and engaging overview of media communication from a global and a region-based perspective. Rather than focusing on just complex theories and industry-specific analyses, this unique book offers an inclusive, comparative approach to both journa...lism and entertainment media--introducing readers to the essential concepts, systems, transnational influences, and power dynamics that shape global media flow. Broad coverage of different media forms from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania offers country-based and transnational perspectives while highlighting examples of media trends in television, radio, film, journalism, social media, music, and others." (Publisher)
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" ... there seems to be an understanding that the media is important and that society needs the media. In October 2018, KAS Media Africa, therefore, gathered the CEOs of media houses, publishers and editors-in-chief from 16 different countries, both from Anglophone and Frenchspeaking Africa, in Accr...a. In the Ghanaian capital, they heard about different models of how to make one’s media enterprise economically stronger. Questions such as whether Africa needs or accepts a paywall featured. Along with several other key sustainability issues, the critical question of how the media can make itself more independent from government advertising – often a vital cog in the media’s sustainability in most parts of Africa – was also debated. There is no one-size-fits-all model of a good media enterprise, but we do encourage the exchange between people who realise that making an online publication in Cape Town is completely different from defending one’s publication in Bamako, Mali against government interference and terrorist threats. Some media in Africa will not survive the gathering storms, while others will make it through diversification, innovation, an exchange with other players in the African market, and with the passion of their publishers." (Foreword)
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"The media's coverage of religion is an important question, given the central role which news media play in ensuring that people are up-to-date with religion news developments. The book examines it in different countries. After an introductory section looking at trends in religion news in print, on-...line journalism, and as a subject of foreign news, the book surveys religion reporting in five key countries: USA, Russia, India, China, & Nigeria. The book then looks at media events through the cases of the election of Pope Francis, and the death of rabbis. The book addresses the question of the influence of religion reporting in politics; the impact of religion reporting upon religious identity; and the role of social media - through looking at case studies in France, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Israel." (Publisher)
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