mediadev library

WorldCat (7)

Top-Down or Bottom-Up? Radio in the Service of Democracy: Experiences from South Africa and Namibia

Ullamaija Kivikuru

International Communication Gazette, volume 68, issue 1 (2006), pp. 5-31

"The focus in this article is on two different modes of 'giving a voice to the voiceless' in Southern African new democracies, namely South African community radio and its support apparatus, Democracy Radio, and the Namibian People's Parliament. So ... more

Still Not Fully Protected: Rights to Freedom of Expression and Information Under Angola's New Press Law

New York: Human Rights Watch (2006), 24 pp.

"On February 2, 2006, Angola’s National Assembly approved a new press law, which entered into force on May 15. The law regulates the activity of media companies and professionals in television and radio broadcasting and in the written and electro ... nic press. This report analyses the new law in the context of international human rights standards. Given the Government of Angola’s poor record in protecting freedom of expression, the press law is especially crucial in the current pre-election period in Angola to ensure that the press can report freely in the run-up to national elections, tentatively scheduled for 2007. The new legislation represents an improvement over Angola’s previous press law in many respects. Key improvements include the elimination of the state monopoly over TV broadcasting; the creation of public TV and radio that are to be governed by principles of public interest (such as ensuring the plurality of opinions, providing accurate and impartial information that is widely accessible and providing politically balanced information during election periods), and provisions that allow a journalist accused of defamation to cite the truthfulness of the facts reported in his or her defense in cases involving Angola’s president. While Human Rights Watch welcomes the Government of Angola’s reform of its media law, it is concerned that the new law still contains elements that fall short of international human rights standards. The law defines certain conduct as “criminal” in unclear and sweeping terms and establishes excessive penalties for those crimes, including defamation; it includes provisions that may result in excessive limitations on press freedom; and it provides for the establishment of licensing procedures for private TV and radio broadcasters that are largely subject to the discretion of governmental bodies. The Angolan government should amend those provisions of the press law that are not in accordance with international and regional human rights standards, most urgently those criminalizing defamation. In addition, too many key principles and procedures of the law are left for further implementing laws and regulations and no transitional arrangements are defined to address problems that may arise in the application of the law pending adoption of the implementing legislation. The lack of such laws and regulations makes several provisions of the new press law largely inoperable." (Summary) more

Mediating Transition in Afghanistan, 2001-2004

Lisa Anne Hartenberger

Austin: University of Texas at Austin, Doctoral Thesis (2005), x, 294 pp.

"This dissertation examines international aid in support of Afghan media from fall 2001 to fall 2004 as a case study to interrogate the notion o ... more

Why Invest in Communication for Immunization? Evidence and Lessons Learned

Silvio Waisbord, Larson Heidi J.

Baltimore: Health Communication Partnership;Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs;UNICEF (2005), iv, 20 pp.

"This report makes a case for revitalizing investments in communication for immunization. It considers communication in a broad sense, including advocacy, social and community mobilization, and in ... more

USAID's Media Assistance: Strengthening Independent Radio in Indonesia

Shanthi Kalathil, Krishna Kumar

Washington, DC: USAID (2005), vi, 22 pp.

"The democratic transition in Indonesia after the fall of the Suharto regime brought about important liberalization of the media sector. Focusing on radio as an effective medium for increasing citizen engagement with the political process and impro ... more

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WorldCat (7)

Intifada Hits the Headlines: How the Israeli Press Misreported the Outbreak of the Second Palestinian Uprising

Daniel Dor

Bloomington: Indiana University Press (2004), viii, 184 pp.

"In this nuanced and detailed study of newspaper reporting during the escalation of the second Intifada in the fall of 2000, Daniel Dor shows how real events are subject to distortion and manipulation by the media. In an analysis of the heart of Is ... more

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WorldCat (6)

Chinua Achebe, the African Writers Series and the Establishment of African Literature

James Currey

African Affairs, volume 102, issue 409 (2003), pp. 575-585

"In the list of ‘Africa's 100 Best Books’ published in 2002 over a quarter of the books had been published in the African Writers Series. Chinua Achebe is renowned for his novel Things Fall Ap ... more

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Use and Abuse of Media in Vulnerable Societies
Top Insights

Mark Frohardt, Jonathan Temin

Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace (USIP) (2003), 15 pp.

"Analyzing the “clues to conflict” in vulnerable societies can enable policymakers to identify societies that are particularly vulnerable to media abuse and decide on the most appropriate type and timing of media interventions. These clues are divided into two categories. Structural indicators c ... more

Google Scholar (8)

Changing Lives: Promoting a Reading Culture in Africa. Indaba 2001. Harare, Zimbabwe 4-5 August, 2001

Harare: Zimbabwe International Book Fair Trust (2002), 310 pp.

"The theme of the 2001 Indaba at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair was devoted to “Changing People’s Lives: Promoting a Reading Culture in Africa”, and this volume brings together 34 of the papers that were presented, together with ... more

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African Words, African Voices: Critical Practices in Oral History

Luise White, Stephan Miescher, David William Cohen (eds.)

Bloomington: Indiana University Press (2002), vi, 322 pp.

"Until the advent of African independence, Africans were not considered fitting subjects for historical research and their words, voices, and experiences were largely absent from the continent's history. In 13 lively and provocative essays focusing on all areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, oral sources ar ... more

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Rude Awakening: Social and Media Change in Central and Eastern Europe

Karol Jakubowicz

The Public, volume 8, issue 4 (2001), pp. 59-80

"This article reviews the transformation in society and the media in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Adopting a path dependence approach, "the different countries of the region are analysed and allocated to two general ... more

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Google Scholar (9)

Reporting the Post-Communist Revolution

Robert Giles, Robert W. Snyder, Lisa De Lisle (eds.)

New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers (2001), xv, 245 pp.

External Link (7)

Working with the Media in Conflicts and Other Emergencies

London: Department for International Development (DFID) (2000), 70 pp.

"The main purpose of this guide is to highlight some of the benefits, challenges and options when considering funding of media and communication interventions. This publication is not designed to be a ‘how to’ guide for designing and implementi ... more

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Google Scholar (10)

WorldCat (9)

De-Westernizing Media Studies

James Curran, Myung-Jin Park (eds.)

London: Routledge (2000), 342 pp.

"De-Westernizing Media Studies brings together leading media critics from around the world to address central questions in the study of the media. How do the media connect to power in society? Who and what influence the media? How is globalization changing both society and the media?" (Publisher des ... more

Communication for Social Change: A Position Paper and Conference Report

New York: Rockefeller Foundation (1999), 37 pp.

"In the pages that follow, the two authors argue that communication for social change is a distinct way of doing communications – and one of the few approaches that can be sustained. Such sustainability is largely due to the fact that ownership o ... more

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Google Scholar (8)

International Radio Journalism: History, Theory and Practice

Tim Crook

London: Routledge (1998), 308 pp.

"Radio journalists have witnessed much of the history of the twentieth century. From early documentary recordings, to the ground-breaking war reporting of Ed Murrow and Richard Dimbleby, to the sophisticated commentaries of Alistair Cooke and reporters such as Fergal Keane, International Radio Journ ... more

L'état de la presse en Afrique de l'Oest francophone

Dakar: Panos West Africa;Union des Journalistes de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (UJAO) (1991), 125 pp.

Mass Communication in China

John Howkins

New York: Longman (1982), xvii, 160 pp.

"An inside look at the media since the fall of Mao Tse Tung, based largely on first-hand evidence the author collected on the spot. After an analysis of the role of communications in today's China, Howkins deals with the various media - broadcastin ... more