"Donor funded media development is a relatively new phenomenon, resulting in minimal impact. Modest gains have been made: technical improvements in television production, some better skilled journalists, development of journalists’ associations and a code of ethics, and greater citizen engagement.... However, balanced and in-depth reports are scant and there remains limited space for freedom of expression. Professional media reports based on fact rather than opinion, on a range of sources (especially on a range of political sources) are the exception rather than the rule ... Improvements require considerable time and effort which often extends beyond the life of a short to medium term donor horizon. AusAID, KAF, UNDP and USAID are current donors who understand this." (Conclusion, p.39)
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"Split into four parts exploring key conceptual themes in public relations, the book offers an overview of topics including strategic public relations, politics and the media; media relations in the social media age; strategic communication management; public relations engagement in the not-for-prof...it sector; activism and public relations; and the effects of globalisation and technology on the field. Featuring wide-ranging contributions from key figures in the PR profession, this new edition presents fresh views on corporate social responsibility, public relations and politics, corporate communication, globalisation, not-for-profit, financial and public sector public relations. The book also includes a discussion of key critical themes in public relations research and exploratory case studies of PR strategies in a variety of institutions, including Extinction Rebellion, Queen Margaret University, Mettis Aerospace, and Battersea Cats’ and Dogs’ Home." (Publisher)
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"An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research provides an in-depth overview of communication studies as well as integrating theory with research. This new edition provides a comprehensive overview of current theory and research written by the top theorists and researchers in each area.... It has been updated to address the growing influence of technology, changing relationships, and several growing integrated approaches to communication and includes seven new chapters on digital media, media effects, privacy, darks side, applied communication, relational communication, instructional communication, communication and the law. The book continues to be essential reading for students and faculty who want a thorough overview of contemporary communication theory and research." (Publisher)
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"Welcome to the world of melodrama—and to the melodramas of the world. This book introduces nearly one hundred cinematic masterpieces from various periods and different cultural contexts—ranging from early Hollywood to emergent and popular Bollywood, from Latin American and New German Cinema to ...contemporary Nollywood, from classic melodrama and commercial blockbusters to arthouse film and meta-melodrama, while also encompassing a number of other local forms and styles in their hybrid or revisionist varieties. Our collection features discussions of seemingly timeless stories of love and loss, demonstrating the possibility and power of melodramatic plots to portray the overcoming of differences and antagonisms. Yet it also reveals how the melodramatic code is time and again used for asserting political claims and articulating critique—and hence for (re)producing powerful dichotomies of good vs. evil, innocence vs. corruption, virtue vs. vice. Melodrama performs and rehearses moral conflict and emotional crisis management on a broad scale, involving intimate relationships and familial relations, on the one hand, and global constellations of oppression, violence, war, and regime changes, on the other. Thus, like no other genre, melodrama indeed makes the political personal and the personal political." (Introduction, p.13)
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