"Publics around the world overwhelmingly agree that the news media should be unbiased in their coverage of political issues, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 38 countries. Yet, when asked how their news media are doing on reporting different political issues fairly, people are far mo
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re mixed in their sentiments, with many saying their media do not deliver. And, in many countries, there are sharp political differences in views of the media – with the largest gap among Americans. To build off Pew Research Center’s earlier findings about U.S. news media habits and attitudes, this new cross-national survey begins to study these dynamics globally. The survey finds that a median of 75% across 38 countries say it is never acceptable for a news organization to favor one political party over others when reporting the news. Just 20% say this is sometimes okay. People in Europe show the greatest opposition to political bias in their news." (Page 3)
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"This paper examines the teaching of conflict-sensitive reporting, safety education and peace journalism in the curricula of institutions offering mass communication/journalism programmes in three English speaking countries of West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. It assesses the status of r
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esearch and teaching of reporting of conflicts, peace journalism and professional safety in institutions of the selected countries." (Abstract)
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"Since 2013, BBC Media Action has been working closely with Unicef to support polio eradication. Through mass media programming – radio magazine shows and drama, and radio and TV public service announcements (PSAs) – it has sought to break down barriers to immunising against polio and other chil
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dhood vaccines among vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Somalia to increase demand for and uptake of them. This briefing synthesises findings from research conducted in the three countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria and Somalia - with a focus on Afghanistan. Research findings suggested that BBC Media Action’s programming provided listeners with accurate, trusted and clear information against misinformation and harmful rumours, increased knowledge on the requirement of multiple doses of vaccines and vaccination schedules, prompted discussion and dialogue in communities, garnered trust and confidence among caregivers through the use of doctors and religious leaders and encouraged parents to vaccinate their children by dispelling misconceptions about vaccinations." (https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction)
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"Journalists' safety as well as media workers has become a subject of discussion on press freedom and the working condition of reporters following dangerous development on the media scene which has become a preoccupation with journalism professional bodies. As such, in order to achieve the objective
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of the study, qualitative research approach was used as the most tenable means of getting valuable data for this study; In-depth Interview (IDI) and focus group discussion (FGD) was selected as the research method for gathering relevant information. A sample size of 16 respondents was drawn using purposive sampling technique. The findings of the study revealed that journalists in Oyo State are aware of their safety. They agreed that journalism safety is the freedom the press has to perform their professional task without fear or intimidation. The study concluded that the issue of safety and protection of journalists in Nigeria must be given due consideration. The way and manner in which journalists lost their lives in trying to serve human needs on what is happening in the society is alarming. Furthermore, there is a need for media houses in Nigeria, especially in Oyo state to have safety policy that may guarantee the smooth operation of journalists. Training and retraining of journalists on safety issues is another measure that will create awareness on safety tips for journalists. The study recommended that media organisations in Nigeria and Oyo state in particular should have safety policy. By so doing, the safety and protection of journalists will be guarantee. There is also a need for training and retraining of journalists on safety issues in the media houses they are working for." (Abstract)
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"The GSMA mHealth programme, under the mNutrition Initiative funded by UK aid (the UK Department for International Development, DFID), has been working with mobile network operators (MNOs) and other mobile and health sector stakeholders to support the launch and scale of mobile health (mHealth) valu
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e-added services (VAS). As of December 2017, these services have cumulatively delivered lifesaving maternal and newborn child health (MNCH) and nutrition information to over 1.59 million women and their families across eight Sub-Saharan African markets: Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Uganda and Mozambique (Figure 1). Key findings: Adopting a HCD approach to product development and optimisation led to increased user engagement; mHealth service users demonstrated improved nutrition behaviours over non-users across all implementing markets; mHealth services resulted in an average improvement of 12 percentage points in overall nutrition knowledge among users across all eight markets; Mobile information services improve knowledge, even when existing knowledge around certain nutrition topics is reasonably high; Mobile information services have a stronger impact with poorly understood concepts; Repetition of messages about key health practices reinforces the behaviour; Forty-two per cent of mNutrition service users report sharing the information they learn with their family, friends and communities [...]" (Executive summary)
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"This article looks at the relationship between four major newspapers in Nigeria and foreign donors. The discussion centres on the attractions and drawbacks of foreign donor funding from these newspapers’ point of view and highlights points of convergence and divergence in the agendas of the newsp
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apers and the international donors. The aim of the discussion is, through this case study of four newspapers, to highlight some issues pertaining to aid in the media sector, emphasising the perspective of the aid recipients, as opposed to the donors’, whose point of view tends to be more widely articulated." (Abstract)
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"This exploratory study [.] argues that in a continent where traditional media organizations are increasingly failing to hold power to account, not-for-profit organizations are leading by example, setting the agenda and constantly scrutinizing those in power. This study further looks at the motivati
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on behind the formation of three not-for-profit investigative organizations, their funding model, as well as their impact in their respective countries. The following organizations are being studied: South Africa’s Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism; Nigeria’s Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism; and Botswana’s INK Centre for Investigative Journalism. This study also argues that although these organizations are playing a crucial role in keeping power in check, their overreliance on donor organizations may spell doom for some of them." (Abstract)
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"1. Political parties and their supporters should concentrate more on issues-based campaign messages than hate campaign messages capable of demeaning personalities, religious/ethnic beliefs as well as ethnicity. 2. Political parties and their candidates should focus more on issue of importance to na
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tional development than mere image projection. 3. The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties, civil society groups and other stakeholders should promote media and information literacy to enable better deployment of user generated contents that foster democracy and the democratization process. 4. Political parties and candidates should optimise the numerous opportunities (of cost-effectiveness, reach, immediacy, citizens’ engagement, etc.) offered by the rising popularity of new media. 5. Continuous voter education is crucial for the citizens to be more critical in the electoral choices [...]" (Conclusions and recommendations, page 6-7)
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"Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally drawing comparisons with other regions of the world, this book critically addresses the development of the field focusing on the current opportunities and challenges within the African context. By using a wide variety of case studies that include Moza
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mbique, Zambia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, the collection gives space to previously understudied regions of sub-Saharan Africa and challenges the over-reliance of western scholarship on political communication on the continent." (Publisher description)
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"These are the background case notes complied for MEMO 2018.1: Challenging Truth and Trust: A Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation. For details on the methods behind this content analysis please see the methodology section of the report. This document contains data from over 500 s
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ources organized by country. The sources include high quality news articles, academic papers, white papers, and a range of other grey literature. As an annotated bibliography, the country cases here make use of significant passages from these secondary sources, and every effort has been made to preserve full citation details for future researchers. The full list of references can be found in our public Zotero folder, with each reference tagged with a country name." (Page 3)
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"This report maps the current landscape in respect of digital rights and online freedom of expression in East, West and Southern Africa. It looks at the trends regarding law and policy developments, as well as recent litigation, within these regions. The report focuses on 18 countries – 6 per regi
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on – and tracks the recent developments that have taken place in these countries. Part I of the report provides an overview of the litigation before the ACHPR and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court) in respect of freedom of expression. Parts II, III and IV of the report look at the trends generally in East, West and Southern Africa respectively, as well as some of the key legal and civil society actors working on digital rights and online freedom of expression, and include a snapshot of some of the notable developments – both positive and negative – that have occurred in the 18 countries under consideration in this report, as well as reflections on opportunities and challenges for vindicating digital rights within each of the countries. Lastly, Part V considers what the next possible opportunities will be for digital rights and online freedom of expression litigation in the region." (Pages 5-6)
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"At a glance, there are a number of societal and infrastructural barriers to overcome before digital publishing has a huge market in these three countries. However, there are certainly opportunities at hand, particularly when it comes to testing and vetting content, where digital books can save publ
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ishers money and gain exposure in foreign markets. As most publishers foresee, these opportunities will continue to grow as more digital devices proliferate the continent, and education systems begin to turn towards digital initiatives in their classrooms." (Conclusion)
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"The 43 country reports included in this year’s Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) capture the different experiences and approaches in setting up community networks across the globe. They show that key ideas, such as participatory governance systems, community ownership and skills transfe
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r, as well as the “do-it-yourself” spirit that drives community networks in many different contexts, are characteristics that lend them a shared purpose and approach. The country reports are framed by eight thematic reports that deal with critical issues such as the regulatory framework necessary to support community networks, sustainability, local content, feminist infrastructure and community networks, and the importance of being aware of “community stories” and the power structures embedded in those stories." (Back cover)
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"Dans des pays caractérisés par une profusion d’images essentiellement venues d’autres continents, et par une production très inégale, voire inexistante, quels ont été les modèles dominants de production ? Quels sont ceux que les mutations en cours font émerger ? Quels sont les enjeux é
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conomiques, industriels et sociaux de cette mutation numérique ? Quels en sont les principaux acteurs ? Qu’en est-il de la participation et du rôle des États ? Quels liens financiers, politiques, juridiques, demeurent avec les anciennes métropoles coloniales, avec les nouveaux acteurs de la production ? Qu’en est-il des équipements et de la formation des personnels ? Des contributions de chercheurs abordent ces questions en différents pays d’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient, sous des angles économiques, sociologiques et historiques. Complémentairement, six témoignages de producteurs évoquent leur métier, et les questions spécifiques qui se posent pour eux en travaillant en et avec ces aires géographiques." (Présentation)
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"The potential for young people to strengthen and grow the continent’s economies is only possible if they are adequately supported and provided with the tools they need to create a sustainable livelihood. Economic opportunities are a significant concern for young people globally, with youth three
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times as likely to be unemployed as their adult counterparts. Young people interviewed in urban and rural contexts across the three African countries [= Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania] experience poverty in a way that leaves them economically and socially deprived. Young people in all of the countries are acutely aware of the barriers to upward social mobility in their lives and those of their families. Lack of finances to support further education and training, or to set up their businesses, and lack of opportunities for meaningful employment are most often cited as holding them back. For young women, gender norms formed an additional barrier. Increasing the numbers of young people in employment will depend on providing them with the right kinds of skills for the jobs available and stimulating inclusive economic and employment growth. Despite the various challenges facing young people, they are at the forefront of Internet adoption. The way in which youths use mobile phones and the Internet is crucial for ensuring that ICTs contribute to their social and economic development." (Executive summary)
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"PeaceTech Lab developed a Lexicon of Hate Speech Terms in Nigeria, combining cutting-edge social media analysis with in-country expertise to identify both the terms likely to incite violence and their social and political context. The Lexicon, published in April 2018, also identifies alternative la
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nguage that can be used to prevent and stop the spread of hate speech." (Publisher description)
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