"The media sector expanded after the multiparty system’s reintroduction in the 1990s in Malawi. The growth has been enabled by a legal environment in which the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the press. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, meaning that all the laws th
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at contradict or are inconsistent with it are invalid. There are no formal restrictions on media freedom in the country. Successive government administrations have proudly stated that no journalist in Malawi has been persecuted for doing their journalistic work. While it is technically correct that no journalist has been prosecuted for their work, in this chapter, I argue that journalists still face different types of harassment on the government’s watch. Forms of harassment include arbitrary arrests and detentions and verbal and physical attacks by political party supporters, the police, members of parliament, and cabinet ministers. Although most attacks on journalists and media institutions happen in plain sight, sometimes, in the presence of the state President, not a single perpetrator of violence has been held to account for their actions. Using key informant interviews with journalists, MISA Malawi National Director and MISA Malawi annual reports document the harassment of journalists in the country. I argue that although media freedoms are guaranteed in the law, the failure to apprehend perpetrators of violence against journalists is akin to the approval of violence by the government, which has the responsibility to uphold the tenets of the law to protect its citizens. Harassment of journalists with impunity amounts to outsourced repression, which has a chilling effect on journalists and their institutions; it undermines media freedom and democratic governance, which depends on informed citizens to participate in democratic processes effectively. I use public sphere theory, which recognises the media as a public forum, free of coercion, where citizens access information and engage in discussions and debate on issues of public interest." (Abstract)
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"The youth are ardent users of digital media and there is no much difference between virtual and real life for them. So, the Catholic Church has persistently invited the faithful, especially the youth who are the true natives of the digital world, to adopt online platforms for evangelization. Concer
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ns, however, arise from cyber security issues which are part of the online experiences of the users of digital technologies. The prevalence of abuses of digital technology generated a need for legislation to foster a safe environment for those who use online platforms. Malawi’s Electronic Transactions and Cybersecurity Act 2016 is one such legislation aimed at creating a free and safe online environment. Nevertheless, concerns arise regarding the influence and relevance of this Act in Malawi, with certain sections blaming its application for curtailing freedom of expression online. This study sought to investigate the influence of Malawi’s Cybersecurity Act 2016 on online evangelisation among young Catholics in Blantyre. The study had three objectives. First, to explore the motivations and experiences of young Catholics in Blantyre as they engage in online evangelisation. Secondly, to investigate the influence of Malawi’s Cybersecurity Act 2016 on online evangelisation efforts by young Catholics. Thirdly, to assess the perceptions of young Catholics regarding the relevance of Malawi’s Cybersecurity Act 2016 in fostering safe online evangelisation. The researcher employed two theories; Diffusion of Innovation and the Chilling Effects theory of social conformity to rigorously explore the purpose of the study. Participants in this study were purposively sampled and four focus group discussions (FDGs) comprising five and seven participants were chosen for the study. The findings have revealed that there is a significant presence of the youth online platforms that are adopting online evangelisation. It also discovered that there are chilling effects resulting from the political weaponisation of the cyber laws contained in the Act. Consequently, the relevance of the Act in fostering a safe environment was questioned as it is compromised. The researcher recommended further research on other demographics and using different research methods may give a more comprehensive picture of the influence of cyber law on online evangelisation." (Abstract)
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"This book explores how popular cultural artifacts, literary texts, commemorative practices and other forms of remembrances are used to convey, transmit and contest memories of mass atrocities in the Global South. Some of these historical atrocities took place during the Cold war. As such, this book
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unpacks the influence or role of the global powers in conflict in the Global South. Contributors are grappling with a number of issues such as the politics of memorialization, memory conflicts, exhumations, reburials, historical dialogue, peacebuilding and social healing, memory activism, visual representation, transgenerational transmission of memories, and identity politics." (Publisher description)
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"This book seeks to expand some of the existing, often western and Global North facing, scholarship in the area of Disability and Media Studies to include African perspectives. Featuring predominantly Africa-based contributors, it studies an array of topics on disability and media in Africa, includi
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ng issues of social media, media ethics, including marginalised voices in the media, and disability representation in the media." (Publisher description)
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"Responding to mounting calls to decenter and decolonize journalism, The Routledge Companion to Journalism in the Global South examines not only the deep-seated challenges associated with the historical imposition of Western journalism standards on constituencies of the Global South but also the opp
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ortunities presented to journalists and journalism educators if they choose to partake in international collaboration and education.
This collection returns to fundamental questions around the meaning, value, and practices of journalism from alternative methodological, theoretical, and epistemological perspectives. These questions include: What really is journalism? Who gets to, and who is qualified to, define it? What role do ethics play? What are the current trends, challenges, and opportunities for journalism in the Global South? How is news covered, reported, written, and edited in non-Western settings? What can journalism players living and working in industrialized markets learn from their non-Western colleagues and counterparts, and vice versa? Contributors challenge accepted “universal” ethical standards while showing the relevance of customs, traditions, and cultures in defining and shaping local and regional journalism." (Publisher description)
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"Drawing from case studies from selected African countries, an international team of authors offer a broad insight into the state of harassment across the continent, while building new theoretical perspectives that are also context-specific. The chapters bring previous theories and research up to da
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te by addressing the continual change and development of new discourses, including the use of big data and artificial intelligence in harassing and intimidating journalists and mental health issues affecting journalists in their line of duty. More so, the authors argue that the state and form of harassment is not universal, as location and context are some of the key factors that influence the form and character of harassment." (Publisher description)
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"The report has, in summary, shown that although there are positive developments across the Southern African region, meeting the international standards is still work in progress and in some instances, states are regressing. There is evidence of a plethora of challenges that hinder the practice of i
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ndependent journalism and also the continuation of restrictive measures that do not promote press freedom. Journalists who face intimidation, harassment and other forms of violence, in most instances are confronted with the reality of impunity and diminishing political will to protect media workers. As a way forward, it is imperative for states in Southern Africa to adopt the necessary practical measures and implement the 2019 Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa. The calls on States to create a conducive environment for the exercise of freedom of expression, and ensure protection from interference both online and offline." (Conclusion, page 23)
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"In 2023, Advancing Rights in Southern Africa (ARISA) through its consortium partner, Internews, undertook the most comprehensive review yet of laws affecting media practice and the freedom of expression, including cyber laws, penal codes, constitutions and acts of parliament, in the sixteen Souther
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n African Development Community (SADC) countries. The Information Ecosystem Analysis (IEA) provides an in-depth overview of the legal provisions that have been enacted or are in various stages of becoming laws in the region, and are being used by SADC governments to stifle and limit press freedom and public debate. Each of the sixteen SADC countries are included as individual country chapters in this report, providing country-specific legal analyses of the relevant Cyber security and related laws used by the respective country’s governments to stifle freedom of expression. The approach used by the researchers considered the legislative environment together with literature on the relevant topics, court cases and media reports about the application of specific laws and focused on incidents of where laws were used, dating from 2020 to present. The respective country analyses have been informed by extensive virtual interviews conducted with journalists, civil society representatives and academics in the region. Attention was also given to countries holding elections in 2023 and 2024." (Executive summary)
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"This volume presents case studies of news media employing and integrating social media into their news production practices. It links social media use to journalistic practices and news production processes in the digital age of the Global South. Critically, the chapters look at seminal cases of st
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art-up news media whose content is informed by trends in social media, ethical considerations and participatory cultures spurred by the wide use of social media. There has been considerable research looking at the potential of new media technologies, traditional journalism and citizen reporting. The extent to which these new media technologies and 'citizen journalism' have morphed or reconfigured traditional journalism practice remains debatable. Currently, there are questions around the limits of social media in journalism practice as the ethical lines continue to become blurred. It is this conundrum of the role of social media in the reconfiguration of the media, news making, production and participatory cultures that requires more investigation. Social media has also turned the logic of the political economy of media production on its head as citizens can now produce, package and distribute news and information with shoestring budgets and in authoritarian regimes with no license of practice. This new political economy means the power that special interest groups used to enjoy is increasingly slipping from their hands as citizens take back the power to appropriate social media journalism to counter hegemonic narratives. Citizens can also perform journalistic roles of investigating and whistleblowing but with a lack off, or limited, regulation." (Publisher description)
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"This study examines the role of community radio in increasing climate change awareness in Malawi. The article broadly reaffirms the importance of community radio in Africa in democratizing media access, more interestingly by using radio listening clubs in the production process and participation. T
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he study used focus group discussions, participant observation and analysis of radio programs produced by members of Chanco Community Radio listening clubs. The study found that although spaces in which communities participate are controlled by experts, community radio and radio listening clubs have emerged as spaces for marginalized voices to share knowledge, and experiences about climate change and influence change." (Abstract)
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"The book identifies and explains the unequal power relations in place that limit the possibilities of communication justice, the challenges and difficulties faced by activists and communities, the ways in which communities and movements have confronted power structures through discourse and materia
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l action, and their successes and limitations in creating new structures that promote the right to, and facilitate a future for, communicative justice. The volume features contributions based on experiences of resistance and transformation in the Global South—Bolivia, Ecuador, India, Malawi, and collaborations between the continents of Latin America and Africa—as well as notable studies from the Global North—Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom—that defy hegemonic models." (Publisher description)
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"This report is intended to provide a broad review of the use and emerging governance of AI technology in Southern Africa. It aims at initiating public discussions and policy dialogue not only on the technological implications of the use of AI, but also on the social, political, and ethical signific
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ance and consequences of it. Through this report, UNESCO’s objective is also to provide the evidence that AI technologies are already being used in many domains and sectors in Southern Africa, thus countering the narrative that the ethics of AI is still premature to be discussed and taken seriously by the local actors in the region. The analysis comprises four parts that, read together, present a review of key policies, use cases, risks and opportunities for the design, development, governance and usage of responsible AI in the region. These are: (i) AI Regulatory and Policy Mapping; (ii) Analysis of Artificial Intelligence Applications; (iii) Ethical Risk of AI Use (derived from the findings in the policy mapping and use case analysis); and (iv) Key Opportunities and Recommendations." (Introduction)
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"Press freedom is said to be a necessary pillar of democracy. As many sub-Saharan African nations move towards creating or strengthening democracies, examining their levels of press freedom may be an important element. This study utilizes public opinion data from 10 nations in the sub-Saharan Africa
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n region and international press freedom rankings from Reporters Without Borders to better understand both how important (or not) citizens view press freedom to be in their country and how those beliefs compare to global metrices between 2011 and 2018. Results show clear differences in citizen beliefs about press freedom across countries, but no clear relationship between citizen beliefs and global rankings. A connection between individual perceptions and global rankings may take more time to manifest, and/or a nation’s cultural values and political landscape likely have the strongest impact on citizen beliefs." (Abstract)
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"This Media Landscape Guide provides a snapshot of the media in Malawi, including the audiences, the producers, the preferences of different groups in the community, the communications culture, and the languages associated with the media. It gives an insight into the role of media in development wor
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k, crisis preparedness, recent disasters, and the (at time of writing) ongoing COVID-19 response. The guide also gives an overview of each media sector including, digital and social media, radio, television, print and other traditional forms of mass communication. It should be noted that with the constantly changing nature of the media landscape, this is not a comprehensive overview of all media outlets and platforms but rather a snapshot summary of those most relevant at the time of writing." (Introduction)
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"It aims at providing a holistic view of digital transformation in the agriculture sector of 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The region’s digital agriculture landscape is assessed through six key themes, namely: infrastructure, digital penetration, policy and regulation, business environment,
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human capital and agro-innovation. Beyond the analysis of the region against the six focal themes, the report presents both the status-quo and challenges faced by countries in their digital transformation journeys, which can assist policymakers to identify possible areas of intervention to drive the process of agricultural digitalization in the region. It highlights the need to strengthen digital infrastructure for universal connectivity, to connect the unconnected in sub-Saharan Africa and to support the integration of digital technologies to advance digital agricultural transformation." (Foreword)
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"The pandemic made inequality, discrimination, exclusion and structural inequity more palpable, and rather than stagnating in indignation, it reactivated a sense of rebellion and contestation. The strength and sharpness with which we connect social justice, gender justice, environmental justice, eco
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nomic justice and racial justice with the potentials and limitations of digital technologies is undeniable. Using this intersectional lens, we need to document and build our own narratives about the challenges that we face related to the impacts of the pandemic and reflect on how our advocacy priorities as well as the ways we do advocacy are changing and keep being modified and adjusted. At APC we have strengthened capacity to design and implement collective and contextual community responses to the multiple challenges and crises that we face, while having a greater awareness of the kind of global responses that should be prioritised, based on shared but differentiated responsibilities [...] GISWatch 2021-2022 focuses on responses to some of the fundamental questions brought by the pandemic to inform civil society’s advocacy around digital technology issues and their potential to shape future horizons. As illustrated on our cover, a sustained struggle will be necessary in the years ahead, but not only in the public spaces. A nuanced approach to advocacy will be essential to open multiple ways to bring about positive change." (Preface, page 6)
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"Malawi has seen an exponential growth of its media, both in quality and quantity. For example, there were only two broadcasting stations at the start of the 1990s, while Malawi has increased this over the years to 57 radio stations and 14 television broadcasters. Although the plurality of Malawi’
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s media greatly increased, the functioning of the media has still been affected by arrests of media practitioners, outdated laws and other constraints. This report offers an extensive overview of the status of the media in Malawi, based on an assessment of the UNESCO Media Development Indicators (MDIs). It analyses the legal and regulatory framework, the plurality of the media, safety of journalists and other relevant media development indicators, while at same time providing relevant recommendations for all stakeholders involved. The recommendations cover a large number of issues, some notable ones focused on: the conception of self-regulatory systems; the safeguarding of journalists; the introduction of a code for the regulation of advertisement practices; the reform of outdated laws relating to media practitioners." (Short summary)
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