"This paper explores the role that citizen journalism is playing in democratising the mainstream media in Rwanda. Through in-depth interviews with journalists from two radio stations and by using the public sphere theory as a theoretical framework, this research sought to answer the question as to w
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hether citizen journalism in Rwanda propels media democratisation by enabling democratic deliberation through its ability to inform, filling in the gaps left by mainstream media and by encouraging critical thinking. The findings from this study show that citizens participate in the daily work of the media through commentaries and by serving as news sources. However, citizens have not yet had a tangible impact on the functioning of the two media where self-censorship and gatekeeping are widely practised. Democratisation of these radio stations appears to be more theoretical rather than an established practice." (Abstracts)
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"In Burundi, a small landlocked post-conflict country in Central Africa, the independent broadcasting sector was severely undermined in May 2015, following a coup attempt against the regime of President Pierre Nkurunziza. More than 80 journalists, some of them accused of being accomplices to the put
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schists, were threatened and forced to leave the country. Their outlets were damaged and forbidden to operate. Shown as a model of ‘professionalism’, ‘independence’ and ‘pluralism’ until then, journalism in Burundi has subsequently faced huge challenges, both inside the country (where the space for free speech keeps shrinking despite a pluralist façade) and outside (where Burundian journalists in exile have established alternative media). This article identifies how the professional identity of the journalists has been affected by these two phenomena: the challenges of working from abroad as well as the growing control on free media faced by those still operating from within the country. Based on extensive interviews, the author shows the extent to which Burundian journalists have lost self-confidence and trust in their ability to perform their professional ethos and the role they believe they should play in society." (Abstract)
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"In 2014, Cameroon enacted a broad anti-terror law as part of its effort to counter the extremist group Boko Haram, but authorities are using it to arrest and threaten local journalists who report on the militants or unrest in the country’s English-speaking regions. A presidential decree in August
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2017 ended legal proceedings against at least four journalists, but the laws that were used against them are still in place. RFI broadcaster Ahmed Abba remains in jail. With elections due to take place next year, many of Cameroon’s journalists say they are too scared to cover politics or sensitive issues." (Page 2)
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"The present study (N= 1074) examined the impact of a theory-driven media intervention aimed atviolence prevention and intergroup reconciliation in Burundi. We used a novel methodology utilizing audio-based surveys to assess attitudes related to intergroup conflict and reconciliation among community
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members. We conducted a propensity score analysis to estimate the causal effects ofthe intervention by examining differences between listeners and non-listeners of the radio dramas. The results indicated a positive effect of the intervention on several social psychological outcomes (tolerance, in-group superiority, social distance, intergroup trust, responsibility attributions, trauma disclosure and competitive victimhood). However, listeners and non-listeners did not differ in obedience toward leaders or historical perspective taking; and the results for active bystandership, one of the main foci of the intervention, were mixed. Furthermore, the results show that the impact of theintervention sometimes depends on listeners’personal experiences of victimization." (Abstract)
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"Poor-quality data about conflict events can hinder humanitarian responses and bias academic research. There is increasing recognition of the role that new information technologies can play in producing more reliable data faster. We piloted a novel data-gathering system in the Democratic Republic of
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Congo in which villagers in a set of randomly selected communities report on events in real time via short message service. We first describe the data and assess its reliability. We then examine the usefulness of such ‘‘crowdseeded’’ data in two ways. First, we implement a downstream experiment on aid and conflict and find evidence that aid can lead to fewer conflict events. Second, we examine conflict diffusion in Eastern Congo and find evidence that key dynamics operate at very micro levels. Both applications highlight the benefit of collecting conflict data via cell phones in real time." (Abstract)
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"Volume 1 of the Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa is a practical guide for journalists practicing in Burundi, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The handbook not only contains a comprehensive overview of applicable media laws for each country reviewed, it also contains suggestions on possible law reforms to
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improve the protection of media in these countries." (Publisher description)
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"This report described a pilot study using the VOTO Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform to 1) distribute content and 2) collect quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation data regarding a media program in Rwanda. In addition to showing that the VOTO system worked well as a distribu
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tion tool (though expensive) – our findings suggest great potential for the use of IVR as an M&E tool. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend a particular system as yet having the capacity to offer an efficient and cost-effective system for NGOs looking to collect qualitative and quantitative data cheaply and accurately." (Discussion, page 13)
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"Many individuals were involved in the Belgian Congo's attainment of independence. Born in 1931, Mwissa Camus, the dean of Congolese journalists, is one of them. Even though he was opposed to this idea and struggled to maintain his status as member of a certain ‘elite’, his career sheds light on
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the advancement of his country towards independence in June 1960. By following his professional career in the years preceding independence, we can see how his development illuminates the emergence of journalism in the Congo, the social position of Congolese journalists, and the ambivalence of their position towards the emancipation process. The road taken by Mwissa Camus – as an actor, witness, extra, and somehow instrument of the events that shook his country – helps understand the Congo's move towards independence from a particular perspective. History – that of a hurried independence, blatantly unprepared, on which a small elite failed to agree – is revealed through his words and the unveiling of his ‘world.’ This article is essentially based on interviews with Mwissa Camus and on Congolese newspaper articles from 1959, 1960 and 1961." (Abstract)
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"A qualitative study into the readership preferences of children in Rwanda, from the perspective of over seventy children under the age of nine from around the country, and ten key publishing houses in Kigali." (Abstract)
"For several years, local radio stations in Uganda have broadcast “come home” messages that encourage the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army to demobilize. Since the rebels began carrying out attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic, several international actors h
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ave introduced the same messages to these regions. This new effort has internationalized radio programming, benefited local radio stations, provided new forms of messaging, and functioned in collaboration with military actors. This article provides an overview of how “come home” messaging functions in different contexts, examines the effects of these actions, and calls for research into an important shift in military–humanitarian relations." (Abstract)
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"This book probes the vitality, potentiality and ability of new communication and technological changes to drive online-based civil action across Africa. In a continent booming with mobile innovation and a plethora of social networking sites, the Internet is considered a powerful platform used by pr
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o-democracy activists to negotiate and sometimes push for reform-based political and social changes in Africa. The book discusses and theorizes digital activism within social and geo-political realms, analysing cases such as the #FeesMustFall and #BringBackOurGirls campaigns in South Africa and Nigeria respectively to question the extent to which they have changed the dynamics of digital activism in sub-Saharan Africa. Comparative case study reflections in eight African countries identify and critique digital concepts questioning what impact they have had on the civil society. Cases also explore the African LGBT community as a social movement while discussing opportunities and challenges faced by online activists fighting for LGBT equality. Finally, gender-based activists using digital tools to gain attention and facilitate social changes are also appraised." (Publisher description)
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"The markets we do include are a very diverse bunch, from the very closed and politically tightly controlled such as Laos; through a large number of nations on the African continent which have seen a sudden improvement in digital infrastructure thanks to the landing of several new submarine intercon
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tinental fibre optic cables over the past few years; and not forgetting markets like Trinidad & Tobago, which seems to enjoy a large choice of TV channels to serve a relatively modest population; or indeed Iran, fresh from its welcome back into the international fold following the suspension of UN sanctions in January 2016. For each market, we give some economic data sourced from the IMF, as well as our estimates and forecasts for advertising expenditure and growth in its ad market to 2018. We also provide a short commentary setting out an overview of the media market in question." (Page 1)
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"Journalisten leben in Ruanda gefährlich. Für Kritik am Regime riskieren sie Prügel oder ihr Leben. Von einem, der sich nicht einschüchtern lassen wollte." (Einführung)
"L’approfondissement des pratiques démocratiques dans les pays étudiés passe non seulement par le renforcement des capacités des médias et des journalistes, pour qu’ils puissent s’emparer pleinement des outils numériques, mais aussi par la montée en puissance d’un grand nombre de nouv
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eaux acteurs citoyens qui ont déjà montré, notamment lors de rendezvous électoraux, le rôle positif qu’ils pouvaient jouer. Les enjeux liés à la qualité et à la diversité de l’information disponible dans ces pays, à la transparence de l’action publique et à la redevabilité des institutions, sont intimement liés à l’existence d’un écosystème structuré qui englobe des journalistes, des blogueurs, des développeurs informatiques, des représentants d’administrations publiques, des spécialistes des données ou de la cartographie, des membres d’OSC ou d’ONG, etc. Accompagner ces acteurs citoyens d’Afrique dans le développement d’un espace public ouvert, pluriel, participatif et bien informé constitue aujourd’hui un défi à plusieurs dimensions : Contribuer à l’amélioration de l’accès à l’information (et donc, à l’accès à l’internet); Sensibiliser aux enjeux de la société numérique et de la participation citoyenne; Soutenir les acteurs de l’information et de la donnée au service du débat public; Structurer des réseaux nationaux/internationaux et d’éco-systèmes locaux d’acteurs citoyens; Développer une culture de la donnée publique ouverte et des usages que l’on peut en faire." (Conclusion, page 38)
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"The aim of the present book is to provide both empirical and theoretical input to the discussions of the role of journalism and media in conflict and post-conflict situations and in the often rather muddy waters between them. Together, the contributions to this book from different parts of the worl
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d emphasise that discussions about post-conflict situations will gain from including the media. At the same time, the contributions problematise the concept of post-conflict and powerfully illustrate that the phase between war/conflict and peace is neither unidirectional nor linear, as the use of the concept sometimes seems to imply. Reaching a peace agreement or arranging for the termination of hostilities is, in itself, no guarantee that peace can be secured. The examples from Afghanistan, Colombia and South Sudan in this book show this up clearly. Remaining post-conflict societal friction may even be as threatening to long-lasting peace as the war itself. Hence, post-conflict may be seen as a “conflict situation in which open warfare has come to an end. However, such situations remain tense for years or decades and can easily relapse into large-scale violence” (Junne and Verkoren 2005)." (Introduction, pages 16-17)
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"The Internet in Africa has become an increasingly contested space, where competing ideas of development and society battle for hegemony. By comparing the evolution of the Internet in Ethiopia and Rwanda, we question whether policies and projects emerging from two of Africa’s fastest growing, but
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also most tightly controlled countries, can be understood as part of a relatively cohesive model of the ‘developmental’ Internet, which challenges mainstream conceptions. Our answer is a qualified yes. Ethiopia and Rwanda have shared an overarching strategy which places the state as the prime mover in the development of Internet policy and large-scale ICT projects. Rwanda, however, appears to have developed a more open model which can accommodate a greater variety of actors and opinions, and incorporate them within a relatively coherent vision that emanates from the centre. Ethiopia, in contrast, has developed a more closed model, where all powers rest firmly in the hands of a government that has refused (so far) to entertain and engage with alternative ideas of the Internet. In the case of Rwanda, we argue, this approach reflects broader strategies adopted by the government in the economic domain but appears to counter the prevailing political approach of the government, allowing for a greater degree of freedom on the Internet as compared to traditional media. While in the case of Ethiopia, the opposite is true; Ethiopia’s Internet policies appear to run counter to prevailing economic policies but fit tightly with the government’s approach to politics and governance." (Abstract)
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"Based on the analyses of Rwandan and Kenyan cases, hate speech legislation is not an appropriate tool to prevent harm emanating from hate speech. The empirically verifiable costs of the tool by far outweigh its putative benefits. In Rwanda, opposition politicians are convicted for criticising gover
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nment policies, and journalists sentenced to decades of imprisonment for covering sensitive issues, held in pre-trial detention for years to be finally acquitted, driven into exile and forced to practise self-censorship. Whole news media are suspended or completely closed for providing platforms for anti-government stances. The persecution of individual politicians and journalists has a great negative impact on society. Access to unbiased information is impeded and the ‘Marketplace of Ideas’ destroyed. Instead of supporting a process of reconciliation, the laws are used to suppress a necessary, healthy and constructive debate on sensitive topics of the past. As a result, citizens strive to switch to other forms of conflict resolution, which ‘ironically’ means that hate speech legislation itself is misused to settle personal disputes. Rwandan hate speech legislation has itself become a tool that fuels further conflict. While the Rwandan government abuses hate speech legislation to silence its critics in order to secure its power position, the Kenyan government employs hate speech provisions to justify its surveillance of Kenyan citizens. At the same time, politicians who publicly call for displacements and violence are allowed to escape punishment in the name of cohesion." (Conclusion, page 96)
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