commbox West & Central Africa

Etat des libertés sur internet au Burundi 2019: Cartographie des tendances en matière de contrôle de l’Internet par les pouvoirs publics, 1999-2019.

Ashnah Kalemera, Victor Kapiyo, Paul Kimumwe et al. (eds.)

Kampala: CIPESA (2020), 19 pp.

Fake News, the Media & COVID-19 in West Africa

East Legon: Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) (2020), 11 pp.

"This report briefly examines the phenomenon of fake news in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Anglophone West Africa. It specifically addresses the following areas: fake news trends; how the phenomenon has impacted the work of the media and the fight against the pandemic; measures taken so fa ... more

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Project: Promoting Professional Standards & Enhancing the Watchdog Role of the Ghanaian Media

Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) (2020), 5 pp.

"The guide below serves as a Glossary of Definitions of the basic principles of ethics to be monitored. It is designed to assist and guide the Monitor in understanding properly and identifying accurately, any violations of particular Ethical principles by the media. The list here is not exhaustive. ... more

Digital Literacy Key Performance Indicators for Sustainable Development

Danica Radovanovic, Christine Holst, Sarbani Banerjee Belur, Ritu Srivastava, Georges Vivien Houngbonon et al.

Social Inclusion, volume 8, issue 2 (2020), pp. 151-167

"The concept of digital literacy has been defined in numerous ways over the last two decades to incorporate rapid technological changes, its versatility, and to bridge the global digital divide. Most approaches have been technology-centric with an inherent assumption of cultural and political neutra ... more

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Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism

David B. Sachsman, JoAnn Myer Valenti (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2020), xx, 421 pp.

"An increasing number of media platforms - from newspapers and television to Internet social media networks - are the major providers of indispensable information about the natural world and environmental risk. Despite the dramatic changes in the news industry that have tended to reduce the number o ... more

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The Role of Ghanaian News Media Organisations in Countering Threats to Media Freedom and Journalists' Safety

Gifty Appiah-Adjei

In: Handbook of Research on Combating Threats to Media Freedom and Journalist Safety

Sadia Jamil (ed.)

Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2020), pp. 186-213

"Journalist safety is vital to media freedom as it shows stakeholders' duties to protect the media from crime and to guard media freedom. The media have the power to combat problems via coverage, yet evidence submits that journalist insecurity persists in Ghana. So, the study aims to examine how the ... more

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Decolonizing Ebola Rhetorics Following the 2013-2016 West African Ebola Outbreak

Marouf Arif Hasian

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2020), 232 pp.

"Defends the position that, despite the supposed "lessons" that have been learned about the spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) after the 2013-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, there remains a need to "decolonize" the rhetorics of Ebola prevention and containment. The author asserts that the failure ... more

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A Case of Double Standards? Audience Attitudes to Professional Norms on Local and English Language Radio News Programmes in Ghana

Audrey Gadzekpo, Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin, Sarah Akrofi-Quarcoo

Journal of African Media Studies, volume 12, issue 1 (2020), pp. 3-22

"This article explores the reception practices of multi-lingual audiences in Ghana, focusing on their views on the different norms and approaches of local language and English language radio newscasts. Using data from a convenience sample of 1000 radio listeners in five Ghanaian cosmopolitan cities ... more

Drivers of data for development: Exploring the factors that enable availability and utility of open data for development in Africa

Amos Simche Lansana, Claude Migisha, Dickson Minjire et al.

Africa Open Data Network (AODN) (2020), 83 pp.

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The Media-Democracy Paradox in Ghana: Rethinking Political Communication in an African Context

W. S. Dzisah

Bristol: intellect (2020), 218 pp.

"This original new book researches into the praxis of this democracy and its media, delving into Ghana's evolvement, media practice, leadership aspirations, pressure group politics and ethnic and tribal cleavages. Written in accessible language it will provide valuable source material for readers in ... more

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Report: The Perception of COVID-19 Communication in West Africa (non-Sahel)

Abuja: UNESCO (2020), 25 pp.

"According to the respondents (522 respondents), people pay most attention to "prevention methods from COVID-19" (3.82 out of the full score 5). On the contrary, the respondents pay relatively less attention to "Pandemic Statistics (local, national, and international)" (3.55 out of the full score 5) ... more

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Les Gabonais demandent plus de liberté d’expression, mais pas pour critiquer le président

Afrobarometer (2020), 10 pp.

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Threats to Media Freedom and the Safety of Journalists in Nigeria

Umaru A. Pate, Sharafa Dauda

In: Handbook of Research on Combating Threats to Media Freedom and Journalist Safety

Sadia Jamil (ed.)

Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2020), pp. 241-256

"This chapter interrogates long-established and wide-sprung threats to media freedom and journalists' safety in Nigeria. The study used semi-structured interviews to explore field and newsroom experiences. The findings revealed the types of threats to media freedom and journalists' safety, non-exist ... more

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Vibrant and safe media landscape in Ghana: Reality or mirage?

Africanus Lewil Diedong

Journal of African Media Studies, volume 10, issue 2 (2020), pp. 92-120

"Despite widespread condemnation of assaults on journalists in Ghana and elsewhere in the past, there is increasing evidence of brutality against journalists. When perpetrators of such assaults go unpunished, it fosters a culture of impunity. The article throws searchlight on incidences of assaults ... more

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The National Communication Council: Opportunity or Constraint for Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression in Cameroon?

Peter Tiako Ngangum

African Journalism Studies, volume 41, issue 1 (2020), 16 pp.

"This paper underlines the relevance of devising an effective legislative framework that sets out the organization of the National Communication Council (NCC), the main media regulator in Cameroon. It argues that the rules and procedures informing the functioning of the NCC should clearly affirm and ... more

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The Contribution of Citizen Views to Understanding Women’s Empowerment as a Process of Change: The Case of Niger

Emma Heywood, Maria Tomlinson

Feminist Media Studies, volume 20, issue 5 (2020), pp. 713-729

"This article investigates citizen’s views on women’s empowerment as a process of change in Niger, the lowest country on the Human Development Index where women suffer widespread gender inequality. It draws on semi-structured interviews with radio and civil society organisation (CSO) representat ... more

La télévision publique gabonaise et la construction d'une communauté nationale 1963-2014

Marcy Delsione Ovoundaga

Paris: L'Harmattan (2020), 460 pp.

"À l’heure où les fractures sociales s’aggravent dans le pays, cet ouvrage examine le lien entre la volonté politique de bâtir une nation, socle du vivre ensemble dans une société marquée par la pluralité des appartenances, et la définition du rôle social des médias – ici la premiè ... more

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Radio Journalism and Women's Empowerment in Niger

Emma Heywood

Journalism Studies, volume 21, issue 10 (2020), pp. 1344-1362

"The significance of radio as a provider of essential news and information in conflict-affected and fragile countries cannot be underestimated nor can its role in contributing to shifts in critical consciousness, changes in behaviour, and raising awareness amongst marginalised groups. This is partic ... more

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Assessing the Effectiveness of Online Facebook Campaigns Targeting Potential Irregular Migrants: A Pilot Study in Three West African Countries

Esther Haarman, Jasper Tjaden, Gustavo López

Geneva: International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2020), 41 pp.

"Studies have shown that many irregular migrants embark on journeys without accurate or complete information about migration. In response, IOM and other organizations run information campaigns intended to inform potential migrants of the dangers associated with irregular migration and to facilitate ... informed decisions. The use of online and social media platforms for these campaigns has become increasingly popular in recent years, due to their potential for quickly reaching millions of people at low cost. While the evidence base for offline information campaigns has been gradually improving, it remains unclear how online communication campaigns affect potential migrants, and methodologies to do this remain underdeveloped. This report therefore presents results from a pilot impact assessment of an online campaign based on Facebook posts in Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal during September 2019 and February 2020 [.] Conclusion: Facebook ad campaigns can reach many people quickly. However, large audience sizes and relatively cheap costs come with a trade-off. The impact of an information campaign on potential migrants’ perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and behaviour remains largely unknown because many Facebook users that engage with the campaign do not fit the intended target group. The advantage of offline over online campaigns is that implementers have more control and information about who attends activities or who is exposed to campaign content. The engagement of users with campaign posts varies largely by audience and post characteristics. Campaign and social media teams are well advised to conduct pilot tests before scaling up activities. Pilot tests can inform a customized approach for each online activity on Facebook, and thereby maximize impact. In addition to A/B tests, lift tests may offer a useful opportunity to test the impact of Facebook posts. Compared to impact assessments of offline information campaigns, measuring the impact of Facebook ads on potential migrants presents several unique challenges, including: Many potential migrants are not on Facebook or do not use ad content to seek information about migration. Internet connectivity is also limited in many West African countries. While Facebook allows users to narrow down target groups, it is not clear whether those Facebook users that are exposed to the content fit the profile of potential migrants. Whether the intended target group is reached can be affirmed only through surveys, which have a low response rate; It is not possible to interview the same Facebook users several times to track changes in their perceptions. Engagement metrics like post reactions, link clicks or video plays can be useful indicators. However, these low-engagement metrics do not offer clear evidence of the short- or long-term effects on Facebook users." (Executive summary) more

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