"All respondents had experienced online violence. Misogynistic hate speech, sexists’ comments, body shaming as well as slut shaming was common among the women journalists and WHRDs interviewed. These threats were also extended to their families, friends, relatives and networks. Another frequently
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mentioned attack was the attempted hacking into women’s email. Most of the women interviewed reduced their online activity and presence in response to online violence whereas others deactivated some of their online accounts. The story theme most often identified in association with increased attacks was gender, followed by politics and elections, human rights and social policy. Anonymous or unknown attackers are the most frequently noted source of attacks according to the women respondents. Facebook was mentioned as the least safe among social media platforms/apps used by women participants, with most of the respondents saying it was “very unsafe” compared to Twitter. Most of the women journalists did not report incidents of online violence to their employers or security personnel."
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"The Global Handbook of Media Accountability brings together leading scholars to 'de-Westernize' the academic debate on media accountability and discuss different models of media self-regulation and newsroom transparency around the globe. With examination of the status quo of media accountability in
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forty-four countries worldwide, it offers a theoretically informed, comparative analysis of accountability regimes of different varieties. As such, it constitutes the first interdisciplinary academic framework comparing structures of media accountability across all continents and represents an invaluable basis for further research and policy-making. It will therefore appeal to scholars and students of media studies and journalism, mass communication, sociology and political science, as well as policy-makers and practitioners." (Publisher description)
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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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"This research explored the utility and viability of digital technologies in the production and promotion of critical audio-visual content by creatives. More specifically, it sought to establish regional trends in the creative sector with regard to uptake of technology in the development of critical
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content; highlight policy and regulatory frameworks for digital technologies and their implication to production, promotion and consumption of critical content in East Africa; identify opportunities for policy development and stakeholder engagement in the use of digital technologies in the production and promotion of critical content and provide recommendations to increase uptake of digital technologies for the production of critical audio visual content by makers especially during the COVID-19 pandemic." (Executive summary, page 4)
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"The chapters here explore the impact, especially of Covid-19, on the media while unpacking the complexities, intersections and dynamics surrounding technological, political and economic developments and trends. Similarly, media discourses on journalism practice, audience narratives and news discour
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ses are taken up. The contributors revisit and offer critical insights on a broad range of theories and debates, including political economy of the media, constructive journalism, the Fourth Estate, securitization and journalist safety. As such, we obtain a deeper understanding of the changes and continuities surrounding discourses on news frames, trends, actors and agendas in the context of health crises. Also, the important role for public health communication and the notion of ‘information’ as a ‘public good’, especially during health crises, i.e. Covid-19, are invaluable areas of discussion. Lastly, the volume contributes to new insights on media discourses around regulation, representation and marginalization in the context of health crises. We learn, for instance, how several governments under the guise of ‘national safety’ continue to impinge on human rights and freedom of expression for both producers and consumers. This occurs through loopholes in existing regulation but also because of non-existent policy like on social media and citizen journalism and affordances of impunity." (Preface, page xii)
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"The fact that about half of the news-producing media organizations categorise themselves as having insufficient newsroom resources as far as equipment, technology and training are concerned suggests that there is still need to look into equipping newsrooms technologically and continuing efforts to
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upskill journalists in the region. As regards positive journalistic practices in content production, such as fact-checking and adhering to ethics, there is generally confidence that the right systems and procedures are in place. Sufficient and regular pay for newsroom staff is however lower ranked. Considering that journalism is a talent good and the best talents are retained by, among other factors, sufficient remuneration, this is an issue worth keeping an eye on, if media houses in the region want to retain high quality staff who will produce high quality content in the long run. On finances, the fact that government funding was a stabilizing factor during the COVID-19 pandemic argues for creating structures that would enable media houses to access government support in times of need – such as a permanent fund – but only so long as it does not come at the price of editorial independence." (Conclusion, page 64)
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"This study looks at Ugandan news media coverage of road safety, focusing on the country's three main daily newspapers, three television stations, and two online platforms. The study explores the attention and the nature of coverage these media platforms paid road safety (including road traffic cras
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hes and measures to mitigate them) from 1 August 2021 to 31 July 2022. Relying mainly on quantitative content analysis, the study explores the quantity of stories on road safety, the types of articles published (news, analysis, opinion, features, etc.), the reporting formats employed, the topics covered, and the sourcing." (Introduction)
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"Examples from Sierra Leone, Uganda, and India show how ‘ignorant public’ framings are used as explanation for vaccine hesitancy through assigned roles for institutions and publics, and the consequences this narrative has for vaccination encounters. These examples are based on ethnographic field
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work and media analysis carried out before, during, and after outbreaks, of newly introduced vaccines for both human and animal health. Drawing on science communication and development studies, we show how this narrative then positions governmental concern about vaccine hesitancy as being a (largely) imagined issue of public ignorance. We argue that when institutions tasked with strengthening vaccine uptake see public ignorance as the key problem, this can obscure other problems, such as competing interests and experiences, and also minority group treatment. As a result, public governance is rationalised by assigning the ignorance label to certain public groups that stand in contrast to scientific and government expertise, and so accountability for low vaccine uptake is transferred onto the public." (Abstract)
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"This study forms part of the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG)’s wider research on humanitarian ‘digital divides’. Drawing on existing literature, interviews with humanitarian practitioners and research with people affected by crisis in Venezuela and Uganda, it explores how the presence of soci
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al media in humanitarian crises intersects with efforts to make humanitarian aid more inclusive. It finds that, despite almost a decade of bold claims regarding the potential for social media to support humanitarian action, practical engagements among humanitarian actors are, for the most part, still on the starting block. Yet, given the steady expansion of internet access and smartphone use worldwide, social media is likely to play an increasingly prominent role for affected people in current and future crises. Consequently, it is not a phenomenon humanitarian actors can continue to side-step. Given the tendency of social media platforms to mirror and amplify existing dynamics of marginalisation, a specific focus on promoting inclusion will need to be at the heart of efforts to engage more deeply as part of fundamental humanitarian commitments to impartiality and to ‘do no harm’." (Executive summary)
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"The potential benefits of increased digitalisation to refugees, living in situations where access to information and spaces for communication exchange are of the essence, are yet to be realised. Uganda’s forced migrants, both those in refugee settlements and those self-settled in urban areas, hav
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e demonstrated their eagerness to get and stay connected to the internet through social media platforms, regardless of the challenging context. The internet connectivity available to them ranges from cellular networking, wireless local area networking to personal area networking technologies. As communications systems and networks continue to grow and new social media applications are developed, the lives of refugees and humanitarians operating in settings of asylum are in reasingly likely to be affected in dynamic ways. As Maitland (2020) reminds us, connectivity (and its risks) can help overcome or ameliorate some of the sources of vulnerability. The road ahead is paved with complexities associated with refugee protection and inclusion in humanitarian programming in a ubiquitous digital environment, further accelerated by the exigencies of social distancing due to Covid-19." (Conclusion, page 35)
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"This study aims to understand the experiences of digital creatives in Kampala, Uganda, through a gendered lens. There is a large gap in the availability of data and knowledge on the digital creative industry in Uganda and this paper aims to address some of these blindspots. To understand these expe
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riences, this body of work explores a number of sector wide concerns through exploratory qualitative research methodologies around issues of access and use of digital technologies by digital creatives, the role of emerging technologies on the sector and finally, the policy ecosystem governing the creative industry in Uganda. The paper also draws from existing literature on the traditional creative industries in Uganda given the limited scholarship on the digital creative industries in the country. Key findings of the paper include a need to clearly define the digital creative industry, which at present is largely informal. Creatives face a number of structural barriers such as negative or harmful perceptions, policies and practices which hinder the growth of the sector. The study also found a significant discriminatory and sexist trend towards women digital creatives. Lastly, the research identifies a number of untapped opportunities which have the potential to leapfrog Uganda's digital creative sector. The paper concludes by making recommendations to different key stakeholders in the sector." (Executive summary, page 1)
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"This white paper seeks to unpack the use of Indigenous or non-majority language in the existing digital landscape. This ties into ideas about digital colonialism (Kwett, 2022), wherein hegemonic, or dominant, languages are threatening and jeopardising the ability for local language speakers to expr
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ess themselves and communicate in digital spaces. We hope to analyse a sample of existing scholarship on digital inclusion to examine how it plays out specifically through the use of local language on social media. We map key issues at work when local languages are used on social media platforms. These may concern issues that build on the theme of the digital divide to raise questions about digital equality, participation, citizenship, belonging and identity. Through this white paper, we aim to understand how the digital onboarding of language may empower, limit, extend and enrich user engagement. We also seek to unpack themes of access, safety and usability that the average user in these contexts may experience when using digital platforms for communication and daily life." (Aim of the paper, page 4)
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"One of the more important ventures in the world of media and development over the past decade has been The Guardian newspaper’s ‘Katine’ project in Uganda. The newspaper, with funding from its readers and Barclays Bank, put more than 2.5 million pounds into a Ugandan sub-county over the cours
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e of 4 years. The project was profiled on a dedicated Guardian microsite, with regular updates in the printed edition of the newspaper. In this article, I look at the relationship that developed between journalists and the non-governmental organisation and show that the experience was both disorienting and reorienting for the development project that was being implemented. The scrutiny of the project that appeared on the microsite disoriented the non-governmental organisation, making its work the subject of public criticism. The particular issues explored by journalists also reoriented what the non-governmental organisation did on the ground. I also point to the ways the relationship grew more settled as the project moved along, suggesting the amount of work that sometimes goes into what is often characterised as the relatively uncritical relationship between journalists and non-governmental organisations." (Abstract)
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"Das Werk bietet, nach Ländern bzw. Regionen aufgeschlüsselt, einen kompakten und aktuellen Überblick über geschichtliche Herkunft, weitere Entwicklungen und aktuelle Herausforderungen der afrikanischen Kirche aus katholischer Sicht. Dabei liegt ein Akzent auf den Beziehungen der Ortskirche zu a
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nderen Konfessionen und Religionen. Experten aus den jeweiligen Ländern bzw. Kenner der jeweiligen Situation vor Ort ermöglichen einen raschen und gründlichen Zugang zu den Besonderheiten der Kirchen und ihrer jeweiligen Rolle in den afrikanischen Gesellschaften heute. Dabei werden die Komplexität und die Vielfalt der verschiedenen Situationen innerhalb Afrikas deutlich." (Klappentext)
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"In Moldova, a series of hackathons led to the development of tech-based solutions to misinformation. In Ecuador, indigenous groups wrote their own stories on Wikipedia to strengthen their culture's representation and publicly correct misinformation. In Uganda, citizen journalists established a netw
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ork to report on underrepresented issues and groups. And in the Middle East, innovative concepts in journalism training are helping the next generation of journalists to become fit for the challenges of the future. These four case studies illustrate the approaches that DW Akademie and its partners are pursuing worldwide to strengthen the public dialogue. The goal is to foster innovation and increase the visibility of underrepresented topics, and to bring together innovators and experts to pool their knowledge and skills." (Publisher description)
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"With over 309 licensed radio stations, numerous public and private TV stations, and rapid growth in internet accessibility and usage, the media landscape in Uganda is dynamic, diverse, and rapidly evolving. Ugandans across the country from rural villages to urban centers are presented increasingly
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with more channels to meet their wide-ranging information needs. While radio remains the dominant medium of information for both women and men across Uganda, there remains enormous divides across the country that fuel unequal access to information and media consumption behaviors. The media sector is further challenged by poorly skilled media professionals, low quality journalism, a complex regulatory environment that is often not understood by media professionals and broadcasters, and high levels of self-censorship. The COVID-19 pandemic has both cemented the media’s position as an essential service provider, as well as challenged the sector, affecting advertising revenue, employment, the quality and quantity of content production, and the ability to meet the information needs of their audiences." (Publisher description)
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