Madagascar has been suffering from an unresolved political crisis since 2009 which has resulted in declining economic and human rights indicators and a widening communications gap between the Malagasy population and its leaders. With no mechanisms to ask for information, or hold their leaders to account, the population remains marginalised and disenfranchised from the democratic process with negative impacts on local governance. In the rural south in particular, where almost three quarters of the population are not literate, poorly educated and isolated, radio is the only source of...
IPDC Project implementation status: Ongoing
Jamaica has a vibrant radio media sector with twenty stations offering service, the majority being nationwide offering vast selections of music, phone in programmes and news. The sector is highly competitive, but driven by the dictates of the advertisers. The specific needs of communities driving development are only catered for by three radios, including Jet FM which serves rural Jamaica. Jeffrey Town Farmers Association, (JTFA) set up and launched Jet FM in 2008, and has been recognized as one of the best in Caribbean for its efforts at community development using media and recognized by...
A research summary report of the African Media Development Initiative (AMDI)14, indicates that literacy rates for urban areas of Tanzania average 35.4% and that the country has some of the lowest rates of access to Television and Newspaper based media across sub-Saharan Africa, with only 34% watching TV and 31% reading a newspaper at least once a week. The AMDI report also highlights low levels of professional, ethical, management and technical standards among media practitioners, which is attributed to: insufficient or poor-quality training institutions; rapid expansion of media outlets (...
The Caribbean has a varied level of media development, with Trinidad and Jamaica being the most sophisticated and Dominica and Guyana the least. This is a function of internal capacity and reflects in the local content production, quantitatively and qualitatively. The Caribbean TV landscape is almost totally dominated by imported U.S. Television, and there is also a clear and urgent need for production capacity building for both men and women producers in order to foster greater capability for the region to develop more in the area of freedom of expression.
Two of the main...
Journalism training in Malawi has progressed in leaps and bounce since the country’s return to a multiparty system of government. Historically, the media training institutions have approached journalism training from a traditional perspective in keeping with the way journalism has been practiced in the country and the region. In terms of curriculum standards, each institution pursues its own. While this is generally a norm in most training institutions in the world, including Malawi, it is preferable to have certain bench marks for all institutions. But media in Malawi is responding to...
On May 16th 2012, Brazil saw its Freedom of Information Law come into force. The text, approved by the Brazilian Congress after intense advocacy by civil society (mainly Abraji and the Right of Access to Public Information Forum), is one of the most comprehensive of the world. It includes municipalities, states and federal government and involves Judiciary, Executive and Legislative aspects. According to the text, most information must be made public in the Internet in computer-friendly format. The text also details the few exceptions to the new general instruction of transparency. But in...
In Zimbabwe, journalists take professional risks in the process of collecting and disseminating news and information. The risks become higher when the country is experiencing conflict, journalists become a target. As one media analyst observed, conflict and post-conflict areas in Africa are very dangerous for journalists. Safety issues rank high and journalists have fallen into trouble because of the existence of restrictive media laws. In some instances, journalists have themselves been reckless by not fully familiarising themselves on the full implications of existing laws. The Zimbabwe...
The media are essential to implementing the public information laws, enabling citizens to have a better knowledge of the current legislation, but they are also a tool for the exercise of journalistic activity in its role as watchdog of state institutions. Although Uruguay has an acceptable level of media development –considering its number of commercial, community and state radio stations and the number of existing newspapers- the same cannot be said about the diversity and plurality of the country’s media system as a whole. Among audiovisual media, private supply is thoroughly predominant...
Harare Polytechnic’s School of Journalism and Media Studies is the oldest journalism and media training institution in Zimbabwe. It trains print and broadcast journalists for the country’s public broadcaster as well as for the print media houses. The training which is a two-year full-time National Diploma is practically-based in line with market demands. Many graduates from the institution are readily absorbed by media houses in the region, and plans are at an advanced stage for Harare Polytechnic to introduce a Bachelor of Technology degree in Mass Communication.
In spite...
In this age of information, the processes of production, circulation and consumption of information, are leaving the unidirectional broadcasting logic and are radically transformed by the development of a decentralized network. In this context of disintermediation, it is essential to understand and adapt to the possibilities that new technologies bring to not continue reproducing obsolete communication models. It is a priority, then, to highlight the most favorable aspects of the adoption of ICTs and encourage uses that contribute to strengthening the fulfillment of human rights, such as...
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