Liberian media has grown in terms of numbers, but is left wanting in terms of quality. There are more than thirty daily, weekly, bi-weekly and other sporadically-produced publications on the newsstands; twenty radio stations, six television stations and over fifty community radio stations across the country. This development points to media pluralism, but the problem associated with this growth lies with professional standards and capacities of those who man these institutions to enable them to respond to the needs of the public. There are at least three universities in the country...
IPDC Project evaluated: No
Community broadcasting is one of the defining features of a plural and diverse media landscape. Among the characteristics of community radios are that they are owned and managed by communities; carry community-oriented programming; pursue a social development agenda; and use participatory methods in their activities. From different parts of the world, reports attest that community radio gives access and voice to marginalized peoples; empowers them to improve their lives and immediate environment; helps build capacities of societies to hold leaders accountable; helps to tackle poverty,...
The Djiboutian media landscape comprises both print and electronic media outlets, but no daily newspapers are published in the country. The Djibouti Radio and Television Broadcasting Service (RTD) is the only state-run radio outlet, and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Communication. The RTD operates 2 FM stations and 2 AM stations. Djibouti has no formal structures which provide training in the fields of communication and journalism. In July and August 2011, a UNESCO mission conducted an on-site survey to assess needs in the area of journalism training. The...
The role played by mass media and press agencies in promoting democracy and the development of any given country is indisputable. As a developing nation, engaged in bringing tangible social and economic change, Ethiopia needs well-qualified journalists and communicators. The country has long been in need of such professionals since until very recently none of its higher institutions offered a Journalism and Communications programme of study.
The Department of Journalism and Communication at Mekelle University is one of ten departments under the College of Social Sciences and...
Tigray is one of the largest regions in Ethiopia with a population of 5 million; among these numbers nearly a half million are settled in the capital city, Mekelle. In the past decade, different media institutions in the country have been given autonomous right to establish community based FM stations in their own native language to provide basic information for their community. Due to this, and the significance of the media, Mekelle FM 104.4 was established in 2009 so as to address social and economic issues of the community in Mekelle and surrounding areas. The radio covers a radius of...
The number of journalists killed in Africa in the line of their duty, deliberately, in crossfire, and combat related circumstances has been increasing year in year out. According to the International News Safety Institute, some 199 journalists and media workers were killed in Africa between 1990 and 2006. In 2009 more journalists and associated media workers were killed than during the years before. Other journalists were attacked, arrested, injured, kidnapped or detained. These deadly attacks have brought to light that media houses in Africa do not have adequate policies and resources to...
Throughout the 1990s, the media landscape in Burkina Faso experienced significant growth, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. This was a natural consequence of the ongoing processes of democratisation, decentralisation and media liberalisation. To enable the free and fair practice of media-related activities, an Information Code was adopted in 1991, and a regulatory body: the Conseil Supérieur de la Communication (Higher Council for Communication), established in 1995. In terms of audio-visual media, Burkina Faso boasts 138 radio stations and 20 television channels. Print-media...
The Republic of Mali boasts a legal framework which, since 1991, has fostered the emergence of a vibrant and diversified media sector. The country counts 300 hundred radio stations—associative, community and commercial—, 19 of which broadcast out of the Kayes region alone. The population of Mali is mainly rural: more than 85% of the country's inhabitants live in rural areas. The high illiteracy rate accounts for the fact that radio is still the most effective means of disseminating information, raising awareness and educating the general public.
The project's immediate...
Niger is situated in the heart of continental Africa, covering 1,267,000 km2. Due to the size of the country, the low literacy rate, and the linguistic particularities of each of the country's 8 regions, radio and television broadcasting play a key role in the dissemination of information. Great importance is therefore attached to implementing and developing appropriate radio-broadcasting and television infrastructures. Nevertheless, one of the problems hindering the development of free media in Niger is the lack of professional training: most private and community media workers have...
With the advent of the 3rd Republic, the National Assembly of Mali can now be considered as the nation's barometer of democracy, on account of the debates conducted within that forum. However, where institutional activities are concerned, and parliamentary affairs in particular, Malian citizens on the whole are under-informed, and express little interest in the acts adopted by their parliamentary representatives. Popular indifference in this respect could constitute a factor of under-development, and a potential source of social crisis. Participation figures suggest a crisis both in terms...