Women’s voice in humanitarian media. No surprises. (Humanitarian Advisory Group Paper, 2018)
The Humanitarian Advisory Group took a brief snapshot of online media covering humanitarian topics from two media outlets over a four-week period. The data indicates that women are underrepresented in humanitarian media—just 23% of officials and experts quoted were women. While this is no surprise—it reflects the underrepresentation of women in media more broadly—it is an issue that needs to be addressed. The authors argue this needs to be addressed because media shapes people’s perceptions of the roles of women, and unconscious bias impacts advancement in the workplace, and also because women are underrepresented in humanitarian leadership. Click here for full paper ...
Media Pluralism, Public Trust, and Democracy: New Evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean (CIMA Report, 2018)
As elsewhere, public trust in the media is on the decline in Latin America and the Caribbean. Is this trend attributable to social media? To a broader anti-establishment backlash? Or does it reflect growing concerns over pluralism in the media and the dominant control of the media by a few elites. Understanding the public perceptions on these issues is essential for building broad coalitions for reform. In this report, an analysis of new data from the 2016/2017 AmerciasBarometer survey sheds light on these questions. In addition to surveying the public about press freedom and trust in the media, the latest AmericasBarometer questionnaire also includes five new questions specifically designed to gauge individual perceptions of media pluralism. Click here for full report ...
Spaces of Inclusion – An explorative study on needs of refugees and migrants in the domain of media communication and on responses by community media (COE, 2018)
The publication looks at the role played by media in framing the public debate on migration, with often divisive narratives that focus on the threats that refugees and migrants can pose to the security, welfare and cultures of European societies. Based on individual interviews, the qualitative study explores the media habits and particular needs of refugees and migrants in the domain of media communication. Good practice examples show how community media can meet these needs by offering training and spaces for self-representation, and by offering points of entry into local networks. Community media and their bottom-up approach to content production also contribute to a multilingual media environment that reflects the diversity of European societies and includes marginalised communities as respected part of audiences. Click here to access the report ...
Don’t Shoot the Messenger! Journalists as Human Rights Defenders in the East and Horn of Africa (DefendDefenders, 2017)
In a new report launched at the 61st session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, DefendDefenders finds that amid growing restrictions on civic space in the sub-region, journalists play a critical role in exposing human rights violations and providing vital information and analysis of current events. Simply documenting and sharing information can simultaneously place them at risk and at the forefront of human rights defence. In “Don’t Shoot the Messenger! Journalists as Human Rights Defenders in the East and Horn of Africa”, DefendDefenders examines the challenges journalists face, and provides an overview of the various strategies they have used to circumvent and continue their work amid these restrictions. Overall trends, legal frameworks, and case studies from 11 countries in the East and Horn of Africa provide an understanding of the capacity, risks, and needs of journalists reporting on human rights issues. Over 60 journalists, bloggers, and media professionals from the sub-region were interviewed, in addition to significant input from civil society organisations dedicated to free expression and the protection of journalists. Central to the report is the question of whether journalists, by nature of their work, should be considered HRDs. Nearly all journalists interviewed for this report considered ...
Lost in Translation: The Misinformed Journey of Migrants Across Italy (Internews report 2017)
In April 2017, an Internews team conducted a rapid assessment on information needs among refugees and migrants in Italy, visiting formal reception facilities (hotspot, CAS, CARA) in Lampedusa, Agrigento, Catania, and informal centers in Ventimiglia and Rome. The numbers of people attempting to reach Italy from points in North Africa (namely, Libya) through extremely dangerous routes, as well as those who perish on the journey, are staggering. It is impossible to know how many deaths occur while traversing the African continent, or while in captivity in Libya. One migrant said, ominously, “for every 1,000 of us there are here (in Italy), 5,000 have died along the way.” Before they board overcrowded wooden boats or dinghies destined for Italian shores, migrants report being tortured and held for ransom, arbitrary and prolonged detention, as well as brutal sexual abuse while they are in Libya. Their phones are taken, and they have no means of accessing critical services or information. Migrants embark on a months-long (or more) journey without realizing how dire it is, or the brutality that awaits them in Libya. When asked if they would make the voyage again, knowing what they know now, an overwhelming number of migrants said that ...
How does the media on both sides of the Mediterranean report on migration? (ICMPD Report 2017)
Is the media underequipped to cover migration? This was the question investigated in the study on 17 countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region. It identifies major challenges to migration reporting and finds that media in many countries on both sides of the Mediterranean are under-resourced and unable to provide the time, money and appropriate level of expertise that is needed to tell the migration story in context. EUROMED Migration IV, funded by the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the EU and implemented by ICMPD, commissioned the Ethical Journalism Network to conduct this study for which journalists from 17 countries have examined the quality of migration media coverage in 2015/16 from a national perspective. The study covers nine EU countries and eight countries in the south of the Mediterranean. It finds that journalists are often poorly informed about the complex nature of migration as a phenomenon. At the same time newsrooms are also vulnerable to pressure, manipulation and hate speech by some political elites or voices on social media networks. The study also highlights inspirational examples of journalism at its best –resourceful, painstaking, and marked by careful, sensitive and humanitarian reporting. In order to address the identified challenges it provides ...
Media Development in the Digital Age: Five Ways to Engage in Internet Governance (CIMA 2017)
The digital convergence means that how the Internet develops going forward — both in terms of policy and technology — will shape the very environment in which all other media operate. This report makes the case to the media development community that they can, and must, engage in the decision-making bodies that are shaping Internet governance (IG) to ensure that the Internet — and the growing media sphere it sustains — remains open, pluralistic, and democratic. • The media development community can work to improve the global enabling environment for media by actively engaging in Internet governance. • Policy issues being discussed at ICANN, IGF, ITU, IETF, and IEEE could greatly benefit from the input of those with media development experience. • Multistakeholder Internet governance presents a unique opportunity for the media development community to actively shape the future media ecosystem ...
Call for Papers: Development in Practice – Special Issue on theme of ‘ Communicating Development / Mediating Social Change’
Guest Editors: Dr. Linje Manyozo (RMIT University) - [email protected]; Prof. Robin Mansell (London School of Economics) Theme: Communicating Development / Mediating Social Change Context: In the aftermath of the 2008 Financial Crash, a group of students at the University of Manchester calling themselves the Post-Crash Economics Society called for a radical rethink of the teaching of economics, specifically, and the social sciences, generally. They argued that alternative theories, practices and reflections are needed to provide an intellectual antidote to mainstream and classical theories and approaches. This includes the theory and practice of development. This special issue of Development in Practice will include papers offering a radical rethink of the theory, practice and pedagogy of communication for development. The aim is to rescue the discourses and approaches from westernization, theoretical elitism, and the ‘developmentalism’ of dominant organizations and institutions. This is in line with celebrating the ‘ethnography of development’ (Mosse 2005; Escobar 1995) and offering pathways for capturing and celebrating subaltern and periphery experiences and theoretical frameworks. Since the 1940s when expansive development interventions were launched the world over in the aftermath of WWII, concerns have been raised by scholars, practitioners and community members about the involvement of local people and ...
‘Global Mechanism: Communication, Media, Social and Behaviour Change?’ Discussions from a C4D consultation meeting, November 2016
Could a global advocacy mechanism add value to the C4D field? Similar movements have been seen in other areas of development – from the Global Partnership on Violence Against Children to ‘WASH For All’ – so how might this work in our sector? This was among the key issues discussed at a C4D consultation meeting in London on 10th November 2016. Hosted by BBC Media Action, a group of C4D professionals based in the UK came together to share their opinions and ideas on four primary questions: “Would a global mechanism bring added value to communication and media (for) development, social and behavioural change?” Almost all participants agreed that it would, and pointed out that the central question is therefore one of definition – under which name should the field incorporate these strands? “What overall goals and themes would you propose as the focus of such a mechanism? What strategic approach should such a mechanism take to work towards those goals?” The ideas proposed included: developing an evidence base (to then establish gaps within it); aligning organisational agendas to minimise duplication; establishing a recognised focal point for the mechanism; developing an accreditation for staff and academic training; creating university modules ...
Media Development and Countering Violent Extremism: An Uneasy Relationship, a Need for Dialogue (CIMA report 2016)
This report looks at how media development practitioners are reacting to the rise of the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) agenda, and its growing influence on their field. This influence is the cause of concern, not only because practitioners of CVE and media development have fundamentally different worldviews, but because the CVE agenda is seen to pose serious risks for southern media houses and the organizations that support them. Click here for full report ...
Turn up the volume: empowering women through media (BBC Media Action Practice briefing 2016)
This practice briefing sets out what BBC Media Action has learned about how media can provide a platform for both men and women to hold their leaders to account, while empowering them to participate in their own communities. After setting out the global picture for gender and governance, the paper outlines BBC Media Action’s approach to supporting women to participate in their communities and hold their leaders to account. It then unpacks the challenges of creating gender-sensitive governance programmes and weighs up how successful BBC Media Action has been in reaching and impacting women. The paper concludes with some recommendations to inform future programming. Click here for full briefing ...
Constraints and opportunities: What role for media development in the Countering Violent Extremism agenda? (IMS briefing 2016)
International Media Support’s briefing seeks to provide initial guidance on the definition of “Countering Violent Extremism” and what it means for the media development sector, its donors and other organisations that work with media developers ...