DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM

Index on Censorship, 1992

Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies, 2008

From the premise that a free and democratic society is impossible without free and responsible media and an active civil society and that freedom and democracy must evolve from within a particular society in order to mature into a way of life for the society and its media, the present study examines the symbiotic role of the media and civil society in West Africa"s struggle for democratic governance. It addresses the question of the independence and accountability of West Africa"s media vis-à-vis foreign donors, local business and political forces along with the effects on local audiences of giant Western/global media organizations competing in the region. The article concludes that West Africans must design their democratic model; that the West African media must be guided by normative ethics frameworks rooted in the values that inspire the region"s democratic aspirations, and that global media ethics principals should essentially serve as supplemental guidelines to those frameworks.

2010

The Nigerian socio-political environment influences press freedom with adverse implications for education, information, entertainment and surveillance. A theoretical recognition of the press as the "fourth estate" connotes the capacity of the press to monitor the tiers of government (the legislature, the executive and the judiciary). However, the state monitors the press in Nigeria in a manner that negates the principle of the fourth estate. This article examines the repression of press freedom in Nigerian democratic dispensations. Using questionnaires and indepth interviews, data were drawn from 440 members of staff of selected print and electronic press organisations in Lagos and Oyo states of Nigeria. Results showed that although the press facilitated the development of democracy, challenges to press freedom were frequent. Respondents largely confirmed that the press kept the public informed, entertained and enlightened, and it set standards and established values for public conduct. The findings showed that the proposed Freedom of Information Bill (FIB) would empower the press and promote democracy in Nigeria if passed into law and implemented. Therefore, it was recommended that press organisations should pursue their professionalism and the ethics of journalism rather than succumb to socio-political forces influencing the quantity and quality of information made available to the public. Political leaders in Nigeria should accommodate public opinion and press reports on necessities for socioeconomic development before making any public interest decision.

Global Media Journal African Edition, 2014

During elections it is particularly important to assess the role media have of holding government to account on behalf of citizens. While media, in particular commercial media, do not sign a formal contract stating that they endorse and will fulfill this role, this expectation must be recognised and honoured in support of the argument for a free and plural media. Throughout the world, ownership and control of means of communication have always been seen as critical aspects of political power since time immemorial. In most African countries, where governments own and control a sizeable number of newspapers and radio stations, the independent media have been seen as the true monitors of democracy (Ronning, & Kupe, 2000). However, these 'independent media' also come with their own sets of problems (Kasoma, 1997 on the Post in Zambia). Journalism in Africa has come far in recent decades. The decline of one-party dictatorships, which traditionally kept a grip on the press, has brought about rapid changes. The number of media outlets has expanded in many countries, such as South Africa and Nigeria (Freedom House, 2009).

2017

Free and independent information media are fundamental for both the economic and democratic development of countries (Sanjukta, 2014). In Africa, and particularly in conflict zones, international donors and non-profit organisations mainly support media development. They provide initial investments to help stabilise countries and support their transition towards democracy or out of war. After a certain level of success is perceived, donors and organisations either lower their support or withdraw completely. The sustainability of media in the long run is therefore one of the biggest problems for developing democracies to solve (Cook, 2016). Furthermore, donor interventions have emphasised training, but much less so the development of strategies and the creation of institutionalised structures for educating journalists, media business managers, and audience researchers over the long term (Fojo, 2012; Kariithi, 2002; Susman-Pena, 2012). Among the five objectives that according to the In...

2016

This article explores development journalism as an agent of change to ordinary people lives or a political power by focusing on the Ethiopian context. Accordingly, the researcher used historical-analytical methodology to achieve the objectives that is stated. In addition, the researcher used policy documents, investigative research, and educational curriculum for the purpose of desk-review. The purpose of the research focuses on assessment of policy document, training offered in the discipline of development journalism, the practices, the major challenges to its practices, and the educational curriculum in the Ethiopian universities that supports the policy document of development journalism. The policy document clearly puts development journalism as the governing of media policy of the country. On the other hand, the policy document did not get full support from higher education curriculum of journalism and communication departments which exclusively offer development journalism and development communication in a total of five credit hours in the undergraduate level that supply media professionals to mass medias' found in Ethiopia. The policy document has no sustainability and reserved to support sustainability development. To this end, the research indicates that the development journalism premises as a policy of development journalism is not an agent of social change but a tool of political power that suppress the ordinary people.

ABSTRACT This research work focused on “Problems of mass media in developing countries”. The main objective of this work is to discuss the problems facing mass media in developing countries and to identify the nature of mass media in developing countries. This thesis also aims to examine and evaluate the various forms of media ownership and control in developing countries. The theories used to develop this research. Issue of ownership is a recurring one in media discourse because of its implications for both management and journalists. The degree of control by the owner also determine the nature of media output just as journalists working in government owned newspapers were advised to “learn to toe the government tune or quiet.” The control imbibes in them with the features that help us draw distinction between products of different media. For media to effectively discharge their duties judiciously without fear depends on a number of factors. One of these factors is ownership of the media work the resultant coming from the owners. At this juncture, it would be pertinent to add that the issue of ownership control of the media is a running battle over in developing countries and Nigeria is not left out. Press in developing countries especially in Nigeria needs to exercise greater editorial responsibility to the nation in diverse. Thus, mass media must ensure that they perform their primary functions which include information, education and surveillance of the environment; this would help in ensuring that the developing countries attain their developed stages. The mass media is saddled with the responsibility of being accountable and serving as a link between the government and the people according to the constitution of the state, the mass media must ensure that they carry out this responsibility. The government should also encourage the mass media by providing them with relevant facilities which stabilize them and sustain them to perform their functions. Mm,,mass media in developing countries should also ensure that they carry the society in which they operate along during the process of their operations, thus, would ensure the ability to get the support of the society in the process of their activities. KEYWORDS: Mass media, Developing countries.

Political Communication in Africa (Springer, Cham), 2017

This chapter uses a content analysis of headlines and the “African news” sections of national newspapers of five African states, one from each of the five subregions, and a focus group discussion with six Nigerian journalists to contextualize the role of the African media in (un)shaping perception about the continent. The chapter argues that the bleak picture of the continent that the African media peddles through its overwhelming emphasis on negative news and subjective reportage of the activities of African governments to its national and international publics serve largely to water the seeds of internal discord and Afro-pessimism. It can therefore be argued that the African mass media has continued to contribute to the pessimistic imaging of Africa through its one-sided reportage of the continent. This has far-reaching consequences for not only democratic sustenance but also Africa’s human and economic development. The chapter suggests that in view of the power that communication wields over matters of political and economic development and the media’s role in this equation, the African mass media needs to awaken to the obligation of partnering with government to set and nurture societal goals and aspirations, articulating a shared vision of progress for both the state and the continent

International Journal of Research, 2017

Libertarian theory states that nothing in the world should be restricted. It further says that, there should be free circulation of information in the world and a country should be a free market of ideas/information. However, according to Uganda media research report 2015, media leaders in Uganda constantly acknowledge that there are problems regarding the quality of journalism as often seen in the lack of depth and accuracy, lack of balance and fairness, moralization rather than analysis, provision of excitement and incitement rather than information, and unwanted attacks on the lives of private citizens. Different media houses have been censored, journalists and political leaders arrested and jailed due to the information they disseminate through media channels mainly electronic media. Using observation analysis, the Uganda government has constantly accused the media users of violating the media rules. Similarly, the media users also have constantly blamed the government for denyi...