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Felix Odartey-Wellington

Bio: Felix Odartey-Wellington is an academic researcher from Cape Breton University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Human rights & Siege. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 8 publications receiving 35 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors proposed a critical race theoretical approach to news discourse to counter the erasure of race in Canadian public discourse using media coverage of the Suaad Hagi Mohamud affair as a case study.
Abstract: This article proposes a critical race theoretical approach to news discourse to counter the erasure of race in Canadian public discourse, using media coverage of the Suaad Hagi Mohamud affair as a case study. Between May and August 2009, Mohamud, a Canadian of Somali origin, was stranded in Nairobi, Kenya, because Canadian authorities voided her passport on the erroneous grounds that she was an impostor and consequently procured her prosecution by Kenyan authorities. While Mohamud’s case received extensive media coverage in Canada, much of the coverage failed to interrogate the possibility that her experience was racially motivated, despite facts that should have raised such concerns. Consequently, this article adopts a critical race perspective in discussing mainstream media coverage of the case and suggests alternative media discourses that engage with the race question in relevant cases. RESUME Cet article applique la theorie critique de la race au discours de l’information afin de contrer l’effacement de la race dans le discours public au Canada, en utilisant la couverture mediatique de l’affaire Suaad Hagi Mohamud comme etude de cas. Entre mai et aout 2009, Mohamud, une Canadienne d’origine somalienne, n’a pas pu quitter Nairobi au Kenya parce que les autorites canadiennes ont annule son passeport sous le pretexte errone qu’elle etait un imposteur, entrainant ainsi sa poursuite par les autorites kenyanes. Bien que le cas de Mohamud ait recu une couverture mediatique imposante au Canada, une grande part de cette couverture a neglige de soulever l’idee que le racisme ait cause ses malheurs, malgre l’existence de faits qui auraient du entrainer de telles constatations. En consequence, cet article a recours a la theorie critique de la race afin de discuter de la couverture mediatique dominante sur le cas et proposer des discours mediatiques alternatifs qui, dans des cas connexes, traitent efficacement de race.

13 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is a paucity of academic literature on Radio Univers 26 years after it first took to the airwaves as Ghana's first authorized campus-community broadcaster as mentioned in this paper, drawing mainly on direct observatio...
Abstract: There is a paucity of academic literature on Radio Univers 26 years after it first took to the airwaves as Ghana’s first authorized campus-community broadcaster. Drawing mainly on direct observatio...

13 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The failure of the Ghanaian National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) to disseminate the NRC report could jeopardise the commission's potential contributions to sustainable reconciliation, human rights and democracy in Ghana as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) as transitional justice and conflict resolution mechanisms, have gained international prominence, especially following South Africa’s much publicised TRC experience. Among other things, TRCs are expected to contribute to democratic consolidation by correcting the historical narrative, acknowledging past human rights violations and fostering a human rights culture in nascent democracies. This was the spirit in which Ghana’s National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) executed its mandate from 2002 to 2004. However, a decade after the commission issued its final report, this article reflects on the failure of the Ghanaian state to disseminate the report. It is argued that the failure to disseminate the NRC Report could jeopardise the commission’s potential contributions to sustainable reconciliation, human rights and democracy in Ghana. This article accounts for the failure to disseminate the report, and makes corrective recommendations as well as suggestions for future research. Key words: Transitional justice, human rights, Ghana, national reconciliation commission, truth and reconciliation commissions, authoritarian enclaves.

8 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the commodification of development programming such as news and other content in the Ghanaian media space and use the case of two NGOs operating in the Northern Region to ex...
Abstract: This article discusses the commodification of development programming such as news and other content in the Ghanaian media space. It uses the case of two NGOs operating in the Northern Region to ex...

5 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as mentioned in this paper proposed a policy and regulatory context in which the Al-Jazeera decision is situated and the factors leading to the decision, arguing that in proscribing abusive speech on the airwaves, the regulator locates freedom of expression within the context of a mandate to ensure that the Canadian broadcasting system makes a tolerant, multiethnic and multicultural Canadian nation imaginable.
Abstract: The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission provoked extensive debate in 2004 when, in a seminal decision, it approved controversial and popular satellite television network Al-Jazeera Arabic for Canadian distribution. While the broadcast regulator's decision placed what some consider onerous responsibilities on potential Al-Jazeera carriers, others argue that given past egregious incidents of abusive speech on the network, it should not have been approved at all. This article accounts for the policy and regulatory context in which the Al-Jazeera decision is situated and the factors leading to the decision. The article argues that in proscribing abusive speech on the airwaves, the regulator locates freedom of expression within the context of a mandate to ensure that the Canadian broadcasting system makes a tolerant, multiethnic and multicultural Canadian nation imaginable.

5 citations


Cited by
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Journal Article
TL;DR: Some argue that any effort to limit capitalist domination of media is an underhanded backdoor effort to eliminate capitalism as mentioned in this paper. But even those who believe in the legitimacy of capitalism need not believe that media should be the sole province of capitalists.
Abstract: Some argue that any effort to limit capitalist domination of media is an underhanded backdoor effort to eliminate capitalism. It is true that for those who are socialists or who are critical of capitalism, having a commercial media system is problematic; the track record is that such a system will not have much enthusiasm for hard-edged social criticism, especially from the Left. But even those who believe in the legitimacy of capitalism need not believe that media should be the sole province of capitalists. Indeed, they should not, if they value democracy. Market economies can survive, arguably even prosper, without having U.S.-style commercial media systems. The real question is whether democracy can survive as anything more than a fig leaf covering concentrated private power. As for the argument that new digital technologies render regulation-!J meaning regulation that might impede private interests, not regulation that assists them-obsolete, it does not even pass rudimentary analysis. Merely being able to launch a Web site is wonderful and it has opened up the media system, but what is striking is how little effect it has had on the commercial media system so far. Not a single new commercially viable media content concern has been introduced on the Internet. The power of the market trumps the magic of the technology. If we want the Internet to spawn a new generation of viable media content providers, we cannot look to the market to produce that outcome. It will require explicit policies to generate such an outcome. Moreover, however one might want the Internet to develop, policy decisions will go a long way in pointing it in its ultimate direction. Global trade agreements, intellectual property laws and regulations, traditional media subsidies and regulations, and the like will be decisive in ,determining the future of the Internet. As with media writ large, the question is not whether we want regulation, but what type of regulation we want. It is worth noting as an addendum, that the Internet itself is a tremendous testament to public sector policymaking and cooperative economic and social activity. The Internet would never have developed if left to the market. The same is true of many other innovations in communication. in short, the public sector has a cornerstone role in communication, and fundamental interests to protect. This also suggests that the positive economic benefits from devel~ oping the media-information sector can, shou.ld, and do come from signifi~t public sector involvement. 20

349 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: This paper argued that the carceral net was in operation well before the events of 9/11, and that since then, the wound has tightened to render Muslim bodies unworthy on the grounds of their putative criminality, and as undeserving victims, unbefitting state intervention and societal sympathy.
Abstract: The events of September 11, 2001 unleashed a series of security measures designed ostensibly to protect Western nations from terrorist attacks. Many of these measures were aimed at keeping out potential terrorists and neutralizing potential terrorist activities. However, many were also aimed at citizens within the nation, legitimizing their exclusion and denial of rights. Drawing on the case of Omar Khadr, this paper argues that the carceral net ensnaring Omar Khadr was in operation well before 2001. However, since then, the carceral net has tightened to render Muslim bodies unworthy on the grounds of their putative criminality, and as undeserving victims, unbefitting state intervention and societal sympathy. The colour line, I argue, demarcates bodies that are considered worthy as opposed to those precarious others who can be penalized by the state and whose lives simply do not matter. Race, class and gender intersect and interlock to construct particular representations of victimhood as demonstrated by contemporary media representations of Muslim women.

43 citations