Showing papers in "Africa Media Review in 1995"

Mass media-state relations in post-colonial Kenya

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between the state and the mass media in post colonial Kenya. Proceeding from the premise that this relationship has been characterized by uneasiness and conflict, the paper seeks to identify the major causes of this conflict. It provides insights into why the conflictual relationship has not changed much since the advent of the democratization process. The paper also examines the strategies used by the state to deal with the mass media. The central argument here is that the relationship between the mass media and the state in Kenya is unlikely to improve unless two conditions are met. First, there must be commitment on the part of the state to democratic governance and a recognition of the legitimate role of the media in the promotion and protection of democracy. Secondly, there must be a vibrant civil society that is capable of obstructing attempts by the state to encroach on the rights and freedoms of the public, including the freedom of the press. The political orientation in state society relations in Kenya since independence has been characterized by a determination by the state to control society. This approach, which is underpinned by an authoritarian ideology, resulted in a culture of fear rather than trust and respect for the state. Dr. Peter Wanyande is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

The Marxist legacy in media and cultural studies: implications for Africa

Abstract: This paper discusses the lineage of British cultural studies in relation to its historical antecedents in Britain and Germany, and with regard to developments in the USA, South America and Africa. Cultural and media studies are contrasted with American administrative research and the 'mass society' thesis. Cultural studies seek emancipation; administrative research contributes to social control. The paper ends with a discussion of African cultural theorists and their application of Marxism in anti-colonial struggles on the continent. Some of the problems evident in such scholars and activists as Cabral, Fanon and Ngugi wa Thiong'o are examined. The paper argues that the history of cultural studies during the 20th Century is a history of the ideological mobilisation of the term 'culture*. Prof. Keyan Tomaselli is the Director Centre for Cultural and Media Studies, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa. L'heritage Marxiste dans les Domaines du Media et des Etudes Culturelles: Ses Implications a regard de l'Afrique Par Keyan G. Tomaselli

De-mystifying the development process: the role of communication in community participation for sustainable development

Abstract: This paper attempts to simplify and explain the development process. It canvasses a micro, incremental Community Participation (CP) and Basic Needs Approach (BNA) to achieving and sustaining improved living conditions for the underprivileged and marginalised socio-economic groups in developing economies. Community participation is operationalised as a people-centred, skill-enhancing and empowerment device. It seeks to enlist the active involvement and influential participation of intended beneficiaries of development programmes in needs identification, prioritisation, project initiation, financing, execution, monitoring, evaluation, and consequent sustainability. The paper argues that, community participation as an alternative approach to development, requires alternative communication types, channels and strategies in the pursuit, actualisation and sustainability of development objectives. It differentiates between communicational improvement and operational communication, appraises the potentials and limitations of communication in development and suggests the use of participatory, community-based, small-group media for effective community participation and sustainable development. Dr E. O. Soola is Head of Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Development communication: clarification of constructs

Abstract: The concepts development communication, non-development communication, development journalism and development support communication are often misunderstood. The confusion, according to this paper, becomes even more magnified in Africa due to lack of sufficient literature on the conceptualisation, definition and operational parameters of the concepts in question. The paper presents a historical account of the origins of the concepts and differentiates each from the other. The essence of the paper, however, is that the mass media if well applied, can facilitate the development process. In a bid to illustrate how this can happen, the paper outlines some approaches that can be adopted and how best to manage these strategies. Paramount in the process is the need to synchromise the issue to be dealt with, the audience for whom the communication message is intended, the nature of the media to be used, and the socio-political and economic context within which the media campaign is to be effected. The paper concludes that all four concepts are crucial for development in their own right. It, however, warns that their effective utilisation calls for high degrees of specificity in their formulation, planning and management. Muiru Ngugi is a lecturer at Daystar University, Nairobi, and a freelance journalist.

Demographic patterns and sustainable development in Ghana.

Abstract: There is a growing recognition that the present demographic patterns in sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana do not augur well for the achievement of sustainable development. Ghana is characterized by a youthful population rapid population growth uneven population distribution high fertility and rural-urban migration which has brought human numbers into collision with resources to sustain them. It is submitted that the issues discussed are equally applicable to the subregion as well. The estimated population in 1993 was about 16.4 million. The population of Ghana increased from 1970 to 1984 at a rate of growth of 2.6% per annum. The proliferation of small settlements has serious implications for sustainable development. Urban centers comprised about 12.9% of the total population in 1948 23% in 1960 28.3% in 1970 and 31.3% in 1984. The average woman in Ghana still has more than six children. The 1988 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) indicated that the median age at first marriage for women was 16.5 years. Contraceptive use is low in sub-Sahara Africa. Currently married women (15-49) currently using any modern method ranged from 1% in Burundi (1987) and Mali (1987) to 36% in Zimbabwe (1988/89). The rapid population growth in Ghana coupled with the concentration of infrastructural facilities and job opportunities in the urban centers has resulted in a massive rural-urban migration. Basic social facilities like health water housing and electricity have been stretched to their breakpoints. The Government of Ghana initiated a major effort to put environmental issues on the priority agenda in March 1988. This led to the preparation of an Environmental Action Plan (EAP) in 1991 to address issues relating to the protection of the environment but the need is still urgent to adopt relevant population policies as a basic strategy in sustainable development.

Population communication and sustainable development. An analysis of population information education (IEC) projects in Anglophone Africa.

Abstract: Numerous data attest to the applied use of communication for development. The application of development support communication in the Philippines during 1973 for example turned the country from a net rice importer to a net exporter while UNICEFs information education and communication (IEC) intervention in its GOBI strategy and the World Health Organizations EPI have significantly reduced levels of childhood mortality through immunization against six of the major infectious diseases prevalent in developing countries. This paper considers the theoretical thought and interrelationships between and among communication population and development. It draws from basic data gathered from 29 UNFPA IEC project officers and managers to illustrate how population communication is used or underused to aid and facilitate sustainable development. The 12 men and 17 women from 16 countries of Anglophone Africa provided data on more than 29 population IEC projects in the region. Recommendations are made for the appropriate use of population communication projects to support behavioral change and development. Throughout the paper a participatory model of development communication is endorsed. This participatory communication approach/model of development holds that audiences should be segmented and their opinions sought. Future beneficiaries should be involved in all facets of a project if they are to reap the maximum level of benefits.