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During recent years, considerable attention has been paid to the negative portrayal of the African continent in the media of the so-called 'global North'. Significantly less focus has been put on how to actually represent Africa in the news as more than the site of catastrophes or in other ways than through sunshine stories of the 'struggling but smiling African'. The present article argues that the lack of a wide range of different genres in the North's mediated representations of Africa is problematic, because the 'hard news' we receive is deficient in information about the background and context of news event. The article looks into different cultural expressions such as film, television entertainment and literature to explore how they can play a role in illustrating the concept of 'Africa' as both diverse and multifaceted. It argues that opening the northern mediascape to more content from the south would serve as an important backdrop and help in understanding a variety of messages from the African continent.

Introduction : changes and challenges in African media / Helge R(c)ınning & Kristin Skare Orgeret -- Strengths and weaknesses : political change and the media in Africa since the 1990s / Helge R(c)ınning -- A decade in the SABC : continuity and change within the public broadcaster / Kristin Skare Orgeret -- Relevance and popularity : debating public broadcasting and tabloidisation in South Africa / Wallace Chuma -- Three decades of public television and political power in Zimbabwe : 1980-2009 / Winston Mano -- Media, politics and power : re-gearing policy and propaganda in crisis Zimbabwe / Sarah Chiumbu & Dumisani Moyo -- New ICTs and social change in southern Africa / Martin Nkosi Ndlela -- The influence of the media : audiences and impact in Mozambique / Helge R(c)ınning -- Bridging digital divides : exploring the principles of the community multimedia centre model in Uganda / Carol Azungi Dralega -- A critical look at the digital diaspora : perspectives from Ethiopia / Terje S. Skjerdal

For a long time, the role of media and communication in African politics was relatively neglected. This neglect can, as Leila Demarest2 argues, to some extent be explained by the authoritarian turn that took place in many African countries after independence and the tight control of state governments on the press, as well as violent repression of dissenting voices. As Bruce Mutsvairo and Beschara Karim have shown in their edited volume on political communication in Africa3, the introduction of constitutionalism in many African countries following years of colonial subjugation was expected to play a leading role in determining the destiny of party politics. As many African countries democratised, liberalisation made communication all the more important in the political domain, and many saw newly-gained press freedom as one of the best instruments to put lingering authoritarianism under pressure. Also, of increasing importance across the continent was the role played by technology in influencing political processes. Studies show all the same how media's role in elections, political processes and decision making varies within an affiliation of emerging democracies and long-standing dictatorships4. Therefore, we argue, it makes sense to 'zoom in' and have a closer look at political communication in one specific region, namely East Africa to which this special issue is dedicated. In this introductory article we give an overview of political communication research in general and the three – or four – ages of political communication, before tuning in to political communication in East Africa and the presentation of this special issue's articles. ; This Special Issue is made possible by the support of the Norwegian Directorate for Development Communication (NORAD), through the Norhed project, 'Bridging Gaps' (Norhed project QZA-0487 UGA-13/0015). ; acceptedVersion

The article discusses the role of social media in relation to the traditional journalistic sphere in Uganda. Through an analysis of how journalists in three Ugandan newspapers use social media in their daily work, the article discusses how social media affect conventional sourcing practices, reportage and professional norms. The article is particularly interested in how Facebook and Twitter serve as alternative channels through which sources with less access to traditional means of communication get their message(s) across to journalists. The findings are discussed in light of the present development of social media legislation in Uganda. The discussions feed into a larger reflection on social media's potential to create avenues of access in a semi-democratic setting where attempts to curtail media freedom and freedom of expression are frequent. ; This study was supported with funding from the Norhed Project UGA 13-0015, Bridging Gaps Building Futures for the research and authorship of this article. ; publishedVersion

"Der Aufsatz analysiert die Medienberichterstattung über den BDR-Aufruhr in Bangladesch im Februar 2009 und untersucht die journalistischen Prozesse und die Art und Weise, wie die bangladeschischen Medien über den Konflikt berichteten, mit Blick auf die Anwendbarkeit friedensjournalistischer Konzepte in der aktuellen Konfliktberichterstattung. Mittels einer Kombination verschiedener Methoden untersucht der Aufsatz die vorherrschenden Trends der Berichterstattung über den Aufruhr. Die detaillierte Analyse der Berichterstattung dreier Zeitungen zeigt, dass fast zwei Drittel der Berichte den Konflikt auf Gewalt und Gewalttätigkeit reduzierten, während ein Drittel einem Peace-Frame folgte. Interessanterweise hatten sämtliche Editorials einen Peace-Frame. Gestützt auf Ausschnitte aus Interviews mit Journalisten und Redakteuren trägt der Aufsatz zur Diskussion darüber bei, wie Journalisten und Redakteure selbst den Prozess der Konfliktberichterstattung interpretieren und ihn als gegeben hinnehmen oder in Frage stellen." (Autorenreferat)

The article discusses political activism in Uganda and the role of social media. It focuses on two specific cases, the 2011 'Walk-to-Work' and the 2017 'Pads4Girls' campaigns in order to contribute to better understanding of the ever-evolving dynamic between political activism and the media in such campaigns. A disputed presidential election in 2011 in Uganda prompted opposition politicians to call nationwide protests. The architects of the protests hoped this would eventually lead to the downfall of Museveni's newly elected government. The 'Pads4Girls' campaign on the other hand, was spearheaded by a female academic activist and provoked unprecedented response from politicians across the political divide, activists and unaffiliated individuals who added weight to the campaign. The article's discussions feed into a broader conversation on the interaction of media and politics in semi-democratic contexts such as Uganda, where attempts to curtail media freedom and freedom of expression are frequent. ; This research was made possible through a grant (Norad–Norhed QZA-0487 UGA-13/0015). ; acceptedVersion

This anthology addresses complex, interconnected issues, such as the rise of extremism and terrorism, diversity and minority rights, as well as the situation for freedom of expression in eight different countries, most of them with a Muslim majority population. Extremists recruit terrorists through social media, and target minorities as well as freedom loving people by utilizing their freedom of expression to threaten the rights of others. This happens not least in countries with a long experience of dictatorship. Journalists face huge challenges when reporting on these issues. The contributors are both academics and journalists, conveying their experiences from transnational research co-operation as well as reporting from the ground in conflict areas. Thus, this volume addresses itself to journalism students as well as professional journalists and others who need to navigate in a world in which both extremists and authoritarian states may stifle gender and minority rights, as well as the right to report and express oneself freely

In June 2016, the Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (Norhed) hosted a conference on the theme of 'knowledge for development' in an attempt to shift the focus of the programme towards its academic content. This book follows up on that event. The conference highlighted the usefulness of presenting the value of Norhed's different projects to the world, showing how they improve knowledge and expand access to it through co-operation. A wish for more meta-knowledge was also expressed and this gives rise to the following questions: Is this way of co-operating contributing to the growth of independent post-colonial knowledge production in the South, based on analyses of local data and experiences in ways that are relevant to our shared future? Does the growth of academic independence, as well as greater equality, and the ability to develop theories different to those imposed by the better-off parts of the world, give rise to deeper understandings and better explanations? Does it, at least, spread the ability to translate existing methodologies in ways that add meaning to observations of local context and data, and thus enhance the relevance and influence of the academic profession locally and internationally? This book, in its varied contributions, does not provide definite answers to these questions but it does show that Norhed is a step in the right direction. Norhed is an attempt to fund collaboration within and between higher education institutions. We know that both the uniqueness of this programme, and ideas of how to better utilise the learning and experience emerging from it, call for more elaboration and broader dissemination before we can offer further guidance on how to do things better. This book is a first attempt

"In June 2016, the Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (Norhed) hosted a conference on the theme of 'knowledge for development' in an attempt to shift the focus of the programme towards its academic content. This book follows up on that event.
The conference highlighted the usefulness of presenting the value of Norhed's different projects to the world, showing how they improve knowledge and expand access to it through co-operation. A wish for more meta-knowledge was also expressed and this gives rise to the following questions: Is this way of co-operating contributing to the growth of independent post-colonial knowledge production in the South, based on analyses of local data and experiences in ways that are relevant to our shared future?
Does the growth of academic independence, as well as greater equality, and the ability to develop theories different to those imposed by the better-off parts of the world, give rise to deeper understandings and better explanations?
Does it, at least, spread the ability to translate existing methodologies in ways that add meaning to observations of local context and data, and thus enhance the relevance and influence of the academic profession locally and internationally?
This book, in its varied contributions, does not provide definite answers to these questions but it does show that Norhed is a step in the right direction. Norhed is an attempt to fund collaboration within and between higher education institutions. We know that both the uniqueness of this programme, and ideas of how to better utilise the learning and experience emerging from it, call for more elaboration and broader dissemination before we can offer further guidance on how to do things better. This book is a first attempt."

This article, through conducting a study of the sexual harassment (SH) of media workers, investigates the extent and types of SH experienced by the editorial staff of Norwegian newsrooms at the time the #MeToo campaign arrived in Norway, and what effects such experiences have on journalists' professional lives. We are also interested in what Norwegian media houses are doing to address these challenges. The leading research question consists of three interrelated parts: To what extent are journalists exposed to SH? What coping strategies do they use? How can newsrooms be better prepared to fight SH, from the perspective of the safety of journalists? A mixed methods approach, which combines findings from a quantitative questionnaire with qualitative in-depth interviews, was used to answer these questions. The findings show that female, young, and temporary media workers are significantly more frequently targeted than others and that those who had experienced SH handled the situation using avoiding strategies to a significantly greater extent than those who had only been exposed to unwanted attention experiences. The findings feed into a discussion of what strategies media houses can use to be better prepared in the fight against SH.