To cite: Kogen, L. (2018). Evaluations and impact assessments in communication for development. I... more To cite: Kogen, L. (2018). Evaluations and impact assessments in communication for development. In J. Servaes (Ed.) Handbook of communication for development and social change. Springer.
The Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) monitored and evaluated the Half the Sky Movem... more The Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) monitored and evaluated the Half the Sky Movement (HTSM)/USAID project "Half the Sky Movement Global Engagement Initiative"from January 2014 to January 2016. This report summarizes the findings from this work. The evaluation sought to 1) assess the impact of the HTSM media interventions and 2) improve and inform future efforts to use media in developing and conflict-affected regions. The evaluation also investigated whether HTSM's media tools can be packaged as a 'toolkit' that can be scaled up and / or used by other NGOs working on issues pertaining to women's empowerment in developing regions. To implement the evaluation, CGCS relied on two in-country M&E Officers, Kamakshi Khazanchi in India and Benard Moseti in Kenya, who coordinated directly with the NGOs on the ground. In Kenya, CGCS employed research firm Research Solutions Africa (RSA) to carry out in-depth-interviews as well as pre, post, and three-month follow-up test surveys for discussion group beneficiaries at YWLI. India M&E Officer Kamakshi Khazanchi coordinated all beneficiary in-depth-interviews and pre, post, and three-month followup test surveys for the Tonk NGOs. Dr. Maureen Taylor, Professor and Director in the School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Tennessee, assisted with the development of the project's Milestone Index for NGO capacity measurement, as well as completed all final evaluation interviews with Kenyan and Indian NGO coordinators and staff members. Disciplines Communication Technology and New Media Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
This paper evaluates the two most common methods of measuring voter time-ofdecision-the recall me... more This paper evaluates the two most common methods of measuring voter time-ofdecision-the recall method and the panel method-and asks whether the two methods are consistent with each other. Using data from the National Annenberg Election Survey collected during the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the findings suggest that these two methods measure different concepts, and thus cannot be used interchangeably. Furthermore, discrepancies between the two methods suggest that the accepted model of early, campaign, and late decision-making should be adjusted to account for a fourth group of voters that never changes their vote intention, but does not truly commit to that intention until later in the campaign. The concept of uncommitted early deciders is offered to describe this group, created by combining the two methods.
Celebrities in recent years have taken on a more active role in communicating global humanitarian... more Celebrities in recent years have taken on a more active role in communicating global humanitarian crises to the American public. This role at times shifts between journalist, advocate, philanthropist, and personal publicist. This paper evaluates how three of the most wellknown celebrities in this genre in the United States-Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, and Bono-differ in their method of speaking about these issues, focusing on how their public discourse adds to, or detracts from, citizens' abilities to understand, discuss, and respond to the issues presented in the public sphere. Through critical discourse analysis, similarities and differences are teased out and placed within the context of previous research on celebrity diplomacy and humanitarian crises, in order to evaluate the usefulness of such performances for the U.S. public as democratic citizens, and for the victims of foreign suffering the celebrities purport to represent.
This paper explores how the U.S. news media construct the topic of hunger in Africa for U.S. audi... more This paper explores how the U.S. news media construct the topic of hunger in Africa for U.S. audiences. Specifically, the paper addresses how newspapers define and delimit the relationship between U.S. citizens and foreign sufferers. Through a framing analysis and critical discourse analysis of randomly sampled newspaper stories, the author finds that while news articles covering hunger in the United States usually frame the problem as pertinent to the public Local Frame National Frame Global Frame Event Frame Public Sphere-Relevant Frames Public Sphere-Irrelevant Frames Silent Watchdog Frame
This study investigates how journalists covering international humanitarian crises make decisions... more This study investigates how journalists covering international humanitarian crises make decisions regarding what types of information to include in stories. Specifically, the inclusion / exclusion of solutions-oriented information is addressed, since crises represent a key time during which the potential for international engagement is discussed in the mainstream media. Interviews with journalists covering hunger crises in Africa reveal an internal tension between maintaining a neutral, unbiased position and writing in a way that supports engagement and action. Ironically, perhaps, journalists find that including solutions-oriented information amounts to unethical and biased coverage, despite the fact that inclusion of solutions to social problems is an accepted and institutionalized aspect of the American news media's mandate to the public. Reasons for this seeming contradiction are discussed, and I argue that solutionsoriented information not only can be included without demonstrating bias, but that it ought to be included to support ethical coverage that properly informs citizens about potential paths for political engagement.
Welles was not only able to show that Kane's life was a veritable jigsaw puzzle, and that no ... more Welles was not only able to show that Kane's life was a veritable jigsaw puzzle, and that no single version of a story is complete, but also that time can be represented in many ways in the unique medium of the cinema.'
In recent decades, development donors in the West have touted a shift to rigorous evaluations and... more In recent decades, development donors in the West have touted a shift to rigorous evaluations and evidence-based policymaking in order to address global skepticism regarding the effectiveness of aid. In the accompanying rhetoric, "accountability" and "learning" have been held up as twin pillars that will ensure a more effective aid-making system. This paper questions the ability of these concepts to improve aid in their current working forms. The paper offers a revised conceptualization of learning in order to improve funding and funding policy. The revised definition supports two particular areas in which "learning" is sorely needed but which are eschewed in most current institutionalized evaluation rhetoric: developing theory undergirding social change (such as theory behind gender-based violence) and evaluating project design and implementation processes (such as participatory designs).
There are two fundamental concerns about global communication for social change (CSC) research an... more There are two fundamental concerns about global communication for social change (CSC) research and practice that guide the present study. The first is whether CSC researchers are collecting evidence regarding whether interventions work, the second is whether the sub-field is building theory about how CSC interventions work to promote community-led change. Based on a scoping review of peer-reviewed journal articles on international participatory development interventions, this analysis shows the field continues to lack a convincing explanation of the relationship between participation, communication, empowerment and social change. A model to elucidate this relationship is offered.
The International Journal of Press/Politics, Apr 14, 2022
The terms ‘indices’ and ‘indicators’ may immediately cause eyelids to droop. How, then, might the... more The terms ‘indices’ and ‘indicators’ may immediately cause eyelids to droop. How, then, might they serve to impassion publics and, ultimately, promote social change? This paper examines the extent to which indices and indicators can be considered communication tools for social movements and social change. The analysis is based on a 2018 evaluation of one index based in the United States – the Ranking Digital Rights Index, which assesses privacy and freedom of expression in the ICT space – and incorporates interviews with civil society stakeholders. Bringing theory from the fields of journalism and social movements together with the data from the evaluation, the findings suggest indices can serve as useful communication resources for social movements under certain circumstances. In particular, the analysis suggests three communication resources – legitimate information, newsworthy information, and flexible information – that human rights indices are most likely to provide.
In recent years, there has been an uptick in the practice of celebrities engaging in global devel... more In recent years, there has been an uptick in the practice of celebrities engaging in global development efforts at the political level. This chapter discusses the mass media appearances of two celebrities-Angelina Jolie and George Clooney-and what said appearances might suggest to media audiences about the state of distant sufferers and of global development in general. A critical discourse analysis of Jolie's and Clooney's television interviews between 2001 and 2017 reveals that their speech reinforces particular stereotypes that place the US, and by extension the Global North, as the unquestionable "heroes" of development work, and development beneficiaries as the less capable and less comprehensible civilizations forever in need of rescuing. The analysis serves as the basis for developing a framework for more ethical celebrity communication about development. The key principle of this proposed framework emphasizes treating both media audiences and distant sufferers as citizens capable of political thought and action, rather than simply regarding media audiences as emotional fans, or distant sufferers as eternally dependent upon the Global North. Acts of celebrity diplomacy performed through the media are part of a wider genre of efforts to use communication to promote development (C4D). While the academic community has increasingly scrutinized C4D efforts, it has paid less attention to communication about development (CAD) (Scott 2014; Wilkins and Mody 2001), including the ways development efforts are explained to the general public through the media. Yet how and what the public learns about development merits investigation, because this becomes the foundation upon which they begin to formulate attitudes about international aid, about how development should be addressed, and about audience members' just relationship with the suffering "other"-the supposed beneficiary of development work. Celebrity CAD is particularly powerful in terms of impact on the public because, in a world in which citizens of the Global North often pay little attention to far off places that are disconnected from their everyday lives, celebrities offer a potent opportunity to break through that wall. This is why using celebrities to publicize development work is a strategy favored by development organizations. Celebrity CAD thus merits special attention. In this chapter, I look specifically at the mass communication efforts of two celebrities-Angelina Jolie and George Clooney-in order to analyze what their discourses might suggest to media audiences about the state of distant sufferers and of global development in general. I focus on these two because of their well-recognized star power, as well as their official roles as spokespersons for the United Nations. Jolie serves as Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), focusing her work on the plight of child refugees around the world; George Clooney served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace from 2008 to 2014, focusing on UN peacekeeping missions around the world, and the ongoing violence in Sudan and South Sudan in particular. Their roles qualify them as what Andrew Cooper (2008) calls "celebrity diplomats", meaning they engage with issues of foreign suffering at a global policy level. Their status within the UN
Can the analysis and dissemination of public opinion polling be organized in such a way as to shi... more Can the analysis and dissemination of public opinion polling be organized in such a way as to shift public debate and help reframe an issue that has been strongly influenced by CNN-like mediated activities? In this paper, drawing upon polling experience in Darfur, we look at this question in the highly disputed context of international conflicts, an area where CNN Effects are manifest. We argue that government-sponsored polls can become part of official reactions to the CNN Effect in three primary ways: first, deflecting the CNN Effect by re-framing narratives and policy options; second, trumping the CNN Effect by returning to a form of evidence-based policy making in which research, rather than media pressure, dictates decision-making; and third, circumventing the CNN Effect by engaging in improved approaches to conflict resolution.
Spain, like other countries of Western Europe, has struggled against Hollywood to maintain its na... more Spain, like other countries of Western Europe, has struggled against Hollywood to maintain its national film industry. Most of the films that are produced lose money, and producers are increasingly reliant on state subsidies. This article outlines the potential benefits of digital technologies to Spanish cinema and recommends changes in government film policy to take advantage of these benefits. State subsidies, in Spain as well as elsewhere in Europe, have created a weak national film market. Most Spaniards view national cinema as low-grade, and consistently opt for foreign fare. This article argues that the government should decrease production subsidies in favour of an investment in digital theatre projectors, thus permitting all productions to take advantage of the cost-saving aspects of digital filmmaking. In the course of researching this article, interviews were conducted with among others Bigas Luna (director of Jamon, Jamon, 1992 and La Teta y la Luna, 1994); Tomás Pladevall (President of the Spanish Association of Cinematographers); José-María Aragonés (Artistic Director of Filmtel, the post-production arm of Filmax production company); Ricardo Gil (Marketing and PR Director of UCl/Cinesa theatres in Spain and Portugal); and J.M. Caparrós Lera (Director of the Center for Cinematic Research in Barcelona). All were interviewed about the audience appeal, artistic merit and technical advantages or disadvantages of the digital medium.
When we hear stories of distant humanitarian crises, we often feel sympathy for victims, but may ... more When we hear stories of distant humanitarian crises, we often feel sympathy for victims, but may stop short of taking action to help. Past research indicates that media portrayals of distant suffering can promote helping behavior by eliciting sympathy, while those that prompt a more "rational" response tend to decrease helping behavior by undermining sympathy. The authors used an online experiment to test whether certain media frames could promote helping behavior through a more rational, rather than emotional, pathway. The study tested whether framing distant suffering as either "solvable" or "unsolvable" might promote helping behavior if a "rational" evaluation of a crisis leads one to determine that help is efficacious in solving the problem. Survey respondents were randomly assigned to read one of three messages: a high solvability message, a low solvability message, or a control message. Contrary to expectations, both low solvability and high solvability conditions increased participants' intentions to help. The results suggest that this is because framing problems as unsolvable drives up sympathy, thus promoting willingness to help, while framing problems as solvable drives up perceived efficacy, also promoting willingness to help. The authors conclude that, in contrast to earlier studies, and to the assumptions of many of those working in media, emphasizing rationality can promote helping behavior if audiences HOW MEDIA PORTRAYALS INFLUENCE WILLINGNESS TO HELP 2 rationally interpret the problem as solvable. Implications of the findings for ethically portraying distant suffering in the media are discussed.
For the past decade, Radio La Benevolencija (RLB) has worked in Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC to p... more For the past decade, Radio La Benevolencija (RLB) has worked in Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC to provide citizens with tools for recognizing and resisting manipulation to violence and healing trauma. Until now, however, its numerous programs, projects, and contributions had not been synthesized, and its findings had not been evaluated as whole. The Center for Global Communication Studies at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania conducted an evaluation of RLB's past ten years of work in the Great Lakes Region. In addition to understanding the aggregate impact of RLB's programs, this meta-evaluation seeks to investigate what RLB's work offers to others engaged in this field. We therefore seek to understand the adaptability of RLB's methodology to other countries and contexts and how the RLB model might be used a prototype for future interventions.
The dissertation examines U.S. newspaper coverage of hunger occurring both in Africa and the Unit... more The dissertation examines U.S. newspaper coverage of hunger occurring both in Africa and the United States, in order to determine whether and when news reports offer readers information they could readily use to discuss the issue in the public sphere. Coverage is examined through a comparative discourse analysis and frame analysis of 168 news articles appearing in the mainstream American print newspapers from January 2008 to May 2011, and 311 news articles appearing during two humanitarian crises—Hurricane Katrina in the United States and the 2011 East African famine—as well as interviews with journalists and editors. The author finds that stories of hunger in Africa are frequently framed as `irrelevant\u27 to the American public sphere, by not including the kind of information that would allow audiences to engage politically with the material. Hunger in Africa was frequently presented as a problem with no clear solution, or with \u27solutions\u27 that did not work. Stories on hunger in the United States, by contrast, were much more likely to include information readers could use to engage politically with the story, or to monitor the actions of their government. In cases of crisis, the author additionally finds that human interest stories tend to displace information on solutions, cause or context, that could be used to productively discuss the issue in the public sphere. The author concludes that, rather than simply denying readers the information that would allow them to respond politically, through discussion or action, articles on hunger in Africa in fact do suggest a political narrative by implying that the problem is an on-going and inevitable one, without the potential for responsive political action. Journalistic norms for domestic and crisis reporting are used to explain discrepancies between reporting styles when reporting on the United States and Africa
To cite: Kogen, L. (2018). Evaluations and impact assessments in communication for development. I... more To cite: Kogen, L. (2018). Evaluations and impact assessments in communication for development. In J. Servaes (Ed.) Handbook of communication for development and social change. Springer.
The Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) monitored and evaluated the Half the Sky Movem... more The Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) monitored and evaluated the Half the Sky Movement (HTSM)/USAID project "Half the Sky Movement Global Engagement Initiative"from January 2014 to January 2016. This report summarizes the findings from this work. The evaluation sought to 1) assess the impact of the HTSM media interventions and 2) improve and inform future efforts to use media in developing and conflict-affected regions. The evaluation also investigated whether HTSM's media tools can be packaged as a 'toolkit' that can be scaled up and / or used by other NGOs working on issues pertaining to women's empowerment in developing regions. To implement the evaluation, CGCS relied on two in-country M&E Officers, Kamakshi Khazanchi in India and Benard Moseti in Kenya, who coordinated directly with the NGOs on the ground. In Kenya, CGCS employed research firm Research Solutions Africa (RSA) to carry out in-depth-interviews as well as pre, post, and three-month follow-up test surveys for discussion group beneficiaries at YWLI. India M&E Officer Kamakshi Khazanchi coordinated all beneficiary in-depth-interviews and pre, post, and three-month followup test surveys for the Tonk NGOs. Dr. Maureen Taylor, Professor and Director in the School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Tennessee, assisted with the development of the project's Milestone Index for NGO capacity measurement, as well as completed all final evaluation interviews with Kenyan and Indian NGO coordinators and staff members. Disciplines Communication Technology and New Media Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
This paper evaluates the two most common methods of measuring voter time-ofdecision-the recall me... more This paper evaluates the two most common methods of measuring voter time-ofdecision-the recall method and the panel method-and asks whether the two methods are consistent with each other. Using data from the National Annenberg Election Survey collected during the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the findings suggest that these two methods measure different concepts, and thus cannot be used interchangeably. Furthermore, discrepancies between the two methods suggest that the accepted model of early, campaign, and late decision-making should be adjusted to account for a fourth group of voters that never changes their vote intention, but does not truly commit to that intention until later in the campaign. The concept of uncommitted early deciders is offered to describe this group, created by combining the two methods.
Celebrities in recent years have taken on a more active role in communicating global humanitarian... more Celebrities in recent years have taken on a more active role in communicating global humanitarian crises to the American public. This role at times shifts between journalist, advocate, philanthropist, and personal publicist. This paper evaluates how three of the most wellknown celebrities in this genre in the United States-Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, and Bono-differ in their method of speaking about these issues, focusing on how their public discourse adds to, or detracts from, citizens' abilities to understand, discuss, and respond to the issues presented in the public sphere. Through critical discourse analysis, similarities and differences are teased out and placed within the context of previous research on celebrity diplomacy and humanitarian crises, in order to evaluate the usefulness of such performances for the U.S. public as democratic citizens, and for the victims of foreign suffering the celebrities purport to represent.
This paper explores how the U.S. news media construct the topic of hunger in Africa for U.S. audi... more This paper explores how the U.S. news media construct the topic of hunger in Africa for U.S. audiences. Specifically, the paper addresses how newspapers define and delimit the relationship between U.S. citizens and foreign sufferers. Through a framing analysis and critical discourse analysis of randomly sampled newspaper stories, the author finds that while news articles covering hunger in the United States usually frame the problem as pertinent to the public Local Frame National Frame Global Frame Event Frame Public Sphere-Relevant Frames Public Sphere-Irrelevant Frames Silent Watchdog Frame
This study investigates how journalists covering international humanitarian crises make decisions... more This study investigates how journalists covering international humanitarian crises make decisions regarding what types of information to include in stories. Specifically, the inclusion / exclusion of solutions-oriented information is addressed, since crises represent a key time during which the potential for international engagement is discussed in the mainstream media. Interviews with journalists covering hunger crises in Africa reveal an internal tension between maintaining a neutral, unbiased position and writing in a way that supports engagement and action. Ironically, perhaps, journalists find that including solutions-oriented information amounts to unethical and biased coverage, despite the fact that inclusion of solutions to social problems is an accepted and institutionalized aspect of the American news media's mandate to the public. Reasons for this seeming contradiction are discussed, and I argue that solutionsoriented information not only can be included without demonstrating bias, but that it ought to be included to support ethical coverage that properly informs citizens about potential paths for political engagement.
Welles was not only able to show that Kane's life was a veritable jigsaw puzzle, and that no ... more Welles was not only able to show that Kane's life was a veritable jigsaw puzzle, and that no single version of a story is complete, but also that time can be represented in many ways in the unique medium of the cinema.'
In recent decades, development donors in the West have touted a shift to rigorous evaluations and... more In recent decades, development donors in the West have touted a shift to rigorous evaluations and evidence-based policymaking in order to address global skepticism regarding the effectiveness of aid. In the accompanying rhetoric, "accountability" and "learning" have been held up as twin pillars that will ensure a more effective aid-making system. This paper questions the ability of these concepts to improve aid in their current working forms. The paper offers a revised conceptualization of learning in order to improve funding and funding policy. The revised definition supports two particular areas in which "learning" is sorely needed but which are eschewed in most current institutionalized evaluation rhetoric: developing theory undergirding social change (such as theory behind gender-based violence) and evaluating project design and implementation processes (such as participatory designs).
There are two fundamental concerns about global communication for social change (CSC) research an... more There are two fundamental concerns about global communication for social change (CSC) research and practice that guide the present study. The first is whether CSC researchers are collecting evidence regarding whether interventions work, the second is whether the sub-field is building theory about how CSC interventions work to promote community-led change. Based on a scoping review of peer-reviewed journal articles on international participatory development interventions, this analysis shows the field continues to lack a convincing explanation of the relationship between participation, communication, empowerment and social change. A model to elucidate this relationship is offered.
The International Journal of Press/Politics, Apr 14, 2022
The terms ‘indices’ and ‘indicators’ may immediately cause eyelids to droop. How, then, might the... more The terms ‘indices’ and ‘indicators’ may immediately cause eyelids to droop. How, then, might they serve to impassion publics and, ultimately, promote social change? This paper examines the extent to which indices and indicators can be considered communication tools for social movements and social change. The analysis is based on a 2018 evaluation of one index based in the United States – the Ranking Digital Rights Index, which assesses privacy and freedom of expression in the ICT space – and incorporates interviews with civil society stakeholders. Bringing theory from the fields of journalism and social movements together with the data from the evaluation, the findings suggest indices can serve as useful communication resources for social movements under certain circumstances. In particular, the analysis suggests three communication resources – legitimate information, newsworthy information, and flexible information – that human rights indices are most likely to provide.
In recent years, there has been an uptick in the practice of celebrities engaging in global devel... more In recent years, there has been an uptick in the practice of celebrities engaging in global development efforts at the political level. This chapter discusses the mass media appearances of two celebrities-Angelina Jolie and George Clooney-and what said appearances might suggest to media audiences about the state of distant sufferers and of global development in general. A critical discourse analysis of Jolie's and Clooney's television interviews between 2001 and 2017 reveals that their speech reinforces particular stereotypes that place the US, and by extension the Global North, as the unquestionable "heroes" of development work, and development beneficiaries as the less capable and less comprehensible civilizations forever in need of rescuing. The analysis serves as the basis for developing a framework for more ethical celebrity communication about development. The key principle of this proposed framework emphasizes treating both media audiences and distant sufferers as citizens capable of political thought and action, rather than simply regarding media audiences as emotional fans, or distant sufferers as eternally dependent upon the Global North. Acts of celebrity diplomacy performed through the media are part of a wider genre of efforts to use communication to promote development (C4D). While the academic community has increasingly scrutinized C4D efforts, it has paid less attention to communication about development (CAD) (Scott 2014; Wilkins and Mody 2001), including the ways development efforts are explained to the general public through the media. Yet how and what the public learns about development merits investigation, because this becomes the foundation upon which they begin to formulate attitudes about international aid, about how development should be addressed, and about audience members' just relationship with the suffering "other"-the supposed beneficiary of development work. Celebrity CAD is particularly powerful in terms of impact on the public because, in a world in which citizens of the Global North often pay little attention to far off places that are disconnected from their everyday lives, celebrities offer a potent opportunity to break through that wall. This is why using celebrities to publicize development work is a strategy favored by development organizations. Celebrity CAD thus merits special attention. In this chapter, I look specifically at the mass communication efforts of two celebrities-Angelina Jolie and George Clooney-in order to analyze what their discourses might suggest to media audiences about the state of distant sufferers and of global development in general. I focus on these two because of their well-recognized star power, as well as their official roles as spokespersons for the United Nations. Jolie serves as Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), focusing her work on the plight of child refugees around the world; George Clooney served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace from 2008 to 2014, focusing on UN peacekeeping missions around the world, and the ongoing violence in Sudan and South Sudan in particular. Their roles qualify them as what Andrew Cooper (2008) calls "celebrity diplomats", meaning they engage with issues of foreign suffering at a global policy level. Their status within the UN
Can the analysis and dissemination of public opinion polling be organized in such a way as to shi... more Can the analysis and dissemination of public opinion polling be organized in such a way as to shift public debate and help reframe an issue that has been strongly influenced by CNN-like mediated activities? In this paper, drawing upon polling experience in Darfur, we look at this question in the highly disputed context of international conflicts, an area where CNN Effects are manifest. We argue that government-sponsored polls can become part of official reactions to the CNN Effect in three primary ways: first, deflecting the CNN Effect by re-framing narratives and policy options; second, trumping the CNN Effect by returning to a form of evidence-based policy making in which research, rather than media pressure, dictates decision-making; and third, circumventing the CNN Effect by engaging in improved approaches to conflict resolution.
Spain, like other countries of Western Europe, has struggled against Hollywood to maintain its na... more Spain, like other countries of Western Europe, has struggled against Hollywood to maintain its national film industry. Most of the films that are produced lose money, and producers are increasingly reliant on state subsidies. This article outlines the potential benefits of digital technologies to Spanish cinema and recommends changes in government film policy to take advantage of these benefits. State subsidies, in Spain as well as elsewhere in Europe, have created a weak national film market. Most Spaniards view national cinema as low-grade, and consistently opt for foreign fare. This article argues that the government should decrease production subsidies in favour of an investment in digital theatre projectors, thus permitting all productions to take advantage of the cost-saving aspects of digital filmmaking. In the course of researching this article, interviews were conducted with among others Bigas Luna (director of Jamon, Jamon, 1992 and La Teta y la Luna, 1994); Tomás Pladevall (President of the Spanish Association of Cinematographers); José-María Aragonés (Artistic Director of Filmtel, the post-production arm of Filmax production company); Ricardo Gil (Marketing and PR Director of UCl/Cinesa theatres in Spain and Portugal); and J.M. Caparrós Lera (Director of the Center for Cinematic Research in Barcelona). All were interviewed about the audience appeal, artistic merit and technical advantages or disadvantages of the digital medium.
When we hear stories of distant humanitarian crises, we often feel sympathy for victims, but may ... more When we hear stories of distant humanitarian crises, we often feel sympathy for victims, but may stop short of taking action to help. Past research indicates that media portrayals of distant suffering can promote helping behavior by eliciting sympathy, while those that prompt a more "rational" response tend to decrease helping behavior by undermining sympathy. The authors used an online experiment to test whether certain media frames could promote helping behavior through a more rational, rather than emotional, pathway. The study tested whether framing distant suffering as either "solvable" or "unsolvable" might promote helping behavior if a "rational" evaluation of a crisis leads one to determine that help is efficacious in solving the problem. Survey respondents were randomly assigned to read one of three messages: a high solvability message, a low solvability message, or a control message. Contrary to expectations, both low solvability and high solvability conditions increased participants' intentions to help. The results suggest that this is because framing problems as unsolvable drives up sympathy, thus promoting willingness to help, while framing problems as solvable drives up perceived efficacy, also promoting willingness to help. The authors conclude that, in contrast to earlier studies, and to the assumptions of many of those working in media, emphasizing rationality can promote helping behavior if audiences HOW MEDIA PORTRAYALS INFLUENCE WILLINGNESS TO HELP 2 rationally interpret the problem as solvable. Implications of the findings for ethically portraying distant suffering in the media are discussed.
For the past decade, Radio La Benevolencija (RLB) has worked in Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC to p... more For the past decade, Radio La Benevolencija (RLB) has worked in Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC to provide citizens with tools for recognizing and resisting manipulation to violence and healing trauma. Until now, however, its numerous programs, projects, and contributions had not been synthesized, and its findings had not been evaluated as whole. The Center for Global Communication Studies at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania conducted an evaluation of RLB's past ten years of work in the Great Lakes Region. In addition to understanding the aggregate impact of RLB's programs, this meta-evaluation seeks to investigate what RLB's work offers to others engaged in this field. We therefore seek to understand the adaptability of RLB's methodology to other countries and contexts and how the RLB model might be used a prototype for future interventions.
The dissertation examines U.S. newspaper coverage of hunger occurring both in Africa and the Unit... more The dissertation examines U.S. newspaper coverage of hunger occurring both in Africa and the United States, in order to determine whether and when news reports offer readers information they could readily use to discuss the issue in the public sphere. Coverage is examined through a comparative discourse analysis and frame analysis of 168 news articles appearing in the mainstream American print newspapers from January 2008 to May 2011, and 311 news articles appearing during two humanitarian crises—Hurricane Katrina in the United States and the 2011 East African famine—as well as interviews with journalists and editors. The author finds that stories of hunger in Africa are frequently framed as `irrelevant\u27 to the American public sphere, by not including the kind of information that would allow audiences to engage politically with the material. Hunger in Africa was frequently presented as a problem with no clear solution, or with \u27solutions\u27 that did not work. Stories on hunger in the United States, by contrast, were much more likely to include information readers could use to engage politically with the story, or to monitor the actions of their government. In cases of crisis, the author additionally finds that human interest stories tend to displace information on solutions, cause or context, that could be used to productively discuss the issue in the public sphere. The author concludes that, rather than simply denying readers the information that would allow them to respond politically, through discussion or action, articles on hunger in Africa in fact do suggest a political narrative by implying that the problem is an on-going and inevitable one, without the potential for responsive political action. Journalistic norms for domestic and crisis reporting are used to explain discrepancies between reporting styles when reporting on the United States and Africa
This is a report on a pilot study of an IVR system in Rwanda, used to monitor and evaluate the su... more This is a report on a pilot study of an IVR system in Rwanda, used to monitor and evaluate the success of an edutainment program. The study explores the potential that Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have as both a distribution and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tool, noting the limitations the current state of IVR technology imposes. The report presents the findings of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) funded grant, “Amplifying Peace: Testing Mobile Interaction in Rwanda.” The project explored mobile IVR technology for those engaged in peacebuilding, investigated the usefulness of the platform for information dissemination and information collection, and evaluated the platform as a tool to improve monitoring and evaluation. This work fills an evidence gap often found by organizations in the development field who are interested in using ICTs, but have inadequate information about effective and practical ways to do so.
Based on Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s 2010 bestseller Half the Sky, the Half the Sky Move... more Based on Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s 2010 bestseller Half the Sky, the Half the Sky Movement conducted a multi-million dollar intervention to promote gender equality in India and Kenya through the use of media. Through a documentary film, educational videos, discussion groups, and mobile games, the project sought to change attitudes and behaviors regarding gender norms. This report synthesizes the findings of the monitoring and evaluation effort.
This evaluation was commissioned by Susan Benesch, Faculty Associate at the Berkman Center and Di... more This evaluation was commissioned by Susan Benesch, Faculty Associate at the Berkman Center and Director of the Dangerous Speech Project, as part of a grant from the Fetzer Institute. For this project, Benesch teamed up with Media Focus on Africa (MFA) and the cast and crew of a Kenyan television comedy drama series, Vioja Mahakamani, to “inoculate” audiences against inciting speech, and make them more skeptical of it, by increasing understanding of what constitutes incitement to violence, the psychology behind incitement that helps prepare groups of people to condone or even take part in violence, and its consequences.
This evaluation was commissioned by Radio La Benevolencija (RLB), a Dutch NGO that aims to empowe... more This evaluation was commissioned by Radio La Benevolencija (RLB), a Dutch NGO that aims to empower groups and individuals who are the target of hate speech and ensuing acts. The evaluation consisted of a document analysis of ten years’ worth of organization proposals and reports, as well as in-depth interviews.
This report summarizes the findings of the learning group that was formed by the three grantees o... more This report summarizes the findings of the learning group that was formed by the three grantees of USIP’s 2011 Communication for Peacebuilding priority grant program. The purpose of the learning group was to facilitate knowledge-sharing, mutual learning, joint dissemination, and collaboration. The group met from September 20-21, 2012, at Internews headquarters in Washington DC to debrief and discuss their projects.
The Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) evaluated BBC Media Action’s (formerly the BBC... more The Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) evaluated BBC Media Action’s (formerly the BBC World Service Trust) impact on the world of global development research and practice. Through an online survey and in-depth interviews with key players in the field, CGCS analyzed the extent to which the organization’s research, workshops, and conferences have influenced and impacted the work of global donors, practitioners, think tanks, and scholars on the subject of the role of media and communication platforms in improving governance outcomes, health outcomes, and humanitarian response outcomes. At the same time, this project provided a broader understanding of how those working in the field are thinking about the role of communication in development, where they see the most potential, and what they see as the major gaps in the research.
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about effective and practical ways to do so.