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This study is a policy investigation of community radio broadcasting in Zambia. The emergence of this tier of broadcasting can be traced to the 1990s, following the country's policy of politico-economic liberalisation. The state broadcasting system had hitherto reigned supreme. Based upon a focused synthesis of a range of historical, political, policy, regulatory and other factors, within the context of participatory development communication, this study proposes a normative policy model for community radio broadcasting in Zambia. To begin with, the study focuses on the historical factors that have influenced the development of community radio broadcasting in the country, particularly in the period before and after 1991. This historical analysis establishes the fact that the shape that community radio broadcasting has assumed in Zambia is largely reflective of the state-centric policy-making regime. This policy-making regime is itself a legacy of British colonialism. Next, the study offers a conceptual framework of community radio broadcasting. It analyses several theoretical antecedents upon which the conceptual edifice of community radio broadcasting would seem to be built. In particular, the study explores the contributions of media effects and normative media theories towards the conceptual underpinnings of community radio broadcasting. Furthermore, as an attempt at establishing some empirical referents for developing a community radio broadcasting policy for Zambia, the study delves into a comparative analysis of trends in broadcast policy and regulatory practices throughout the world, with a special focus on Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Australia. This comparative policy analysis reveals differentiated levels of sophistication of policy-cum-regulatory models relating to community radio broadcasting. This provides a wealth of chequered experiences for Zambia to learn from. To further substantiate the case for a policy model, the study examines selected community radio initiatives in Zambia. Finally, based upon this focused synthesis, the study proposes a normative policy model for community radio broadcasting in Zambia. The policy proposal, informed by the assumptions of the group and organised anarchy models of policy-making, seeks to promote community radio broadcasting in terms of its vision, regulatory structures, funding, training, facilities, technology, production of local content and research. / Communication Science / D. Litt. et Phil.

This study is a policy investigation of community radio broadcasting in Zambia. The emergence of this tier of broadcasting can be traced to the 1990s, following the country's policy of politico-economic liberalisation. The state broadcasting system had hitherto reigned supreme. Based upon a focused synthesis of a range of historical, political, policy, regulatory and other factors, within the context of participatory development communication, this study proposes a normative policy model for community radio broadcasting in Zambia. To begin with, the study focuses on the historical factors that have influenced the development of community radio broadcasting in the country, particularly in the period before and after 1991. This historical analysis establishes the fact that the shape that community radio broadcasting has assumed in Zambia is largely reflective of the state-centric policy-making regime. This policy-making regime is itself a legacy of British colonialism. Next, the study offers a conceptual framework of community radio broadcasting. It analyses several theoretical antecedents upon which the conceptual edifice of community radio broadcasting would seem to be built. In particular, the study explores the contributions of media effects and normative media theories towards the conceptual underpinnings of community radio broadcasting. Furthermore, as an attempt at establishing some empirical referents for developing a community radio broadcasting policy for Zambia, the study delves into a comparative analysis of trends in broadcast policy and regulatory practices throughout the world, with a special focus on Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Australia. This comparative policy analysis reveals differentiated levels of sophistication of policy-cum-regulatory models relating to community radio broadcasting. This provides a wealth of chequered experiences for Zambia to learn from. To further substantiate the case for a policy model, the study examines selected community radio initiatives in Zambia. Finally, based upon this focused synthesis, the study proposes a normative policy model for community radio broadcasting in Zambia. The policy proposal, informed by the assumptions of the group and organised anarchy models of policy-making, seeks to promote community radio broadcasting in terms of its vision, regulatory structures, funding, training, facilities, technology, production of local content and research. / Communication Science / D. Litt. et Phil.

This study analyses Uganda’s 2004 Broadcast Policy in light of the WSIS principles in order to establish whether the policy enables radio to build an inclusive and people-centred Information Society, and if so, in what ways it does this. The study specifically focuses on radio, which it views as the dominant medium in Uganda, and therefore the medium with the greatest potential to build a sustainable Information Society in the country. The study is informed by media policy theories as well as Information Society theories. It is argued that although most definitions of the Information Society consider the newer ICTs, especially the Internet, as the key drivers in the Information Society, most developing countries like Uganda are far from reaching the desired level of computer and Internet access as proposed by some Information Society theorists. Instead, most people in Uganda rely heavily on older ICTs, especially radio, for information about key issues in their daily lives. Inevitably, radio ends up being a key player in building the Information Society in these countries. The study, therefore, finds most of the common Information Society theories lacking and adopts the WSIS definition, which is more relevant to Uganda’s situation. This study also maintains that if radio is to be a key player in building an inclusive and people-centred Information Society in Uganda, the 2004 Broadcast Policy has to create that enabling environment, by, for example, promoting public service radio through local content programming, and diversifying radio ownership. The data for this study was obtained using the qualitative research approach, and specifically the research tools of document analysis and individual in-depth interviews. The findings indicate that the policy’s emphasis is on building a broadcast sector that addresses the public’s interests through local content programming and provision of diversified media services. However, the study also found that the policy is vague on some very crucial aspects, which would benefit the public, namely, local content quotas and the independence of the public service broadcaster.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy / The thesis critically analyses the potential of digital technologies – in particular, digital terrestrial television – to enable substantive diversity of programming in a public service broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The thesis deploys critical political economy of the media approaches. These approaches argue for a social constructivist approach to technology and not a celebratory determinist approach, which confuses the potential of technology with what actually happens in ‘real world’, contested policy contexts. The research uses qualitative methodologies, specifically thematic analyses of policy texts and in-depth interviews with policy actors and informants. Ultimately, the thesis finds that the changing political context in South Africa, which has moved away from participatory policy making processes, has resulted in missed opportunities to harness the digital potential to diversify programming. The thesis finds that with the government’s deployment of more authoritarian ‘statist’ and market-orientated policies, the policy space has narrowed, ultimately limiting the possibilities for the delivery of substantive diversity of content and programming. Finally, the thesis finds that to begin to reverse these trends in the digital, multi-channel environment, the government needs to (re)commit to consultative policy making processes and to regulation and public funding in the public interest. / XL2018

Thesis (M.M. (Public and Development Management))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits School of Governance, 2016 / This study ... explores the role of governance in facilitating community based television stations to achieve effectiveness.The case study is South Africa's most successful community TV station, Soweto TV. [Abbreviated abstract. Open document to view full version] / GR2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, of the University of Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in ICT Policy and Regulation October 2016 / In the current era of the digital television (TV) broadcasting dispensation, the relevance of the Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) mandate in South Africa remains critical, to inform and build democracy in the public interest. Recent debates with regard to the relevance and retention of PSB in the digital era seem to suggest that there are divergent views in this regard. These debates gave rise to this study. The study aimed to assess and reconfigure the role of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in carrying the public broadcasting mandate in the digital era. Furthermore, the study explored how the PSB remit can be repositioned to meet the needs of South African citizens in the 21st century. In addition, this study investigated the evolution of public service broadcasting policy and the role played by the Department of Communications (DoC), the policy maker in informing policy. The study seeks to ascertain whether the policy direction provided by the DoC is in actual fact in sync with the developments taking place in the TV broadcasting sector. This research followed a qualitative research approach, by exploring the relevance of PSB in the digital era and also by examining South Africa’s 3-tier broadcasting system, with a particular focus on the SABC. The research analysed the SABC (PSBs), MultiChoice (pay-TV licensee), e.tv (Free-to-Air commercial licensee) and Association of Community Television in South Africa (ACT-South Africa), a body representing Community TV licensees, in their attempts to discharge the PSB remit in the digital era. The qualitative paradigm aided in the process of describing and understanding the research topic. The main findings of this study revealed that the PSB mandate still has relevance in the digital era, however weak this may be. The multi-channel and the competitive TV broadcasting landscape will deplete the commercial advertising market share, on which the SABC heavily relies for revenue income. Secondly, the SABC’s mandate can never be upheld unless appropriate funding is secured by government. Lastly, the findings reveal that the DoC has regressed in providing policy and prescriptions and that there is thus a policy vacuum in the implementation of the PSB mandate. / MT2017

Like many developing countries, and for many years, Morocco has sought the help of television to disseminate development ideas to its citizens. The Moroccan government has recently given policy considerations to regulate the use of television and radio airwaves as important outside sources for promoting its development objectives. The newly assigned importance of television in Moroccan developmental policies makes a study on the relationship between television and development interesting and crucial. This study investigates the extent to which the Moroccan public service television meets the challenges of effectively contributing to the development objectives of the nation. It focuses on the two government-owned public service television stations, Radiodiffusion et Television Marocaine (RTM) and Soread 2M. Based on initial observations, the general hypothesis is that television programming decisions in the two public television stations are influenced by the elite class that wants more entertainment and has less need for educational programs than their rural and urban-poor counterparts. Concerning methodology, the study uses three main areas in critical media studies: content analysis, production analysis, and audience analysis. The study conducted a quantitative and a qualitative content analysis of a sample of Moroccan produced programs to examine the developmental themes addressed by the two public service television stations. Concerning the production study, the study carried out a critical assessment of the current choices undertaken by the TV producers in the two public service television stations through conducting in-depth interviews with media executives. The third important area is audience reception. Addressing this area helps tackle these research questions from both 'sides' of the screen, examining the issues from the perspectives of both the broadcasters and the audience. The audience reception study assesses the opinions of television viewers on the quality of Moroccan produced programs and their perceptions on the public service provided by the two TV stations. The audience study uses focus groups as a standalone data-gathering strategy. Finally, the study offers a list of recommendations for the use of TV for development.