This study set out to investigate Grocott’s Mail journalists’ appropriation of information and communication technologies in news-gathering and processing using the social shaping of technology as a theoretical lens. It mainly focuses on digital ICTs that journalists use in news-gathering and processing including the Internet, electronic mail, and mobile telephony. Grocott’s Mail is a small-scale newspaper based in Grahamstown, South Africa. Using qualitative research method and the case study as its sub-method, the research reveals that Grocott’s Mail journalists’ appropriation of ICTs involves various opportunities and challenges in news-gathering and processing. In terms of the state of the existing technological infrastructure, the study reveals that since it embraced the digital ICTs in 2003, Grocott’s Mail boasts an adequate ICT infrastructure for a small-scale African newspaper with 30 PCs and one laptop, and professional software for 28 permanent employees. On the other hand, the research reveals serious constraints with the existing ICTs: a huge need for staff training and capacity building to fully utilise the ICTs, and the need to look for ways of raising funds to either upgrade or replace the existing ICTs. Grocott’s Mail journalists use the Internet to do background research on news stories, to verify the accuracy of information, and to check competition across other media. These are the merits of the Internet in news-gathering and processing. On the other hand, there are specific unintended consequences of the Internet such as wasting the company’s working time, and its use leading to lazy/press release journalism. Informants unanimously indicate that the main problems of the Internet are heavy dependence on other online news-sources and wasting time on online entertainment. In terms of using email in news-gathering, the research finds email technology as having advantages such as being a tool of flexibility and speed, a tool for email interviews, and as a technology that promotes participatory journalism. On the other hand, challenges related to email include its limitations because of what interviewees view as its supplementary and small-scale use because of its low contextual richness as opposed to face to face interviews. In terms of cellular telephony, the study finds that regardless of the ubiquity of cell phones and cell phone networks, they have not yet been deployed in news-gathering and processing due to various constraints. These are cell phones not being a big factor in reporting, lack of a proper funding and refunding scheme, prevalence of negative attitudes towards cell phones, and lack of a business model. Thus, cellular phones seem to have little or no relevance in news-gathering and processing at Grocott’s Mail presently.

This study investigates how journalists experience economic and political pressures on their ethical decisions at the Nation Media Group (NMG) conglomerate in Kenya. The study uses qualitative semi- structured interviews to examine how journalists experience these pressures on their professional ethics as they make their daily decisions. Grounded in the critical political economy of the media tradition, the findings of the study indicate that economic and political pressures from advertisers, shareholders’ interests, the profit motive and the highly ethnicised political environment in Kenya largely compromise the ethical decisions of journalists. The study draws on the work done by Herman and Chomsky in their ‘Propaganda Model’ in which they propose ‘filters’ as the analytical indicators of the forms that political and economic pressures that journalists experience may take. The study explores the ways in which journalists experience these pressures, how they respond to the pressures and the ways in which their responses may compromise their journalism ethics. The findings indicate that aside from the pressures from the primary five filters outlined in the Propaganda Model, ethnicity in Kenyan newsrooms is a key ‘filter’ that may compromise the ethical decisions of journalists at the NMG. The study therefore argues that there is a need to modify the explanatory power of the Propaganda Model when applying it to the Kenyan context to include ethnicity as a ‘sixth filter’ that should be understood in relation to the five primary filters. From the findings, it would seem that the government is no longer a major threat to journalists’ freedom and responsibility in Kenya. Market forces and ethnicity in newsrooms pose the greatest threat to journalists’ freedom and responsibility. The study therefore calls for a revision of the normative framework within which journalists’ and media performance in Kenya is assessed. As the study findings show, the prevailing liberal- democratic model ignores the commercial and economic threats the ‘free market’ poses to journalism ethics as well as ethnicity in newsrooms and only focuses on the media- government relations, treating the government as the major threat to media freedom.

This study investigated the nature of opinions and attitudes expressed in letters to South African newspapers regarding selected incidents of interracial controversy, namely the Botes (2010) and Forum for Black Journalists (FBJ) (2008) incidents. A qualitative and quantitative content analysis of these letters was conducted to gauge the attitudes that writers displayed towards members of their cultural group (ingroup) and members of other cultural groups (outgroups). The results of the qualitative analysis indicated that individuals in a racial group have different perspectives of in- and outgroup members. The results of the quantitative analysis, however, showed that the majority of writers tend to display positive attitudes towards ingroup members and negative attitudes towards out groups. The dominance of positive attitudes towards ingroups and negative attitudes towards outgroups can be attributed to myths and discourses circulating in postapartheid South Africa and the current social climate in general. The study concluded that although individuals’ attitudes may differ from the stark negative attitudes displayed towards outgroups during the apartheid era, negative attitudes towards outgroups persist. / Communication Science / M. A. (Communication Science)

5 Abstract: Dissertation work is concerned with a political activism phenomenon, retardation and programme collaboration of army elite in Bohemia and Moravia Protectorate study. The aim of the work is to explore and chart the public and political life in Bohemia and Moravia Protectorate with a special attention to high Czech commissioned officer activity not only to summarize the acquired information but also to put them into the context with a development of Protectorate autonomous and occupation politics. The Thesis is not only focuses on the activity on the main organisations and their leading personalities but devotes its attention to opinions and points of view of centers of protectorate autonomous and occupation administration towards them, which had an influence on the organisation activity and their leaders. It situates them into the protectorate politics on the background of the events. The Thesis theme concentrates basically on the activity of the main Protektorate organisations and of the former soldiers such as Czech Union of Warriors and Central Union Former Soldiers in Bohemia and Moravia and their leaders - the general Otto Bláha, Robert Rychtrmoc and Bohuslav Kálala. In addition to that it also focuses on the activity of political and statutory organisations called National Conviviality,...

In this dissertation on Nat Nakasa I argue, in Chapter 1, that he is one of South Africa's first literary flaneurs. Walking the city as an urban spectator, part journalist, part sociologist, his modernist writings of the metropolis celebrate Johannesburg and also place him in a broad international context. His `tactics of the habitat', in Foucault's phrase, become subversive ruses, a navigation through the cultural seam of South Africa in the 1960s, and this approach offers an alternative to a reductionist anti-apartheid critique. Chapter 2 analyses the excavation of his memory and subsequent elevation to media icon, with the naming of the SANEF Award for Media Integrity after him. Chapter 3 discusses how his auto/biographical writings and representation of self and other contribute to `making history's silences speak'. Finally in chapter 4, I discuss his elusive identity as part of the Drum generation, an insider/outsider, and his exile and suicide in America. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

Os idos de março e a queda em abril, primeiro livro publicado sobre a história do golpe de 1964, foi impresso no mês seguinte à queda do presidente João Goulart. Frequentemente utilizada por estudiosos que buscam acesso aos acontecimentos daqueles dias que marcaram a história brasileira, a obra foi produzida por oito jornalistas do Jornal do Brasil, periódico que se destacou na campanha para derrubar o governo. O conjunto das narrativas, coerente com o que foi publicado no veículo para o qual trabalhavam seus autores, é favorável ao golpe de Estado. Como fonte, portanto, a maior riqueza do documento está relacionada à possibilidade de melhor compreender a atuação dos profissionais da imprensa brasileira no período. / Os idos de março e a queda em abril, the first book published about the history of the 1964 coup détat, was printed in the month following President João Goularts fall. Often used by those who search access to the happenings of the days that marked Brazilian history, the book was written by eight journalists of Jornal do Brasil, a newspaper that stood out in the campaign to overthrow the government. The assemblage of the essays, coherent with what had been published in the newspaper for which the authors worked, is favorable to the coup détat. As a source of history, the most important aspect of the document is related to the possibility of better understanding the performance of the Brazilian Newspaper professionals in the period.

Os idos de março e a queda em abril, primeiro livro publicado sobre a história do golpe de 1964, foi impresso no mês seguinte à queda do presidente João Goulart. Frequentemente utilizada por estudiosos que buscam acesso aos acontecimentos daqueles dias que marcaram a história brasileira, a obra foi produzida por oito jornalistas do Jornal do Brasil, periódico que se destacou na campanha para derrubar o governo. O conjunto das narrativas, coerente com o que foi publicado no veículo para o qual trabalhavam seus autores, é favorável ao golpe de Estado. Como fonte, portanto, a maior riqueza do documento está relacionada à possibilidade de melhor compreender a atuação dos profissionais da imprensa brasileira no período. / Os idos de março e a queda em abril, the first book published about the history of the 1964 coup détat, was printed in the month following President João Goularts fall. Often used by those who search access to the happenings of the days that marked Brazilian history, the book was written by eight journalists of Jornal do Brasil, a newspaper that stood out in the campaign to overthrow the government. The assemblage of the essays, coherent with what had been published in the newspaper for which the authors worked, is favorable to the coup détat. As a source of history, the most important aspect of the document is related to the possibility of better understanding the performance of the Brazilian Newspaper professionals in the period.

A participação feminina no trabalho se deu de forma assimétrica, marcada por lutas e conquistas no ambiente organizacional. No Brasil, passou por transformações, a partir das décadas de 1960 e 1970, provocadas pelo período de industrialização e segunda onda do movimento feminista. Com esta pesquisa, objetivou-se analisar a condição de trabalho das mulheres jornalistas nas emissoras de TV de Uberlândia-MG, bem como as transformações vividas neste ambiente organizacional, do final da década de 1970 aos dias atuais, por meio das opiniões e experiências das jornalistas e estudantes de Jornalismo. Para tal, procedeu-se a revisão teórica que aborda a perspectiva histórica da inserção da mulher no mercado de trabalho, perpassando por questões como segregação e precarização, feminilidade e masculinidade, assédio, aparência, remuneração, barreiras no ambiente organizacional, empoderamento feminino, além do contexto das empresas de comunicação e profissão de jornalista. Do ponto de vista metodológico, a pesquisa ancorou-se no paradigma interpretativista, com base nos estudos da abordagem do feminismo socialista, uso do método estudo de caso e abordagem qualitativa. A coleta de dados se deu por meio de 27 entrevistas semiestruturadas e 1 estruturada com jornalistas que atuam e atuaram nos departamentos de jornalismo e 2 grupos focais com estudantes de Jornalismo, de 2 instituições de ensino superior. Foram elaborados 3 roteiros distintos para cada grupo de respondentes, todos ancorados em 3 dimensões identificadas a partir do referencial teórico-empírico: experiência profissional; ambiente organizacional e ascensão profissional. As entrevistas e grupos focais foram gravados, posteriormente transcritos e os dados interpretados, por meio de análise de conteúdo e identificadas 8 categorias de análise: competências, áreas de atuação (agrupadas na dimensão experiência profissional); gênero, aparência, assédio, remuneração (na dimensão ambiente organizacional); barreiras e empoderamento (na dimensão ascensão profissional). Como resultados, apontou-se que, diferente dos ambientes das décadas de 1970 e 1980, período que as redações eram em sua maioria masculinas, nos dias atuais existe equilíbrio entre o número de homens e mulheres. Se no passado elas eram preteridas em determinados temas de reportagens, hoje transitam por todos os assuntos. A disparidade dos salários de homens e mulheres, se comparada ao passado, mostrou-se menor conforme resultados desta pesquisa. A conquista do espaço organizacional se deu por meio de atitudes baseadas na iniciativa e persistência, caracterizando-se o empoderamento psicológico ou, por meio da capacitação, identificando-se o empoderamento educacional. Com relação à aparência se, no passado, manuais definiam os padrões de maquiagem e vestuário, atualmente foram abolidos, mas as cobranças ainda incomodam profissionais e estudantes. O assédio, principalmente por parte dos entrevistados, ocorre com frequência. Apesar dos avanços e com as mulheres ocupando diversos cargos, elas não estão nas posições de direção de jornalismo. Por sua vez, as estudantes sentem-se inseguras para atuar no mercado pela formação que receberam e a maioria diz estar desencantada com a profissão. Desta forma, o estudo aponta mudanças nas 4 últimas décadas, no entanto, ainda há resquícios de um ambiente organizacional que cobra a aparência, carrega preconceitos e machismo e exige mais da mulher que não consegue chegar ao topo da organização. / The female participation in the work occurred in an asymmetric way, marked by struggles and achievements in the organizational environment. In Brazil, it underwent transformations, beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, caused by the period of industrialization and the second wave of the feminist movement. This research aimed to analyze the work conditions of women journalists in TV stations in Uberlândia-MG, as well as the changes experienced in this organizational environment, from the late 1970s to the present day, through the opinions and experiences of women journalists. journalists and journalism students. To that end, a theoretical review was carried out that addresses the historical perspective of the insertion of women in the labor market, through issues such as segregation and precariousness, femininity and masculinity, harassment, appearance, remuneration, barriers in the organizational environment, the context of media companies and the profession of journalist. From the methodological point of view, the research was anchored in the interpretative paradigm, based on the studies of the approach of socialist feminism, use of the case study method and qualitative approach. The data collection was done through 27 semi-structured interviews and 1 structured with journalists who work and worked in the journalism departments and 2 focus groups with Journalism students from 2 higher education institutions. Three different scripts were prepared for each group of respondents, all anchored in 3 dimensions identified from the theoretical-empirical referential: professional experience; organizational environment and professional growth. The interviews and focus groups were recorded, later transcribed and the data interpreted, through content analysis and identified 8 categories of analysis: competencies, areas of action (grouped in the professional experience dimension); gender, appearance, harassment, compensation (in the organizational environment dimension); barriers and empowerment (in the professional ascension dimension). As results, it was pointed out that, unlike the environments of the 1970s and 1980s, when the newsrooms were mostly male, today there is a balance between the number of men and women. If in the past they were deprived of certain subjects of news reports, today they go through all the subjects. The disparity in the salaries of men and women, when compared to the past, was smaller according to the results of this research. The conquest of the organizational space took place through attitudes based on initiative and persistence, characterizing the psychological empowerment or, through the training, identifying the educational empowerment. Regarding the appearance, if in the past, manuals defined the patterns of makeup and clothing, they have now been abolished, but collections still bother professionals and students. Harassment, especially by respondents, often occurs. Despite the advances and with the women occupying different positions, they are not in the positions of direction of journalism. In turn, students feel insecure to act in the market for the training they have received and most say they are disenchanted with the profession. In this way, the study points to changes in the last four decades, however, there are still remnants of an organizational environment that takes on the appearance, carries prejudices and machismo and demands more from the woman who can not reach the top of the organization. / Dissertação (Mestrado)

The aim of this thesis is to find an answer to the question if gender influences news production and news selection. It is hypothesized that in national daily broadsheet newspapers, the editor's gender has no influence on the professional behaviour and therefore editors' preferences of topics and news values should be identical. The theoretical part deals with different approaches to the topic of gender influence on the news production, describes the situation and stereotyping of female journalists and strategies they choose to deal with it. Next it briefly recapitulates the main news values theories and dichotomy of "hard" and "soft" news. The research part describes a study of gender influence on decision-making processes during news selection in Czech national daily broadsheet newspapers. The statistical methods used herein include the Student's T-test, Z-test and ANOVA. The statistics show no significant differences between male and female editors in consideration of news topic importance (to the reader), news values assessment or the selection of printable news. All the editors in the researched respondent population tend to favor "hard" news and to consider the same values and topics important in the same manner regardless of their gender. Despite slight differences in individual topics, this...

This diploma thesis deals with the communication of state substantial economic reforms. Methodology is a case study that examines the governmental communication of the pension reform in 2013. The introduction of the thesis briefly outlines the socioeconomic situation in the Czech Republic after 2008. The theoretical part sets out the necessary basis in the fields of media and communication, public relations, political communication, psychology and public choice theory and it also provides an overview of pension system reforms development in the Czech Republic area from the time of Austro-Hungarian Empire. It notes that this issue is one of the constant governmental agenda, especially after 1989, and its enforcement is depends on the political settlement. Practical part of the thesis analyzes the communication discourse of governmental pension reform effective from 1 January 2013. For this purpose it uses structured interviews with stakeholders, quantitative content media analysis and public opinion polls. It concludes that there was no communication strategy for the pension reform and governmental information activities were insufficient and time inadequate. The thesis results in a set of recommendations for the government and its future economic reforms communication. It includes political consensus, clear message and target group identification, detailed timeline plan and the principle of simplicity in the reform explaining.