Fwd: AEJMC - ICD Panel on Press Freedom, and Information Flows the World - Urgent

[Folu Ogundimu]

Trying again. 

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Folu Ogundimu <ogun...@msu.edu>
Date: October 26, 2011 10:03:33 PM EDT
To: Folu Ogundimu <ogun...@msu.edu>, Folu Ogundimu <ogun...@gmail.com>
Subject: AEJMC - ICD Panel on Press Freedom, and Information Flows the World - Urgent

Dear Colleagues,

We have an opportunity to broaden our participation at next year's annual convention of the Association for Journalism and Mass Communications (AEJMC) taking place in Chicago, (IL) from August 9-12, 2012. The International Communications Division (ICD) has given us an extension until Sunday night, October 30th, to submit a panel proposal for consideration at the convention. You are receiving this email because you are on my list (undisclosed recipients) of scholars who might make a valuable contribution to a proposed panel on "Press Freedom and Information Flows Around the World". I would like to propose either a Research or Professional Freedom and Responsibility (PF&R) panel on "Press Freedom and Information Flows Around the World". The panel will address four specific themes:

1. Press Freedom Ratings and Democratic Accountability Around the World.
2. The Rise of Digital Media and Implications for Press Freedom.
3. How Relevant Are the NWICO Debate and International News Flows in Today's Globalization Era?
4. From the Arab Street to Wall Street: How Relevant Are Media As Informational Channels During Revolutionary Upheavals?

We are looking to feature 5-6 panelists addressing one of the listed topics. If interested in participating, please send me a 2-3 sentence abstract on one of the four listed themes you would like to address at the convention. Please include your full name and professional affiliation. The deadline for sending me your abstract and information is Sunday, October 30th at 3pm Eastern Standard Time. You may send your abstract to me at either: ogun...@msu.edu or ogun...@gmail.com.  If selected, you will need to register for the AEJMC Convention and sign up for AEJMC Membership. Discounted rates and travel support may be available for our foreign participants, especially those from developing countries. I am hoping that our Africa, Asia, and Latin America participants on this email listserv will show interest in this proposal. We really need to increase our representation at the AEJMC and ICD in particular. Please share the email with your colleagues and others who might be interested in this proposal. I am optimistic that we can get either the Political Communication Interest Group and the Mass Communication & Society Interest Group to co-sponsor the panel with us, once it is composed.

Thank you much for your interest. I look forward to hearing from you by Sunday.

Best regards,

Folu

Folu Ogundimu, PhD

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI 48824-1212

Email: ogun...@msu.edu

Email: ogun...@gmail.com

Phone: +1-517-353-6459

FAX:     +1-517-355-7710

[AS De Beer]

Dear Folu

 

It is a tough call, as all four topics are very interesting and relevant. But, let me stick to the first one.

 

Best

Arnold

 

 

1. Press Freedom Ratings and Democratic Accountability Around the World.

This topic lands us smack bang in the middle of the old Global North – Global South debate (also see your topic 4. It is amazing that researchers (old and young) still use the Northern (especially American, e.g. Freedom House) ratings to apply to the Global South, as though the media in the South is (or perhaps should be) a mirror image of Northern expectations. I would argue that making use of national/local media monitoring groups’ ratings (e.g. Media Tenor SA and Media Monitoring in South Africa) might be a more applicable yardstick to go by as these and other similar groups tend to evaluate media performance contextually more in terms of what is possible in a given society, rather than only what is considered acceptable elsewhere.

 

Arnold S de Beer PhD

Professor Extraordinary

Dept of Journalism

Stellenbosch University

South Africa

 

Managing Editor

Ecquid African Journalism Studies

 

asde...@imasa.org / www.imasa.org

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[Folu Ogundimu]

Dear Arrie,

Thanks much for the submission. I'll keep you posted. 

Best regards

Folu

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 28, 2011, at 5:30 PM, "AS De Beer" <asde...@imasa.org> wrote:

Dear Folu

 

It is a tough call, as all four topics are very interesting and relevant. But, let me stick to the first one.

 

Best

Arnold

 

 

1. Press Freedom Ratings and Democratic Accountability Around the World.

This topic lands us smack bang in the middle of the old Global North – Global South debate (also see your topic 4. It is amazing that researchers (old and young) still use the Northern (especially American, e.g. Freedom House) ratings to apply to the Global South, as though the media in the South is (or perhaps should be) a mirror image of Northern expectations. I would argue that making use of national/local media monitoring groups’ ratings (e.g. Media Tenor SA and Media Monitoring in South Africa) might be a more applicable yardstick to go by as these and other similar groups tend to evaluate media performance contextually more in terms of what is possible in a given society, rather than only what is considered acceptable elsewhere.

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[VICTOR AYEDUN-ALUMA]

Dear Professor Ogundimu,

I'd like to contribute to the proposed panel by addressing the second theme as follows:

2. The Rise of Digital Media and Implications for Press Freedom

A reading of the problematique of press freedom in the Nigerian context goes thus: an overly “strong” state that is hardly held accountable by a comparatively “weak” citizenry (and civil society) is able to constrain the exercise of press freedom at will without suffering any significant political repercussions. The rise of digital media complicates the situation of power imbalance through its properties of contracting geographical distance and lowering the costs of access/popular participation. I argue therefore that the play of these properties is likely to even out the power imbalance as a comparatively strong Diaspora fragment of Nigerian civil society more easily connects with increasing numbers of the domestic fragment of civil society to more efficaciously challenge the state’s ability to constrain press freedom with impunity.

My name and affiliation:

Victor Ayedun-Aluma, PhD

Senior Lecturer

Department of Mass Communication

University of Lagos, Akoka

Lagos, Nigeria

Best Regards,

Victor Ayedun-Aluma.

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Subject: Fwd: AEJMC - ICD Panel on Press Freedom, and Information Flows the World - Urgent
From: ogun...@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:44:30 -0400
To: tracce-...@googlegroups.com