Media stakeholders in ICT policy

I've been thinking about the different roles that the media can play in policy and it occurred to me that I've taken for granted the fact that the media SHOULD play a role in ICT policy. Perhaps the reason that there is so little research on the role of the media in media and ICT policy is because they have no interest in the policy?

Of course I don't really believe that. The media HAVE to play a role in media and ICT policy because it affects the work they do at so many levels - be it the political landscape they work in; the freedom of information, expression or distribution they have; or their relationship to their audiences and society. It is a difficult position the media find themselves in. On the one hand they are commercial enterprises trying to make as much money as possible by trading in information. On the other hand, they are perceived to be responsible for informing and educating society in an objective and impartial way (something I think is quite unreasonable, but still expected by society).

In order to influence policy in the best way possible, the media have to take both these roles into account and work towards balancing them in a way that ensures the policy fulfil's their interests as businesses, but also the interests of their audiences.

Just a few thoughts as I try to figure out my own ideas about the research I'm doing.

Postgraduate conference on the way

Having started as a full time PhD student at the Institute of Communications Study at the University of Leeds has meant not only many hours of reading and writing but also being involved in the ICS Postgraduate Conference. It was held for the first time last year and the students set quite a high precedent for future conferences.

The second conference will hopefully take place in June 2008 and while we are still contemplating the title and theme, it will be a great place for other postgraduate students to present their work, ideas and research. The really great part is that as a PhD student who presents at the conference you have an opportunity to present to a non-hostile audience of other PhD students, and you have your work reviewed by a member of ICS staff so you get great feedback.

Will keep you posted on developments.

Public Opinion. Does it exist today?

I've been doing some reading on public opinion for a paper I'm writing for my PhD and I got to thinking about whether there is really public opinion today. I'm using public opinion in the way the term was first used: a collective 'truth' or belief amongst a group of citizens and traditionally these came about in public meeting places. As these meeting places started to become obsolete, the media began to take up that mantle and convey public opinion (though its questionable whether it portrayed public opinion that was generated by the public).

So can we say there is such a thing as public opinion today? The mass media are all dominated by big business and conglomerates and if they are conveying 'public opinion' then it might be more like public profit. Can we say the Internet is the new meeting place for the public to generate their collective view? I'm not so sure. The blogosphere for sure is not a space of public opinion, its a few (and in the bigger scheme of things it really is a small number) ranters going on about their own personal issues and gripes, daily lives, life changing moments etc. There doesnt seem to be a collective voice and we dont really seem to be talking about anything of any real importance! Bring back Public Opinion.

Highway Africa 2007

For the first time in many years I've had to miss the biggest gathing of ICT journalists in Africa, the annual Highway Africa conference. Unfortunately I also haven't had much time to follow the goings-on so am not able to comment on the conference this year. I was invited to do some training before the conference, but due to the fact that I was registering for my PhD at the same time it was impossible to take up the opportunity (despite the fact that I really wanted to go).

The conference, which took place between 10 and 12 September in Grahamstown (South Africa) was always an interesting event. Not only was it a meeting place of media enthusiasts (journalists, owners, media scholars, civil society organisations), but also a meeting place of old friends - it always felt like a bit of a reunion because many of the same people would attend year after year. While this could lead to a bit of stagnation in terms of the ideas beings generated and debated, it also meant those attending could always find a familiar face amongst the delegates (not always something easy to do at conferences).

Looking through the list of speakers, I see many familiar faces, faces I would have liked to greet and meet up with again. And, surprisingly, many that haven't been on the programme before, who would have been equally exciting to greet and meet. Hopefully next year I'll be in attendence and can give my own account, but for now have to count on the writings of others.

The conference was, as usual, covered by its news agency (the Highway Africa News Agency, HANA) so you can read all about at their website. Unfortunately you have to register to read the full stories which is a pity and something I never really agreed with when newspapers or news organisations did it on their web content. Although there is no subscription fee, many people are opposed to the bit of time it takes to enter details for registering and are often deterred from doing so which is a pity.

Role of Media

How much of an impact does the media really have on our daily lives. I’ve been doing some reading for a paper on the role of the media in policy and have been struck by how many different ways the media do in fact impact on society. The question is not whether the media impact on society but how.


We’ve all heard the argument about violence on television breeding violence in society – an argument which is usually centred around children and violent television and today goes even further to include video and computer games and their impact on children’s behaviour. There are however more subtle functions (if we can call them that) of the media and these include the traditional agenda-setting role and the framing role. The agenda-setting thesis argues that the media is able to shape the public’s priorities (usually around public policy) by making the public view certain issues as more important than others (by covering them more frequently, and in the way that issues are covered).


Framing in communication studies is the notion that certain content or information is ‘framed’ or packaged in a particular way in order to sway towards certain interpretations and away from others (while Wikipedia is not an authority on any subject, it is always useful to get background information.)


Part of why I’m writing about this has to do with the paper I’m doing research for, but also the way I find myself reacting to the British media. I’m not sure what about the way they tackle issues makes me scoff and question what seems to me to be the sensationalisation of almost every issue – there is very little straight forward reporting. Although they report on serious issues like attempted bombings and crime, I find it difficult to take the reports seriously because they are packaged in a particular way. I guess the media here are responding to a demand from the public for that kind of news (which is obviously big business for the many tabloids on sale) – but isn’t part of what the media do (whether right or wrong) is ‘tell’ the public what they want? Couldn’t they tell the public here they want intelligent, serious and little-dramatised news?

Broadband in Leeds

Having finally arrived in Leeds, found a great place to live and started to settle into our new life, I was determined to get broadband at home as soon as possible. Easier said than done - it took more than 2 weeks after having first contacted a service provider before someone came to install the service. I was impressed with the service, but extermely dissapointed with the fact that the provider could not install a cable telephone as they said there was no space on 'the box'. I find this quite ridiculous because now I have to wait for someone to move, die or cancel their telephone contract before I can get one.

The most annoying thing though is that I have no idea who to complain to. Because telephone services are all handled by private companies, all competing for the most customers through competative pricing and offers, who handles infrastructure?

I guess this means I am forced to find out about VOIP and other means of communicating with family and friends (other than expensive pay-as-you-go mobile communiation). So far Skype seems a viable option, thought I've been warned about opening myself and my computer up to virus's and corruption? Perhaps I dont need a home telephone, if the technology we use everyday (our PC, our voices) can all effective communication with loved ones.

South Africa’s first blog search engine

My friend Vincent Maher has developed a great application for South Africans and anyone really wanting to find South African blogs – something that has been sorely lacking in the blogosphere. Amatomu is what has been described as the South African Technorati – I have no doubt it will be as good. While Vin and I worked together at the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University he developed some amazing applications – content management systems, the Grocott’s Online and it seems leaving the School to go to the M&G hasn’t changed that need for him to develop and innovate – congratulations!

More about Amatomu – I looked through it briefly and what struck me is that when searching for certain topics only two or three blogs come up repeatedly. This means there aren’t enough South Africans blogging about important topics – I think too many of them have set up blogs just to rant and share their daily and very personal experiences. While there is nothing wrong with that, it does leave a gap for the type of blogs that many many people prefer to visit – subject related ones run by someone who actually knows what they are talking about, writes well and has researched each post. There are millions of these in the blogosphere, just not enough in South Africa.

Blogging training and trends

I’ve been conducting training for sports journalists at a local daily newspaper (one of the biggest in South Africa), training the journalists to manage and run their own blogs. I’ve been hugely encouraged by their enthusiasm for this ever growing trend (Technorati says more than 70 million blogs being tracked), but also surprised by the fact that none of them have their own blogs already – and even more surprised that this is the first step towards blogging by the newspaper.

I understand the reservations that management have about blogging – there are legal, ethical and editorial issues which have to be carefully managed, and I understand the reservations by the journalists – it is more work for little reward (perhaps a pat on the back). But, the advantages definitely out weight the concerns. I think the biggest advantage is being able to create a community of like-minded people talking and debating about a central topic (in this case sport). Blogs which come out of news organizations create a space for their readers and journalists to interact in a way that they never have before, that is fantastic. These kinds of blogs also allow journalists space to be opinionated, maybe even obnoxious about a topic they know a lot about, something they cant do in their regular reporting – this is something the journalists have particularly enjoyed and I hope will be the encouraging and motivating factor for them to keep at it.

I’m looking forward to watching the blogs grow and I know if they put in the time and effort they could be some of the best sports blogs in the world!

Is ADSL really a must-have?

Perhaps the question is quickly answered by many with a scoffing “YES”, but I’ve been using a dial up connection (56kps) for the last 2 weeks and must say I have been pleasantly surprised by how few problems I’ve had with it. Granted I have only been using it in the evenings for recreational purposes and not for work, but it makes me wonder why so many other recreational surfers get caught up in the ADSL worries that comes with living in Joburg, having to deal with Telkom and having to pay what they do for ADSL.

When my husband Brett and I first knew we would be coming to Johannesburg from Grahamstown (where I used the Internet for about 8 hours a day at work and didn’t want it at home) we found out about getting ADSL for the few months we’d be in Joburg (until we moved to Leeds). I did some research (using the Internet at work) on local ISP’s to find the most reliable, but reasonably priced. Once I found one I was happy with, I phoned to find out about costs, conditions and the small print associated with any contract. After being pleasantly surprised by the price (about R100 for the contract) I was told I would have to phone Telkom (the fixed network operator – the ONLY one in SA – hopefully not for long) to install an ADSL line – here is where the confusion began.

After telling me about the great packages associated with getting ADSL and choosing Telkom as my ISP I was told that it would take at least 4 weeks to get someone to phone me back who would then put me on a list for a line to be installed – who knows how long this could have taken, though I’ve known people who live in busy areas who have waited 6 months for their ADSL line to be installed. I decided it wasn’t worth the wait – plus I couldn’t imagine even a week without being able to surf the net, check my email and MSN some friends. The problems (so I’ve heard) don’t stop once you get the line installed. The service is flaky at best and I’ve decided definitely not worth the installation fee.

Instead, I’m comforted each evening by the bleeps and burps of my modem connecting and although I’ve had to learn the art of patience, organization (I’ve got to plan each trip online so that I don’t waste time and money) and being quite ‘Scrooge-like’ with my time and the sites I visit – no more frivolous, aimless wandering – I get on with a purpose and am always impressed with how quickly I accomplish it.

Even as I read through this (which I’ve typed before hand to save time online!) I realize how lucky I am. I’m still a tech minority in South Africa where less than 10% of the population have access to the Internet – most at work and most not representative of the country (not even close).

The funding phenomenon

I’m in the process of getting ready to move to Leeds from South Africa to undertake a PhD in communication studies. I’ll be researching the ICT policy development process in Kenya and the role of the media in that process. It’s been quite surprising to someone like me, who has an immense interest and enthusiasm for ICT policy and research, that it has been so difficult to secure full funding to pay for the tuition of the first year of study (which for a South African is practically unaffordable).

Perhaps the hype around ICT policy in the developed world has died down and there is a lack of vision for what still needs to be done in developing countries. Despite the apparent success of the World Summit on the Information Society and the Principles adopted by countries that attended, there is much to do in the developing world and especially in Africa (where my interest lies). While there is a need for practical policy processes at different levels, there is also a serious need for research in the area of ICT policy development – which is something that I hope to undertake in my research.

Many developed countries today have well established ICT policies (despite certain issues which arise from time to time such as intellectual property rights and security) and too many people take it for granted that this is the trend across the global village – it isn’t! Too many African countries are currently grappling with (or are still to grapple with) establishing their own ICT policy, while having to deal with other important policy issues (which usually means ICT policy is last in the line of priorities). Not enough research is being done in the area to ensure that ICT policy is made a top priority for developing countries and for international organizations which need to mentor and provide assistance where possible – though the challenge is to ensure that African countries don’t adopt international norms without adapting them to their unique circumstances.

There are so many issues (as the previous paragraph attests to) and so much information that should be disseminated and shared between those with the practical experience and those without. But, without the support of funders (who seem to have less of a focus on ICT policy than a few years ago) developing countries are going to have to learn from their mistakes (very costly mistakes) before getting things right – rather than learning from the mistakes and successes of others which have been researched and then adapting those lessons to their ICT, development, political and social environments.

Pics of Christmas

These are the ladies who had cooked for about two days and made a delicious lunch for the entire village and all friends and family. The most impressive thing was the perfect rice cooked on the fire in the black pot!
This was the view from our tent. It is a really beautiful part of the South African Transkei and although the services are basic, the people there are friendly and tend not to complain about the situation they are in - something I am going to do on my next posting: things to complain about (roads, water, sewerage, clinics etc)

Our tent pitched in the garden of a friend's small holding. The rondaval ('rondie') next to it is where the bridal couple slept and will be their home anytime they visit the family.

Christmas in the Transkei

My husband and I spent some wonderful days just before and after Xmas in the rural Transkei - it was a great experience, truly unforgettable. We were invited to attend a friends traditional Xhosa wedding which took place on the 21st of December, but was a three day affair. It was extremely interesting to watch the traditions, protocol and social networking that went on during the events. Although I understood very little of the language, I felt very welcome and at home with the family and friends who were also there.

There were too many interesting experiences to list them all, but some of the highlights included watching the slaughtering of the sheep which was quite an affair and I was fortunate to be allowed to watch (it is exclusively male dominated), the actual ceremony where alders of the community spoke to the couple about their roles and responsiblities, and the cooking which took place over a couple of days and fed the entire village and all the family that travelled for the event too - at least 100 people - and all done by the women of the family and the surrounding houses. It was all quite an adventure for a city girl like me.

Brett (my husband) and I pitched our tent in the family's garden. We were treated like honoured guests at the wedding and were welcomed into their home for xmas and each evening for supper. Generally the trip taught me about being grateful for everything I have, the little things like running water, a flush toilet, good roads and access to the shops in a two minute drive (not a 20minute harrowing drive in a taxi).

I'll post some photo's tomorrow and hopefully they will convey the beauty of the surrounds and the people we were with!